A year ago, the pandemic drove education online, with educational institutions embracing online classes and digital learning in all its forms to deliver learning to their students. Schools and states adopted different means of reaching out to students; some sent home learning materials, others delivered learning via common messaging apps.

Education moved online, but children across various levels and ages in India continue to experience learning loss, particularly in early childhood education. A survey showed most parents are very worried about their young children losing out on essential development in these early years, and thus they are in favour of online schooling. 80% of parents surveyed said online preschooling delivered clear learning outcomes, and 75% of these parents would recommend online learning to their friends and families.

However, remote learning poses challenges even in suitable settings. Add to that a class full of fidgety young learners – those who choose to come at all – and this type of learning becomes harder to sustain.

To be successful, remote teaching and instruction needs to follow similar ideas as regular instruction: clarity, review, and checking for comprehension. At present, the guidelines to conduct online learning are as yet a work in progress. Even so, based on their experience this past year, multiple early education experts and educators have offered pointers on ways to help remote education be as effective as possible.

1) Changing The Mindset (of teachers, children, AND parents)

The very first challenge to online learning is getting children to show up for classes. With several preschools closing permanently, those still active report almost an 80% reduction in enrollment for the school year 2020-21. Parents who were once convinced about the importance of early learning might give preschool a miss now.

What is needed is a strong reminder about the priority of early education, especially for parents. Plus, to effectively guide this conversation, teachers and caregivers must first understand the nature and science of early learning and how it impacts a child’s future. 

Once in the online classroom, teachers need to consider the socio-cultural circumstances of each student as they deliver instructions; they need to develop a structure, objectives, and teaching plans as per this. Establishing a routine and schedule can do wonders for children’s engagement. They learn to expect certain activities and games at certain times, and they feel confident because they know exactly what comes next.

Initiatives across Maharashtra, Odisha, and Chattisgarh have shown that dedicated efforts by governments, schools, educators, and Anganwadi workers can stave off some ill-effects of learning loss in early childhood. We can take inspiration from these efforts and replicate the same in our classrooms.

2) Remote Relationship-Building

Relationships are the bedrock of society, and, in early childhood education, are the basis upon which socio-emotional behaviour develops. Although physical bonding is ill-advised at the moment, educators can devise strategies that enhance bonding in online classes. 

For a social connect, teachers can structure lesson plans that involve the formation of groups, as much as the curriculum allows. Children can be paired up for games and activities, or even simply to lend a helping hand to one another.

To further enhance this social emotional development, it is recommended to connect with the families too, and share a child’s achievements via weekly messages or a phone call. Rotate this responsibility among teachers so one person is not bearing all the burden.

3) Let Simplicity Guide Your Lesson Structure

Online learning offers reduced opportunities to gauge how instructions have been received by students. This makes simple instructions even more crucial to the classroom. Keep the language direct, the instructions uncomplicated, the explanations brief, and the expectations clear.

For reduced hassle, stick to simplicity in all decisions, whether they are logistical (which edtech app is the best to use) or substantive (is the new learning material clear enough).

4) Make Learning Interactive And Engaging

Student engagement is a common requirement in any early learning curriculum, but planning for such engagement is less so.

Just as in a physical classroom, young children need opportunities to develop all the foundational skills — motor skills, cognitive skills, reasoning, socio-emotional skills, foundational literacy and numeracy — in online classrooms too. Avoid conducting simpler reading and listening exercises; actively pepper your learning modules with quizzes, puzzles, and interactive question-and-answer sessions. These sessions act as review lessons, helping children retain their learning. Some teachers across India have taken the initiative and started recording small lessons before class. They then pause these at key moments to incorporate mini-games and play-based activities for higher engagement.

5) Humanise The Digital Space

Child-friendly spaces always have a colourful and fun theme, so why should an online classroom be any different?

If you use an online platform like ZOOM or Skype to teach, you can check if the background is customisable. Or, you can simply add a few little toys, colourful hand paintings, and even letter and number cutouts for a ‘classroom’ feel. This can be customised as per the age of your learners. Invite questions about the children’s background too (in case of live video lessons), and involve parents in creating fun learning spaces for children, so they exhibit more enthusiasm for learning. 

Lessons via chat-messaging services can be enlivened by the use of emojis; recorded lessons can have some engaging anecdotes to add humour; physical resources for children can be repurposed (read: painted or reprinted) to add in pops of colour.

Are you a parent? If so, here are 4 tips that can help you balance schooling at home with working from home.

While incorporating each idea mentioned here might be challenging, bearing them in mind is prudent. As we learn more about how online learning works, these lessons can help us reach children in every corner of India, creating a truly literate future for our country.

See how Square Panda India can help you build a robust ECCE ecosystem in your state, district, or school: ecce.squarepanda.in

Did you know that becoming literate in any language does not come naturally to young children?

A study done by UNESCO in 2012 states that approximately 250 million school-aged children across the globe hadn’t learnt how to read. Studies also show that the ability of kids to finish their education successfully is highly correlated to their ability to read proficiently by third grade. If this is not achieved, it is very difficult for children to catch up in later years.

