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What is the P6 Science Booster?
Our P6 Science Booster programme is a self-directed learning initiative where P6 students are given a set of booster notes on science concepts, with PSLE MCQ and open-ended questions according to the various topics from Primary 3 to 6. This is to encourage students to revise the topics learned since Primary 3 in preparation for the PSLE.
The notes are carefully curated to revise on concepts and for them to apply their knowledge in the various PSLE questions.
Here is an example of what the science booster set on ‘Light & Shadows’ looks like.
Students will be given one set of the hardcopy notes fortnightly and they will be assigned the corresponding SLS lesson, where there are videos, slides, instructions for them to follow, as well as the MCQ and open-ended questions. As you can see, the science booster is very useful for students to revise science concepts they have learned in the past 3 years, which many of them have forgotten about. Also, there simply isn’t enough curriculum time to be revisiting all these concepts in P6, so we turn to technology to help our students.
How do we use ShortAnsFA in SLS with our science booster?
We made use of ShortAnsFA for the open-ended questions in the science booster. Below are the instructions given to students in SLS:
Firstly, students have to attempt the question independently, in their hardcopy notes.
Secondly, students will type their answers out in SLS. Here is an example of a student’s response.
Thirdly, the AI assistant will ‘mark and assess’ their answers according to the marking scheme and give them feedback on their answers. Here is an example of the feedback given by ShortAnsFA.
Students are expected to click on ‘Feedback’ to read the AI-generated feedback on their answers to check what they have done well and areas for improvement.
Then, they have to click on ‘Suggested Answer’ to look at the marking scheme AND the teacher’s copy of the model answer with annotations for easier understanding. Students will then copy the corrections from the suggested answer for learning. Below is an example of the marking scheme and model answer with annotations:
Final thoughts on ShortAnsFA
It provides immediate feedback - Since the tool gives feedback quickly, students don’t have to wait long for teacher’s comments. They can see where their understanding is weak and reflect and correct their answers immediately.
It can diagnose their errors - The AI can pinpoint which aspect of their answer is weak or missing (relative to the suggested answer), thus guiding self-correction.
It makes thinking visible and promotes metacognition – By showing feedback relative to our suggested and model answers, students see the ideal vs their answer. This contrast helps them think about how their answer differed, prompting metacognitive awareness.
As you know, we already have tons of work to mark in Science, with their workbooks, topical worksheets, science journals and practice papers etcetera. The P6 science teachers LOVE how we can lighten our marking load with the use of ShortAnsFA, since students are empowered to check their work and do corrections on the spot, and now we have less assignments to mark on a fortnightly basis!
In conclusion, we highly recommend you to try out SLS’s Short Answer Feedback Assistant in your lessons 😊
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