Utilizing multimedia storytelling for Transformative Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
Shoes of my Dreams started as an idea to specifically focus on providing developmental support to learners who may have high adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which are “potentially traumatic events between ages 0 – 17,” (CDC, n.d.). According to the CDC (n.d.), “68% of adults report having experienced at least one adverse childhood experience in their lives.” The impacts of even one ACE could have negative, lifelong effects on a person’s physical health, mental health, and emotional health. All of this relates to development and learning.
The best ways to mitigate ACEs are structural changes, which could be as large as supportive policies that influence resource allocation to communities, or the structural change could be as immediate as a change in the physical environment. Another key mitigator is relational support. This understanding produced my inquiry. How could learning design improve the developmental support of learners with high adverse experiences and who may also lack the structural and relational support that is so pertinent for healthy development?
I was immediately drawn to the idea of creating 3D toys with the book.
Hence, Shoes of My Dreams was born. It has always been central to the product ideal to incorporate interactivity and a supporting culture (think Dora the Explore, Sesame, etc.) around the book(s). To support interactivity, I assessed the types of artifacts that children find meaning in, with the inclination to reengineer the wisdom. I was immediately drawn to the idea of creating 3D toys with the book. After some initial learning and early prints, I decided against 3D modeling as a sustainable way to bring the idea to life or as an ideal way to incorporate interactivity.
Staying with the theme… creating a supporting book culture.
I did a little bit of digging and eventually considered sticker-making. Since I was already using the project to learn how to illustrate, I thought about connecting the images to sticker artifacts. This option is still on the table, but, due to the need for a small fiscal investment, it would be appropriate to engage in asset testing before moving to that idea.
Learner Persona
The learner persona is a U.S. based learner between grades 1 – 4, who may be in an environment that exposes them to high adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and who has limited adult support for positive development. This persona created the original story line, and I used the ACEs framework found on the CDC website to articulate the different dynamics that may be present in the learners life. I used the transformative SEL framework to focus the level of SEL content in the story.
I was trying to navigate two themes. What important, supportive dynamics and experiences occur in the relationship between adults and children during existing emotional learning, and what potential pain points do the adults experience while navigating emotions with young learners?
The second persona, the Available Adult, was inspired by the idea of the first persona having some, even limited, support. My inquiries here: what does this interaction look like, and what could this interaction look like? I began to answer these questions through conversations with various adults who work with young learners and through a survey. I was trying to navigate two themes. What important, supportive dynamics and experiences occur in the relationship between adults and children during existing emotional learning, and what potential pain points do the adults experience while navigating emotions with young learners? This led me to develop supporting materials for the adult as well.
The key features of this persona design are based on the grounding principles that the Available Adult’s relationship with the younger learner is to support this dynamic, and they may also benefit from having additional resources as well.
Where Am I Now?
My current iteration utilizes Adobe Captivate to incorporate the physical book, narration, sound effects, additional practice opportunities, and support for both user groups. (Coming soon)…
Additionally, I began working on a second narrative book, featuring different characters, hopefully adding more fun, and continuously testing the integrated frameworks – SEL and ACEs.
