Pedagogical features of interactive apps for effective learning of foundational skills     

Bethany Huntington  James Goulding  Nicola J. Pitchford 《British journal of educational technology : journal of the Council for Educational Technology》2023,54(5):1273-1291

Interactive apps are commonly used to support the acquisition of foundational skills. Yet little is known about how pedagogical features of such apps affect learning outcomes, attainment and motivation—particularly when deployed in lower-income contexts, where educational gains are most needed. In this study, we analyse which app features are most effective in supporting the acquisition of foundational literacy and numeracy skills. We compare five apps developed for the Global Learning XPRIZE and deployed to 2041 out-of-school children in 172 remote Tanzanian villages. A total of 41 non-expert participants each provided 165 comparative judgements of the five apps from the competition, across 15 pedagogical features. Analysis and modelling of these 6765 comparisons indicate that the apps created by the joint winners of the XPRIZE, who produced the greatest learning outcomes over the 15-month field trial, shared six pedagogical features—autonomous learning, motor skills, task structure, engagement, language demand and personalisation. Results demonstrate that this combination of features is effective at supporting learning of foundational skills and has a positive impact on educational outcomes. To maximise learning potential in environments with both limited resources and deployment opportunities, developers should focus attention on this combination of features, especially for out-of-school children in low- and middle-income countries.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Interactive apps are becoming common to support foundational learning for children both in and out of school settings.
• The Global Learning XPRIZE competition demonstrates that learning apps can facilitate learning improvements in out-of-school children living in sub-Saharan Africa.
• To understand which app features are most important in supporting learning in these contexts, we need to establish which pedagogical features were shared by the winning apps.

What this paper adds

• Effective learning of foundational skills can be achieved with a range of pedagogical features.
• To maximise learning, apps should focus on combining elements of autonomous learning, motor skills, task structure, engagement, language demand and personalisation.
• Free Play is not a key pedagogical feature to facilitate learning within this context.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• When developing learning apps with primary-aged, out-of-school children in low-income contexts, app developers should try to incorporate the six key features associated with improving learning outcomes.
• Governments, school leaders and parents should use these findings to inform their decisions when choosing an appropriate learning app for children.

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Industry and Education: A Winning Combination     

John H. Payne  Cathy Williams-Foster 《Performance Improvement》1997,36(1):18-20

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The achievement gap: The impact of between-class attainment grouping on pupil attainment and educational equity over time     

Jeremy Hodgen  Becky Taylor  Becky Francis  Nicole Craig  Nicola Bretscher  Antonina Tereshchenko  Paul Connolly  Anna Mazenod 《British Educational Research Journal》2023,49(2):209-230

Despite extensive research on attainment grouping, the impact of attainment grouping on pupil attainment remains poorly understood and contested. This paper presents evidence from a study conducted with 2944 12–13 year olds, from 76 schools in England, who were allocated to between-class attainment groups (‘setting’) in English and mathematics over the first 2 years of secondary schooling. After controlling for prior attainment, pupils in the top set performed significantly better than pupils in the middle and bottom sets in both English and mathematics. The findings indicate a widening gap in attainment, especially in the case of English. Findings, especially in the case of mathematics, provide more evidence of a relative benefit for pupils placed in top sets than a relative detriment for those in bottom sets.  相似文献