The Effect of Encouragement in Education

Last registered on July 14, 2021

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Effect of Encouragement in Education
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007929
Initial registration date
July 14, 2021

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
July 14, 2021, 10:14 AM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Peking University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Renmin University of China
PI Affiliation
Peking University
PI Affiliation
Peking University
PI Affiliation
Peking University

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2021-07-15
End date
2021-08-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
In the era of artificial intelligence, humans will become the users of machines, some repetitive task and pure memory of knowledge will become relatively less important, and the powerful role of “thinking” will emerge. By then, one of the main purposes of learning will become to cultivate a series of core qualities and abilities that machines do not possess, rather than simply acquiring and memorizing knowledge. Therefore, education that meets the needs of traditional large-scale industries needs to be reformed to better meet the needs of social development, and to promote and lead human society to a better future. How to cultivate students’ emotional processing, deep communication, perception, creativity, innovation, insight, practical ability, leadership, organization, imagination, and independent thinking? What kind of means should be used to carry them out? These should become the questions that all teachers and parents need to think about in the era of artificial intelligence. This research plans to conduct a field experiment in the pre-requisite course of economics for high school students on the digital education platform of Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. Students will be randomly divided into two groups. Students in the control group will receive feedback on scores and objective answers to questions after each submission of homework. Students in the treatment group will additionally receive personalized feedback of their homework. Specifically, the treatment group wil be further divided into subgroups, in which we will provide neutral personalized feedback, positive feedback on their curiosity, or positive feedback on their creativity. After the course is over, researchers will send surveys to follow the students’ long-term effects.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Chen, Zeyang et al. 2021. "The Effect of Encouragement in Education." AEA RCT Registry. July 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7929-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This research plans to conduct a field experiment in the pre-requisite course of economics for high school students on the digital education platform of Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. Students will be randomly divided into two groups. Students in the control group will receive feedback on scores and objective answers to questions after each submission of homework. Students in the treatment group will additionally receive personalized feedback of their homework. Specifically, the treatment group wil be further divided into subgroups, in which we will provide neutral personalized feedback, positive feedback on their curiosity, or positive feedback on their creativity. After the course is over, researchers will send surveys to follow the students’ long-term effects.
Intervention Start Date
2021-07-15
Intervention End Date
2021-08-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Short-term effect
(1) Encouragement in education will increase students’ interest in the subject.
(2) Encouragement in education will increase students’ grades in the subject.
Long-term effect
(1) Encouragement in education will affect students’ choices of major.
(2) Encouragement in education will affect students’ choices of career.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This research plans to conduct a field experiment in the pre-requisite course of economics for high school students on the digital education platform of Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. Students will be randomly divided into two groups. Students in the control group will receive feedback on scores and objective answers to questions after each submission of homework. Students in the treatment group will additionally receive personalized feedback of their homework. Specifically, the treatment group wil be further divided into subgroups, in which we will provide neutral personalized feedback, positive feedback on their curiosity, or positive feedback on their creativity. After the course is over, researchers will send surveys to follow the students’ long-term effects.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
400 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
2400 observations (= 400 individuals * 6 homework feedbacks)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
600 observations (= 100 individuals * 6 homework feedbacks) in each group, 4 groups in total
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Institutional Review Board, Guanghua School of Management, Peking University
IRB Approval Date
2021-07-12
IRB Approval Number
#2021-25

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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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