Reinforcing Higher Order Reasoning in the Classroom

Last registered on December 03, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Reinforcing Higher Order Reasoning in the Classroom
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015281
Initial registration date
January 25, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 27, 2025, 10:16 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
December 03, 2025, 9:04 AM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Sule Alan
Affiliation
Cornell University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-07-22
End date
2026-07-01
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
Behavior, Cognitive Development
JEL code(s)
I20, I31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We will evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based intervention designed to enhance multiple cognitive and higher order reasoning skills of highly disadvantaged children. The intervention began in October 2023 and is scheduled to conclude in April 2025, spanning two academic years from grade 2 to grade 3. It incorporates structured activities and materials aimed at improving pattern recognition, working memory, categorization and analogical reasoning. The program aims to improve children’s ability to learn the regular curriculum more effectively and to develop critical thinking, with the expectation of fostering lasting academic and socio-cognitive benefits. The trial covers a total of 132 primary schools in two provinces, Gaziantep and Sirnak in Southeast Turkiye, with 67 schools assigned to the program, 65 remain in control. The total sample size is approximately 14,000 students.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Alan, Sule. 2025. "Reinforcing Higher Order Reasoning in the Classroom." AEA RCT Registry. December 03. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15281-1.3
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention utilizes a set of curricular materials designed to enhance various components of higher order reasoning in young children. Its overarching goal is to accelerate learning and improve higher order reasoning skills in early primary school years. During the first year, the program focuses on developing pattern recognition, working memory, and analytical categorization skills. In the second year, it emphasizes analogical reasoning and pattern matching. Trained teachers were instructed to dedicate at least four hours per week to implementing the materials in regular class hours, possibly crowding out some core teaching. The program implementation has been ongoing since October 2023 and at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. The final endline data collection will take place in April/May 2026.
Intervention Start Date
2023-10-16
Intervention End Date
2025-06-06

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We will evaluate the effectiveness of the program with respect to:


Directly targeted cognitive skills:

Fluid IQ
Analytical categorization
Working memory
Analogical reasoning

Indirectly targeted cognitive skills:

Critical thinking
Attention
Cognitive empathy (ToM)
Crystallized IQ (Math and language skills)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
We will also measure various socioemotional skills, mainly to explore mechanisms: We plan to measure:


Growth mindset
Curiosity
Risk attitudes
Locus of control


We will also measure teachers' cognitive abilities, attitudes and styles to be able to conduct heterogeneity analysis based on teacher characteristics.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study involves 132 state primary schools, with 48 located in Şırnak and 84 in Gaziantep. Schools were assigned to the program with a 50% probability, using stratification by district. As a result, 67 schools were allocated to the treatment group and 65 to the control group.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Computer based, random number generator.
Randomization Unit
school
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
132 schools
Sample size: planned number of observations
approximately 14,000 pupils
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
67 treatment, 65 control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
5.15 Power Calculation: MDE for Main Outcomes Table 1: Minimum Detectable Effects (MDEs) for standardized outcome measures Significance Clusters Clusters Cluster size level Power in control in treatment (m1 = m2) ICC MDE Fluid IQ 0.05 0.8 65 67 116 0.092 0.154 Analogy making 0.05 0.8 65 67 116 0.074 0.140 Analytic categorization 0.05 0.8 65 67 116 0.022 0.085 Short-term memory 0.05 0.8 65 67 116 0.042 0.110 Cognitive empathy (ToM) 0.05 0.8 65 67 116 0.049 0.116 Attention 0.05 0.8 65 67 116 0.052 0.119 Conformity 0.05 0.8 65 67 116 0.013 0.071 Academic: Mathematics 0.05 0.8 65 67 116 0.105 0.163 Academic: Language 0.05 0.8 65 67 116 0.129 0.180 Academic: All 0.05 0.8 65 67 116 0.135 0.184 Notes: This table presents the minimum detectable effects (MDEs) for various outcome measures based on the given sample characteristics. Power calculations assume a significance level of 0.05 and a power of 0.8. The number of clusters in the control and treatment groups are 65 and 67, respectively, with an average cluster size of 116. The intra-cluster correlation coefficients (ICCs) are specified for each outcome measure. MDEs indicate the minimum detectable effect sizes in terms of standard deviation increases for each outcome.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Bilkent University Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2021-08-17
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

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