Prototyping an EdTech Approach to teacher professional development in play-based learning for ECE Teachers in Rwanda

• In Event: Developing Digitized Tools for LtP ECE Programming

Proposal

In 2021 the Rwanda team of VSO, starting the Twigire Mumikino Rwanda (TMR) Project (2021-2025, the LEGO Foundation), set out on a journey to adapt VSO’s EdTech resource, the ‘VSO Schools App’, to the Rwanda context following success in Nepal and Bangladesh. The App is designed to provide teachers with educational knowledge and resources. The App functions offline and users have individual accounts. The TMR team aimed to use the App to provide pre-primary teachers in Rwanda with professional development content on play-based learning. Working with IPA, VSO began an iterative build, test, learn process to design and refine the App.

The learning process has provided the organization as a whole with invaluable experience of how to effectively design and use digital platforms for teachers with mixed professional and IT expertise in contexts with limited IT resources and infrastructure. Project monitoring, evaluation and learning shows that the App has been well received by teachers and has led to positive impact on teachers’ capacities.

We will present how we gathered and responded to teachers' feedback on experiences, challenges, and recommendations via an iterative prototyping process. Through user testing, we found teachers’ were willing and able to use EdTech although IT skills were varied and required a user guide; technical and navigational issues were identified for correction; visual aids and interactive features were popular and increased; and early indication that teachers preferred to work on the App together required adjustments to guidance and project MEL to respond to this preferred learning approach. After further substantive and technical adjustments, the VSO team began a rolling process of testing each with teachers from 80 schools over 2-3 weeks, making adjustments based on feedback, and then rolling out to all 700+ project schools.

Early and ongoing consultation and practical user testing of prototypes saved the VSO team from the high cost of rolling out a less-than-ideal version of the App. The process developed an appreciation for the users’ experience more quickly which guided ongoing design. The team was able to make adaptations early, limiting future issues as they scaled. The process built confidence in the model and the investments being made.

Latest MEL data shows that there is good appreciation for the App and high frequency of use. Teachers’ self-reported learning reflects content and aim. Although primarily a self-study tool, the App prompts discussion with peers. Access to the App is limited by time and need to share the tablet provided - a laptop version has since been developed following state provision of teacher laptops. Other education stakeholders including school leaders and local government teams have also requested access to the App.

VSO, like many education implementers, note that they often feel compelled to have the perfect solution and project from the start. It is difficult to ignore the fear of failure when so much is riding on the success of a project. However, through TMR’s prototyping and iterative learning experience, they’ve adopted the team mantra “we’ll get there.”

Author

• Ruth Kabutembe Mbabazi, VSO