J-PAL North America News: Generating evidence on ed-tech learning products + new research results on computer-assisted learning

This season marks the return to school for many students, teachers, and school staff across the country. Following prolonged disruptions to learning as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, accelerating learning remains a high priority for the new school year. Math achievement in US schools has long been a concern, and achievement disparities between low-income students and their peers that were exacerbated by Covid-19 interruptions continue to persist.??

A robust body of existing evidence demonstrates high-intensity tutoring as a proven strategy to accelerate student learning; however, it is also resource-intensive. With federal relief funding ending soon and limited resources in schools and districts, how can we continue to bring effective strategies to classrooms to help students at scale??

Many practitioners and researchers are eager to leverage emerging education technologies to combat tutor shortages, demands on classroom teachers, and the financial costs associated with in-person, high-intensity tutoring. J-PAL’s education technology review paper found that computer-assisted learning has shown promise in improving learning outcomes, particularly in math. A recent randomized evaluation by J-PAL affiliated professor Phil Oreopoulos (University of Toronto), J-PAL invited researcher Chloe Gibbs (Notre Dame), and coauthors assessed the impact of providing coaching to teachers implementing Khan Academy’s computer-assisted learning program on student math performance. Read more about the evaluation below.?

Meanwhile, J-PAL North America is supporting the Learning Engineering Virtual Institute (LEVI), to evaluate learning products that harness the potential of AI and machine learning. Over the past year, J-PAL North America has hosted trainings on evaluation in ed-tech, provided technical evaluation assistance to LEVI teams, and matched ed-tech product teams with researchers in our network. We are excited to continue our involvement with this community to produce evidence on the next generation of learning solutions that reduce teacher burden and accelerate student learning. Read more below about the pilot funding awarded by J-PAL North America to support the LEVI teams.?

In this month’s newsletter, we also feature a new review paper on interventions to improve early childhood learning outcomes and a blog post on strategies to increase SNAP take up. If you’re interested in learning more or getting involved with LEVI, please don’t hesitate to reach out.?

Catherine Darrow | Associate Director of Research, J-PAL North America

Read more:

• J-PAL North America funds five ed-tech pilot projects as part of the Learning Engineering Virtual Institute: University of Ghana (Rori), University of Florida, University of Texas (Eedi), Carnegie Learning, and Carnegie Mellon University
• Computer-assisted learning (CAL) is a promising approach to facilitate more personalized learning, but does its efficacy depend on how teachers implement it? New research results ?
• The impact of early childhood parenting interventions on child learning: A systematic review and meta-analysis
• In a recent post on the J-PAL blog, J-PAL North America Co-Scientific Director Matt Notowidigdo (UChigago) and J-PAL affiliated researcher Tatiana Homonoff (NYU) highlight key evidence on effective methods to increase SNAP take-up and maximize its impacts