Introducing the TASPO Taskbook: helping students plan their own learning

Ask any successful student what helped them most and many will point to a teacher who believed in them. Ask a few more questions, though, and you'll often hear something else: at some point, they learned how to organise themselves.

They learned to break a big task into small steps. To plan their week. To notice when they were falling behind and do something about it. These skills are rarely taught directly, yet they shape how well students do at school and long after it.

That's the idea behind the TASPO Taskbook.

What is the TASPO Taskbook?

The Taskbook is a planning tool for students. It helps them to:

• set goals for the term, the week and the day
• plan their time for homework, revision, reading and clubs
• keep track of what's done and what still needs doing
• see their own progress over time and feel proud of it

It's designed to be simple enough for younger students to use on their own, and flexible enough to grow with them as they move up through school.

When students plan their own learning, they stop waiting to be told and start taking charge.

Why start with planning?

Classrooms in Tanzania are often large, and teachers have limited time for each student. A student who can plan, organise and keep track of their own work gets more out of every lesson and every hour of homework.

Planning also builds confidence. Ticking off a task you set yourself is a small win, and small wins add up. Over time, students begin to see themselves as people who can set a goal and reach it. That's a mindset that serves them well at school, at work and in life.

Part of something bigger

The Taskbook is the first step in a wider TASPO digital platform that we're developing in phases. Over time, the platform will bring students, teachers, clubs and schools together in one place, and will make it easier to:

• follow class and club attendance
• support teachers with lesson planning
• organise academic and socio-economic clubs and activities
• share clear, reliable reports with schools and education authorities

We're starting with the student, because everything else is there to support them.

What happens next?

The TASPO Taskbook is currently in development. We'll share updates here on the blog as we test it with students and teachers and as we get ready to roll it out to the schools we work with.

If you're a school, an organisation or a partner who would like to be involved, or if you'd like to support its development, please get in touch.