Back to History Current Version

Scaling up virtual learning of online learning in high schools

Last registered on July 23, 2020
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Scaling up virtual learning of online learning in high schools
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005982
Initial registration date
June 09, 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
June 10, 2020, 10:44 AM EDT

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

Last updated
July 23, 2020, 9:52 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Ecuador
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
David McKenzie
Affiliation
World Bank
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Igor Asanov
PI Affiliation
University of Kassel
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2020-05-18
End date
2020-12-31
Keywords
Education, Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
soft skills, entrepreneurship
JEL code(s)
O12, O14, M31, L26
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We have an ongoing evaluation that tests the impacts of a training program that uses online learning for 15-17 years old high school students, with a focus on teaching entrepreneurial skills and a scientific mindset. That program was taught using computers in schools, during school time, until schools were closed with the COVID-19 pandemic, after which students continued to finish the material from their homes. With the COVID-19 pandemic closing schools, school systems have been looking for content and ways to engage students. We therefore are testing the impact of launching this material to another region of the country. We are interested in two key questions:
1) How can we best encourage take-up and usage of online learning materials among high school students during the COVID-19 school closures? This will be tested by comparing the impact of different nudges, reminders, and other interventions to encourage take-up and usage..
2) What is the impact of this program on learning outcomes? This will involve comparing impacts for students who are assigned to the personal initiative and negotiations classes to those who receive other courses. We will then also compare the learning gains from this virtual learning to those from students in our first experiment, who did most of the learning under teacher supervision in schools.
External Link(s)
Link to related trial

Registration Citation

Citation
Asanov, Igor and David McKenzie. 2020. "Scaling up virtual learning of online learning in high schools." AEA RCT Registry. July 23. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5982-1.1
Sponsors & Partners

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We have two types of interventions: the training interventions, and then interventions to enhance take-up of training.

Training interventions:
Schools are randomly assigned to one of the following four treatment groups:
1) Personal initiative + Negotiations training + Role Model videos
2) Personal initiative + Negotiations training + Placebo videos
3) Spanish + Statistics + Role Model videos
4) Spanish + Statistics + Placebo videos

Interventions to enhance the take-up of training:
We are testing different interventions to encourage take-up and usage of the online platform. These include:
i) control group
ii) lottery reminder to students - students earn a ticket for a lottery prize for each completed module
iii) Encouragement to students to find a student peer to study together
iv) Encouragement to students for those who complete their work
v) Benchmarking SMS to students for those below the median
vi) Role model testimonials/motivational videos to teachers from teachers and students who have already completed the course
vii) Reminder about monitoring and deadline to teachers
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2020-05-18
Intervention End Date
2020-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We have two sets of outcomes: take-up outcomes, and learning outcomes.

Take-up outcomes:
1) Proportion of students who complete at least one module
2) Number of modules completed by students
3) Total days spent active on platform

Learning outcomes:
Test scores of learning based on Spanish and English literacy, knowledge of statistics, science, negotiations and personal initiative.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Course type is randomized at the school level to one of the following:
1) Personal initiative + Negotiations training + Role Model videos
2) Personal initiative + Negotiations training + Placebo videos
3) Spanish + Statistics + Role Model videos
4) Spanish + Statistics + Placebo videos

Take-up interventions are randomized at the individual level or class/teacher level, depending on the intervention.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by computer or on the online platform
Randomization Unit
School for main interventions
Class for some take-up interventions
Student for individual interventions
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
416 schools
532 classes
Approximately 24,000 potential students
Sample size: planned number of observations
We will only observe outcomes for students who log in once to the platform - which we anticipate to be over 10,000 students.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
104 schools in each treatment group
127 to 136 classes in each treatment group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Innovations for Poverty Action - IRB
IRB Approval Date
2020-05-18
IRB Approval Number
15629
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre-Analysis Plan Take Take-up Interventions in the National Level (Highlands Regime) 23 July 2020

MD5: 227c56dba77ca959f1245f82c19e5e2e

SHA1: a7825da2e4497d537a1d8ef43eb7d7702d75cd12

Uploaded At: July 23, 2020

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials