The problem with traditional feedback
In most educational settings, a teacher knows two things about a student's work: the final answer (right or wrong) and, if they're lucky, a brief look at the working scribbled in the margin of a test paper.
This is almost no information. A student who gets a question wrong could have made a careless arithmetic error in the final step, or they could have a fundamental misunderstanding of the underlying concept. These are completely different problems requiring completely different responses - but from a ticked or crossed answer alone, the teacher can't tell which is which.
The best teachers overcome this by sitting with students individually, watching them work in real time, and asking questions as they go. That's expensive, time-consuming, and impossible to do for every student in a class.
Session inspection is SolversBoard's answer to this problem.
What session inspection shows
When a student shares a session with their teacher or parent, the reviewer gets access to a complete, faithful record of the entire session:
The questions
Every question the student received is visible in full - the question text, all four answer options, and which option is the correct answer. Questions are shown in the order they were presented.
The canvas
This is the most powerful part. For each question, the reviewer can see the student's actual handwritten working - exactly as they drew it on the canvas. Every line, every equation, every crossed-out calculation, every diagram.
This is the working that students would write on an exam paper or in their exercise book. It reveals how they approached the problem, what method they chose, where their reasoning went, and at exactly what point an error appeared.
A student who writes 2x + 3 = 11 → 2x = 14 → x = 7 has made a clear arithmetic error on the last step. A student who writes 2x + 3 = 11 → x + 3 = 11 → x = 8 has misunderstood what the coefficient means. These are different problems. The canvas makes them visible.
Meg's feedback
Every piece of feedback Meg gave during the session is shown alongside the relevant question. The reviewer can see exactly what Meg said - whether she confirmed the answer was correct, what specific error she identified, what hint she gave, and how many attempts the student made before getting it right.
This gives the teacher a second perspective on the student's work - not just what the student did, but what an expert observer said about it in the moment.
Scores and results
The session summary shows the student's score (correct / total), their accuracy percentage, the subject and topics covered, and the session duration. Individual question results are marked correct or incorrect alongside each question in the review.
How sharing works
Session sharing is always initiated by the student (or by the parent on behalf of a younger child). A session is private by default. Students choose which sessions to share and with whom.
In School plan organisations, teachers can request that students share sessions - but students (or parents, for minors) must confirm the share. This keeps data governance clear: students control what is shared.
Once shared, the session is accessible to the designated reviewer in read-only mode. They can see everything described above, but they cannot edit the session, delete questions, or alter any of the content.
How teachers use session inspection
For formative assessment - teachers ask students to share a session after every practice block and review the canvas work to identify misconceptions before the next lesson. This replaces the "homework handout → mark at weekend → return Friday" cycle with something more immediate and more informative.
For targeted intervention - when a student is consistently struggling, session inspection lets the teacher see exactly where the breakdown is happening. Is it calculation errors? Conceptual gaps? Poor method selection? The canvas makes the answer visible.
For parent-teacher conferences - teachers can share specific sessions with parents during meetings to show precisely how the student is approaching problems, not just what mark they received.
For celebrating progress - teachers use session inspection positively too. A student who has clearly improved their working - better structure, fewer steps, more confident method selection - can have that growth acknowledged specifically, which is far more meaningful than a generic "you're doing better."
How parents use session inspection
Parents on the Family plan can request to review any session their child shares. This is particularly valuable for:
- Seeing whether the child is actually engaging with questions or rushing through them
- Understanding what Meg said when a child comes home saying "I don't understand this topic"
- Providing specific, informed encouragement ("I can see you're getting the method right, the arithmetic will come")
- Identifying when a child needs additional help before exam results confirm it
What session inspection is not
Session inspection is not surveillance. Students choose what to share. It is not an assessment tool - the scores are practice scores, not grades. And it is not a replacement for direct conversation between teacher and student.
It is a window into student thinking. Used well, it makes every conversation between a teacher and a student more informed, more specific, and more useful.
Session inspection is available on the Family and School plans. Students can share sessions from the sessions panel at any time.