Root

A gamified math learning platform that promotes regular learning, assessment, and feedback of foundational numeracy skills among underserved children in India

The Root app was developed by Aashna Saraf and Dr. Patricia Smiley and instrumented as a research tool for furthering learning engineering research recognized by Schmidt Futures. The Root app delivers interactive play-based games with personalized dashboards and feedback loops It includes a series of games for 12 early indicators of later math achievement. It builds foundational math skills, predictive of math achievement (3rd-grade level) in pre-k, K, and 1st grade.

Furthermore, Root tracks students’ progress on specific learning trajectories i.e. it monitors if, when, and how preschoolers are learning appropriate subskills required for mastery learning. The learning trajectories are designed very intentionally, using AI, research from cognitive science, and Indian national curricula

Using powerful analytics, Root tracks response time and accuracy data as children engage with the games. First-time users ‘play’ through a gamified pre-test so the app can gauge their level of competence across domains, after which they are guided into the actual learning intervention, personalized for skill levels. After 15 days of engagement, the children ‘play’ through the post-test to measure cumulative progress.

Math is a foundational skill that provides the base for academic and professional success. Every child has the right to learn math, but in India, there are unacceptably low levels of math proficiency. As many as  54% of 1st graders are unable to match single-digit quantities to corresponding numbers, a skill they should've mastered in pre-K. 

In fact, children in the top quartile of math readiness at age 5 outperform those in the lower quartile of readiness at age 8. Once children start failing in math, they almost never catch up. What’s worse is that 82% of children on average in grade 2 have lost at least one specific math ability (examples include basic 1-digit operations, identifying numbers, and describing shapes) in 2021 due to nationwide school closures.

Struggling math learners are more likely to drop out of school (especially girls), less likely to pursue higher education, and unlikely to surmount the achievement gap. Moreover, self-perception of math failure and negative responses from others leave children vulnerable to feelings of shame, depression, and low self-esteem. 

India is the home to the largest school system in the world with ~180 mn kids below the age of 8. Root is working to mitigate learning loss by delivering foundational math skills to kids below the age of 8 and providing parents with evidence-based resources that enable them to practice at home.

Direct Customer: Indian parents w/ kids in early elementary school, middle class, urban, smartphone owner; view high-quality education as an investment/status symbol, need low-touch interventions.

Beneficiaries:

Demographics- Toddlers between the age of 4 and 7, Indian, barely literate, speak Hindi/vernacular languages but learning English in school, urban. 

Prior experiences- Attends government schools, first-generation school attendee, first English language learner in the family, minimal cognitive stimulation at home, and digital native.  

Motivators: Interested in play-based, gamified, interactive tasks. They're intrinsically curious, animations, songs, and sound effects. 

Obstacles to learning- school closures, access to quality teachers, parental illiteracy, expensive toys/books, limited scaffolding opportunities, emphasis on rote learning in schools, high opportunity cost of sub-par online education. 

Accessibility- need a smartphone/tablet. 

Constraints- language barriers, digital inequity, poor phone RAM, low phone storage space, and unreliable internet connections.

Root addresses the needs of these student populations by adopting phone-first technology, WhatsApp bots, and multilingual content delivery. We design our learning games such that gaming tracks can be disaggregated and sent as WebGL links that can be shared with parents on WhatsApp. This allows users to access games without having to download the app and collects data accordingly

We conducted over 76 zoom interviews with parents whose toddlers attend affordable private preschools, 20 interviews with elementary teachers in India, and 6 interviews with principals. As a developmental psychology major with a master's in education, Aashna has worked at preschools, museums, and remediation centers in India and the US to understand gaps in the math curriculum and the areas of growth it affords.

Consequently, toddlers and parents have been central to the design process. At Root playtesting using low-resolution prototypes is necessary. We carefully watch as children respond to game scenarios, scoring each of the games based on his reaction.

Only the games that received both laughter and claps make it to production!

Root has shown product-market fit and gained a sizable community of loyal moms interested in getting new content. 

After developing an MVP we had a beta launch with 120 users in a school in India. Children showed an 8% improvement in standardized math performance in a span of 2 weeks as indicated by the Randomized Control Trial we conducted. Then we collected data using a post-launch survey which was filled by 80 users. It indicated an NPS score of +12  and ~10 parents messaged Aashna for more content.

Each game has been playtested by toddlers before going into production. 

Currently: A smart-phone based gaming app that promotes learning and regular assessment of developmentally appropriate math milestones for children in Pre-K-2 via gamification. It collects robust learning analytics and uses AI to develop customized learning pathway for children based on their scores on games.

Near Future Addition: An AR tool to promote immersive and collaborative math learning and assessment opportunities in schools via tactile toys and robust yet cost effective space design.

Currently: 1,000

This year: 10,000

Our objective is for at least 85% of learners to score 20% higher on a standardized math test than they did before engaging in the intervention.

Scale partnerships and customer acquisition. I will partner with at least 20 schools by the end of the year to have at least 10,000 participants on the app.

Develop a robust audio-visual reporting feature allowing all illiterate caregivers to understand and act on data provided by Root.

Prototype the A/R product extension (RootEd Lab) Build RootEd Labs at government schools using AR to promote immersive and collaborative math learning opportunities in schools via low-cost tactile toys and robust space design.

Number of users

Number of school partnerships

Engagement level: minutes spent on app & # messages sent on WhatsApp

Mastery Learning: Pre-test- Post test scores, Reaction times,  #hints used, accuracy

NPS scores

Funding to develop more content. 

A technical co-founder/lead to build out the AR/VR solution

Adapting Root App content to phones with very low RAM and storage space

Developing a sense of community among users to promote collaborative learning.

There are 3 members on the team: Aashna Saraf, Dr. Patricia Smiley, and Sharad Sagar. 

o   Aashna Saraf is a master’s candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and has experience working in diverse early childhood and Edtech settings—as an early educator at a children’s museum and pre-schools; as a program associate working on communications, content creation, and facilitating/tracking funder-entrepreneur connections at Promise Venture Studio and The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard; and as a product operations associate, developing e-learning modules and assessments at MyVillage and Cognitive Toybox, EdTech companies. 

o   Dr. Smiley is a developmental psychologist with over 35 years of research experience in child development, educational psychology, and psychological assessment. She is the principal investigator at the AMH-CARE lab at Pomona and serves as the Chief Scientific Officer for Root. We are in the process of getting Root’s Randomized Control Trial pilot data published. 

o   Sharad Sagar- founder of Dexterity Global, an internationally awarded non-profit, at the age of 16. For his work and vision, Sagar was featured on the Forbes 30 under 30 list and the Rockefeller Foundation 100 Next Century Innovators list. Sagar’s focus on building grassroots leadership through educational opportunities and training has received global recognition, including invitations to the Obama White House and the Nobel Prize Ceremony. He serves as the Chief Advisor for Root.

Rajasthani Samelan Trust: We have partnered with their schools and franchises (classified as affordable private schools) to run pilot programs and prototype RootEd Labs.

Dexterity Global: We have partnered with Dexterity Schools to provide the Root App across Dexterity Schools reaching underserved children in 28 states in India, which amounts to roughly 1500 partner schools serving 100,000 students

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