As the internet revolution sweeps the world, developing a reading habit has never been more important. Inculcating this reading habit starts early on, and is often taught alongside other essential cognitive skills. The surface understanding is simple. Young learners are introduced to letters and their sounds. Their exposure to the language grows in complexity as they move from one level to the next, learning words, then sentences, and finally developing some level of literacy in that language.

We recognise the efforts educators make towards this goal, and have done our best to deliver a deeper understanding of the neuroscience behind developing foundational literacy skills in early childhood. We researched reading and its effect on the early brain, and this is what we learnt: 

Neuroplasticity And Its Impact On The Reading Brain

• One of the most important findings in neuroscience research has been ‘neuroplasticity’, which is the ability of the brain to change and form new connections as it learns new things. These very changes are responsible for people learning to read. In fact, neuroplasticity is said to be the basis of all learning.

How It Begins:

• As a child is born, their brains form small connections with each new experience, which gradually turn into neural pathways. If unused, these connections soon disappear. However, this little learner’s brain does not automatically know how to read, because from an evolutionary point of view, the writing system is relatively new (the first writing system came about only around 5000 years ago, which is ‘new’ in evolutionary terms; the brain never needed to adapt to the task of reading). The reading skill is, as a result, an acquired one which requires many years of practice. This is where neuroplasticity kicks in, by helping teach a brain how to read. That is also why early education experts recommend reading stories to babies as young as six months of age, to enhance their neural connections.

To Preschoolers…

• Studies conducted on the reading brain show that the best impact happens when reading instruction is given to learners at the preschool and kindergarten level. 
• In fact, focusing on the phonology of a language before teaching early learners the language has a bigger impact on their future education. When educators teach children to recognise letters and words, they are helping them grow new functional regions in their brain.

And Finally, To Practiced Readers:

• When a child is learning to read, what he/she is trying to do is, taking sounds of the language represented in the auditory cortex (the part of the head above the ears), and mapping it to symbols in the visual cortex (the lowest part at the back of the head). This joins together to connect and form a word. That’s why reading is a circuit; it is not a specific area of the brain. When the brain does this again and again and again, it begins to behave like a muscle. Thus, today, when you are able to read effortlessly, it is because your brain has mastered how to map these symbols and sounds together. As a consequence, over a period of time, children might start out as being auditory learners, but eventually become visual learners.

Connecting Speech To The Written Word

Before we learn how to read, words are just meaningless scribbles on a page. They are objects we don’t naturally know or come into contact with, unlike the spoken word. Every child learns to speak before they can read. He/she is exposed to vocabulary by the adults around them on a constant basis. Unfortunately, there is no link between the spoken word, and the written word (or print concepts). So far, words were the initial mode of communication for kids, and when schooling starts, suddenly, they are told that these little symbols (individual letters) are the new mode of communication. They now have to reorganize their brain to match the words to a writing system. What children try to do, as they begin to read, is figure out how to connect the words heard with the written symbols they can see.

Note: Like muscle memory, a young child’s brain slowly makes the connection between the auditory form and the visual form, and the child is now reading. That is also how an auditory learner turns into a visual learner.

Reading And The Indian Brain

• Early learners in India are the only ones in the world who learn two writing systems simultaneously–the Roman/Latin writing system (for e.g. English) and the Devanagari (for e.g. Hindi, Marathi) writing system. As a child becomes a practised reader, a specific part of their brain becomes associated with recognising letter strings, often called the ‘visual word-form area’. In adult Indians who are skilled readers of two writing systems, we find two ‘visual word-form areas’.
• Children take longer to read Indian writing systems than they do English, because of the challenges these systems pose for them – complex script, multiple writing systems, and more. Additionally, when children learn a language, in the beginning, it is the spoken word that communicates meaning. Once they start formal schooling, they are told that they have to use little symbolic representations (a.k.a. letters); now those are the relevant units for communicating.

In a study conducted by cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Nandini Chatterjee Singh, a school whose primary mode of instruction was Hindi saw much better overall results in its students than a school which taught primarily in English. This is because the early exposure of understanding word sounds in Hindi transferred to English. Her study found that gains from teaching children their native language first might be slower, but has a much bigger impact.

The above evidence proves that an Indian educator’s job is doubly hard – they are trying to inculcate lifelong reading skills into just-developing brains; plus, evolution has not caught up to them yet. Additionally, their students are being introduced to two or more languages simultaneously. 

Now that you know how much of an effort reading takes and what an achievement it is, how proud will you be when your students learn new words? Stay tuned for new articles on early reading, early literacy, and Square Panda India, and visit ecce.squarepanda.in for information on our teaching-learning programs that focus on building a more literate India.

Children’s futures are shaped by those who teach them. In many homes across India — where parents often lack access to appropriate educational resources — caregivers and educators are the primary source of learning for young children. For a chance at a better future, however, we believe the responsibility towards learning should not rest solely on these educators and caregivers, but must also lie with the children themselves. Our efforts should concentrate on making children more independent while learning. 

Why Focus On Creating Independent Learners?

Research driven by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) shows independent learning has immense benefits to children, and is a high-impact, low-cost way to improve learning outcomes.

The advantages of inculcating independent study skills are far-reaching. A report named ‘What is Independent Learning and What are the Benefits for Students? (2008)’, stated the following benefits of independent learning for children:

– Develop more self-confidence
– They feel in control
– Creativity increases
– Increased social inclusion
– Ability to complete varied tasks set by teachers and caregivers

Encouraging such independent learning can happen from a very young age, but educators and caregivers need to understand how much guided intervention is needed, and when children are expected to be self-reliant. Here are five simple strategies to help turn young children into independent learners.

1.  Partner with parents

“In a 24-hour day, eight hours are the school’s time, eight hours are the child’s own time of sleep, and eight hours are the home time. Any learning that is happening in early childhood education, 1/3 rd of it is happening at home,” says Dr. Jawahar Surisetti (Advisor to Government, TED Speaker, Smart City Consultant, Start-Up Mentor, Psychologist, Bestselling Author, Speaking Tree Columnist).

Studies indicate children’s learning outcomes improve when they have the right guidance and instructional support even outside the classroom. Build a looped early learning ecosystem by increasing parental involvement in their child’s learning. Higher parental engagement supports learning even outside school hours and increases the likelihood of children wanting to learn without guided instruction.

For example, Square Panda India’s learning program for children has an in-built adaptive engine that reads individual children’s digital activity and provides real-time data to adults (parents, teachers, district administrators), whether the child is at home or is in school.

2.  Build special learning spaces

A key step to inculcating self-learning habits is designating a special space to learn. Set aside one corner of the classroom/home as a ‘learning corner’ filled with fun learning props. Partnering with parents comes in handy here; recruit them, or better yet, ask your students to help in creating their own learning spaces. Some examples of such spaces include:

• Reading Corner: To turn your pre-readers into independent readers, you will need to give them easy access to books, both physical and digital. Hang a basket or set a colourful bucket within easy reach of your kids, and fill it with books of all kinds. This gives them an opportunity to read a book of their choosing.
• Creative Corner: Fill this space with child-friendly creative tools like paint, crayons, art paper, magazine cutouts, colour pencils, and more. Let children doodle, finger paint, and express their ideas in any way they choose.
• Free-play Area: Grab different toys and trinkets you think your little learners would play with, and let them enjoy this space.

3.  Offer children a choice

Choices reflect preferences and interests. Children that are given a choice are encouraged to take a bigger role in their own learning. Asking them to make a choice on something simple (which colour do you want to use) or more complex (what items do you want to add in this learning corner) empowers children and gives them control over varied aspects of their learning.

4.  Assign groups

Children should be able to identify the people around them as potential resources to solve problems. Build teams and groups of children for projects and play-time as well. Letting them learn from their peers can benefit their independent learning as well. Working with others not only develops their social emotional skills, but also helps them solve problems on their own to get answers rather than rely on the teacher/educator.

5.  Identify and understand problem areas

Diverse classrooms with diverse learners mean educators and caregivers are faced with a diverse set of problems. Not every learner adapts to free expression quite the same way. In fact, multiple research studies into independent learning models prove some children do struggle with aspects of self-learning. Our task is identifying what these stumbling blocks are, and working with our early learning partners to solve these problems.

Some children could be more introverted than others and avoid speaking up, allowing others to take the lead. Caregivers need to monitor and address such issues, taking care to let everyone take a turn equally, in a safe, non-judgemental space.

Square Panda India’s Foundational Program Encourages Independent Learning

To show the efficacy of our foundational literacy program, we conducted projects across the states of Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Pune, with children aged 2-10. A comparison of results pre and post implementation showed us:

– Children across all three states could independently use words we taught in brand-new sentences.
– Children explored concepts and skills independently without guided instruction, at schools and at home.
– They learnt to use digital devices without guidance.
– The utility of Square Panda as an exploratory platform for independent learning.
– The high level of effectiveness teachers can achieve with it if used as a method of instruction.

Learn more about Square Panda India and our NEP 2020-aligned teaching-learning programs at ecce.squarepanda.in

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With what do you equate early childhood education? 

Most people would likely relate this term with academics. While the primary focus of ECCE has always been academics, this is but one component that makes up the whole. Research tells us that social and emotional development is as deeply woven into the fabric of early education as academics. For example, a 2015 study by Jones, Greenberg, & Crowley linked higher social emotional skills in kindergarten with important outcomes like education, career, and social success by the age of 25.

Comprehensive programs that enhance foundational learning and include a component of socio-emotional skill development are perfectly geared towards delivering the best results for young learners.

Defining Social And Emotional Development

A child is considered to be developing socially and emotionally when they start to understand who they are, what they are feeling, and how to interact with others. They are able to:

• Forge and sustain positive relationships
• Experience, manage, and express emotions
• Explore and engage with those in their environment

Technology And Social Emotional Skills

While there is research about the usage of technology while developing socio-emotional skills, this does not take into account the scope of edutech as we know it today. Companies that provide digital learning tools for their young learners are more concerned with holistically empowering their audience. Their research takes into account each developmental domain and is increasingly focused on providing the best overall foundation for learning, with a special curriculum for developing social emotional skills.

