Dialling up Learning: Testing the Impact of Delivering Educational Content via IVR to Students and Teachers in Ghana

Abstract

An output of the EdTech Hub, https://edtechhub.org

Leveraging interactive voice response technology to mitigate COVID-19 risk in refugee settlements in Uganda: Lessons learned implementing “Dial-COVID” a toll-free mobile phone symptom surveillance and information dissemination tool

“…IVR has previously been used in remote and humanitarian contexts including in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Haiti, Niger, and Somalia to collect and disseminate information on a host of topics including food insecurity, cash transfers, aid presence, health behavior, and violence prevention [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. It is a flexible system that lends itself to a range of different content and has effectively been used in low-and middle-income countries for both information collection and dissemination during the COVID-19 pandemic [30][31][32][33][34]. IVR can be used as a standalone tool, or can be combined with other tools/methods to augment data collection and dissemination as was done by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, where participants were screened using an IVR survey to identify those eligible to receive a call back with a specific needs assessment survey [23, 24,35].…”

Toward a holistic approach to EdTech effectiveness: Lessons from Covid-19 research in Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Pakistan, and Sierra Leone

“…For instance, in a Bangladesh study, IVR showed positive effects on learning outcomes – mainly English literacy and numeracy – for primary school children along with other areas, with evidence also demonstrating increases in students’ interest, attention span and time investment in education ( Islam et al, 2022 ). However, positive effects were less pronounced in another IVR study in Ghana, only impacting one aspect of numeracy: place value knowledge ( Afoakwah et al, 2021 ). Online TaRL (in Pakistan) had variable effects for Grade 8 students, causing language scores to go up but not affecting maths scores ( Adil et al, 2021 ).…”

“…The issue of how to measure the impact on learning outcomes was a primary concern for nearly all of our studies, with most of them measuring learning gains directly ( Adil et al, 2021 , Afoakwah et al, 2021 , Amenya et al, 2021 , Aurino et al, 2022 , Islam et al, 2022 ), with others also collecting data in relation to perceived impacts on learning outcomes reported by participants (e.g., Hodor et al, 2021 ). Assessment tools used were mainly focused on foundational learning outcomes, often using instruments which have been developed and validated independently and composed of test items for both literacy and numeracy.…”

“…Student learning assessment tools used by the studies included: Adil et al (2021) : Language and mathematics tests administered for the ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) Survey, and grade-appropriate tests based on the Punjab textbook board syllabus for maths, English, and Urdu for older children. Afoakwah et al (2021) : Grade 4 TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) items ( TIMSS, 2013 ); Amenya et al (2021) : SeGRA (Senior Grade Reading Assessment) and SeGMA (Senior Grade Mathematics Assessment) covering literacy and mathematics for older pupils; Aurino et al (2022) : Literacy and numeracy were both assessed, using items from the IDELA (International Development and Early Learning Assessment; Pisani et al, 2018 ), EGRA (Early Grade Reading Assessment; RTI International, 2016 ), EGMA (Early Grade Math Assessment; Platas et al, 2014 ) and the Young Lives surveys ( Barnett et al, 2013 ); Islam et al, 2022 : Assessment taken from the national curriculum of Bangladesh covering English literacy, Bangla literacy, numeracy, and general knowledge ( Islam et al, 2022 , p.60); plus, Renzulli scales to measure noncognitive outcomes (with mothers as respondents) ( Renzulli et al, 2002 ). …”

“… Afoakwah et al (2021) : Grade 4 TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) items ( TIMSS, 2013 );…”