Playful Learning Across the Years 2.0

Challenge

In the world, one in four children live in crisis-affected contexts that constrain their opportunities to access quality teaching and learning. In Bangaldesh, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, children are in critical need of quality teaching as well as learning environments and experiences that can accelerate their recovery from trauma and toxic stress. High-quality teaching and learning that considers children as active agents in their own learning can equip and empower them with the capabilities and confidence to cope with abrupt disruptions to their life circumstances and the skills to succeed in a changing world.

In collaboration with The LEGO Foundation, as part of its Playful Learning Across the Years 2.0 (PLAY 2.0) program, EDC will contextualize, test, and use externally developed classroom observation and interview tools to measure the quality of play-based learning. EDC will work with Street Child, a UK-based nongovernmental organization, to use the PLAY 2.0 research tools to assess the quality of children’s learning experiences in crisis-affected contexts in Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.

Key Activities

The project is carrying out the following activities:

Plan and coordinate the cycles of the toolkit adaptation, data collection, and analysis in collaboration with Street Child
Lead the community of learning for all LEGO implementing partners
Coordinate project-wide events and develop resources to enable members of the project to share lessons learned from adapting, testing, and implementing the PLAY 2.0 tools
In collaboration with the community of learning and The LEGO foundation, share the expertise and tools developed under this initiative with external audiences

Impact

PLAY 2.0 will:

Demonstrate the feasibility and utility of the Play 2.0 tools for large-scale programmatic use across countries and cultures, with a particular focus on crisis-affected contexts
Provide evidence on the contributions of child-centered pedagogies to children’s holistic outcomes from 1,605 classrooms in 990 centers and schools across Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, and Uganda