When children work together on computers or other types of technology, they learn to negotiate and take turns. Conflicts may arise while working together, and young children will need to solve problems. Technology is very prevalent in young children’s lives. Some advocates state that, since this is true, children should begin using technology at an early age, when they are motivated and fearless to learn.
(McCarrick & Xiaoming, 2007)

Supporting Social And Emotional Development In Early Learning Centres

A 2014 UNICEF Study put enrollment in preschools at around 70%. Of these, about 36 million children (3 to 6 years of age) were enrolled in Anganwadis (Ministry of Women & Child Development 2015). Anganwadis, part of the ICDS scheme, form only a part of the early learning settings children are exposed to; the rest involve public and private learning centres with enrollment skewing towards private schooling centres. This makes professional caregivers who care for and teach young children the most important partners in supporting their social and emotional development and building their readiness for school.

High-quality education is critical to maintaining positive socio-emotional development. Not only does a quality education promote active learning and engagement in children, it also mitigates the effects of other risk factors and builds resilience in children. This is partly due to the positive relationships young children form with their caregivers in a high-quality learning centre. Read our thoughts on quality in early education. When children perceive at least one supportive adult in their life, they are less likely to experience the effects of an adverse experience, and be more socio-emotionally developed individuals.

Well-trained early care and education professionals are critical to the creation of such quality learning centres, and to supporting the social and emotional development of their charges. Their expertise enables them to weave social and emotional skill-building into daily activities, routines, and even their own behaviour. They know to implement targeted curriculum with games, stories, and activities.

Supporting Social Emotional Learning At A Higher Level

Leaders and policymakers play a higher role in fostering and promoting positive environments across learning centres. These typically involve strategies, policies, or structures related to the teaching-learning climate and support services, like establishing a team to administer structural changes in working environments and developing clear guidelines for adult behaviour in learning centres.

8 Activities To Build Social And Emotional Skills

*note: these suggestions can be repurposed for at-home learning, by parents and other educators.

1. Build A ‘Feeling Box’: Help children put their feelings into words by labelling emotions in this little ‘feeling box’. Make your own feeling box, and model for children how to communicate their emotions to others.
2. Move To Music: Pick easy songs with lyrics and beats that encourage movement, like Square Panda’s letter-dance song. Make the motions with children as the song plays. Point out how good their dancing is getting, and credit their listening skills for it.
3. Play Board Games: Board games (specially those requiring teams) increase emotional intelligence by teaching children to take turns, think ahead, be a good sport about losing, and learn that actions have consequences. Here’s a fun little board game created for your little ones especially by Square Panda India, to get you started. 
4. Make A Share Box: A study from Duke and Penn State followed over 750 people for 20 years and found those who were able to share and help other children in kindergarten were more likely to graduate from high school. Teach children that sharing is caring (and fun); decorate a box and fill it with things children choose to share with their friends/family, like playdough, crayons, music boxes, soft toys, and more.
5. Use Hand Puppets: You can get these online (see the one Ms. Sonia Relia uses during our Square Panda Thursdays sessions), or ask children to make their own, using random picture cutouts glued to a popsicle stick. These help in acting out stories and exhibiting various emotions.
6. Read Stories: Use stories to talk to children about different social situations. Reading and playacting stories aloud (using hand puppets as props) provides a great opportunity to discuss the connection between behaviour and emotions. For example, “The panda is running fast! He seems scared.”
7. Sing Songs: Take children through the gamut of emotions while singing songs like ‘If You’re Happy And You Know It‘, or ‘Looking In The Mirror’. The wordsmith in you can even come up with lyrics to the tune of popular songs, which talk about sharing, being kind, and other social messages.
8. Use Daily Activities To Develop Social Skills: Activities like snack time, digital time, and recess can be used to develop social skills like taking turns, sitting together, and engaging in conversation. This helps children build positive peer relationships and foster healthy social and emotional development early on.

Key Points To Remember While Developing Social Emotional Skills

• Children Learn By Watching: All children automatically mimic the behaviour of those closest to them, which in many cases are adults. Let them see you model appropriate behaviour and exhibit patience, kindness, and helpfulness throughout the day. Explain what is appropriate behaviour and what is not, and make sure you recognise their positive behaviour and praise it.
• Diversity Plays A Major Part: India’s multicultural heritage translates into a diverse classroom full of children with unique sets of experiences, abilities, and learning needs. Such diversity also brings rich cultural and linguistic differences. Being aware of and adapting to each child’s specific needs can be the difference between a socially aware and competent future citizen or one unable to cope in challenging situations. In classrooms, for example, teachers can encourage expression in the language children are comfortable with, and assign ‘helper buddies’ to children who are struggling socially.
• Connecting With Parents Is Important Too: Establishing a link with parents and caregivers of children is extremely important for success in a school setting. Increased parental engagement, and an awareness of the importance of social emotional development helps children, particularly those struggling with behavioural problems. Schools can figure ways to reach out to the parents regularly, and encourage them to visit or volunteer in the classroom.
• Maintaining A Daily Routine Is Critical To Social Emotional Development: In any setting, adults need to stick to a regular routine each day so children can predict what comes next. This helps them feel safe and in control. In case of any adjustments to the schedule, make sure they know changes are coming, so they are well-prepared for it.
• Encourage Early Friendships: Young children often play next to each other rather than with each other. This has only increased with online learning. What educators now notice, is that children are beginning to show empathy to peer problems even online, giving rise to early friendships. Encouraging more interaction between groups of children, assigning buddies, and drawing out quieter children are some more ways to increase positive peer relationships from an early age.

