|
View: |
Part 1: Document Description
|
|
Citation |
|
|---|---|
|
Title: |
A Year of Desirable Difficulties: The Impact of Interleaving Math Practice in Nigeria |
|
Identification Number: |
doi:10.7910/DVN/BBS0SH |
|
Distributor: |
Harvard Dataverse |
|
Date of Distribution: |
2026-03-31 |
|
Version: |
1 |
|
Bibliographic Citation: |
Gray-Lobe, Guthrie, 2026, "A Year of Desirable Difficulties: The Impact of Interleaving Math Practice in Nigeria", https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/BBS0SH, Harvard Dataverse, V1 |
|
Citation |
|
|
Title: |
A Year of Desirable Difficulties: The Impact of Interleaving Math Practice in Nigeria |
|
Identification Number: |
doi:10.7910/DVN/BBS0SH |
|
Authoring Entity: |
Gray-Lobe, Guthrie (University of Chicago) |
|
Distributor: |
Harvard Dataverse |
|
Access Authority: |
Gray-Lobe, Guthrie |
|
Depositor: |
Gray-Lobe, Guthrie |
|
Date of Deposit: |
2026-03-23 |
|
Holdings Information: |
https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/BBS0SH |
|
Study Scope |
|
|
Keywords: |
Social Sciences |
|
Abstract: |
This paper tests whether increasing students’ exposure to “desirable difficulties” improves learning in real classrooms. In a year-long field experiment in Nigerian primary schools, interleaved math practice raised short-term test performance by 0.28 standard deviations but had no effect on cumulative end-of-year assessments. Gains were concentrated among lower-achieving students, while higher-achieving students saw little or no benefit. The results suggest that strategies that make learning more effortful can boost short-term mastery but may not produce durable improvements, highlighting the limits of applying laboratory-based cognitive interventions at scale. |
|
Notes: |
The data are anonymized. |
|
Methodology and Processing |
|
|
Sources Statement |
|
|
Data Access |
|
|
Notes: |
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0">CC0 1.0</a> |
|
Other Study Description Materials |
|
|
Related Publications |
|
|
Citation |
|
|
Title: |
Michael Kremer, Guthrie Gray-Lobe, Joost de Laat, and Lotte van der Haar, "A Year of Desirable Difficulties: The Impact of Interleaving Math Practice in Nigeria," NBER Working Paper 31853 (2023), https://doi.org/10.3386/w31853. |
|
Bibliographic Citation: |
Michael Kremer, Guthrie Gray-Lobe, Joost de Laat, and Lotte van der Haar, "A Year of Desirable Difficulties: The Impact of Interleaving Math Practice in Nigeria," NBER Working Paper 31853 (2023), https://doi.org/10.3386/w31853. |
|
Label: |
difficulties_replication_package.zip |
|
Notes: |
application/zip |