Independent Study

What is Independent Study at MEA?

Independent Study at MEA is learning that we expect students to complete outside of lessons and at home. Every student is expected to complete regular Independent Study to a high standard and to return it when the deadline has been set.

Why it is important to complete Independent Study?

Students who do this well, perform better at school and in their exams. They also leave school with valuable skills for future studying and work.

How do we set Independent Study?

Most subjects will set Independent Study regularly on a weekly basis on Microsoft Teams.  Students can use Teams to check what Independent Study they have by clicking on “Assignments”. All students have been provided with an Independent Study book to complete their work in. KS3 students have also been provided with a Knowledge Organiser to use at home and school.

Each subject will set the following tasks

  1. A retrieval practice task (Retrieval practice is a way of learning knowledge that will help students store it in their memory. It involves summarising sections of knowledge and then testing yourself repeatedly on it, until you can remember it.)
  2. Quizzes on apps
  3. Exam based questions (KS4)

How to access Microsoft Office and Teams

All students have been provided with their usernames and school email addresses and have been shown how to log in to Microsoft Office and access Teams.

All students must log in to Microsoft Office and Teams using their school email address

We have advised all students to download the Microsoft Teams app as it is much quicker to access their Independent Study rather than log in to Microsoft Office each time.

What apps do students need to access Independent Study?

Y7, 8 and 9 will need the following apps:

IS apps

Y10 and 11 will need the following apps:

IS Apps 2

How can parents/carers support and monitor?

  • Remind your child to check on Teams what Independent Study they must complete.
  • Help them to plan and stick to a study timetable
  • Test your child's knowledge by asking them questions and quizzing them
  • Use the Arbor App to check if your child has completed their Independent Study