Schools have been seen, for a very long time, as spaces primarily focused on transferring cognitive knowledge —memorising multiplication tables, solving equations, reading and understanding historical events, or learning grammar and language. While these are undoubtedly important, have we ever paused to think about how important it is for children to also learn how to express their emotions, build relationships, and develop resilience? Aren’t schools meant to prepare children for all of life, not just exams?
I was recently in the Mugaluru Cluster of Anekal Block, Bangalore Rural, visiting the government schools where Mantra4Change is piloting an SEL prototype. SEL stands for Socio-Emotional Learning, a key domain of child development, which enables well-being, emotional intelligence, social skills, and ethical decision-making, among a range of life skills. During these school visits, I witnessed the potential that only one hour per week of integrated learning can have for children’s holistic development.
Context
This academic year, Mantra4Change took a decisive step in its journey towards more consciously including SEL in school interventions. We are piloting five ways of integrating SEL into various school improvements to enrich children’s learning experiences and learn how to implement SEL-integrated programs at scale. Our prototype designs were made possible by the Indian Socio-Emotional Learning Framework (ISELF), developed by The Teacher Foundation.
As a ‘Transform’ program, Anekal is where we are able to pilot innovative ideas in a smaller number of schools and learn before implementing them at a higher scale. One such innovation is the Cluster need-based school improvements, which Cluster leaders identified and co-created with Mantra team members. Mugaluru’s need-based improvement is to regularise a weekly sports period in all 12 lower and upper primary schools to enable children to play and develop their motor skills.
There we saw an opportunity for integrating SEL in this intervention in 3 ways:
- Suggesting sports and games that cater to various socio-emotional competencies, such as cooperation and emotional regulation
- Supporting teachers to facilitate in an SEL-friendly manner
- Inserting a 10-minute reflection time at the end of each session to solidify the learnings from the physical activity through reflective group discussion
… and the Aata-Arivu (Play-Pause) intervention was born!
As for all of our programs, but especially since this is a pilot, we made a rigorous data-driven monitoring and evaluation plan, to be able to assess the effectiveness of our interventions. However, as a designer, I recognise that data is not enough to understand our success. Thus, I accompanied two members of the Anekal team to Mugaluru schools to observe Aata-Arivu in action rather than on a spreadsheet and experience the achievements and challenges of the interventions for myself. What follows is what I observed in Government Higher Primary Schools in Thindlu.
Enriching Learning Experiences through integration
We reached GHPS Thindlu before the end of the morning assembly, after which 6th-standard students had their regular Aata-Arivu session. The game, co-facilitated by the teacher-in-charge and our own Balakrishna, consisted of creating a human chain by holding hands and passing a hula hoop through the chain without breaking it as fast as possible. This game forces children to be conscious of their bodies, move purposefully, and keep their balance while they pass the hoop under one leg and then another.
The first thing that struck me was that the children were laughing, talking, and moving freely throughout the session. This was a clue that children enjoyed themselves, feeling emotionally and socially comfortable, which are the necessary conditions for children’s healthy development in any domain.
In addition to bodily awareness, control, and balance, this game is collaborative because two children have to move in harmony for the hoop to move smoothly and rapidly across the line. In front of my eyes, I could see how a simple sports game engages children in teamwork and cooperation, a key SEL competency to develop at this stage.
In between games, each team was given a few minutes to strategise. This is where I saw children take the opportunity to practice their leadership and cognitive skills. Particularly girls were ready to take a leadership role in their team to facilitate the strategy and coach all the members to implement the same. This game turned out to be a good problem-solving exercise, as children tried different new strategies and refined them after each game based on their experience and results.
I was also able to observe the inclusive power of Aata-Arivu. Each team had a mix of boys and girls, who were made to alternate with each other in the chain, holding hands and working together. While most classrooms have boys sitting on one side and girls on the other, this session enabled boys and girls to work together in the spirit of equity, as each individual present contributed their own strengths to the team. Further demonstrating the inclusive nature of the intervention, one student with special needs not only participated and enjoyed as much as the other children, but her team strategised ways to ensure her participation to the best possible effect.
After the games and strategising ended, students sat together to cool down for 10 minutes. During this time, the teacher-in-charge facilitated a discussion on the importance of collaboration and teamwork by asking open-ended reflective questions. Children felt comfortable to share how they were feeling during the game, and also connected this experience to their life. This discussion allowed children to focus on their own emotions and experiences and learn from them.
On paper, Aata-Arivu is a great example of a holistic learning experience, ensuring children are happy and healthy while integrating physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development opportunities. On a weekly basis, children in Mugaluru primary and upper primary schools get this enriched learning experience thanks to their teacher, who has accepted the extra charge of facilitating, with the support of the HeadMaster, who encourages children and supports the teacher, and the leadership and guidance of their Cluster Resource Person, who first identified the need and created the intervention. It was a privilege to see that beyond design, Aata-Arivu can also work in practice.
That being said, there is still scope for improvement in this cluster intervention. Some schools, especially with a single teacher, need additional support to implement Aata-Arivu. And teachers are still co-facilitating with Mantra’s team members. We have a few more steps to cover to ensure all children attending Mugaluru’s government schools can enjoy this enriched learning experience, but my recent experience testifies to the impact that just one hour per week can have.
