Abstract
Many websites now warehouse instructional materials designed to be taught by teachers in a traditional classroom. What are the potential benefits of the new resources? We analyze an experiment in which we randomly give middle school math teachers access to existing high-quality, off-the-shelf lessons, and in some cases, support to promote their use. Teachers receiving access alone increased students' math achievement by a marginally significant 0.06 of a standard deviation. Teachers who received access and support increased students' math achievement by 0.09 of a standard deviation. Weaker teachers experience larger gains, suggesting that these lessons substitute for teacher skill or efforts. The online materials are more scalable and cost effective than most policies aimed at improving teacher quality, suggesting that, if search costs can be overcome, there is a real benefit to making high-quality instructional materials available to teachers on the Internet.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 226-254 |
| Number of pages | 29 |
| Journal | American Economic Journal: Economic Policy |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 1 2018 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance(all)
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Can online off-the-shelf lessons improve student outcomes? Evidence from a field experiment. / Jackson, Clement Kirabo; Makarin, Alexey.
In: American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Vol. 10, No. 3, 01.08.2018, p. 226-254.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Can online off-the-shelf lessons improve student outcomes? Evidence from a field experiment
AU - Jackson, Clement Kirabo
AU - Makarin, Alexey
PY - 2018/8/1
Y1 - 2018/8/1
N2 - Many websites now warehouse instructional materials designed to be taught by teachers in a traditional classroom. What are the potential benefits of the new resources? We analyze an experiment in which we randomly give middle school math teachers access to existing high-quality, off-the-shelf lessons, and in some cases, support to promote their use. Teachers receiving access alone increased students' math achievement by a marginally significant 0.06 of a standard deviation. Teachers who received access and support increased students' math achievement by 0.09 of a standard deviation. Weaker teachers experience larger gains, suggesting that these lessons substitute for teacher skill or efforts. The online materials are more scalable and cost effective than most policies aimed at improving teacher quality, suggesting that, if search costs can be overcome, there is a real benefit to making high-quality instructional materials available to teachers on the Internet.
AB - Many websites now warehouse instructional materials designed to be taught by teachers in a traditional classroom. What are the potential benefits of the new resources? We analyze an experiment in which we randomly give middle school math teachers access to existing high-quality, off-the-shelf lessons, and in some cases, support to promote their use. Teachers receiving access alone increased students' math achievement by a marginally significant 0.06 of a standard deviation. Teachers who received access and support increased students' math achievement by 0.09 of a standard deviation. Weaker teachers experience larger gains, suggesting that these lessons substitute for teacher skill or efforts. The online materials are more scalable and cost effective than most policies aimed at improving teacher quality, suggesting that, if search costs can be overcome, there is a real benefit to making high-quality instructional materials available to teachers on the Internet.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85051006513&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1257/pol.20170211
DO - 10.1257/pol.20170211
M3 - Article
VL - 10
SP - 226
EP - 254
JO - American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
JF - American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
SN - 1945-7731
IS - 3
ER -