Prototyping aprendIA Nigeria: May- June 2025

aprendIA Case Study:
Leveraging Behavioral Science to Promote Adoption of
AI-Driven Learning Among Learning Facilitators in North-East Nigeria

Vaidehi Uberoi, Behavioral Insights Advisor
International Rescue Committee
May 2025

INTRODUCTION

In conflict-affected areas such as North-East Nigeria, the obstacles to delivering quality education are considerable. Educators frequently face difficulties in sustaining their engagement, motivation, and continuity in professional growth while navigating the complexities of supporting learners in unstable and resource-constrained settings. In response to this pressing educational challenge, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), in partnership with the Opportunity to Learn (OTL) project, has introduced the aprendIA in Nigeria chatbot—a technology-enabled solution designed to enhance teacher support and instructional effectiveness. This simple, interactive artificial intelligence-driven solution delivers OTL-adapted content via WhatsApp, providing learning facilitators with accessible, engaging educational support through a familiar platform.

Despite the availability of this low-cost and user-friendly chatbot to support classroom delivery, Learning Facilitators (LF) in conflict-affected North-East Nigeria face challenges in sustained use. Overwhelmed by responsibilities and stress from the job, many struggle to engage consistently, often due to time constraints, forgetfulness, or perceiving the content as irrelevant or unappealing. These insights underscore the need for more contextually tailored and engaging solutions to ensure sustained use.

To address these barriers and encourage learning facilitators to sustainably use the chatbot, we integrated behavioral science interventions into the chatbot. Rooted in psychology, behavioral economics, and cognitive science, these solutions are designed to reflect how people actually think and act, rather than how we assume they should. The interventions focused on motivation, feedback, and goal-setting, with a strong emphasis on personalization.

Some of the behavioral science solutions integrated with the chatbot are:

• Immediate Rewards with Immediate Feedback on Lesson Completion: Learning Facilitators received personalized feedback and appreciation after completing a lesson. For example: 👍 Well done, [LF Name]! You’ve completed the lesson on [Lesson Topic] and earned yourself a point! 🎯 Keep up the great progress!”
• Small Goals with Reminders: The chatbot facilitated goal-setting by allowing learning facilitators to establish weekly objectives, such as completing a lesson or revisiting previously accessed content, while sending timely reminders to support consistent engagement and progress. For example: “Complete 1 new lesson this week.”

• Personalization via contextual interaction: The chatbot tracked each learning facilitator’s progress and delivered tailored messages such as, “Welcome back [Name]! You were last working on [Topic]. Shall we continue?” By eliminating the need to remember or repeat previous steps, this feature helped ease the cognitive load and supported smoother re-engagement.
• Gamified Learning with Quizzes: To enhance engagement, interactive quizzes were introduced at the end of each lesson to reinforce learning and assess understanding. Upon completion, Learning Facilitators received feedback to monitor their progress and pinpoint areas needing improvement.

Implementation of the Chatbot
To assess the usability, viability, and feasibility of implementing the chatbot among Learning Facilitators in North-East Nigeria, a pilot was conducted involving 200 Learning Facilitators from non-formal learning centers supporting out-of-school internally displaced persons through the Accelerated Basic Education Program. The pilot was carried out across three states, Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, where participants were provided access to the chatbot via WhatsApp. Learning Facilitators received initial training on how to navigate the chatbot, the lessons and topics it covered, the role of AI, and how to effectively integrate the content into their classroom instruction.

Mid-Use Evaluation Study
Following three weeks of consistent chatbot use by the learning facilitators, a mid-pilot evaluation was conducted to assess the chatbot’s effectiveness and usability. The evaluation also aimed to measure the impact of the integrated behavioral science interventions on enhancing user engagement, motivation, and overall ease of use among the facilitators.

Some of the research questions that were explored in this study were: 

• What are the barriers and enablers for the users to continue using the bot? 
• Do the users believe that the bot’s purpose and content are relevant to them?
• Are the users motivated to use the bot?
• What are the challenges the users face while interacting and engaging with the bot?
• What are the barriers for the users to log back into the bot?  

The mid-pilot evaluation employed behavioral qualitative research methods, involving a purposive sample of 30 learning facilitators across the three pilot locations. These participants were interviewed to gather in-depth feedback on their experiences using the chatbot, with a focus on usability, engagement, and perceived value.

Emerging Insights: What Has Worked Well 

1. Impact of providing immediate rewards and feedback 

• Improved Motivation and Encouragement: Immediate feedback was found to be a key motivator for continued user engagement with the lessons. The feature messages were perceived as supportive, enhancing users’ confidence and reinforcing their learning. Simple affirmations—such as “Well done!” accompanied by a thumbs-up emoji—proved effective in making users feel acknowledged and encouraged.

“This kind of feedback boosts my confidence and keeps me going.” 

• Personalization significantly enhanced the emotional connection between users and the chatbot, making feedback appear more relevant and tailored to their individual experiences, thereby strengthening overall engagement. When the chatbot addressed users by name or acknowledged their specific actions, the feedback was perceived as more meaningful and impactful.

“We feel good and happy receiving this message.” 

• Encouraged Perseverance: Learning facilitators reported that the opportunity to earn higher points served as a strong motivator to retake courses in order to improve their scores. The visual representation of scores effectively showcased their efforts and progress, further encouraging them to enhance their performance and strive for excellence.

“When I initially scored 10, I felt bad, but after retaking the course and scoring 50%, I felt so happy that I began to dance because I had  improved in my  performance.”

