Existing research and studies have shown that interventions to target teaching instruction by learning level and not grade is one of the most cost-effective approaches to improve global learning levels. The Targeted Instruction Program (TIP) tech tool developed by the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP) is created precisely to achieve targeted teaching.
In the upcoming academic year, CERP’s research will cover 2,700 public primary schools in four districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the TIP tech tool will be used to:
Diagnose student learning – we first need to map learning gaps with low-stakes student assessment
Sort students – Grade 2, 3 and 4 students within classroom will then be sorted into learning groups
Provide targeted instruction – for each learning group, curriculum-aligned student workbooks will be given to match their learning level
Track learning progress – quizzes are administered to determine if students have mastered the content
Iteration – iterative targeted instruction and tracking of learning progress is conducted to ensure effectiveness of targeted instruction
Engage household actors – information or guidance are sent to households of Class 2, 3, and 4 students to help parents also be involved in the child’s learning growth
This summer, my role includes:
Translating research requirements into UI/UX design changes – to ensure that different treatment groups are using different versions of the TIP tech tool. For example,
Teachers assigned to the Guided treatment group receive detailed learning plans, sorting of students according to learning levels, and tracking of student performance
Teachers assigned to the Information treatment group receive basic learning plans and tracking of student performance
Teachers assigned to the Control group only receive basic learning plans
Working with CERP’s UI/UX designer to convert the design changes into a minimum viable prototype – the prototype is further to used to develop a Product Requirement Document to detail the development tasks
Managing the app development process with CERP Labs’ software engineers – to ensure that the final version of the Tech Tool achieves the research objective set out by the Principal Investigators
In the last 2 months, my work has been completed remotely based in Cambridge, MA and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. To ensure that the development process can be as seamless as possible, the remaining duration of my internship will be completed in Lahore, Pakistan where the CERP Labs team is based at. Even though I have previously worked significantly in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh, Pakistan will be a completely new environment for me, and I am excited for this opportunity to further enrich my understanding of the region!
