Evaluating Digital Personalised Learning in Kenya: an exploratory analysis of integrating an adaptive learning tool into classroom instruction

Rebecca Daltry, EdTech Hub, Jigsaw; Louis Major, University of Manchester, EdTech Hub; Katy Jordan, University of Cambridge, EdTech Hub; Mary Otieno, Kenyatta University, WERK; Kevin Otieno, WERK; Tom Kaye, EdTech Hub; Aidan Friedberg, EIDU

In the context of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), digital personalised learning (DPL) could play an important role in ensuring more inclusive and equitable access to education, through its potential to address a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to education (FitzGerald et al., 2018). The first meta-analysis of DPL in LMICs reveals how this can have a statistically significant positive impact on learning outcomes (0.18 effect size: Major et al., 2021). However, limited research has examined the effectiveness of DPL when integrated into classroom practice.

In this presentation, we report findings from the first phase of an innovative new design-based research study focusing on integrating DPL into Kenyan classrooms – part of a wider research partnership between EdTech Hub, Women Educational Researchers of Kenya (WERK) and EIDU (a leading DPL provider). EIDU offers a DPL platform, deployed on low-cost Android devices in pre-primary and primary classrooms. The software facilitates adaptive assessment and measurement strategies, generating continuous insights into learning. In Kenya, this is aligned with a structured pedagogy programme (Tayari), enabling the integration of digital content with classroom instruction.

At present, we are working with a sample of up to 200 participants, including pre-primary learners, teachers, headteachers and early-childhood development officers. The six participating schools are located in urban and peri-urban districts of Mombasa, Kenya; these were purposively selected based on the number and size of PP1 and PP2 classes, mean usage of the DPL tool and locality. Data were collected via classroom observations and interviews/focus groups, and analysed through systematic coding and thematic analysis. We will share insights from this exploratory phase, drawing on the experiences of participants in using a DPL tool in this context. We also explore the pedagogic and technical challenges, and look towards implications for the next phase of the research partnership and the wider research field.