Efficient Learning for the Poor

304 Pages·2006·2.63 MB·English

by  The World Bank

DDIIRREECCTTIIOONNSS IINN DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTT
THE WORLD BANK
Efficient Learning
for the Poor
Insights from the Frontier of
Cognitive Neuroscience
HELEN ABADZI

DIRECTIONS IN DEVELOPMENT
Efficient Learning
for the Poor
Insights from the Frontier
of Cognitive Neuroscience
THE WORLD BANK
© 2006 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433 USA
Telephone [phone]
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This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in
this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World
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The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The
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USA; fax: [phone]; e-mail: [email protected].
Cover design: Helen Abadzi.
Cover photo: Arthur C. Brown of Foundation Nubia, a school in Banguio, the Gambia that
operated without textbooks.
ISBN-10: 0-8213-6688-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-8213-6688-2
e-ISBN: 0-8213-6689-0
DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-6688-2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Datahas been applied for.
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Overview viii
Acronyms xiv
PARTI. COGNITIVEREESEARCHONBASICSKILLS
1. The Pedagogy of Poverty 3
Neurocognitive Research: The Key to the Black Box 8
2. Health, Nutrition, and Cognitive Processing 11
Health and Nutritional Obstacles to Learning 12
Developmental Delays and the Importance of Preschool 15
Policy Implications 18
3. Nervous System Linkages with School Performance 21
Policy Implications 23
4. Memory and Basic Skills Acquisition 24
Knowledge Intake: Attention Span and Prospects for Improving It 25
The Peculiarities of Memory: Eternal as Well as Fleeting 25
Working Memory: A Concept Critical for Effective Education 27
Why Is Working Memory So Important for School Work? 28
How Information Learned in School Is Consolidated 30
Policy Implications 35
Research Needs 35
5. Literacy Acquisition and the Biology of Reading 36
Reading Benchmarks and Norms 41
Reading Issues Affecting the Poor 42
Phonics Versus “Whole Word” Methods 44
Policy Implications 47
Research Needs 49
6. Why Mother-Tongue Instruction Improves Achievement 50
The Benefits of Bilingual Education 53
Policy Implications 57
Research Needs 57
7. The Development and Teaching of Numeracy 58
The Effects of Language Switching in Math 60
Policy Implications 61
Research Needs 61
8. The Cognitive Effects of Classroom Events 62
“Chalk and Talk” Lecturing (Very Effective for Brief Periods) 64
Practice, Questions, Feedback, Discussion (Very Effective) 65
Individual Seatwork (Limited Effectiveness) 66
Projects (Limited Effectiveness for Basic Skills) 67
Noninstructional Activities (Ineffective) 67
iii
iv EFFICIENT LEARNING FOR THE POOR
Policy Implications 70
Research Needs 70
PARTII. RESOURCESFOREFFECTIVEINSTRUCTION
9. Which Instructional Methods Are Most Efficient? 73
The Pros and Cons of Constructivism and Discovery Learning 75
The Pros and Cons of “Direct Instruction” 77
Policy Implications 79
10. Use and Wastage of Instructional Time 80
Schools Open fewer than the Official Number of Days 80
Teacher Absenteeism 82
Student Absenteeism 84
Wastage of Class Time 84
Policy Implications 87
Research Needs 88
11. A Textbook for Every Student to Take Home 89
Policy Implications 92
12. Improving Instructional Support 93
Classroom “Climate” and Student Achievement 93
The Case of the Missing Homework 94
Curricular Effects on Student Achievement 95
Effects and Interpretation Difficulties of Achievement Tests 97
Effects of School Facilities on Achievement and Attendance 99
Policy Implications 101
13. Student Grouping and Class Size Effects 102
Formation of Student Groups: Learning Potential and Issues 104
Student Performance in Multigrade Classes 108
Policy Implications 111
PARTIII. PERFORMANCEOFTEACHERSANDEDUCATIONALSYSTEMS
14. Teacher Incentives and Motivation 115
Motivation and Incentives—Extrinsic and Intrinsic 115
Self-Efficacy and the Challenge of Never-Ending Tasks 119
Increasing Accountability 120
Policy Implications 122
15. Performance and Training of Educators 123
Social Status and Attitudes toward Students 123
Attitudes toward Teaching 124
Teacher Training Institutions May Not Teach Effectively 126
Improving the Effectiveness of Teaching Behaviors 127
Improving the Effectiveness of Training Events 128
Policy Implications 130
16. The Seven Pillars of Basic Skills for All 132
Benchmarks and Monitoring Indicators 134
Invest More in the Lower Grades 136
Efficient Access Goal 137
Disseminating Lessons from Research 137
ANNEX: COGNITIVENEUROSCIENCEBASICSFOREDUCATION 141
I. Neuropsychology Essentials 141
A. Neural Development in Young Organisms 141
B. Nerve Wiring and Survival of the Fittest Memories 143
