Randomized A/B tests within online learning platforms represent an exciting direction in learning sciences. With minimal assumptions, they allow causal effect estimation without confounding bias and exact statistical inference even in small samples. However, often experimental samples and/or treatment effects are small, A/B tests are underpowered,…

Randomized evaluations of educational technology produce log data as a bi-product: highly granular data on student and teacher usage. These datasets could shed light on causal mechanisms, effect heterogeneity, or optimal use. However, there are methodological challenges: implementation is not randomized and is only defined for the treatment group,…

Although there is increasing acceptance that personalization improves learning outcomes, there is still limited experimental evidence supporting this claim. The aim of this study was to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of an adaptive recommendation system for Singapore primary and secondary education. The system leverages users trace data…

Learner-centered coaching and feedback are relevant to various educational contexts. Spaced retrieval enhances long-term knowledge retention. We examined the efficacy of Blank Slate, a novel spaced retrieval software application, to promote learning and prevent forgetting, while gathering and analyzing data in the background about learners'…

Researchers often include covariates when they analyze the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), valuing the increased precision of the estimates over the potential of inducing small-sample bias when doing so. In this paper, we develop a sufficient condition which ensures that the inclusion of covariates does not induce small-sample bias…

Low- and middle-income countries have made significant progress getting children into school, but student learning and achievement are often dreadfully low (Berry, Barnett, & Hinton, 2015; Pritchett, 2013). Approximately 250 million children across the world are not acquiring basic reading and math skills, even though about half have spent at…

The time, material, and staff-consuming nature of anatomy's traditional pen-and-paper assessment system, the increase in the number of students enrolling in medical schools and the ever-escalating workload of academic staff have made the use of computer-based assessment (CBA) an attractive proposition. To understand the impact of such shift in the…

Randomized control trials (RCTs) are commonly regarded as the 'gold standard' for evaluating educational interventions. While this experimental design is valuable in establishing causal relationships between the tested intervention and outcomes, reliance on statistical aggregation typically underplays the situated context in which interventions…

Information provided at the moment a person makes a decision can influence behavior in predictable ways. The United Kingdom's Behavioural Insights Team have used this idea to help improve the insulation of lofts, collect taxes, and even reduce litter. The authors of this article developed software that appends a personalized message to each…

The focus of the learning analytics community bridges the gap between controlled educational research and data mining. Online learning platforms can be used to conduct randomized controlled trials to assist in the development of interventions that increase learning gains; datasets from such research can act as a treasure trove for inquisitive data…

RAND Europe evaluated the implementation of a technology-based intervention that made use of the Microsoft Immersive Reader (IR) in UK classrooms for eight- and nine-year-old pupils. This is the first evaluation of this intervention that uses a randomised control trial (RCT) design, following promising findings related to the use of IR from a…

This article takes its point of departure in the research methodology of a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary innovative intervention study in Swedish preschools with preschoolers aged 3-5, involving two digital learning games focusing early math and executive functions. Based on a combination of video-ethnography, focus groups, field notes and…

Bayesian statistical methods have become more feasible to implement with advances in computing but are not commonly used in educational research. In contrast to frequentist approaches that take hypotheses (and the associated parameters) as fixed, Bayesian methods take data as fixed and hypotheses as random. This difference means that Bayesian…

Background/Context: Large-scale randomized controlled experiments conducted in authentic learning environments are commonly high stakes, carrying extensive costs and requiring lengthy commitments for all-or-nothing results amidst many potential obstacles. Educational technologies harbor an untapped potential to provide researchers with access to…

Background/Context: Large-scale randomized controlled experiments conducted in authentic learning environments are commonly high stakes, carrying extensive costs and requiring lengthy commitments for all-or-nothing results amidst many potential obstacles. Educational technologies harbor an untapped potential to provide researchers with access to…