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The evidence-backed advice below is one in a series of topics from the EdTech Hub Helpdesk. Here we summarise recommendations from our work with governments, World Bank, FCDO, UNICEF and other education decision-makers.

There is significant evidence that teaching quality is one of the most significant determinants of learning outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. We know that teachers who are equipped with good pedagogical practices are crucial to engaging students in learning while schools are closed. Given that remote learning can impact the ability of teachers to be heavily engaged in learning, the role of non-formal educators — such as parents and caregivers or community-based teachers — has risen since mass school closures.

In a traditional classroom setting, effective teacher practices include well-structured lessons with frequent checks for understanding and adaptation to the needs of individual learners. Students benefit from high levels of interaction with teachers (‘teacher presence’) and a sense of community. Efforts to support educators to carry out remote learning should aim to foster these same practices. For example, radio programmes can prompt interaction between siblings listening together, or promote the atmosphere of a listener community by inviting individuals to submit questions via SMS.

Educators also need curriculum-aligned and contextually appropriate materials to support children’s learning at a distance. Given that this is time-intensive, materials should be developed in partnership with schools and governments. Where possible, we recommend content curation over creation. Open Educational Resources (OER) are open-source, freely available materials that can be modified and shared with others. OER have proven to be especially useful as teaching materials; they have the potential to provide high-quality resources that can be adjusted to address local circumstances.

Additional Resources

A multi-modal and data-driven approach is well aligned with effective distance learning approaches recommended by EdTech Hub (see Question 1). We at EdTech Hub are passionate about taking a learner-focused, rather than technology-first, perspective to our work. For many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), radio, television, and mobile devices present themselves as likely channels to reach a higher percentage of learners.

In addition to reading through this page, we also recommend that you check out our rapid evidence reviews on:

Radio

Damani and Mitchell (2020) highlighted the use of radio to promote problem-solving and student engagement during disruptions to schooling. Radio can have advantages in rural areas with limited electrical infrastructure since these devices can be operated using batteries and distributed at a low cost. However, the disadvantages of radio often include a lack of access to coverage in rural regions (i.e., lessons broadcast on a national station will not reach children in communities that cannot access the signal); this use case varies widely based on the country and is crucial to consider for the local context. While radio programming can be a cost-effective approach, especially when compared to other EdTech initiatives, it still requires significant implementation and maintenance costs.

For more information on radio, check out EdTech Hub’s slide summary of interactive radio instruction (IRI). Examples of IRI are also included in this curated resource list, covering resources from Rising Academies, the Education Development Center, and others, and World Bank’s knowledge pack on radio.

Television

Research supports the view that educational television can produce positive learning and socio-emotional outcomes and improve social reasoning. A study on Ubongo Kids, a Tanzanian television show, demonstrated positive learning outcomes for mathematics among children aged 7–16. The evidence suggested that Ubongo Kids was highly cost-effective due to low costs per viewer and a large viewer base (Watson, 2019). Moreover, educational television can support stigma reduction. Several studies point to the use of television to promote positive attitudes in children towards others with different backgrounds and cultures (Watson, 2020).

For more information on television, check out the World Bank’s note on educational television during Covid-19 and knowledge pack.

Messaging apps and SMS

Messaging can be used across a range of learning activities, as a channel to both foster interactions and deliver content. A scan of relevant studies points to the important role that caregivers play in enabling mobile phone access (Jordan and Mitchell, 2020).  Angrist et al. (2020) conducted a preliminary study on the effects of mobile-based interventions on learning outcomes for students in Botswana in the context of Covid-19 and minimizing learning loss. Early evidence supported that SMS text messages and phone calls were linked with learning gains of 0.16 to 0.29 standard deviations.

For more information on mobile-based initiatives, check out the World Bank’s knowledge pack on mobile distance & hybrid education solutions.