Enabling teachers to harness digital personalized learning to accelerate learning outcomes

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Digital personalized learning (DPL) tools tailor educational experiences to individual student needs, preferences, and learning styles. In countries facing challenges to teaching quality, DPL may help address disparities in access to quality education, improve student engagement, and enhance learning outcomes through the provision of customized learning experiences at scale. While research indicates the potential of DPL tools to support learning outcomes, the role of teachers in implementing DPL in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has been highlighted as a significant evidence gap. Existing research tends to focus on ‘supplementary’ uses of DPL, such as technology sessions detached from regular instruction or as part of after-school programs. AI-powered learning systems also risk taking control away from teachers by automating the learning processes through algorithms. Teachers must complement digital learning solutions; they cannot be replaced by technology. There is therefore a need to fill this research gap, by investigating teachers’ role in implementing DPL and optimizing software features which support this process, and in doing so, highlighting strategies for transforming teaching to become more personalized and engaging.

This panel will highlight research on how teachers have harnessed DPL to accelerate learning outcomes and key factors that affect the interaction between teachers and the DPL tools. These papers offer three examples of how to envision, and transform, education for a digital society.

First, a presentation will be made on a High Touch High Tech (HTHT) impact evaluation in Uruguay that aimed to improve math and computational thinking teaching and learning. HTHT learning aims to enhance learner success by personalizing support based on the data generated by adaptive learning technology and adopting more learner-centered active teaching and learning methods. Students first interact with adaptive educational technology (High Tech) to gain knowledge and skills; then, they apply, analyze, and actively synthesize this knowledge, culminating in creative activities facilitated by teachers and peer interactions (High Touch). The approach redefines the role of teachers, enabling them to provide personalized support and facilitate higher-order skill-building activities for students. Adaptive technology assesses each learner’s learning progress, allowing teachers to tailor their support to meet individual needs. Key findings include that only the intervention integrating components of “High Touch” and “High Tech” improved student performance. Digital personalized learning or teacher professional development alone does not independently lead to better student performance. A combined strategy utilizing digital personalized learning tools and active learning strategies demonstrated improvements in the teaching and learning process.

The second presentation will discuss the impact of a curriculum-aligned DPL tool on early-grade learning outcomes in Kenya, and the role of teachers in its implementation. The DPL tool, designed by [anon], comprises an application installed on low-cost Android smartphones. Personalized to each learners’ device interaction history, this tool optimizes content sequencing of 348 curriculum-aligned learning units to maximize learner engagement. Key findings highlight that teachers’ role in implementing the DPL tool can affect personalization in multiple ways, including the potential of teacher-AI collaboration to select DPL content which leads to improved learning outcomes.

The third presentation will showcase findings from a study that explored the perceptions and experiences of students, parents, teachers, and other education stakeholders involved in Prográmate, a project that uses a DPL platform to develop secondary school students’ math skills and knowledge in the Dominican Republic. It provides recommendations based on its key findings for more successful DPL implementation, including the need to provide ongoing support to teachers, so they can better support students. They must be equipped not only with an initial training or workshop but also with ongoing support, so that they are better able to facilitate implementation and student learning.

Following the presentations, there will be a discussion on how teachers can be supported to harness DPL effectively to transform their teaching and accelerate learning.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Organizer

• Amy Bellinger, The Learning Generation Initiative at EDC

Chair

• Amy Bellinger, The Learning Generation Initiative at EDC

Individual Presentations

• High Touch High Tech for Mathematics and Computational Thinking – Evidence from a National Study in Uruguay - Diego Migues, Ceibal; Janice H Kim, University of Glasgow

• The Role of Teachers in Implementing and Enhancing Digital Personalized Learning: evidence from a multi-strand study in Kenya - Rebecca Daltry, EdTech Hub

• Stakeholders’ Experiences with Digital Personalized Learning Platforms in the Dominican Republic  - Juan David Baron, The World Bank

Discussant

• Amy Bellinger, The Learning Generation Initiative at EDC