Dr David Sengeh, junior secondary students in Port Loko DistrictSeven years after Dr. David Moinina Sengeh developed Sierra Leone’s National Innovation and Digital Strategy (NIDS) 2019-2029, which is based on the principle “Digitisation for All,” a randomised controlled trial demonstrates that advanced AI can meaningfully support classroom learning without replacing teachers. Google DeepMind tested Gemini’s “Guided Learning” in an eight-week study of 1,763 junior secondary students from 12 schools in Port Loko District, in collaboration with Fab AI and the Sierra Leone Ministry of Education. The trial examined whether an AI that focuses on conceptual understanding and scaffolding could improve outcomes while keeping teachers at the centre of instruction. The results were significant: students who used Guided Learning improved their math scores by +0.258 standard deviations compared to a control group, equivalent to 1.2 to 1.7 years of learning progress in eight weeks. Classrooms where teachers used Gemini for roughly half of their lessons saw larger estimated gains, ranging from 1.8 to 2.5 years. Engagement exceeded expectations: 69% of students met or exceeded their usage targets, compared to the typical 5% engagement rate for edtech. An analysis of more than 113,000 student-AI interactions revealed that 91.4% of conversations were aimed at increasing understanding. Gemini used scaffolding questions in 76% of its messages while providing direct solutions in only 2%, demonstrating a Socratic approach based on DeepMind’s LearnLM research. Throughout the study, student queries shifted from problem-solving to skill-building: skill-building interactions increased from 68% in week one to 90% by week eight, while direct solution requests decreased from 25% to 10%. Teachers maintained their central role, designing lessons, setting objectives, and facilitating classroom discussions.
Focus groups revealed that educators valued Gemini for professional development, discovering new techniques for topics such as fractions and that many transitioned from lecturing to facilitating student-directed learning.
“I am delighted that we now have strong evidence that carefully designed AI can help improve learning outcomes in support of our many hardworking teachers”, Minister Conrad Sackey of the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education stated.
To help with scale-up, Google DeepMind is releasing a teacher training guide created in collaboration with Fab AI, as well as a playbook on pre-registered RCT methodology.
Google.org and the Gates Foundation supported the project, which also received contributions from EducAid, Laterite, and Oxford MeasurEd.
The trial also revealed an achievement gap: students who started with stronger math skills benefited the most. Future efforts will focus on developing tools that benefit those in greatest need, including metacognition and relational intelligence. The Sierra Leone experiment demonstrates a model in which teacher-led instruction and AI-driven personalised scaffolding work together to accelerate learning, furthering the National Innovation and Digital Strategy’s ambition to use digitisation for inclusive national development.
