Author: mnp305

 
“Kimis: Toys for Social-Emotional Learning and Guided Play” is a project that includes three soft toys and an accompanying interactive curriculum designed for inclusive kindergarten classrooms, where students with special needs study alongside mainstream students.
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is defined as “the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions” (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning). Each of the three Kimis are soft toys representing different emotions: anger, happiness, and sadness. They teach emotional management, association, regulation, and responses through the accompanying curriculum, which encompasses the following divisions:
1) Free play, a setting where children can play with Kimis on their own and engage in imaginative play,
2) Guided play, where the teacher uses the toys as an in-class facilitation device in small groups or pairs, and
3) Teacher-led activities, which include online mini-games using a webcam and color-tracking in Processing. These activities are facilitated one-on-one in a setting where students can where students can build associations with emotions while developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
This framework was chosen because of its resemblance to the pyramid-shaped Positive Behavior Interventions and Strategies framework, which includes broad positive reinforcement initiatives for the entire student body, smaller group support for students with additional needs, and then one-on-one interventions for students who still require additional support. In this way, free play with Kimis can help students learn social skills like sharing and communication, while using their imagination. Through guided play, students can build off of these experiences by reflecting on their emotions and how they manage them. And in teacher-led activities, students can practice recognizing these emotions in others.
In China, up to 60% of students with special needs in the education system are mainstreamed into inclusive classrooms. Due to lack of teacher training, high student to teacher ratio (with as many as forty or fifty students per teacher), and a test-based curriculum, these students often fall through the cracks. According to CASEL’S recent “Ready to Lead” report, however, SEL in a kindergarten classroom “can have long-term academic benefits on students’ reading and vocabulary… suggesting that SEL may assist in closing achievement gaps”. In an inclusive classroom, teaching emotion recognition, management, and empathy, can help students relate to one another, and close some of these achievement gaps.
In addition, within special education in the U.S. and in several cases in China, each child is given an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) which addresses their educational background, their individual needs, and their short-term and long-term goals. An IEP is interdisciplinary, encompassing not only math and literacy, but also including occupational therapy, behavioral, or speech goals. For this reason, “Kimis” is a project developed for a specific set of students, some of whom have developmental delays, sensory processing disorders, and autism. The “Kimis” are designed to address specific areas of these students’ IEPs, while also being meaningful and engaging tools for mainstream kindergarten students.