In-school sites in Lilongwe
We serve children at two government-run primary schools
We’re finding out whether children can attain reading fluency and comparable numeracy skills with 40 minutes of daily use of the tablet-based curriculum for 1-2 school years.
Informal school and out-of-school sites in Dzaleka
We serve children enrolled at Integrity Church School and takenoLAB
We’re learning what types of implementation and delivery will enable children to achieve significant learning gains in informal and out-of-school settings.
Integrity Church School
Serving 5-8 year-olds in an informal school
- Location: Dzaleka Refugee Camp
- Curriculum and Language of Instruction: Math (in English)
- Research Focus: Can young children whose first language is not English achieve significant math gains over those resulting from standard instruction when using a digital learning program in English?
- Type of Study: Initial implementation study followed by a proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial
takenoLAB
Serving 6-12 year-olds in a community center
- Location: Dzaleka Refugee Camp
- Curriculum and Language of Instruction: Math and Literacy (in English)
- Research Focus: What implementation model best serves out-of-school children?
- Type of Study: Short-term implementation studies
GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS (Unlocking Talent)
Serving second graders in public schools
- Location: Two Government Primary Schools, Lilongwe
- Curriculum and Language of Instruction: Math and Literacy (in Chichewa)
- Research Focus: Can children can attain reading fluency with comprehension and comparable numeracy skills with 40 minutes of daily use of the tablet-based learning curriculum for 1-2 school years? How much time does it take for children to attain these learning goals?
- Type of Study: Long-term, randomized controlled trial
The Faces of Malawi
State of Education in Malawi
Malawi’s 3.5 million young children are packed into just 5,300 primary schools.
Since the introduction of free primary education in 1994, Malawi’s education system struggles with overcrowding in classrooms, lack of learning materials, shortage of trained teachers, and high student-to-teacher ratios.
Population: 18 million
Number of early grade children: 3.5 million
Official student to teacher ratio: 70:1
Primary school completion rate: 79%
Minimum reading proficiency achieved by the end of primary: 24%
Official literacy rate: 62%
Impact
In Malawi, over 1,750 children have participated in our studies. Our 8-month randomized controlled trial (RCT) showed important learning impacts in literacy and math for both girls and boys. For an executive summary of these positive results, click here. For the full research report, click here.
