Providing Continuity of Learning during times of Crisis

• In Event: Elevating Teaching & Learning in Haiti through an Active-Learner Pedagogy

Proposal

To address the ongoing need for remote learning in Haiti due to repeated periods of school closures, Blue Butterfly is partnering with Viamo, a leading provider of interactive voice response (IVR) applications, to distribute Eksploratoryòm STEM education lessons directly to families in Haiti. Students use a mobile phone (Internet access isn’t required) to access a menu of interactive audio science lessons. Our solution is improving Haitian communities’ ability to provide education during periods of crisis.

A variety of solutions have been tried to keep students learning during Haiti’s recent school closures, including:
- Radio programs
- Smartphone apps
- At-home school kits
- Child-friendly spaces

While each of these solutions has made a difference for the children reached, none is effective for a large number of students. Radio schedules are too rigid for families to access in the long term. Smartphone apps have limited reach in a country where few families can access the Internet. School kits can keep students learning in a single school or a small network but are not feasible at scale. Child-friendly spaces are a wonderful short-term solution but cannot offer leveled curricula that meet long-term educational needs and are difficult to implement on a large scale.

Our approach works because it marries an innovative educational pedagogy with a technology that is feasible in remote communities. It can be implemented quickly and effectively nationwide. Furthermore, the program delivers leveled educational resources that directly meet the objectives of the Haitian Ministry of Education.

This presentation will show the outcome of our recent pilot implementation of our IVR program in five rural communities of Haiti. We will show that the program promises as an alternative to school during times of crisis:
- Nationwide coverage – Even with limited funds for recruitment the program garnered users throughout the country, including remote areas.

- Appropriate technology—Families can access lessons using a technology they already have: a simple model mobile phone.

- Ease of use—Even the youngest children–age 5 years–could navigate the menu prompts.

- Individualized feedback—Students receive instant feedback on their answers, which improves long-term learning.

- Educational value—Over 90% of parents in our sample reported that their children learned from the program and 84% of children answered questions correctly.

- High engagement—Children love the program! During our pilot test some families called back as many as 20 times to hear the same lesson repeatedly. Feedback from families was overwhelmingly positive.

We will also share our community-based model for taking the program to scale.

Author

• Jovanie Pade, Lakou Kajou, Fondation MWEM