In today’s editorial:

• A.I. led revision on SAM Learning!
• ERA Awards Finalists 2024
• Enhancing Education Together: SAM Learning referral program 
• School Success Series 
• Customer Corner – How are schools using SAM Learning?

A.I. led revision on SAM Learning!

With exam season fast approaching, SAM Learning has everything in one place to help your students succeed. Students are proven to achieve two GCSE grades better with just 30 minutes a week activity on SAM Learning!

Download your free revision poster today:

For more details on how to get your students going,  get in touch with your SAM Learning School Success Manager at sst@samlearning.com.

Not a SAM Learning subscriber? Get in touch to find out how your school can be taking advantage of the latest and top rated A.I. technology for secondary schools worldwide.

ERA Awards Finalists 2024

Here at SAM Learning, we are extremely proud to announce that we have been shortlisted for TWO TOP RATED Education Awards in the ERA Awards 2024 for the categories: Secondary Resource ICT and Tools for Leadership, Management and Assessment.

Winners will be announced at a gala awards ceremony to be held on Thursday 18th April 2024 at The National Conference Centre Birmingham.. We are thrilled to be finalists in these awards which celebrates the crem de la crem of Education resources and demonstrates the huge success SAM Learning is having in schools around the world. 

To find out more about the independently proven positive impact SAM Learning has when used for just 30 minutes a week, check out the EEF/FFT impact study.

Enhancing Education Together: SAM Learning referral program 

This year we launched our exclusive Customer Referral Program and we have been overjoyed so far with the responses! At SAM Learning, our mission has always been to empower educators and students through innovative technologies. With the introduction of our state-of-the-art A.I. engineering, we have taken a step closer to realising that vision. We believe that your valuable insights and experiences as an educator can greatly benefit other schools and educators seeking to enhance their teaching practices and student outcomes. Our Customer Referral Program is an opportunity for you to share the benefits of SAM Learning with your professional network while earning exciting rewards for you and your school!

How it works:

1.   Share the love: Simply refer SAM Learning to other schools or educators who could benefit. You could do so during professional development events, workshops or through your network.
2. Track referrals: When your referred school or educator signs up and becomes a paying customer to SAM Learning, we will track the referral and credit your school’s account with exclusive benefits.
3. Earn Rewards: As a token of appreciation, your school will receive enticing rewards for every successful referral.

To get started or learn more about our Customer Referral Program and the benefits it brings to your school, get in touch today.

School Success Series 

SAM Learning ‘on screen’ wants you! We have been overwhelmed and overjoyed with all of the positive feedback we have been receiving from schools on our latest developments and we want to congratulate all of you on your recent successes!

 This academic year, we are creating an exciting video series of our customer success stories and would love YOU to feature! This is a fantastic opportunity to gain exposure and showcase your best practice, pedagogy and EdTech knowledge, inspiring and helping schools around the world.

To contribute, simply record yourself completing the sentence below (mobile phone recording is fine) and submit your recorded response here.

Please repeat and complete: “SAM Learning to me is……”

As a token of thanks, each video selected for the series will qualify for a £20 Amazon voucher.

Congratulations again on your success with SAM Learning and our partnership!

If you have any questions about submitting a video testimonial please submit them here.

Customer Corner – How are schools using SAM Learning?

We love hearing the positive feedback from our schools across the globe, sharing the triumphs and successes they are having with SAM Learning. Our Customer Corner is a dedicated  section of our newsletter to showcase how schools are benefiting and maximising the value of their SAM Learning subscription, to share best practice.….

“We noticed there was a gap in core knowledge for our Year 11 students last year during their mock exams. We have used SAM Learning to support our work on memory retrieval of the Literature text, particularly looking at activities around plot, character and big ideas.

In our current Year 11 cohort, students now have a sound understanding of plot, character and big ideas of each of the texts which means they are now accessing the higher skills of analysis when they come to class. 

At KS4 we set key tasks to support memory retrieval  of our Literature texts. We will choose tasks of the text we studied  previously in the year for effective revision.

We have also created a Wave 2 intervention for pupils who are close to a grade 4/5 in English Language and set them specific tasks for the questions they dropped marks in their mock exams.

At KS3 we use a lot of the grammar based tasks to improve technical accuracy and spellings. We have either used specific topic spellings or used tasks which support common spelling patterns. The texts we study are : An Inspector Calls, A Christmas Carol, Macbeth and Power and Conflict Poetry with AQA.

By setting the homework using SAM Learning, we found that incorporated into our homework booklets they have a wider variety of tasks to do and different styles which keeps it interesting and has increased engagement with homework. Also, we have found that by using this a memory retrieval, our Year 10s and 11s in particular, are retaining more core information about the key texts we are studying for literature.” Fran Roberts, Curriculum Leader, English, Ellesmere Port Catholic High School.

“I use Sam Learning mainly for homework to consolidate learning done in class and to give students the opportunity to try out short exam style tasks for independent learning.

I like the way that it is self-marking and therefore reduces workload and also that students get immediate feedback on their learning as well. It is also simple to search for resources and find available tasks for both KS3 and GCSE.

Students find the tasks accessible and easy to navigate and appreciate getting their scores immediately.

Other schools should use Sam Learning to save time in planning and marking as there is a good range of tasks available on all aspects of the course and if you want something specific which is not there, you can create your own tasks as well.” 

Gillian Macy, Assistant Head of Department MFL, Soar Valley College.

“I use Sam Learning as a revision tool for my students, especially before assessments and as homework tasks. My favourite features are the students can see how successful they were with every task and have the opportunity to redo a task if they did not achieve the required percentage for the task. Students get rewarded with a Sam Learning certificate which they can print out and keep as evidence for their achievements. It also covers all the topic areas for both KS4 and KS3 for my subject.

Some colleagues have started to use Sam Learning after I mentioned that I use it also to break the routine of in class teacher talking lessons and it promotes independent work.

I think that other schools should use Sam Learning for the above-mentioned reasons.” Mr C Moreno, Head of Year 11, Teacher of Geography and German, Alec Hunter Academy.

“We use SAM Learning for homework – This is set once a week depending on the subject. Students are to recall learning they have done in the previous lessons. My favourite features are set a task, and the fact you can build your own work but also use other peoples.

Students find it really enjoyable and easy to do the tasks. They love the avatar feature and the fact they can compete against other form classes and students.

Other schools should use SAM Learning because it is really easy to embed and use for the whole school. Setting homework and marking it is really easy. Improvement in grades and students’ aspirations have become higher as they now know what it is useful for. ” Sam Frith, Teacher of Computer Studies and IT, Astrea Academy Dearne.

“We SAM Learning within the Science department at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School and we use SAM Learning in many different ways, at different stages in the school year. With Years 7 – 11 we use it to set regular homework that reinforces learning during lessons. It is particularly helpful in helping students work on their RECALL, especially when we set a really high ‘pass mark’ for an activity. (We don’t want them to just be ‘good enough’, we want them to show mastery of a particular topic area!) It is very useful when it comes to revision time for all these year groups, too, as we can set batches of activities that students can do, either alongside their revision, or at the end as a means of self-testing, to see if they have really understood a subject well. We also encourage students to go back for themselves at the end of a topic and re-do any activities where they failed to achieve 100%, as a means of revision for low-stakes tests.

My favourite feature is the ability to search for activities by key stage, type, topic and exam board is really good. 

I have also enjoyed creating quite a large number of homework tasks, using Activity Builder, although I have had much less time to do it in the past couple of years. This is something that gives me a real sense of fulfilment, as I know that the work I am putting in will benefit groups of students in future years, plus other colleagues’ classes, and those in other schools. 

Although SAM Learning is not every student’s cup of tea, I would say that the vast majority enjoy the instant feedback that many activities can give. They like to know if they have ‘got it’, and the self-marking activity is a great way to assess this. Those who are more mature go on to make really good use of the ‘self assessment’, where they grade their answers using the supplied mark scheme.

Other schools should use SAM Learning for setting and marking homework, especially for right/wrong questions, which can be a tedious and unfulfilling business. The ability to set Key Stage-appropriate activities on most Science topics, where students can develop a sense of momentum and (sometimes) healthy competition, is a really useful tool. Self-marking activities are great – enabling you to spend time analysing the areas for improvement, rather than marking. The Self-Assessment questions are a great way to encourage students to take ownership of their learning process. ” Stuart St John, Head of Physics, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith.

SAM Learning would like to thank you all for taking the time to read this month’s newsletter!

If you would like to share yours and your student’s positive experiences of SAM Learning in next month’s Customer Corner and earn yourself some Amazon vouchers for your school and students, submit your feedback here.