The Impacts and Mechanisms of Distance Learning Interventions in Rural China

Last registered on March 15, 2020
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Impacts and Mechanisms of Distance Learning Interventions in Rural China
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005547
Initial registration date
March 12, 2020

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 13, 2020, 12:42 PM EDT

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

Last updated
March 15, 2020, 10:12 PM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Yaojiang Shi
Affiliation
Center for Experimental Economics in Education at Shaanxi Normal University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Yiting Wan
PI Affiliation
TAL Education Group
PI Name
Tengfei Shi
PI Affiliation
Yuanshan Education Foundation
PI Name
Yi Lu
PI Affiliation
School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
PI Name
Hong Song
PI Affiliation
School of Economics, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
PI Name
Han Liu
PI Affiliation
Center for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
PI Name
Bin Tang
PI Affiliation
Center for Experimental Economics in Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2019-12-01
End date
2024-12-31
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
Distance Learning, Information Technology, RCT, Rural China
JEL code(s)
I24, I25, O12
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The project adopts three different treatments aimed at improving students’ learning in rural areas in China. The first treatment provides students "live" instruction online from a highly qualified teacher, the second treatment provides students with pre-recorded, and the third treatment provides teachers and students with teaching resources, teaching plans, short videos and other related teaching materials of urban excellent teachers. This project aims to compare the effects of the three interventions relative to the control group.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Shi, Yaojiang et al. 2020. "The Impacts and Mechanisms of Distance Learning Interventions in Rural China." AEA RCT Registry. March 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5547-1.2000000000000002
Sponsors & Partners

Sponsors

Partner

Name
YuanShan Education Foundation, Beijing, China
Type
ngo
URL
http://www.qxys.org.cn/#
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The project adopts three different treatments. The first treatment provides students "live" instruction online from a highly qualified teacher, the second treatment provides students with pre-recorded, and the third treatment provides teachers and students with teaching resources, teaching plans, short videos and other related teaching materials of urban excellent teachers.
Intervention Start Date
2020-03-31
Intervention End Date
2020-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
student's test score and non-cognitive measures
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
student's test score includes standardized test score given by research team and student’s test scores in school
non-cognitive measures include student’s Big-Five personality measures, self-efficacy, etc.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Teacher’s ratings, students’ learning interest, education aspiration, and mental health etc.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The project adopts three different treatments aimed at improving students’ English learning in rural areas in China. The first treatment provides students "live" instruction online from a highly qualified teacher, the second treatment provides students with pre-recorded, and the third treatment provides teachers and students with teaching resources, teaching plans, short videos and other related teaching materials of urban excellent teachers. In each treatment group, online instructors/project managers work with local teachers and dual-teacher links are forged to improve rural students’ English learning.
By cooperating with provincial education department in Gansu Province, we are able to carry out the trial in three prefectures and cover 200 rural schools. In each school, one class in Grade 3 and one in Grade 4 are randomly drawn to produce the final sample. An education foundation, sponsored by a top education company in China, provides intervention courses/materials to treatment schools for free and support the daily project management.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
School level
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
200 primary schools
Sample size: planned number of observations
around 10,000 to 15,000 primary students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment 1 live instruction: 50 schools
Treatment 2 pre-recorded instruction: 50 schools
Treatment 3 teacher’s discretion: 50 schools
Control: 50 schools
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
To fulfill statistical power, we assume that the minimum detectable effect size equals 0.2 SD.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Tsinghua SEM Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2019-11-15
IRB Approval Number
2019-TSEM-002
Analysis Plan