CONTENTS v
C. Brain Architecture and Learning Functions 145
D. Memory Systems 150
E. Nature, Culture, and Circumstances 152
F. Cultural Differences in Students’ Cognition 155
G. Gender-Related Issues in Cognition 157
II. The Lens of Cognitive Science 159
A. Attention 159
B. Storage of Information in Cognitive Networks 161
C. The Uses and Abuses of Memorization 182
D. Copying From the Blackboard and Note-Taking 185
E. Transfer of Learning to Other Skills 186
F. How, What, and Why Learners Forget 187
G. Higher Cognitive Functions 189
H.Learning Styles: Do They Exist? 190
I. Expertise and Its Implications 190
J. Ability to Act on “Lessons Learned” by Donors and Governments 192
K. Age-Related Memory Changes and Their Implications for Learners 193
L. Training Implications for Middle-Aged Educators 194
Notes 203
References 237
Index 282
Boxes
1.1. The “Education for All” Goals 4
2.1. Health and School Attendance 12
2.2. Full-Time Schools: Special Attention for Low-Income Students 19
4.1. How Much Attention Do Students Pay in Class? 26
4.2. Chewing Gum Increases Recall of Words 32
4.3. Poor Students Forget More During End-of-Year Vacations 34
5.1. Sixty Words per Minute for All 47
5.2. With Efficient Instruction, Children Can Learn Multiple Scripts 48
6.1. How Many Years Are Needed to Teach Sufficient Language? 56
8.1. Activities and Achievement in Jamaican Schools 68
9.1. Constructivist Curricula, Illiterate Artists? 76
12.1. Youth Orchestras for the Poor in Venezuela 97
13.1. “Hole-in-the-Wall Experiment” 109
14.1. Extrinsic Teacher Incentives and “Cramming” for Exams 116
14.2. How Do Teachers Use School Grants? 118
16.1. An “Indicative Framework” for Educational Quality 135
16.2. How Well Do Schools in Niger Improve Human Capital? 140
A-1. The Sociology of Competition 166
A-2. Levels of Processing 176
A-3. The Brief Window of Opportunity for Learning 179
A-4. Useful Knowledge Tends to Be Remembered 183
A-5. Visualizing Tasks Could Improve Training Outcomes 195
Figures
1.1. Burkina Faso, a Poor Country with Large Enrollment Increases 5
1.2. Fulani-Speaking Girls in Rural Niger 8
2.1. Cumulative Number of Words Addressed to Children 16
2.2. Biological Needs for Learning 20
vi EFFICIENT LEARNING FOR THE POOR
3.1. Learning Skills by Automizing Small Units 23
4.1. Structure and Types of Human Memory 27
4.2. Memory Capacity 28
4.3. Best-Fit Relationship Between Working Memory and Age 29
5.1. Slow and Skilled Reading Areas 38
5.2(a) and (b): Performance at the End of Grade 1 in Common Words 40
6.1. Grade 4 Students Still Learning the Names of Clothes in French 52
6.2. Poor Children Studying in Official Languages 54
6.3. Non-Native Speakers Need Several Years to Catch Up 55
9.1. Different Dimensions and Methods of Teaching 74
10.1. Instructional Time Indicators in Basic Education 81
10.2. A Teacher’s Class Book in Honduras 83
10.3. Instructional Time Loss Model 87
12.1. Dark Classroom in Rural Niger 100
13.1. Cooperative Learning Techniques in Tanzania 106
15.1. Primary-School Teachers Meeting Qualification Standards 125
15.2. Notes Dictated in a Teacher Training Institute 127
16.1. Relatively Few Students Meet Mastery Criteria 133
16.2. The Seven Pillars of Basic Skills for All 134
A-1. Brain Potential of Younger and Older People 142
A-2. Neuron Assemblies 144
A-3. fMRI Equipment 145
A-4. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging 146
A-5. Brain Areas that Are Important for Learning 148
A-6. Stimulation Facilitates Connections among Nerve Cells 154
A-7. Illustrations of a Simple Cognitive Network 162
A-8. Accumulation of Nodes to Create Complex Concepts 163
A-9. Connected Knowledge and Probability of High Test Scores 164
A-10(a). Items Linked in Series, Like a Poem 168
A-10(b). Various Types of Links 168
A-11. Information Retention and Prior Knowledge 170
A-12. Some Concepts are Semantically Closer Than Others 171
A-13. Information is Encoded along with Context 172
A-14. Bizarre Interactive Images Are Best Retained 174
A-15. Concepts With High and Low Degree of “Fan” 177
A-16. Primacy and Recency Effects 181
A-17. Forgetting Rates of Complex Procedures 188
Tables
1.1. Quantitative versus Qualitative Indicators of School Participation 6
2.1. Amount of Parental Interaction with Children in U.S. 15
8.1. Most and Least Effective Means to Learn New Information 63
10.1. Instructional Hours in Countries Using “Split-Shift” Schooling 82
10.2. Provider Absenteeism Rates by Country and Sector 83
10.3. Studies Relating Time Use and School Effectiveness 85
16.1. Viability of Instructional Interventions for the Disadvantaged 139
A-1. Improving the Effectiveness of Instructional Activities 197
A-2. Policy Changes that May Improve Instructional Outcomes 199
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge the contribution of the many World Bank colleagues
who commented on the manuscript and its concepts, notably: Alain Barbu (my