Early childhood is a critical period to develop social emotional skills. The quality of experiences in this stage can have a lifelong impact on children. Adults are mainly responsible for developing strong socio-emotional skills in early childhood. The early learning programs that prioritise children’s social and emotional health are rewarded by highly engaged little learners who express and use emotion in productive ways.

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The largest child care program in the world, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), is a powerful testament to our nation’s commitment to children and their development. Spanning each region in India, Anganwadi centres aim to reach children across rural areas and marginalised and disadvantaged sections of society. There are 1.36 million functional Anganwadi centres and over 25 lakh Anganwadi workers and helpers across the country. 

While initially conceptualised to address malnutrition problems and provide nutrition to young children and mothers, the Anganwadis have now evolved to include intersectoral collaboration between health and education. At present, these centres focus on food, nutrition, and early childhood education equally.

Why The Focus On Early Childhood Education?

A young child’s brain sees the highest period of brain development in the early years; if this development is not nurtured in a supportive environment, their growth can falter, causing irreparable damage and lifelong repercussions.

While recognising the important role of nutrition and food in the growth and development of children, our policymakers kept in mind the nature of ECCE, which involves a holistic intervention that covers health, nutrition, and foundational learning (including psycho-social and emotional needs).

As the primary care providers for a majority of the population — out of the 240 million children in India aged between 0-8 years, 74%, i.e., 178 million live in rural areas — Anganwadi workers truly are at the frontlines of early development.

These warriors have already proven their mettle while impacting nutrition across India. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) calls them instrumental to child development for the role they play in fighting malnutrition.

The New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 recognises the immense reach and potential of these centres. The guidelines now require Anganwadi workers to impart pre-primary education to their charges, thus turning them into early years’ educators.

While a visionary thought, certain challenges impede a swift transition for the workers: adequate knowledge of ECCE, qualification and training dedicated to early childhood education, structured curriculum and resources, and an understanding of 21^st century skills and methodology.

Journey From Anganwadi Workers To Anganwadi Educators

As leaders in the early education space, we at Square Panda India believe we need a three-pronged approach to empower Anganwadis as the NEP 2020 envisions:

• Training And Skills Development: Anganwadi workers will need to be skilled in the pedagogy of today’s changing world, including adapting to a teaching-learning methodology that is more hands-on, experiential, and play-based. The main objective of this training should empower Anganwadi workers with knowledge of ECCE, including the neuroscience behind early learning, an understanding of various early childhood education schemes, and a well-rounded understanding of nutrition and how it affects learning and the young mind.

• Build An Early Learning Ecosystem: An early learning ecosystem cannot exist without the support of each of the early childhood education stakeholders – parents, pre-primary and primary teachers, principals, Anganwadi workers, administrators, and other early years’ educators. To create a nurturing environment for children, we need to combine the efforts of each of these stakeholders and build an early learning community to share knowledge and information, taking our early learning landscape to new heights.

• Hand-holding And Support: To ensure seamless transition from Anganwadi workers to Anganwadi educators, they  need to be supported by a network of resources that are easily available at their disposal. Technology and digital tools can be leveraged for a more comprehensive approach to reduce the Anganwadi workers’ burden. 

India has left its mark on the world and the early childhood development sector with the ICDS scheme. The Anganwadis have the power to break the vicious cycle of undereducation, and holistically develop children’s minds and health equally. All that is needed is our support, investment, and an enabling environment.

Square Panda India’s Anganwadi Workers Upskilling Program aims to empower Anganwadi workers, transforming these centres to their fullest potential for children’s holistic development. Learn more about our programs here.

Early experiences during the period of rapid brain growth until the child is eight can influence future learning, health, and behaviour. Studies conducted by the Harvard Centre for the Developing Child show us that a child’s brain makes one million new neural connections per second in the early years. Subsequently, children deprived of developmentally appropriate stimulus in these early years are at risk of lagging behind their peers.

Given the widespread agreement in research and education literature that discovery-based methods could be more effective in academic and cognitive development, play-based pedagogy is a powerful mechanism to support early learning. Numerous researchers agree that learning through play builds a foundation for creativity, intellectual growth, and problem-solving ability in children.

*Why is play-based learning so important? Read this article to find out.

The importance of play-based learning has been recognised by the New Education Policy (NEP) of 2020, which outlines an educational transformation based on the principles of a play-based approach to early childhood education.

However, simply sending children off to play will not culminate in them acquiring essential foundational skills. Facilitators are needed at each level of the early education landscape, from administrators, to teachers, and parents, if we are to insert effective play-based instruction into daily activities.

THE BENEFITS OF PLAY-BASED LEARNING

A quick glimpse at how play-based learning strengthens many areas of a child’s development:

WHAT SKILLS DOES PLAY-BASED LEARNING DEVELOP?

Much of the early learning programs developed by experts include experiential forms of learning, including play-based instruction. 

