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The Search for Better Math Results in Schools May Have Found an Efficient and Affordable Solution. A Study Conducted in the United States Showed That a Simple and Low-Cost Method, Applicable by Teachers with Ease, Can Significantly Improve Student Performance.
Brazilian students’ performance in mathematics is among the lowest in Latin America. And the pandemic made this situation even worse. Many students faced difficulties with remote learning, had limited access to educational resources, and, in many cases, dropped out of school.
Now, a collaborative study demonstrates that simple email messages, based on behavioral science, can assist teachers in improving student outcomes.
The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was led by scholars from the Behavior Change for Good Initiative (BCFG) at the University of Pennsylvania.
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The work points out that these small nudges had a positive impact, even being low-cost and simple.
An Old Math Problem, A Modern Solution
Previous research had shown that behavioral science techniques help motivate students. Now, the researchers decided to apply these techniques directly to teachers, seeking the same effect.
To do this, they collaborated with Zearn Math, a nonprofit educational platform.
It was this partnership that allowed for the experiment to be implemented on a large scale and overcome the high costs and logistical challenges common in this type of research.
One of the Largest Studies Ever Conducted with Teachers on Math
The scale of the study is striking. More than 140,000 teachers and nearly 3 million elementary school students participated in the initiative.
The researchers tested 15 different types of email messages. All were compared to a group that received only standard reminders.
These messages were not random. They were constructed based on insights from behavioral science.
One of them, for example, suggested that teachers create a specific plan for using the platform during that week. This approach relies on the idea that detailed plans help turn intention into action.
Another message asked teachers to consider their own students’ situations, prompting empathy. Previous studies had indicated that empathy can improve student performance.
Positive Results, Even If Small
The impact of the messages was modest but real. During the four-week intervention period, students of teachers who received emails with behavioral content showed an average progress of 1.89% greater in mathematics than the others.
Among all the interventions tested, the most effective one encouraged teachers to access personalized reports on their students’ progress weekly. This simple habit led to a 5.06% improvement in student performance.
Angela Duckworth, one of the study’s authors, stated that the results were consistent across different schools. Moreover, the positive effects persisted for up to eight weeks after the end of the messages.
For Duckworth, this shows that “simple and low-cost stimuli can help teachers support students’ progress in mathematics.”
Personalized Incentives Work Better
One of the most interesting conclusions from the study was the superior performance of personalized messages. When the emails referenced specific data about the teacher’s own students, the impact was greater.
According to Duckworth, this may be related to teachers’ intrinsic motivation. Upon seeing their students’ data, they feel more engaged. “It may be that capitalizing on teachers’ intrinsic motivation to help their students is a distinct and potentially cost-effective approach,” she stated.
This discovery paves the way to explore strategies that go beyond financial incentives, such as performance bonuses. Emotional and direct accountability stimuli may play a significant role.
A Promising Field for New Research
Despite the positive results, the researchers acknowledge that the effects were small. Katy Milkman, a co-author of the study, reminds us that changing human behavior is a challenge. Therefore, she believes that more intense support than simple email reminders will be necessary.
Still, the authors consider the study promising. They intend to continue with more field tests to confirm the causal benefits of these interventions and better understand why they work.
Another goal is to investigate the impact of the messages over time. After all, knowing whether the gains persist in the following months is essential to assess the real value of each approach.
Evidence-Based Education
For the researchers, understanding what makes certain interventions work is crucial. The more they know about the mechanisms behind these actions, the more effective educational policies will be in the future.
“Ultimately, this line of research can help shape smarter and more effective educational policies,” concludes Duckworth.
The use of simple, science-based tools can be a viable solution to improve student performance on a large scale. And this, even in a complex scenario like mathematics in American schools, shows that progress is possible.
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