very dedicated manager), Luis Crouch, Rae Galloway, Robin Horn, Sukai Prom-
Jackson, Robert Prouty, Felicity Ann Townsend, and Jeffrey Waite. I would also
like to acknowledge the kind advice and information offered by the following aca-
demics: Marilyn Jager Adams (Soliloquy Learning Co.), Penny Chiappe (University
of California, Irvine), Colette Chabbot (George Washington University), Adele
Diamond (University of British Columbia), Carsten Elbro (University of
Copenhagen), Jay Giedd (National Institutes of Health), William Gaillard (Children’s
National Medical Center), Usha Goswami (Oxford University), Peggy McCardle
(National Institute for Maternal Health and Child Development), Sonali Nag-
Arulmani (Promise Foundation, India), Kristy Nielson (Marquette University),
Vimla Patel (Columbia University), Paul Paulus (University of Texas at Arlington),
Dan Raiten (National Institute for Maternal Health and Child Development), Wendi
Ralaingita (University of Maryland), Barbara Rogoff (University of California at
Santa Cruz), Holly Ruff (retired), Linda Siegel (University of British Columbia),
Solveig-Alma Halaas Lyster (University of Oslo), and Matthew Walker (Harvard
University). I also thank the external reviewers Dan Chiappe (California State
University at Long Beach), Martial Dembele (University of Quebec at Montreal),
and Erin Wirth-Beaumont (University of Maryland University College) for their
detailed comments and contributions.
Special thanks go to the Sectoral and Information Technology Resource Center
and the Joint Library of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund for their
immediate responsiveness and untiring bibliographical support. Further acknowl-
edgements go to Maria Pilar Barquero for text processing, to Ajit Devadason for
illustrations, and to Michael Alwan for editing and typesetting. The publication
benefited from support by the Danish Trust Fund to the World Bank and by Learning
Lab Denmark. Thanks are due to the director Siggaard Hans Jensen and neu-
ropsychologist Christian Gerlach for their help and feedback.
Final thanks go to my husband, Theodore Vakrinos, who sacrificed many activ-
ities so that I would have the time to do this work.
The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this report are entirely
those of the author and do not necessarily represent the view of the World Bank, its
Executive Directors, or the countries they represent.
vii
Overview
Donor initiatives in support of primary education have resulted in large
enrollment increases in low-income countries. But the conditions of some
classrooms can stretch the limits of human information processing. Many
students are malnourished and lack textbooks or the help of literate par-
ents. Overwhelmed teachers may work with just the few most capable stu-
dents and discourage or fail many others for whom the Education for All
initiative was developed. Not surprisingly, learning outcomes in low-
income countries are often disappointing, dropout rates are significant,
and students may leave school functionally illiterate. The Independent
Evaluation Group of the World Bank has documented such evidence in
several countries.
These outcomes put at risk the large investments made in the social sec-
tors in hopes of alleviating poverty through human capital improvements.
Governments need advice on how to teach students in circumstances that
rarely existed until the 1990s. Cognitive psychology and neuroscience offer
a framework for policy advice on improving poor students’ learning. The
research is evolving and has limitations. In some areas it has concrete and
counterintuitive implications, whereas in others it has little to offer or cor-
roborates common sense. This body of research is most valuable for the
early years of schooling, when dropout and repetition rates are often high.
Research points to the following seven pillars that support basic skills and
efficient learning for the poor. Some are old staples of development efforts,
whereas others are relatively new or have received insufficient attention
in the past. The findings show how an understanding of human memory
and thought can lead to new approaches in solving difficult problems. They
link outcomes with time and methods used in classroom, health and nutri-
tion, teacher cognition, and school management.
1. Supporting Children’s Brain Development
for Efficient Learning
Malnutrition, parasitic diseases, limited stimulation, and a host of other
challenges affect brain development and learning efficiency. Students whose
health is burdened in these ways often drop out early. Addressing the
issues provides a strong rationale for early childhood development and
preschool programs. Primary school children should also get eyeglasses,
deworming, and essential nutrients. In many low-income countries, school
health interventions have been difficult to sustain. To get school health
viii