ABRACADABRA! Improving literacy through technology
2007-2010

Abrami, P. C. (Concordia), Savage, R. S. (McGill), & Deleveaux, G. (Concordia)

The School of Social and Policy Research, in partnership with the Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada), the Northern Territory Department of Employment, Education and Training and the Menzies School of Health Research proposes to implement, evaluate, refine, test, scale and sustain the use of an interactive web-based multimedia tool designed to improve literacy outcomes among Northern Territory school children aged 4 -8 years.

The 3 year project will implement and evaluate the multi-media tool, known as ABRACADABRA, in select Northern Territory schools, with a view to enhancing existing interventions targeting the poor literacy skills of indigenous students with a supplementary computer program that has been built on the best knowledge available on the science of learning acquisition and brain development, combined with the best knowledge on the foundations of literacy in early childhood. Our plan is to trial ABRACADABRA initially in a small number of pilot schools to determine its impact and identify any modifications before expanding further.

Should the results generated in the trials suggest sufficient success, we would want to set the expanded program up so that learning outcomes are evaluated through the very highest standards of scientific proof: namely, by a large scale experimental testing program with randomly assigned control groups for comparison. Such an approach would be a unique addition in the field of Indigenous education, which tends to conduct programs on the basis of advocacy and funding opportunism rather than deep evidence. Should the work proceed to this experimental evaluation platform, the expanded program would be conducted in the third year of the project.