Learn how to use Tangerine, open-source data collection, student assessment, and teacher coaching software for diverse contexts

Group Submission Type: Workshop

Description of Session

This workshop will provide participants with practical skills using Tangerine, an open-source data collection, student assessment, and teacher support tool developed by RTI International (www.tangerinecentral.org).

Tangerine was originally developed to enable recording of students’ responses in oral early grade reading and mathematics assessments as well as interview responses from students, teachers, and principals on home and school context information. It has since developed to support also formative student assessment, student dropout prevention, teacher coaching, and program monitoring at national scale.

For student assessment, the software can integrate cognitive and non-cognitive items (e.g., to measure reading fluency, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, emotional state or anxiety) as well as rapid disability screening tools (e.g., for screening for vision loss), along with academic tests as needed. For teacher coaching, Tangerine can accommodate a wide range of classroom observation approaches and can provide just-in-time feedback as part of teacher coaching efforts. Data collected offline can be synced to the server and then be visualized to help monitor school, program, or even an entire sector’s performance at national scale.

Tangerine was conceptualized with simplicity and compatibility in mind. The application uses a variety of cutting-edge open-source software libraries, provides compatibility across a wide range of mobile devices, and requires little bandwidth in the field. All data collection can happen offline, with perioding upload of data, where bandwidth permits. Tangerine uses Unicode and is thus compatible with over 650 languages and writing scripts. Data collection instruments and items can be customized using a simple editor. This makes it possible for non-technical users to set up new instruments, add or change items as needed for their specific language, script, and data collection needs.

Since 2012, Tangerine has been deployed in more than 60 different countries and 100 languages by more than 80 organizations collecting millions of assessments, observations, interviews, and surveys around the world.

During the workshop, participants will learn about the different versions of Tangerine and acquire practical skills in building new assessments, adding, and editing items, and deploying Android device installation files for different data collection needs. We will discuss lessons learned from using Tangerine in a wide range of education research and intervention efforts.

Sub Unit

• Book launches and Workshops / Workshop

Chair

• Jennifer Ryan, RTI International

Workshop Organizer

• Carmen Strigel, RTI International

Presenter

• Carmen Strigel, RTI International