Play to Win: how to use learning through play to develop the whole child

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Since 2018, USAID and the LEGO Foundation have partnered to advance several shared priorities around learning and well-being for children and youth. The LEGO Foundation’s areas of focus in education align well with the 2018 USAID Education Policy, which defines the Agency’s priorities on social and emotional learning, teacher professional development, education in crisis and conflict, and pre-primary education. The LEGO Foundation’s current initiatives focus on (1) training teachers, parents, and caregivers on integrating Learning through Play at home and in school; (2) improving early childhood development within education policy and programs; (3) scaling early childhood development and education opportunities for children in refugee and crisis settings; and (4) developing tools to measure the impact of Learning through Play. Low-tech, innovative strategies built on partnerships are needed to engage learners, help families cope, prevent development backsliding and ensure teacher and child well-being. USAID and The LEGO Foundation share the goal of increasing access to playful learning for all children, especially the most marginalized.


This year, we are launching a partnership innovation hub which will aggregate knowledge products, research and professional development opportunities for learning through play. This panel will showcase the knowledge products and evidence compiled by USAID and LEGO Foundation on how learning through play can advance early child development, specifically how learning through play can further pre-primary education, the care economy, parenting and other critical aspects of early childhood.

Panelists from USAID and the LEGO Foundation will present on their latest findings on how to use learning through play to advance the goals of early child development. Panelists working in early childhood from around the world can speak to the utility of resources in their programming and what works in their contexts to improve child well-being and learning. Presenters will also speak to the importance and process of contextualizing learning through play. Panelists will also preview and reference available opportunities for skill building in learning through play and early child development.

Panelists will draw on USAID or LEGO Foundation programming from Haiti, Colombia, Rwanda, Zambia and South Africa.

Sub Unit

• Early Childhood Development SIG

Organizer

• Michelle Neuman, University of Pennsylvania

Chair

• Michelle Neuman, University of Pennsylvania

Individual Presentations

• Developing High Quality Pre-Primary Programs: USAID Education How To Note - Koli R Banik, USAID; Michelle Neuman, University of Pennsylvania

• Play Facilitation: The science behind the art of engaging young children - jill popp, LEGO Foundation

Discussant

• Julia Finder Johna, United States Agency for International Development USAID