This CIES 2018 presentation is an overview of findings from classroom observations of teachers implementing the Jordan RAMP initiative problem-solving technique in teaching early grade mathematics. The presentation was given by Aarnout Brombacher, RTI's Senior Technical Advisor for the Jordan RAMP initiative.

The Uganda Early Years Enrolment and Repetition Study presentation references the work undertaken by RTI International to examine repetition rates and over-enrolment in primary 1 in Uganda, to analyze the financial impact of these inefficiencies in the education sector, and present a cost projection model to examine the impact of investments made to pre-primary and early primary.

This presentation was prepared for UNESCO Mobile Learning Week, 2018. It describes an RTI International internal research program to learn whether mobile gaming can be used to assess soft skills important for employability. The presentation was created by Lee Nordstrum and delivered by Sarah Pouezevara.

Executive Function (EF) refers to a range of cognitive skills that are key to problem solving and a child's ability to “learn how to learn.” These skills experience an important growth period during early childhood; thus, between 2005 and 2010, researches at the University of North Carolina designed a battery of tools to measure these skills in pre-school aged children known as EF Touch. In 2016, RTI International – a research institute dedicated to evidence-based approaches to education policy and practice - identified EF Touch as a unique opportunity to integrate early childhood EF measurement in its battery of existing international education assessment tools. EF Touch was originally developed by UNC in note card format; then adapted to a paper and pencil format; and later transitioned to laptop and touch-screen monitor “station” requiring two assessors and an expensive third party scoring software. Although the laptop mediated approach was an improvement on paper-based administration, it was still clear that this model was not sustainable, portable, or cost effective for large deployment in the low and middle income (LMIC) contexts where RTI most often works – and where very little research on EFs in young children has been thus far conducted). Therefore, RTI sought to adapt Tangerine® - an open source software designed by RTI for low cost, large-scale, offline assessment – for use in the administration of EF Touch. More than 60 organizations worldwide have used Tangerine on tablets to conduct 1,500,000+ surveys in 70 countries and 100 languages. To accommodate the specific requirements of EF Touch, the Tangerine platform needed extensive modification to accommodate the specific needs of EF touch, including new A/V capabilities, unique millisecond time-stamps indicating reaction time, plus the development of complex skip logic commands tailored to individual performance. The resulting Tangerine-mediated battery of EF Touch tasks were designed to remain scientifically rigorous while significantly reducing costs (one assessor, one tablet); increasing scalability in developing country contexts (offline assessment); and reducing the burden of complicated data entry (data uploaded directly to the server). This presentation provides an overview of EF touch, including the adaptation process to Tangerine and recent results from two field deployments in Kenya. The attached presentation does not contain video files to due the attachment size. The full presentation with videos of task demonstrations can be found via the included google drive link.

This presentation was delivered by Wendi Ralaingita at the Open Learning Exchange (OLE) conference in Kathmandu, Nepal (November 2017). It provides an overview of RTI's evidence-based approach to ICT integration, based largely on the Improvement Science literature, particularly Edward Deming. Describes uses of Tangerine open-source software for teacher coaching (Tangerine:Tutor) and classroom continuous assessment (Tangerine:Class) as well as hearing and vision screening tools integrated with EGRA and EGMA assessments.

This is a presentation about Tangerine:Class, which was delivered at the 2016 Pacific Circle Consortium in Saipan.

Presentation delivered at the ICT4D 2017 Conference in Hyderabad. Taking successful pilot projects to scale should be the goal of any pilot program; yet often projects address scale only as an afterthought. The challenges of realizing large-scale impact, and of seeing that impact sustained, are not new to development. However, they are being approached with renewed interest and attention in the education sector. This presentation examines the issue of scale up in basic education programs in seven countries where interventions to improve early grade reading are being taken to scale--some with project support, some through government initiative. Management Systems International's framework for taking projects to scale, and the framework defined in the Brookings Institute's Millions Learning report are used to examine how scale has been and is occurring in selected countries, and we look at how scale is achieved in ICT projects. The presenter invites participants to be active discussants in this presentation, sharing their experiences and providing feedback on the relevancy of the proposed frameworks for ICT at scale

