Positive Impacts of a Digital Social and Emotional Learning Platform Amidst COVID-19 School Closures

• In Event: How Can Children Optimize Their Online Learning Experiences With Educational Technology?

Abstract

Introduction
The COVID-19 school closures have underlined the importance of effective distance learning strategies when there are no in-person school alternatives. The stressors associated with the pandemic and lack of access to schools have increased the need for effective social and emotional learning (SEL) programs that can be delivered remotely. This paper discusses findings from an efficacy study of a game-based online SEL platform and how the study successfully transitioned to distance learning after COVID-19. This study is important for advancing the research on the impact of COVID-19 on child development for three reasons: 1) it addresses SEL, which is even more critical given the increased stressors on students related to the pandemic; 2) [PLATFORM] allowed teachers and students the flexibility to finish the project activities remotely, making it a feasible option during ongoing distance learning; and 3) even with the transition to remote implementation, the preliminary findings indicate significant and meaningful impacts on student outcomes.

[PLATFORM] is a comprehensive program that addresses all five SEL competency clusters identified by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, which include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making (Sanchez, Brown, Kocher, & DeRosier, 2017). [PLATFORM] is intended to be implemented in typical third- to fifth-grade classes, providing nine weeks of instruction through interactive episodes (30-45 minutes each) that are set within an appealing story narrative.

Hypothesis
The research team conducted a randomized-controlled study to determine whether students who used [PLATFORM] would see an increase in social-emotional outcomes over a business-as-usual group.

Study Population
The sample was comprised of 795 third-grade students and 37 teachers in three California districts.

Methods
The study used a multi-site cluster randomized experimental design, which randomly assigned 37 3rd grade classrooms (n=795 students) to a treatment (n=18) or control group (n=19). All student data were collected through an online platform with audio supports. To analyze the impact of [PLATFORM], a two-level hierarchical linear model was applied to analyze student social-emotional outcomes. Student outcome measures included teacher rating scales of student SEL competencies and direct game-based assessments of students’ SEL skills. Qualitative data collected from open-ended survey questions, teacher logs, observations, and interviews were analyzed using grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998).

Results
Despite the sudden transition from in-school instruction to distance learning instruction, all but two teachers (1 treatment and 1 control) were able to complete all study activities, including remote implementation of PLATFORM with treatment students (64.4% completed all 9 episodes). During the in-school implementation, students were all highly engaged and shared similar values learned from [PLATFORM]. Student post outcome data were collected from 577 students (255 out of 374 treatment students and 322 out of 421 control students) representing 72.6% of the original sample. Baseline equivalency tests on the final analytic sample indicated that the treatment and control groups did not differ in pre-assessments. The primary results indicated that [PLATFORM] was significantly and positively associated with gains in students’ social-emotional skills with effect sizes ranging from .318 to .628.

Authors

• Kylie Flynn, WestEd
  Presenting Author

• Linlin Li, WestEd
  Non-Presenting Author

• Melissa E Derosier, 3C Institute
  Non-Presenting Author