The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and Nominet Trust £3.5 million grant will fund 12 projects to work with 260 pupils in 1,800 schools across England that will rigorously test ways of using digital technology to help understand the impact on learning and find new ways to engage with pupils and parents.
Bristol’s Centre for Market and Public Organisation has been successful in securing funding tor three of the 12 projects that will assess the use of text messages to increase parental involvement in their child’s education, the impact of physical activity on cognitive performance, and the impact of teachers observing each others’ lessons on their own effectiveness.
Professor Simon Burgess, Director of the University’s Centre for Market and Public Organisation, said: "We very much welcome the opportunity that this EEF funding brings to deliver three innovative randomised control trials (RCTs) in education. When added to the three RCTs we are already running, it shows that the Centre for Market and Public Organisation is building up a new area of strength and expertise on teacher observation.”
The first project, led jointly by academics at the Universities of Bristol and Harvard will test the benefit of using text messages to increase the involvement of parents in their child’s education. Based on a similar scheme in the United States, which led to a significant improvement in results, 34 schools will use texts to provide information about homework, behaviour and upcoming tests. The project is being run by Raj Chande and Professor Simon Burgess from Bristol with Professor Todd Rogers from Harvard.
Raj Chande said: “Parental engagement in a child's learning is almost universally agreed to be a 'good thing'. This large-scale project will develop and test a low-cost programme designed to increase parental engagement.”
The second project, co-funded by Nike Inc. as part of the 'Designed to Move' initiative, and also led by Raj Chande, will explore the impact of short bursts of physical activity on academic outcomes in English and Maths.
Mr Chande added: “Most people know that regular exercise improves health outcomes, though recent research has also found that physical activity also improves cognitive performance. This feasibility study will test an approach that integrates physical activity into numeracy and literacy lessons on attainment and health levels.”
The third project, led by Professor Simon Burgess, will explore the impact of teachers observing each others’ lessons on their own effectiveness. Teacher effectiveness is crucial to pupils' attainment, and this large-scale national project will evaluate the impact of structured and frequent observation of lessons by other teachers in the school.
Dr Kevan Collins, Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “To narrow the gap and avoid wasting resources teachers need to have access to high-quality information. These exciting grants will help identify the most effective ways to use digital technology to improve learning for the most disadvantaged pupils in our schools.”
Dan Sutch, Head of Development Research at Nominet Trust, commented: “The more we can understand where technology best supports learning and teaching the better. We’re really excited to be able to support these projects and to develop a deeper understanding of where well designed, and well used digital technologies can enhance learners’ attainment and experiences.”