Working Paper: NBER ID: w25704
Authors: Sabrin A. Beg; Adrienne M. Lucas; Waqas Halim; Umar Saif
Abstract: Using two RCTs in middle schools in Pakistan, we show brief, expert-led, curriculum based videos integrated into the classroom experience improved teaching effectiveness–student test scores in math and science increased by 0.3 standard deviations, 60% more than the control group, after 4 months of exposure. Students and teachers increased their attendance, and students were more likely to pass the government high-stakes exams. In contrast, similar content when provided to students on personal tablets decreased student scores by 0.4SD. The contrast between the two effects shows the importance of engaging existing teachers and the potential for technology to do so.
Keywords: education technology; teacher engagement; student achievement; randomized controlled trials; Pakistan
JEL Codes: C93; I21; I25; I28; O15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| teacher engagement (A29) | student achievement (I24) |
| elearn classrooms (A22) | student achievement (I24) |
| elearn tablets (Y10) | student achievement (I24) |
| elearn classrooms (A22) | likelihood of passing PEC exam (P00) |
| elearn classrooms (A22) | teacher engagement (A29) |
| elearn tablets (Y10) | teacher engagement (A29) |