Today, we’ve published findings from independent evaluations of five different teaching and learning programmes. These include two pilot studies, which assess the feasibility of a programme or approach, and three randomised controlled trials (RCT), which measure its impact on attainment or other outcomes.
All five trials were commissioned through our work to build the evidence base of what works to raise the attainment of children and young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Stop and Think
This RCT tested a whole-class game-based computer programme. The software aims to boost attainment by improving pupils’ ability to adapt to counterintuitive concepts in maths and science like ‘the earth is round’, or ‘-5 is less than ‑2’. It does this by training pupils to inhibit their initial, often incorrect, response to questions and encouraging them to give a slower and more reflective answer.
The EEF had previously funded a smaller RCT of the programme which showed promising results. We funded this second RCT to find out if the results were replicated in a larger number of schools and under everyday conditions.
The independent evaluation, led by a team from NatCen Social Research, found that the Years 3 and 5 pupils who took part in the programme made two additional months progress in science, on average, compared to a similar group of pupils who did not take part in the programme. The findings have a moderate to high degree of security, which means we can be confident in them.
The programme will now be added to our Promising Programmes list.
Adventure Learning (longer-term analysis)
This follow-up report looked at the longer-term impact from a RCT of two different types of adventure learning: in wild settings, and at school. The main evaluation, published in May 2023 and led by Sheffield Hallam University, found that the delivery of the trial was heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This meant that the findings had very low security, so it was difficult to draw conclusions about the impact of the approaches.
The addendum report examines the impact of the adventure learning programmes on students’ GCSE Attainment 8 scores. It suggests that pupils who took part in the ‘wild’ intervention, led by The Outward Bound Trust and focused on a five-day residential, made one month’s additional progress in their GCSEs, on average, compared to a similar group of pupils who did not take part.
Children’s University
This RCT tested a programme that encourages Years 5 and 6 pupils to participate in extra-curricular structured learning activities such as after-school clubs and online activities.
The EEF had previously funded a smaller trial of the programme which suggested a positive impact on attainment for pupils who took part. However, in this larger RCT, evaluated by the National Foundation for Educational Research, those findings were not replicated and pupils who took part made, on average, less progress than pupils who did not. However, given the uncertainty in relation to these results, the evaluator was unable to conclude that there was an effect.
The evaluators also found that the programme was not fully delivered as intended during this trial, which could have contributed to its impact. The delivery challenges were likely exacerbated by the context of Covid-19 recovery.
Fluency Focus
This pilot looked at a 20-week, whole-class programme that aims to improve the oral reading fluency and reading comprehension for Year 5 pupils. The programme was delivered in twenty schools, with training provided by Charles Dickens Research School, and was initially developed through the EEF’s work to fund the design and development of new evidence-based programmes.
In this pilot, the evaluation team from Centre for Evidence and Implementation found promise in the programme, with the training and support being positively received by teachers.
The EEF will now fund a RCT of the programme, to find out if it has an impact on attainment.
SPACE
The pilot focused on a whole-class programme that aims to improve the spatial thinking and maths attainment of year 2 pupils through structured LEGO® sessions within maths lessons.
In the evaluation, led by the Centre for Evidence and Implementation, teachers reported that the programme improved their understanding and confidence of teaching spatial reasoning and use of spatial language. It also appears to have led to more sustained changes in teaching strategies to incorporate spatial skills more generally in the classroom.
Teachers perceived positive improvements in pupils’ spatial language but had mixed views on whether this leads to improved maths attainment. They also highlighted the perceived positive effects on pupils considered to have fewer opportunities to engage with physical manipulatives at home.