Open Learning ExchangeUniversal Basic Education 2015

The Open Learning Exchange (OLE) has released the results of a year-long literacy study conducted in Rwanda using the “TeacherMate” handheld learning device created by Chicago-based Innovations for Learning.

“The results of the report are remarkable,” said Dr. Richard Rowe, CEO and Founder of the Open Learning Exchange in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “We believe this is the first time the introduction of a technology-supported learning system has shown substantial improvements in basic literacy in a developing country.”

OLE Rwanda conducted a pilot study of the TeacherMate Differentiated Learning System with 620 primary school students in Kigali. The project included monitoring control and experimental groups and testing students using the USAID/RTI standardized English literacy test for Rwanda. The results revealed that students using the TeacherMate had nearly triple the increases in literacy test scores compared with two different control groups: an average 36% increase in scores compared with 14% in each of the control groups.

According to Dr. Rowe, these findings are all the more impressive because “students had only 40 minutes per week with the TeacherMate instead of the recommended 100 minutes. Also, the teachers had no previous experience with ICT and they used the system for less than the full school year.”

A Rwandan student using TeacherMate

The use of the TeacherMate involves a total systems approach, not just one piece of the challenge. The Rwanda project included content aligned with the curriculum, high levels of interaction, frequent performance feedback for students, a Classroom Management System for teachers that supported customizing the learning process of each student, and the hardware that enabled this to happen. At approximately $50 per TeacherMate device, OLE has estimated the amortized cost of the program to be less than $5 per student per year. “This begins to be an effective approach that can scale quickly,” added Dr. Rowe.

As a result of this success, OLE is currently seeking financial support to continue the TeacherMate program in Rwanda and expand it to Uganda and Ghana in 2012. The second phase of the pilot will involve using the TeacherMate software on Apple’s iPod Touch devices in schools that have some access to the Internet, enabling OLE to use the accompanying Classroom Management System to track student progress wirelessly and to support the remote coaching of teachers. OLE will also be exploring the effects of increased home use. Kari Mruz, Project Manager for the Rwanda study, will continue as Director of this multi-nation expansion.

To download the full report, please click here. For more information about this study and to learn how to support this program, please contact info@ole.org.