For instance, Square Panda India uses our expertise in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) to design a curriculum that strategically embeds play into our learning system. Our program weaves in gamification and storytelling as a part of our experience-based learning model, ensuring children are constantly engaged and enjoying their learning.

These play-based activities and learning games expose children to a new skill:

HOW CHILDREN LEARN THROUGH PLAY

By his own admission, Albert Einstein’s introduction to scientific inquiry came about accidentally, with play. This pivotal event occurred when he was just four or five years of age, stuck in bed due to an illness. Seeing his boredom, his father handed him a magnetic compass to play with, and Einstein spent hours twirling the compass this way and that, wondering why the needle kept pointing north. This experience left a lasting impact on his mind, leading him to believe that a greater truth was hidden behind everything.

“Play is a powerful instrument to guide knowledge and education, and is, in fact, the key to learning. We’ve seen the research, and have found through our own expertise and case studies, that play-based instruction enriches the early education experience while reinforcing essential skills like literacy and numeracy, inquiry, expression, creativity, experimentation, and teamwork.”

– Ashish Jhalani, MD, Square Panda India

Young children learn differently from adults, taking inspiration from pretense and their imagination. Play brings together the logical and creative parts of their brain. Children tap into various skills as they play, creating an outlet for stress and anxiety at the same time. They begin to communicate ideas, develop a foundation for literacy and math, understand vocabulary, learn about actions and consequences, build deeper understandings about social relations, and recognise how their initiative influences decisions and self-choice. Researchers have even found that play helps children regulate their own emotions, helping them think before they act. Their experience with play-based learning helps children become thriving adults capable of living in any range of personal and professional environments.

 “The heart (human values and ethics), the head (our minds), and the hand (our bodies), can be holistically balanced with play and activities”

Says early years’ author, educator, teacher trainer, and content developer, Sonia Relia

*Watch her educational series with Square Panda India, called Square Panda Thursdays, here.

The education space is evolving; early childhood educators, Anganwadi workers, and adults responsible for imparting education must strive to create a play-friendly learning atmosphere with an appropriate balance of play and academics to reach young learners naturally. This is the best way to bring tangible results to children’s growth. 

See how Square Panda India is helping ensure that today’s young minds become tomorrow’s visionaries: ecce.squarepanda.in

Share the learning; share this article!

We at Square Panda India have always believed that high quality early childhood education paves the way to future success, turning early learners into productive citizens that directly impact national growth. With this in mind, we partnered with Times Network’s India Economic Conclave (IEC), held on March 25th and 26th in New Delhi to highlight the latest and greatest advances in education.

Here are some highlights from this momentous event:

SPEAKERS FROM SQUARE PANDA

1. Ashish Jhalani, Square Panda India – Managing Director
2. Andre Agassi, Tennis Legend, Chairman & Founder – The Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, Chairman of the Board – Square Panda

GALLERY OF EVENT PHOTOS

TOP TWEETS

“Education is what takes a person, nation and economy to greater levels. It is the very backbone that supports growth and prosperity,” states Ramesh Pokhriyal, Minister of Education #IEC2021. @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/Q6waSZJ8kP

— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) March 26, 2021

“The pandemic has not just caused loss of 1 year of learning for the children but also several years of social development,” says Ashish Jhalani (CMO Global), Square Panda (USA) & MD, Square Panda India #IEC2021. @IDFCFIRSTBank@squarepanda_edu @tanvishukla pic.twitter.com/RzXI5MTVAb

— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) March 26, 2021

“Without education, there’s no choice. No choice means they go in a downward spiral. And so, I took a 40 million mortgage and opened a school in Las Vegas. Because kids aren’t failing. We’re failing them.” @andreagassi at #IEC2021, speaking about his passion for education.#ECCE pic.twitter.com/UJ8EHhkojW

— Square Panda India (@squarepanda_edu) March 26, 2021

He added, “My request to the government is to involve innovative, research-based private players early on so that our nation can execute the NEP rapidly.”

— Square Panda India (@squarepanda_edu) March 26, 2021

“The challenges that exist are daunting. We need to educate teachers too, it’s important. The most efficient way of reaching kids is investing in early childhood. It offers the greatest social return on capital.”

— Square Panda India (@squarepanda_edu) March 26, 2021

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM IEC 2021

Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal: The Union Education Minister of India, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal, took centre stage and delved deeper into his passion for learning and education. Echoing the ideas and growth put forth by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Dr. Pokhriyal reiterated the need for inclusive education at all levels across India. This was only possible with the alignment of each stakeholder in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) ecosystem, namely educators, parents, early learners, Anganwadi workers, and administrators. 

He also underlined the importance of imparting education in one of our many mother tongues and regional languages, with multilingualism given its due. The Minister elaborated on the importance of native-language instruction, and expressed a desire to make India a hub of global education, just as it was centuries ago.

Ashish Jhalani: The Square Panda India MD discussed the importance of ‘Investing in Education’ with Sampark Foundation’s Founder, Mr. Vineet Nayar. Read a synopsis of their talk here.

Andre Agassi: The closing address at the IEC was delivered by world-famous tennis legend, educational facilitator, and Square Panda’s Chairman of the Board. Citing his lack of education and thereby, lack of choice, as the inspiration behind his educational efforts, Andre believes the world is failing children at the moment. Building 125+ charter schools across the United States has made a substantial impact, but there are multiple roadblocks to overcome, a challenge compounded by the lack of innovation across this segment.

Remarking on the need to innovate across the education spectrum, he said, “You bring someone from the past, someone who lived 200 years ago, and walk them into an airport, a train station, or a hospital, and they won’t be able to recognise these places. You walk them into a school, and they won’t have even a moment of confusion. Education is the only industry that has remained stagnant and without innovation for 200 years.”

In keeping the recurrent theme brought up across multiple discourses that evening, Andre pointed out the myriad benefits of public-private partnerships in education, including access to resources philanthropy cannot always provide, and an ability to innovate at scale. 

At Square Panda India, we recognise the crucial need to empower educators and Anganwadi workers if they are to have a better impact on early learning outcomes. This was a sentiment echoed by Andre during his near hour long deliberation. 

Pondering the road ahead, he noted that, “The challenges that exist are daunting. We need to educate teachers too, it’s important; and the most efficient way of reaching kids is by investing in early childhood. It offers the greatest social return on capital.”

A quick Q&A session with an eager audience later, Andre signed off, and with that the curtains came down on another thought-provoking edition of the India Economic Conclave.

Watch Andre’s speech here:

Square Panda India was honoured and energised by the presence of leaders from across industry, government, academia, and civil society, and only served to reaffirm our commitment to take the entire early learning ecosystem to greater heights.

Learn more about Square Panda India, our mission and goals, and how we envision transforming education for millions of children, educators, and Anganwadi workers, here.

Square Panda India has always been a big believer in the power of education, particularly early education. To further our cause of reimagining the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) landscape in India, we partnered with Times Network’s India Economic Conclave 2021 to Reform, Perform, and Transform India’s growth. The sessions were aired live across the Times Network on March 25th and 26th.

Day 2 of this thought-provoking conclave featured an illuminating opening discussion on education by the Minister of education himself, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal, following which Ashish Jhalani (Managing Director, Square Panda India), took centre stage to deliberate ‘Investing in Education’, with Vineet Nayar, the Founder of Sampark Foundation.

“With the pandemic causing a catastrophic learning loss (young children have fallen behind by almost a year), the fact that these children have also seen a worrying lack of development, particularly social development, showed our need to invest in digital education”, said Mr. Jhalani. He added that access to such tools could offset some of the learning deficit, and bring children back to schools, fully prepared to restart their education. 

Mr. Nayar opined that India needs disruptive, inclusive innovation right now and reiterated the need to transform the social sector around education. He drew attention to key concerns about what children remember when they start school again, whether they will have an interest in education, and pondered if we will even reach pre-pandemic enrollment numbers.

Both speakers made strong cases for Public-Private Partnerships at the ground level to bring in much-needed accessibility and inclusivity, with Mr. Nayar saying, “Unless capital is invested, education will not transform.”

Mr. Jhalani stated the need to leverage private Edtech organisations to create a holistic learning environment, saying “My request to the government is to involve innovative, research-based private players early on so that our nation can execute the NEP rapidly”.

He went on to state that the knowledge and expertise such players bring to the table are immeasurable, and that they can help immediately start executing the NEP 2020 vision as envisioned by the policy.

Mr. Jhalani concluded by emphasising how any tool is only as good as the ones who wield them. In saying so, he directed attention towards the need for teacher training and Anganwadi worker upskilling, to help them develop 21st-century skills, and make the next decade one on which India leaves an indelible imprint.

Watch the entire session here.

Learn more about Square Panda India and our innovative early learning initiative, Aarambh, at ecce.squarepanda.in

Innovation and change have been the only constant over the past few years. We are facing a digital revolution, which completely upturns the way we currently function at work, at home, and even in educational institutions. The needs of the economy and nation are changing, thus altering the needs of 21^st century learners. These young children need to develop skills that empower them to stand tall and garner future success, skills like critical thinking, socio-emotional development, foundational literacy and numeracy, and more. 

Based on our years of experience in the early childhood education domain, we suggest these five ways to create an efficient 21^st century classroom:

1. Introduce Technology

NASSCOM data names India as one of the top enterprise hubs, second only to the USA. Even the Indian government has recognised the crucial need for technology in education and is investing in ed-tech, setting up global standards, and emerging as a key player in this sector. 

The Indian ed-tech sector has boomed since 2008; multiple start-ups, and increasing awareness have made this an attractive field. In a country like India, which caters to learners with varied needs and requirements, technology-led education is a valuable resource. AI & ML-powered learning makes classrooms accessible to every single student, regardless of their geographic location. Not only can tech be used to enhance learning for students, but can even be used in teacher training, and increasing educators’ digital literacy for a better teaching experience.

2. Blend Physical Learning Into Theory
Memorisation based on repetition, or rote learning, is not the most effective way to educate young children. With a child’s attention span being relatively low and research showing us that periods of focused attention improve cognitive information processing (i.e. learning), a blend of different techniques like using games in teaching and incorporating play-based activities and instructions will show stronger learning outcomes. 

