Study finds phone-based tutoring curbs learning loss during school closures
A new Nature study by Angrist and colleagues examined how remote phone-based tutoring affected children's learning during periods when schools were shut, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research found strong evidence that this low-tech approach helped students keep learning despite the disruption, offering a rare data-backed solution to an otherwise poorly understood problem.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Global test scores already show alarming learning deficits, particularly in low-income countries, and disruptions like pandemics, natural disasters and strikes make this worse. Because phone-based tutoring requires minimal infrastructure, it could be a scalable, low-cost tool for governments and educators facing future closures, especially in regions lacking internet access or devices for online learning.
- Phone-based tutoring proved effective at sustaining learning during school closures.
- Low-income countries face the steepest learning losses and stand to benefit most.
- The findings offer policymakers evidence-based options for future disruptions to schooling.
Kids' Math Flash Cards by Star Right — Phone tutoring works because it pairs a short call with simple practice problems a caregiver can run through at home — and flash cards are the classic low-tech tool for exactly that. A set covering addition, subtraction, multiplication and division makes daily numeracy drills easy during school breaks or closures, no screen or internet required.
See Kids' Math Flash Cards by Star Right on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: nature.com — Barrera-Osorio, 2026-09-09
Published there as: “Phone-based tutoring improves learning during school closures”
Read the original report → The summary and analysis above are GoKawiil's own, written from reporting by the source above. Facts and quotes belong to the original publisher.