Presentation delivered at CIES2017 (Atlanta). A challenge of large-scale education research projects in international development is determining the most appropriate way to effectively report findings for a wide variety of audiences (e.g., researchers, ministry officials, donors, and other relevant stakeholders). It is important to consider technical rigor and accessibility, while ultimately providing results that can be used to inform policy and instruction. Using Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) data from Uganda in two languages, we are replicating an approach for categorizing students into learning profiles, which are directly tied to their particular instructional needs. We have conducted this analysis previously with data from Indonesia. We had conceptualized on the framework to be used across different context This study reports on the efficacy of using the same method with this sample with Luganda speakers. We divided students into five learning profiles based on their reading ability (Next Grade Ready, Fluent, Instructional, Beginner, and Nonreader) and then examined the relationship among these profiles and their reading skills on a variety of EGRA subtasks to determine the instructional need required to promote students from one profile to the next. Our learner profile method has been used with data in two countries and two languages. EGRA has been used in over 70 countries and in more than 100 languages. This study is an initial attempt to explore the value in this method.

Presentation delivered at CIES 2017 (Atlanta). As the READ TA project’s main focus is on providing technical assistance to and building the capacity of the Ethiopian Ministry of Education and its Regional Education Bureaus to develop and conduct the foundational components of a reading program (i.e., curriculum development, in-service and pre-service teacher training, and teacher support), the project has had to work through government systems to accomplish its objectives. This has provided great opportunities along with challenges. While there are some activities in which the project has direct involvement in the inputs and outcomes (curriculum development workshops, training of trainers, incorporating technology), there are others which are largely outside of the control of the project (printing of textbooks, training of teachers, government approvals). But all activities are necessary for the reading program to be successful. This requires establishing strong collaborative relationships with government counterparts and having the flexibility to adjust to the ever-changing situation.

Presentation delivered at CIES 2017 (Atlanta). In Ethiopia, English as a second language has been taught as a subject in primary schools for many years. At the same time, English has been used as the medium of instruction (MOI) beginning in the upper primary school level. Although the English curriculum has been reviewed and revised a number of times, early grade reading assessments of English indicate that students’ performance continues to be very low in Ethiopia. Other research indicates that one of the major obstacles for providing quality education in secondary and higher education in Ethiopia is the lack of English language proficiency in most students. This presentation will discuss how the USAID-funded READ TA Project is working with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education (MOE) to address this problem by revising the English curriculum to more explicitly focus on preparing students to use English as a MOI for all subjects in the upper primary years. By treating English as a future MOI rather than merely as a second language the MOE hopes to make improvements in English proficiency and the quality of education. In order to understand how to best improve the English curriculum the project worked with the MOE to conduct a desk review of the current curriculum along with a nationally representative field study to learn how English is being implemented in schools. As a result, major gaps were identified related to challenges in transition to English as medium of instruction, language content, the teaching-learning approach, alignment of mother tongue and English, and teacher training. To address these gaps READ TA has followed an innovative approach, which was not practiced in previous years, in revising English curriculum materials. This starts from understanding that the English curriculum should be revised comprehensively from kindergarten to grade 12 to have a very clear picture of the progression and ensure cohesion across the grades. It also is based on the understanding that children learn to read and write best in their mother tongue which allows them to bridge to learning to read and write in an additional language (such as English). With this understanding a diverse team of professionals was compiled including reading experts, curriculum experts, gender experts, inclusive education experts, developmental psychologists, assessment experts, and representatives from each of the regions and the MOE.. Quality assurance was taken as a key issue, by making quality assurance at different levels: quality assurance via the support and follow up of lead consultants, quality enhancement through inclusion of high level experts in each team, establishment of an internal quality assurance team which reviews the final product of the development team and provides feedback before the curriculum documents are presented for a wider group, and the formal validation with representatives from the regions and MOE. Another innovative aspect of the revision process is the deliberate attempt made to align the mother tongue and English language curriculum in terms of theme, language content and teaching-learning approach. Alignment of the English school curriculum and college curriculum for English teacher training is also a new experience in the country. By doing so READ TA is enhancing the experience and capacity of diverse professionals while producing quality English curriculum materials and contributing to enhancing the quality of education in Ethiopia.