Last week, Google and Fab AI, recognized for advancing the application of Artificial Intelligence in education for low- and middle-income countries, released a comprehensive report.
The study, titled Teaching with Gemini: Measuring the Impact of Guided Learning on Student Mathematics Progress in Sierra Leone, involved a preregistered randomized controlled trial to assess the effect of Gemini's Guided Learning feature on mathematics learning outcomes.
Guided Learning states on its website that it encourages participation through probing and open-ended questions that spark a discussion and provide an opportunity to dive deeper into a subject.
The aim is to help you build a deep understanding instead of just getting answers. Guided Learning breaks down problems step-by-step and adapts explanations to your needs — all to help you build knowledge and skills.
The trial in Sierra Leone included 1,763 junior secondary school students across 48 mathematics classrooms.
Teachers were instructed to integrate Gemini into half of their weekly lessons over a period of 8 weeks.
The primary research question examined how teacher-led integration of Gemini's Guided Learning feature in Sierra Leonean junior secondary mathematics classes influences student learning outcomes.
DeepMind's Google blog disseminated the results and technical report from the trial, conducted in partnership with Fab AI and supported by the Sierra Leone Ministry of Education.
The evaluation focused on the impact of Guided Learning on the mathematics progress of 1,763 junior secondary students across 12 schools in a northwestern district of Sierra Leone.
The blog reported that findings from this preregistered trial indicate that artificial intelligence can serve as an effective pedagogical partner by augmenting, rather than replacing, teachers' instructional reach.
This study forms part of DeepMind's broader initiative to establish a global evidence base regarding the impact of AI on teaching and learning.
Data from Sierra Leone revealed that during the trial, students using Guided Learning saw gains equivalent to 1.2 to 1.7 years of typical learning progress.
Students whose teachers integrated Gemini into about half their lessons, reaching the 12-hour target during the trial, achieved even greater gains of approximately 1.8 to 2.5 years of progress.
Engagement was strong, with 69 percent of students meeting or exceeding usage targets, compared to the typical 5 percent for voluntary educational technology.
Skill-building queries increased to 90 percent by the final week, up from 68 percent, while solution-seeking questions decreased from 10 percent to 2 percent.
DeepMind has also released a teacher-training guide, developed in collaboration with Fab AI, which includes the specific protocols used in the study.
Additional support for the trial was provided by Google.org and the Gates Foundation, with further collaboration from EducAid, Laterite data and analytics, and Oxford MeasurEd.
Google conducted a similar trial in Italy.
The report plans to expand the Google AI Educator Series to India, offering practical, mobile-first training tailored to Indian school educators.
Google is also partnering with the African Union Commission to support AI literacy across all 55 Member States.
The initiative will begin by introducing Gemini for Education and NotebookLM to university students and faculty at institutions such as Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, the University of Ghana, and the University of South Africa.