Rural Education Action Program’s Online Computer-Assisted Learning (O-CAL) Program in China

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

Proposal

Focused on China, the Rural Education Action Program’s (REAP) Online Computer-Assisted Learning program (O-CAL) provides primary-aged students with technology-based remedial resources in mathematics, English, and Chinese language arts. O-CAL is a game-based learning software, with learning material tied to the Chinese curriculum. Students can practice the exact material they are learning in the current unit of their textbooks, and they can also review material from previous units. O-CAL also has some basic adaptive features: as individual students progress through the content, the difficulty level of the exercises - submitted and vetted by teachers across China - automatically adjusts based on the child’s learning progress. After completing each exercise, the students also receive immediate feedback, including the correct answer to the question and an explanation for how to solve it.

Based on 11 randomized evaluations in China and two in Taiwan, there is consistent evidence of the impact of O-CAL on improving math, English, and Mandarin test scores for children in grades 3 to 6. In most cases, grades have improved significantly after students use O-CAL for at least 30 minutes once per week for one academic semester. Most evaluations also showed equal learning improvements regardless of student gender.

While this broad body of research on O-CAL shows that the program can be implemented effectively both in-school, such as during computer class or at lunch time, as well as after-school, most evaluations measured the impact of supplemental O-CAL. In practice, this means that students received additional instructional time through O-CAL on the academic subjects covered by the curriculum. Thus, researchers are investigating whether some of the learning gains could be driven by the additional learning time rather than the technology aspect of O-CAL alone. One evaluation (Ma et al. 2020), found that when compared to a pencil-and-paper workbook, there was no additional “technology effect” of using CAL on student academic performance. In this example, the content and duration of the CAL program and pencil-and-paper program were identical.

This evidence supports the broader literature that school-based inputs alone, such as technology hardware, are not effective at improving learning outcomes unless they are combined with accompanying changes in pedagogy or school governance.

Finally, existing research on O-CAL suggests the importance of ensuring the classroom teacher or facilitator follows the intervention protocol to ensure students can access the software. In all cases, the facilitators are responsible for taking students into the computer lab so that they can use the software, as well as for helping them log in to their accounts and troubleshoot any technical issues that arise. Evaluations have shown that when facilitators do not follow the instructions, students are unable to use O-CAL, and there are limited to no positive impacts on their academic performance.

O-CAL is a free software that both teachers and learners in China can access via laptop, computer, phone, or tablet. To increase access to O-CAL, REAP is partnering with Dell, Inc to provide access to these remedial resources across rural China.

Author

• Cody Abbey, Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions