A Blog by Carnegie Learning
We've got some exciting news to share!
We'd like to introduce UpGrade, an open source A/B testing platform for education software funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Schmidt Futures.
UpGrade will make it easier for educators to develop and discover the most effective learning outcomes by supporting real-time field tests. Our vision is to bring together teachers, researchers and edtech companies to design “A/B tests” of new approaches to digital learning. Our mission is to build a community of practitioners to continuously improve student outcomes -- and to contribute to the science of learning.
In the first phase, UpGrade will be introduced within MATHia, our artificial intelligence math learning software, for the 2020/2021 school year. The project is designed to be a fully open source platform and aims to provide a common resource for learning scientists and educational software companies. Our design and development collaborator, Playpower Labs, is currently using UpGrade to support learning science-based improvements in their own math games.
Software companies like Amazon, Google and Facebook use A/B testing to continuously improve their products. They will assign users one of two versions of a software feature ("A" or "B") and see how that impacts user behavior. The version that promotes the most desired behavior "wins" and is then implemented.
Our goal is to take the power of A/B testing and apply it to learning technology in order to optimize student learning. For example, which version of a MATHia feature contributes to better understanding of the mathematical concept? Having this information, validated by science, will enable us to continuously improve our solutions, making them most effective for teachers and students.
Here is an example of what an A/B test in MATHia might look like:
Which is the better model for fraction division?
Working together with researchers and educators, we may also explore:
Dr. Steven Ritter, our Co-Founder and Chief Scientist, recently told The Learning Agency, "The ability to try out improvements like this will lead to more effective approaches to instruction. We are working with learning science researchers to field-test basic principles that can apply across many instructional systems."
Want updates on our work? Sign up here.
Carnegie Learning is a comprehensive, dynamic and progressive learning technology company. Advocating a belief in teaching and determination to help students develop as learners and thinkers, Carnegie Learning is seeking to re-define the role of technology across the K-12 landscape. It delivers research-proven mathematics curriculum and the MATHia® platform for grades 6-12, project-based digital solutions for computer science, and best-in-class K-12 professional learning services. EMC School, part of Carnegie Learning, delivers blended learning resources and services for 6-12 world languages and English language arts. Mondo Education, also part of Carnegie Learning, provides high-quality literacy resources and services for K-5 classrooms.
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