To address this challenge, in 2014, a collaboration between Mach One and Music in Measures inspired the development of Project Rangeet. This project is a ‘teach the teacher’ platform aimed at primary school children and focusing on self, society and sustainability. The programme uses storytelling, music and art to promote engagement and convey important messages to children on social justice and to raise awareness on pressing issues facing humanity. Project Rangeet believes that schools have a moral imperative to teach, monitor and assess Social, Emotional and Sustainability Learning.

Content is delivered via a mobile app with tools that measure impact at scale, enabling every child involved in the project to learn 21st century skills. The multi-language lesson plans for teachers are used to deliver the Project Rangeet curriculum to primary school children. Training is carried out in person, via VTC and sample content within the app. The curriculum is organized around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and categorized into three learning umbrellas (topics): Self, Society and Sustainability, which are further grouped into modules; each module has 8–10 lessons of 50 minutes each.

Although other social emotional learning programme do exist, they have not identified what works with the psychology of primary school children. Rangeet uses proven methodologies that work in these classrooms, with each module including Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. Content, which includes minute-by-minute instructions on how to run a Rangeet class and tools that measure impact in real time and at scale enables the inclusion of 21st century skills in every child’s report card. The app recognizes and rewards teachers, children, parents and communities with redeemable tokens (called SuperPowers) for teaching Rangeet classes, co-creating content and promoting the platform. For example, participants in Bangladesh are rewarded with SuperPowers that are redeemable for discounts on books, groceries and mobile recharge.

The project has been piloted in Bangladesh in over 50 schools reaching 2,000 students, first with BRAC schools, and then in government primary schools (GPS).  The results of the project rollout indicated a positive change in BRAC and GPS students’ knowledge, attitude and behaviour in a number of social aspects embedded in the modules. Data revealed that students of the experimental group had positive behaviour and perspectives and awareness of targeted social issues. This project brought explicit hope that both attitudinal and behavioural changes on social issues can be achieved among young children within a joyful learning environment and interactive teaching-learning experiences. The diversified and varied social issues emerging across the country indicate the urgency of more of these programmes.

Additionally, results indicated that students performed better in all aspects of Project Rangeet activities after taking part in the sessions. This pilot project proved that solutions to complex issues such as discrimination, diversity, empathy and bullying can be taught to younger kids using interactive and easy teaching-learning methodology.

App-based delivery and distributed measurement combined with positive reinforcement loops expand the surface area of the platform’s impact. This ensures the sustainability, scalability and replicability of Project Rangeet. Flexibility of the educators and policymakers to introduce Social Emotional and Sustainability Learning in the mainstream education system is required to replicate this initiative in other countries.

Project Rangeet has been working with Global Indian International Schools (GIIS), Laya Resources (India), Aangan Trust (India), and Child Rights and You (India). These organizations are implementing the project in different educational institutions and supporting content development. Project Rangeet is now hoping to scale up in India, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Nepal. Due to COVID-19, some projects are on hold, but there are plans to launch this scaling up initiative in a virtual manner in the partner countries.

“Promising Innovation Prize” at the 2021 Jacobs Foundation Conference

In  April 2021, Project Rangeet won the Promising Innovation Prize on ‘Education Solutions for a Post-COVID World’ at the 2021 Jacobs Foundation Conference. Judges believed that the project represented an impressive pitch and a strong approach to play-based learning that can bridge the divide between home/community and schools. To learn more, please click here.