Testing the efficacy of the ZooU social emotional learning program

This study reports the results of two cluster randomized controlled trials that tested the efficacy of ZooU, an individualized computer game, for improving social and emotional learning (SEL) skills in elementary school students. Reflex, an individualized computer game that promotes math fluency, served as an active comparison condition. Two independent cohorts participated. Cohort 1 included 585 students from 37 classrooms in the Pacific Northwest. Cohort 1 students received a target of 300 minutes of game play, which occurred prior to COVID school closures. Cohort 2 included 523 students from 42 classrooms in the Southeastern US. Cohort 2 students received a target of 600 minutes of game play, which occurred after COVID school closures. A mixed pattern of results was evident across cohorts. In cohort 1, ZooU was associated with significant improvements (i.e., main and conditional effects) for performance-based indicators of SEL knowledge and teacher-rated behavior. Conditional effects indicated that ZooU was moderated by classroom climate (stronger positive effects were observed in less supportive classrooms). Dosage analyses indicated that increased game play was associated with improvements in student SEL knowledge but not teacher-rated behavior. In cohort 2, ZooU was associated with significant conditional but not main effects of treatment for performance-based indicators of SEL knowledge and teacher-rated behaviors. Conditional effects indicated that ZooU was moderated by classroom climate but in the opposite direction (stronger positive effects were observed in more supportive classrooms). Dosage analyses indicated that increased game play was associated with improvements in student SEL knowledge and teacher-rated behavior. Results are discussed with respect to the role of historical (COVID) and contextual (classroom climate) factors when evaluating SEL educational technology interventions.