Innovating Educational Delivery: Lessons For India

Neeta Misra leads Policy Matters; a global initiative focused on economic recovery from COVID-19, centering on the economy, people, and vulnerable communities. In this edition she speaks with Dr. Chary Cole an educator with a background in developmental psychology and a doctorate in education from Harvard University. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself?  
I’m co-executive director of Blue Butterfly, a nonprofit educational organization based in the United States. We collaborate with teams in low-income countries to develop high-quality educational media for children.   

I’m an educator with a background in developmental psychology and decades of experience working throughout the world. For twenty years, I was head of global education at Sesame Workshop, the makers of Sesame Street, the acclaimed educational program for preschoolers.  

The state of education in Haiti 
UNICEF estimates that in Haiti more than a half a million children are out of school for a “a multitude of reasons”— poor educational services, parents’ inability to pay, gang violence, natural disasters, civil unrest, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Education in Haiti has been disrupted for many years—long before the pandemic. Far too many children lack access to basic education. 

What work have your done in Haiti to respond to the educational needs?
In Haiti, we produce with our partners a video series called Lakou Kajou. The show’s animated characters, Lili and Tilou, are twins who, through adventures with their friends, help children learn basic skills as well as an appreciation for their country and their culture. Children in Haiti have very little media that reflects their lives. They love the program because they know that it is for them!  

And we have concrete evidence that the program is having an educational impact. Researchers at the University of Maryland (USA) conducted a randomized control trial and found that children who watched the series made gains on every curriculum area tested. 

Recently we have focused on the need for opportunities for children to learn when school is unavailable. At the start of the pandemic, we developed Ti Lekòl Lekay (“Little Home School”), which provides daily audio lessons and related graphics that families receive via WhatsApp. The lessons are hosted by Zando, the gecko character from our Lakou Kajou videos. She introduces a theme of the week (such as geography or exercise) and presents stories, songs, and activities related to the theme. The response from parents and children has been wonderful.  

Ti Lekòl Lekay has been so successful that we are now piloting a science distance learning program, Eksploratoryòm, in collaboration with the Haitian Ministry of Education. Like Ti Lekòl Lekay it uses characters from Lakou Kajou in an audio format that engages children. In one lesson, Lili learns about vertebrates when she takes care of a puppy; she discovers it has a backbone and so does she! Children and parents love the program and have encouraged us to expand beyond the current grade levels (first and second grades).   

What lessons does Haiti’s experience hold for other regions?  
While there is no substitute for in-school, teacher-led education, the need for distance learning in many parts of the world is likely to continue. Audio is cheaper to produce and distribute than video and other formats (even print!) and can be an effective way to deliver high-quality educational experiences where in-school teaching is unavailable.   

What three policies would you like to see implemented immediately in Haiti?
Access to education must be improved across the country. We’ve learned from our partners that committing to the use of Haitian Creole (the home language of most Haitians), reducing the cost of school for families, and improving teacher training, are some steps that would help. 

Any best practices you would like to emphasize?  
When delivering distance learning, it’s important to consider a variety of platforms. No single solution will work for all situations. We are experimenting with various approaches—broadcast radio, mobile phone applications (like WhatsApp), voice-bot (interactive call-in). Every method has strengths and weaknesses. Determining format and distribution modality should be driven by the needs of the community. The most important tool we all have as educators is to listen to those needs and work together to try to meet them. 

For more information on the series kindly contact Neeta Misra neetamisra@businessworld.in executive editor at large for public policy based in Washington DC.