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Stimulating Curiosity to Enhance Learning: Results from a Randomized Intervention

Last registered on January 16, 2023

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Stimulating Curiosity to Enhance Learning: Results from a Randomized Intervention
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003957
Initial registration date
March 08, 2019

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
March 08, 2019, 4:01 PM EST

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

Last updated
January 16, 2023, 8:59 AM EST

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

Locations

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
European University Institute

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University of Essex

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2018-09-14
End date
2020-07-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We evaluate a large-scale randomized educational intervention that aims to cultivate and stimulate curiosity in the classroom environment. The study is motivated by the evidence on the importance of curiosity as a fundamental driver of academic achievement. The intervention involves intensive teacher training, which has two components:
1. Curricular component: An interdisciplinary team of teachers, education consultants and pedagogy specialists designed a curriculum to be delivered by students’ own trained teachers. The curriculum contains visual and reading materials that emphasize the importance of having an inquisitive and open mind and the benefits of asking questions.

2. Pedagogical Component: Teachers receive various pedagogical (and practical) tips to practice inquiry-based learning and to create an inquisitive classroom culture.
Teachers are given 5 months to implement the proposed pedagogy supported by the activities prescribed in the curriculum. The trial involves 77 schools in the province of Mersin, Turkey, and targets the 4th and 5th-grade students.
The intervention will be evaluated with respect to experimental as well as achievement outcomes.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Alan, Sule and Ipek Mumcu. 2023. "Stimulating Curiosity to Enhance Learning: Results from a Randomized Intervention." AEA RCT Registry. January 16. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3957-1.2
Former Citation
Alan, Sule and Ipek Mumcu. 2023. "Stimulating Curiosity to Enhance Learning: Results from a Randomized Intervention." AEA RCT Registry. January 16. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3957/history/205496
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention involves intensive teacher training, which has two components:
1) Curricular component: Teachers were introduced a specifically designed curriculum to be implemented in classrooms within the 2018-2019 academic year. The curriculum was designed by an interdisciplinary team of teachers, education consultants, and pedagogy specialists. It contains visual and reading materials that emphasize the importance of having an inquisitive and open mind and the benefits of asking questions.
2) Pedagogical Component: Teachers receive various pedagogical (and practical) tips to practice inquiry-based learning and to create an inquisitive classroom culture.
A total of 85 teachers from 40 schools were invited to participate in seminars in November 2018. Teachers are given 5 months to implement the proposed pedagogy supported by the activities prescribed in the curriculum. All teachers who were assigned to treatment received the curriculum materials. The endline data collection is scheduled for April-May 2019.
Intervention Start Date
2018-11-15
Intervention End Date
2019-04-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Choices and performances in a novel behavioral task
Objective test scores
Official end-of-year grades
Educational aspirations (study majors)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Choices and performances in a novel behavioral task: There will be 4 outcomes constructed using this task. These are i) interest in science, ii) desire to acquire knowledge, iii) knowledge retention, vi) transmission of knowledge within a network

Details of these constructions are given in our pre-analysis plan.

Test scores: We will conduct math, verbal and science tests in the class. The research team will prepare these tests based on the national curriculum of the relevant grade level. Performances in these tests will constitute our objective measures of math, verbal and science performances.
Grades: These will be end-of-year official grades. These grades are given by teachers based on students’ performances on exams, homework, and participation.

Educational aspirations: We will elicit students’ aspirations for study majors at the university.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
1) Perseverance
2) Self-confidence
3) Risk aversion and ambiguity aversion
4) Survey reports of curiosity

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
1. Perseverance. We will measure this using on a number of item set questions.
2. Self-confidence. For this, we will utilize our math, verbal and science tests. Specifically, we will ask students the number of questions they think they answered correctly for each test after the test is finished. The difference between the student's response and his/her actual performance constitute our self-confidence measure.
3. Risk aversion and ambiguity aversion. These will be measured via incentivized tasks.
4. Survey reports of curiosity. We will measure this using on a number of item set questions.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study is a clustered randomized controlled trial where the unit of randomization is school. There are 160 teachers from 77 schools recruited for the study. 50 of these schools are primary and 27 are post-primary. We assigned 40 schools to treatment (14 post-primary, 26 primary) and 37 schools to control (13 post-primary, 24 primary). We stratified randomization on grade level (post-primary/primary) and district within the province of Mersin.
Experimental Design Details
The study is a clustered randomized controlled trial where the unit of randomization is school. There are 160 teachers from 77 schools recruited for the study. 50 of these schools are primary and 27 are post-primary. We assigned 40 schools to treatment (14 post-primary, 26 primary) and 37 schools to control (13 post-primary, 24 primary). We stratified randomization on grade level (post-primary/primary) and district within the province of Mersin.
Randomization Method
Randomization was done in office by a computer using Stata
Randomization Unit
School
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
77 schools
Sample size: planned number of observations
The sample includes a total of 5892 officially registered students (baseline).
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
40 schools are assigned to treatment and 37 schools to control.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Attached as a separate document
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Essex Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2018-09-14
IRB Approval Number
IRB00000522
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Stimulating Curiosity to Enhance Learning

MD5: 0115776db52efd4f2405b1c516c66187

SHA1: 794e2fe953b1b9d6888fd00163a6d0bd776a178d

Uploaded At: March 08, 2019

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
June 30, 2020, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
November 29, 2021, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
50 schools
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
about 5000
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
50
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

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Program Files

Program Files
Yes
Program Files URL
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials