In math, French students are among the worst in the European Union, according to the latest TIMSS survey (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study). So how do we raise the level of our students? In Limoges, eight professors designed the RTP (Remediation Tests of Positioning) platform in partnership with a local start-up. It is aimed, initially, at 6th and 2nd vocational students.
The goal is to adapt to the level of the child. “These courses are adaptive. The student will answer a question. Depending on his answer, the rest of the course will adjust to his needs”, explains Guillaume Isnard, founder of the start-up Grains’up. If a student fails an answer, the platform will look for an easier question to restore their confidence. If the answer is correct this time, it goes back to the first difficulty encountered by the student.
Offering learning in a fun way is also the objective of the RTP platform. Each exercise corresponds to proposed answers with clues. “We see the math in another way. And then, the questions, the tables to tick the answers are well done so I manage to understand”, enthuses Violette, a 6th grade student at Calmette College in Limoges. The platform, which also provides students with a certain autonomy, does not replace the teacher. On the contrary, it helps the teacher in monitoring his students. “For each exercise, we see the answers. This makes it possible to analyze the errors that are made. So, suddenly, we can redo a point in class. It’s interesting because sometimes we have worked on something, we think that it is well understood, and then finally we realize that it is not”, testifies Delphine Vialle, professor of mathematics.
The platform has been adopted by around a hundred schools in France. In September, it will be extended to general second classes. Another version devoted to French lessons should also see the light of day at the start of the next school year.