STARTING with PLAY Play Well's Approach to Educational Audio
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STARTING WITH PLAY Play Well’s Approach to Educational Audio Content Creation NOV. 2020 | From Harm to Home | Rescue.org I. Introduction COVID-19, economic hardships, and school closures are The play-forward approach to Play Well’s content creation overwhelming families around the world. At the peak of the crisis, includes three-parts: an estimated 1.9 billion students–95% of all school children across over 190 countries–experienced disrupted learning due to school 1. Develop and distribute surveys to identify the highest priority closures.1 As of October 2020, over a billion students continue SEL skills for children affected by the Venezuelan crisis. to experience school closures or only partial educational services. 2. Conduct workshops with contextual and global experts to War-affected communities, with weak or non-existent social analyze survey results, develop listener personas based on services, market infrastructure, and safety nets, are among those the lived experience of children and families affected by the most affected. Children in these communities who are unable to crisis in Venezuela, and generate initial ideas for engaging, access the predictable, supportive routines of school not only miss culturally-relevant play-based SEL content. opportunities to learn and build social-emotional skills, but are less likely to re-enroll when schools reopen and more likely to remain 3. Co-create the SEL framework and guidance package for the out of school forever. These children are at greatest risk for production partner to inform storyline and script development. far-reaching consequences of learning disruptions, including reduced academic achievement and long-term impacts to mental health and economic prosperity. Research shows that learning through play is not only vital for children’s healthy cognitive and social-emotional development, but also can help build resilience in coping with stress and adversity. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) received emergency funding to address the critical needs of children and families facing prolonged isolation from peers, community, and school, on top of the existing challenges of displacement. Under this project, titled Play Well, IRC will create play-based social-emotional learning (SEL) content for children that will be delivered via radio and other audio devices in four contexts and languages: Spanish, English, French, and Arabic. The SEL-focused audio program aims to create: (1) remote learning opportunities for children that have very limited internet and technology access and (2) easy-to-use content for caregivers at home with potentially low education and literacy rates to support their own social-emotional well-being as well as their child’s. The IRC will begin Play Well by developing audio programming for children ages 6-12 affected by the crisis in Venezuela and living in vulnerable communities in Colombia. This report documents the approach that the IRC has taken to identify SEL areas that are of greatest priority for these children in the midst of the pandemic and ongoing refugee crisis. This approach ensures that the voices of experts and users in this context are at the center of Play Well’s Spanish content design from the beginning, while also consulting global leaders in the field to align the content with the latest innovations and best practices in SEL and audio learning. The SEL framework for Play Well content that resulted from this process will be used as a jumping off point for later workshops with contextual and global experts from the other languages and countries of implementation. PHOTO: ANDRES BRENNER/IRC From Harm to Home | Rescue.org | Starting with Play: Play Well’s Approach to Educational Audio Content Creation 2 II. Survey Results Logistics Respondents As a first step to developing the Play Well Spanish content, an The Play Well team targeted respondents in Latin America Audio Content Survey was designed to gather information from by reaching out to a group of experts in EiE, SEL, child experts that would inform decisions on the target SEL domains development, and/or education in Colombia and Venezuela. and skill areas. Respondents with contextual and/or global expertise were also recruited from the INEE PSS-SEL Collaborative, Colombia’s The survey questions focused on the learning and development National Education Cluster, and pre-existing contacts from the needs of refugee children living in Colombia. The survey results IRC and LEGO Foundation. were presented in two technical workshops in Spanish and English, ultimately leading to the development of an SEL Of the 45 respondents, 65% of respondents reside in Latin framework for the audio content. American countries. We did not disaggregate for country of origin or language, as the data were not conclusive. However, The survey was developed and disseminated via Microsoft we know that some respondents were not nationals of their Forms in Spanish and English, with responses gathered between country of residence, and that the browser setting is not September 11-27th, 2020. The language of the survey was indicative of native language. determined by the respondent’s browser language setting. If the browser setting was not English or Spanish, the respondent In addition, respondents were asked to self identify their received the English version. professional roles. The top three types of roles identified were practitioners at 35% (n=16) of respondents, researchers at The survey was written by members of IRC’s HQ-based education 17% (n=8), and government workers at 15% (n=7). Other roles team, with input and translation by IRC’s education team in identified include donor/funders, caregivers, and students. Colombia. Together, these contributors make up the Play Well team. Mexico Spain 5% Italy 5% USA 5% 25% Survey Respondents Country of Venezuela Residence 30% Colombia 25% Brazil 5% PHOTO: JUAN ARREDONDO/IRC From Harm to Home | Rescue.org | Starting with Play: Play Well’s Approach to Educational Audio Content Creation 3 Prioritization • Perspectives: The Perspectives domain includes how one views and approaches the world. It impacts how one sees themselves, When asked to prioritize 6 SEL domains (Emotion, Identity, others, and their own circumstances and influences how they Cognitive, Values, Social, Perspectives) from most to least critical interpret and approach challenges in their daily life. A positive for children in Colombia and Venezuela, given the realities of the perspective can help one protect against and manage negative refugee crisis and COVID-19, Emotion was ranked as the most feelings to successfully accomplish tasks and get along with others. important domain, followed by Identity. Summarized from The Taxonomy Project by Harvard EASEL Lab2 • Emotion: The Emotion domain includes skills that help one recognize, express, and control their emotions as well as When asked to select the 8 most important SEL skills (from a understand and empathize with others. group of 26 skills spanning the 8 domains), responses were mostly in alignment with the domain rankings. Of the top 8 skill areas, the • Identity: The Identity domain includes how one understands IRC team has decided to prioritize the skill areas of the two highest and perceive themselves and their abilities. It includes one's ranking domains: Emotion and Identity. knowledge and beliefs about themselves, including one's ability to learn and grow. When one feel good about one's; sure of Looking at how respondents from the different (self-identified) their place in the world; and confident in their ability to learn, roles, practitioners more frequently prioritized identity-related grow, and overcome obstacles, it becomes easier to cope with skills areas, such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, self-knowledge challenges and build positive relationships. and purpose, compared to the other groups. Practitioners and researchers were slightly more interested in the Cognitive skills • Cognitive: The Cognitive domain includes the basic cognitive than the other groups, based on their selected SEL skills. skills required to direct behavior toward the attainment of a goal. These include skills like focusing attention, working memory, Taking into account all survey responses, the top eight skill impulse control, etc. areas were the following: • Values: The Values domain includes the skills, character 1. Emotional and behavioral regulation (Emotion)–30 respondents traits/virtues, and habits that support one to be a positive and 2. Empathy/Perspective Taking (Emotion)–30 respondents productive member of a particular community. It encompasses understanding, caring about, and acting upon core ethical values; 3. Conflict resolution/social problem solving (Social)–29 respondents the desire to perform to one’s highest potential; and the habits required to live and work together with others as a friend, family 4. Knowledge and emotional expression (Emotion)–25 respondents member, and citizen. 5. Critical thinking (Cognitive)–24 respondents • Social: The Social domain includes skills that help one accurately interpret other people’s behavior, effectively navigate social 6. Self-knowledge (Identity)–24 respondents situations, and interact positively with others. 7. Self-efficacy/growth mindset (Identity)–23 respondents 8. Prosocial/Cooperative Behavior (Social)–22 respondents Prioritization of SEL Domains First choice Last choice Emotion Identity Social Perspectives Values Cognitive From Harm to Home | Rescue.org | Starting