A similar blended structure with teachers, Anganwadi workers, and other educators getting a chance to participate in activities and games themselves is precisely how training programs are to be structured. Educators learn to use the physical applications, tools, games, and activities so well that they are completely prepared to implement them inside their classrooms.

Want to set up a blended learning model in your classrooms and institutions? See our expert tips on how to get started here.

3. Include The Traditional With The Modern

India’s rich heritage has gifted us a wealth of learning tools that continue to hold value in today’s day and age. Every classroom, educational institution, and Anganwadi centre must take special care to adopt traditional games, music, art, and more alongside modern applications, linking children and their education to the past while bringing them into the future.

4. Transform Assessments

To paraphrase the revolutionary NEP 2020, assessments will undergo a shift from traditional rote memorisation tests, to ones that measure competency and higher-order skills, like critical thinking and analysis. This revision takes our existing teaching-learning process and optimises it to improve student outcomes across all levels of education. 

Realigning this process as per the NEP’s vision will take the help of technology and tools, for better delivery of feedback at every step of the process. Many such assessment tools personalise the feedback for each student, and provide a snapshot of the entire class at the same time, allowing educators to evaluate progress at various levels.

5. Professional Development For Educators And Anganwadi Workers

For a well-developed early learning landscape, we need to enhance the  21^st century skills of our educational community. These Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) stakeholders, comprising pre-primary and primary teachers, counsellors, principals, Anganwadi workers, etc., should be taught to understand early learning and the neuroscience behind it, basic digital literacy, and varied skill sets required for teaching today’s learners. Only then will they be equipped to create learning environments that nurture children with valuable life and academic skills, setting them up for a successful future.

In a step towards a stronger India, more attention has been accorded to developing crucial new-age skills in young learners. Advancing this vision is Square Panda India’s very own Aarambh initiative, which is powered by leading-edge technological innovations and the expertise of educators and neuroscientists. Our teaching-learning programs under Aarambh make us effective partners to various state governments and impact organisations across India. To learn more, visit ecce.squarepanda.in

The strategic reform in policies that focus on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), as proposed by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, has prompted a call to realign the very structure of teaching-learning methods used to educate India’s young learners.

However, change cannot happen without people, organisations, and institutions learning from each other’s failures and success. Such a transformation requires open dialogue and a platform to collectively ask and learn from questions, problems, and solutions.

Currently, multiple challenges force our early education system to operate in silos. For example, two of the major early learning providers are handled by two different ministries within the government: Anganwadis fall under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme, which is run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, and ECCE is looked after by the Ministry of Education. 

To see effective change, we need an interconnected and inclusive framework that links each element in the early childhood education landscape; we need learning communities.

What Are Learning Communities? The term ‘learning community’ indicates a group of people with similar academic goals and attitudes who collaborate regularly. 

Why Is This Network Important? When all the people invested in early learning—key stakeholders including parents, teachers, principals, etc.—are able to work together, they will be able to build a network of knowledgeable individuals, thereby improving student outcomes.

1. Facilitates the development of learning communities
2. Stakeholders begin working together as equal partners
3. A support system is formed that provides the means for early childhood innovators to set goals and share results
4. Such a network builds the framework for professional development and teaching-learning opportunities
5. Cultivates not only leaders, but also ideas

As our ECCE experience has taught us, such learning communities are crucial in ensuring the creation of a robust and healthy early learning landscape. That is why Square Panda India is building a community with each stakeholder in the Indian early education ecosystem — Anganwadi Workers, pre-primary and primary teachers, parents, and others who care about early education.

The following initiatives are examples of our active learning communities:

#1: Square Panda Thursdays

Educators are visionaries inspiring change in their students’ lives, shaping them for the future. Their passion and dedication influenced us, and a fun educational idea was born!

Picking up where our previous educational talks (Square Panda Sundays) left off, our new series is honouring the commitment of early years educators towards early childhood development. Each Thursday, we delve into insightful topics and discussions with early learning expert Ms. Sonia Relia (Author of MY LEARNING TRAIN-Activity-Based Series for Early Years, and Developer Activity-Based Learning Programs – KINOLEARN, KINOPHONICS).

*Catch next week’s talk on ‘Connecting Heart, Head, Hand – The Need for Activities and Play in Early Years’ live, on March 18th at 5 pm, only on Facebook @SquarePandaIndia

#2: Behind Every Step

This inspiring series celebrates each contributor (teachers/parents/other stakeholders) who stands behind young learners, supporting them as they take their first steps along their educational journey. Each week, we showcase inspiring tales from educators, children, parents, and other ECCE stakeholders across our social media platforms.

Teachers, Parents, Early Educators, other early learning stakeholders, we want to hear from you! Tell us the motivating/inspirational story behind your journey, what made you become a part of this community, how you support children as they take their first learning steps, and more. Send us your tales via DM, and we will share them across our channels.
Facebook
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LinkedIn

We recognise the value each stakeholder holds and how this impacts the ECCE ecosystem. Our online programs, together with our early learning initiative Aarambh, are specially designed to enhance each person’s impact and build a supportive learning community.

*Aarambh empowers all stakeholders in the early learning ecosystem through NEP 2020-aligned programs. Learn more: ecce.squarepanda.in