2. Impact of setting small, manageable goals with reminders 

• Goals Provided an Actionable Plan: The majority of Learning Facilitators regarded the goal-setting feature as highly beneficial in supporting the planning of their daily and weekly activities. Setting achievable goals in advance of their classes enabled them to organize lessons more effectively, reduce last-minute pressure, and enhance their overall preparedness.

“Before I come to class, I’ve already set my goal and know what I’m going to do.”

• Reminders Encouraged Continued Use: Learning Facilitators widely reported that the reminders integrated with the goal-setting feature were instrumental in helping them stay on track and maintain focus. These prompts encouraged them to revisit lessons or resume from where they had previously paused, thereby enhancing their sense of accountability and continuity in learning.

“Reminders help me to complete my tasks that I have planned to do.” 

• Progress Bars Triggered Improved Performance: Learning Facilitators frequently noted that the presence of progress bars on the dashboard served as a strong motivator to complete their goals. Many expressed a sense of fulfillment upon visually observing their progress, indicating that the dashboard’s visual indicators played a meaningful role in reinforcing their commitment to learning.

“It gives me a sense of achievement whenever I see my progress, no matter how small the improvement is.”

3. Impact of gamification of quizzes 

• Improved Accountability for Learning

Learning Facilitators noted that the anticipation of a quiz at the end of each lesson motivated them to engage more attentively with the learning material. The quizzes served as a mechanism of accountability, helping to maintain focus and reinforce comprehension throughout the learning process.

“It helped me because it made me focus, because I know I have to answer some questions after the learning process.”

• Desire for Immediate Rewards

Several Learning Facilitators expressed a preference for receiving rewards upon achieving high scores on quizzes. Some suggested incorporating a comprehensive final quiz at the end of Course 5, accompanied by a certificate of completion as a form of recognition and motivation.

“If possible, there should be a quiz session after Course 5 that comprises questions from all five modules. After passing this quiz, we should get a certificate with our name on it.”

4. Impact of providing AI prompts

• AI Seen as a Support Mechanism: The AI feature was appreciated by most of the participants and was seen as a support system solving people’s problems, especially related to classroom management. 

• Direct, Accurate, and Clear Communication: Participants appreciated clear, short, and accurate communication. 

• Network challenges caused a delay in AI response time, preventing participants from optimizing the features’ full potential.

“It gives you feedback, the AI will direct you to what you want, and it supports you by explaining the concept clearly.”

GAPS AND CHALLENGES
Learning Facilitators provided thoughtful feedback on their experience using the AI and associated tools. Some found the AI interface overwhelming, noting that the continuous stream of questions felt intrusive and, at times, controlling. As one facilitator remarked, “The AI continuously asks me questions without stopping. I feel like it is controlling me, and when I give an answer, it does not say it is wrong but suggests looking at it in a different way.”

Additionally, many facilitators reported challenges in accessing video content due to personal device data limitations. They expressed a clear preference for videos in the chatbot to play directly within WhatsApp, rather than redirecting to YouTube or downloading automatically to their phone galleries. Navigating the AI tool also proved difficult, with facilitators struggling to resume their progress from previous sessions. A commonly suggested improvement was for the “Goals Reminder” feature to return users to their exact stopping point.

Furthermore, the reminder system’s lack of precision, providing only general time ranges, was noted as a limitation. Facilitators expressed the need for the ability to select specific reminder times, which would better support schedule management and goal completion.

NEXT STEPS AND FUTURE LEARNINGS
To enhance engagement and improve learning outcomes among learning facilitators, several strategic next steps have been identified.

• In fostering effective classroom management practices, the integration of gamified quizzes that reinforce foundational strategies, such as establishing classroom routines and promoting student participation, has proven particularly effective. Learning facilitators valued the opportunity to assess their understanding and expressed a strong preference for immediate feedback following each question, which further supports comprehension and motivation. Additionally, the introduction of AI-driven content that gradually unlocks as facilitators advance through the lessons can sustain interest and encourage continued learning.
  
• To facilitate onboarding for new learning facilitators, it is important to recognize that interacting with a chatbot represents a novel behavior for many. A brief introductory video featuring testimonials from fellow educators, highlighting common teaching challenges and demonstrating how the assistant can help address them, can serve to normalize and humanize the experience. Assigning the chatbot a relatable and empathetic persona may also help foster trust and a sense of support.
  
• For sustained engagement and long-term retention, the implementation of time-specific reminders and clearly marked progress indicators will enable learning facilitators to seamlessly resume learning. Enhancing instructional content with visual elements such as icons and emojis can further improve knowledge transfer and user experience. Additionally, introducing a points-based reward system that recognizes learning milestones may serve as a powerful incentive for continued participation.
  
• To address concerns regarding data consumption, particularly in relation to video content, it is essential to provide clear, upfront information on expected data usage per module, along with practical recommendations for minimizing data costs. These measures will help ensure the accessibility of the platform for all users.

The experience deploying aprendIA in North-East Nigeria demonstrates the effectiveness of well-designed behavioral interventions, including personalized feedback, goal-setting, and gamification, in addressing persistent challenges related to teacher motivation and consistency. These modest yet targeted solutions have proven impactful in improving the educational experience, even within some of the most resource-constrained and challenging environments.

Looking ahead, the focus will be on refining these tools and exploring scalable pathways to extend the intervention to a broader network of learning facilitators in conflict-affected regions. Through the sustained application of behavioral science principles, we seek to enhance teacher engagement, confidence, and preparedness, which contributes to improved educational outcomes for students in crisis-affected contexts.