Session Submission Summary

Guidance on Evidence-Based Computer-Assisted Learning Approaches: Examples from China and India

Wed, April 20, 5:00 to 6:30pm CDT (5:00 to 6:30pm CDT), Hyatt Regency - Minneapolis, Floor: 2, Greenway A

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

For decades, education systems around the world have sought to ensure inclusive and equitable education for children and youth. Yet despite these efforts, the world has struggled to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal for quality education. Pre-pandemic, up to one in five children were out of primary school, and low levels of school quality meant that even among students regularly attending school, more than half were unable to meet minimum proficiency standards in reading and mathematics.

The global learning crisis has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which created the largest disruption of education systems in history. At the pandemic’s onset, school closures left 94 percent of students worldwide out of school. Today, as schools slowly reopen, 11 million students are at risk of permanently not returning to the classroom. Based on current projections, the share of children below minimum proficiency levels is expected to increase by 25 percent. Marginalized students are expected to be hardest hit, with the pandemic already exacerbating pre-existing education disparities among students living in poor or rural areas, girls, refugees, and students with disabilities.

In recent years, education technology has risen in prominence as a potential approach to address the global learning crisis. As of 2017, an industry report estimated the global education technology industry would be valued at US$252 billion. In a world affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, digital and remote learning options have become an even greater part of the discussion. In principle, education technology has the potential to improve educational access and instructional quality, enhance communication between education actors and households, increase engagement with the learning process, and support many other aspects of the education system. However, while education technology has great potential, just as with any innovation, it is critical to understand the effectiveness of such approaches, their impacts on equity, and the contextual factors necessary for proper implementation.

This panel will share general principles of evidence-based computer-assisted learning programs as well as two programs from China and India that demonstrate how these principles have been applied in different contexts and through different programs. Presenters will share an overview of their programs, findings from rigorous research, and future plans. These learnings will build on a guidance note developed in collaboration with many of the speakers on the panel through Unicef’s Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Initiative.

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