Mindspark in South African Public Schools

The Mindspark by Educational Initiative (Ei Mindspark) is an adaptive learning platform that utilises artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven algorithms to personalise education for students in subjects like Mathematics and English. The initiative tailors content based on individual strengths and weaknesses, with proven success in improving learning outcomes worldwide.

In South Africa, HG&H Pharmaceuticals, part of the Halls Group, and JET Education Services partnered with Paul Flowerman to support the Mindspark Learner Education Programme pilot in six Quintile 1 to 3 primary schools in Mitchell's Plain in the Western Cape. Despite challenges like IT equipment issues and unstable internet connectivity due to load shedding, the pilot has been successfully implemented in these schools for the last 30 months.

The Mindspark programme has been well-received by principals, teachers and students due to its alignment with the South African national curriculum (National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement or CAPS). JET aligned the programme content with the curriculum, effectively addressing students' learning gaps and improving their understanding of core subjects, as evident in improved academic progress.

Through annual training workshops, ongoing support and continuous communication, the JET facilitators have monitored the monthly usage of the programme and how the teachers can integrate the topics into their weekly lessons. A notable feature of the Mindspark programme is empowering teachers to use data-driven insights to identify individual learning gaps and tailor their teaching strategies accordingly This approach, which amplifies the impact of personalised learning, fosters more effective classroom interventions and differentiation. 

To ensure sustainability, JET has identified Mindspark teacher ‘champions’ at each school. This has helped promote continuous engagement with the platform when the JET facilitators rotate among schools during the week and cannot be present at all schools all the time. A positive outcome of the pilot has been that over 60% of students logged into the Mindspark platform outside of school, demonstrating extensive engagement with the programme and its widespread accessibility, especially in communities that experience challenges with the availability of data. This outcome is encouraging as it indicates that students are motivated to use the programme beyond their normal lessons and without support from their teachers. 

Furthermore, students' enthusiasm can be seen from the number of rewards (Sparkies) they achieve for completing various online tasks. In 2023, the total number of Sparkies awarded to the 1 443 students participating in the Mindspark programme across all six schools was 1 602 413. This equates to an average of 1 110 Sparkies per student.

Comparing the results of assessments conducted in July and November 2023, the table below highlights the improvement in the scores of Grade 5 and Grade 6 learners who participated in the Mindspark Pilot from July to November. Significant improvement is evident, with one school achieving average improvements of 4% in Grade 5 and 6% in Grade 6.

Ei Mindspark also proved effective in remediation; the average improvement from July to November across all schools for Grade 5 students was 6.2% and for Grade 6 students the average improvement was 9.5%

The partnership between HG&H,  Ei Mindspark, Paul Flowerman and JET hopes to make a positive contribution to  South Africa's educational landscape by fostering personalised, adaptive learning for Grades 4 to 7 that will improve learner outcomes.

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