1) Present and support viewership of Galli Galli Sim Sim in various settings. a) Create content for settings other than the home, such as the school and the Anganwadi Center. Formatting might need to be shorter and more focused, given the setting and application. b) Facilitate access to TV or digital players to all schools/Anganwadis – create capacity to have children watch Galli Galli Sim Sim outside of the home.
2) Create a multi-tiered approach to engagement with Galli Galli Sim Sim materials: Provide tips and training for parents/ caregivers, teachers, and other community workers. a) Continue to develop engaging child-focused episodes along with related activities, materials, and events outside of broadcasted videos. These associated materials could be developed not only for the child audience, but also for parents and those who work with young children.
b) Build on Galli Galli Sim Sim program material and content through the development of games, books, websites, and other applications for school and home use. c) Provide materials for children that facilitate adult engagement with Galli Galli Sim Sim content. Offer bookmarks, through classrooms or centers, so children can provide URLs to adults. d) Create Galli Galli Sim Sim materials that appeal to and engage viewers of different ages. Older siblings/friends often watch with younger viewers. Content should be created on a different level to interest adult viewers. Programs should overtly encourage co-viewing. e) Prepare short, simple Discussion Guides, that assist adults in framing conversations about Galli Galli Sim Sim. Such material should be readily available, perhaps delivered through print media, with associated links/URLs.
3) Recognize that every child has her own strengths, weaknesses and different approaches to learning. Tap into individualized and developmentally appropriate learning. a) Children learn in different ways. [Continue to] Appeal to different learning styles, intelligence levels, and interests. b) Remember that children are intrinsically creative, so encourage arts-based approaches. Inspire dance, music, drama, and art. c) Offer ways that children can continue learning about topics/materials that interest them. Through a website, offer additional and complementary material to connect children with their interests. For example, if a televised piece is about construction vehicles, other materials can be offered that provides more detail on how such vehicles work. d) Provide supplemental material so that the child who may not have grasped the televised material may practice at home. Through print or the Internet, puzzles can be made available to clarify pattern recognition or games can be provided that teach direction words. e)When creating additional resources, make sure to offer materials in different local languages.
4) Stress informal and interactive learning methods. a) Education for Indian children is often formal, regimented, and stressful. Galli Galli Sim Sim should depict learning in casual and less structured ways. For example, the program can show how children learn numeracy or literacy in their homes and communities while engaged in typical activities and chores. It is important to depict adults praising children for their gained skills in these environments. b)Show learning through game play, arts and physical activity. Indicate how advancement and achievement in educational subjects can occur outside of the classroom.
c) Encourage active rather than passive learning. Use the “playway method” where children role play/play charades to dramatize or act out a piece of literature, historical events, or directions. d) Show learning in child-friendly environments, such as playgrounds, gardens, and parks. Portray lessons and school happening outside of a classroom, so this becomes more acceptable. e)Use accessible manipulatives, such as sticks, mud, blocks, stones, and paper. Show how literacy and numeracy lessons do not require pencil and paper. f) Show education as adventurous and fun; involve activity and humor in lessons (in and out of the classroom). g) Use the experimental method in learning. Depict hypothesis testing among characters in everyday settings.
5) Editing of Galli Galli Sim Sim should compare and contrast. a) Galli Galli Sim Sim materials can show similarities across children and learning. Portray children of different backgrounds, genders, religions, economic levels, and castes doing similar activities. b) Provide examples of how children can be innovative and approach problems and topics in different ways. c) Ensure Galli Galli Sim Sim programming reflects customs and cultures, across the country and states. d) Indicate how goals can be achieved in various ways.
6) Consider the whole child and the holistic approach to learning. a) Build not only on cognitive skills, but also on emotional and social aspects of child development. b) Show how critical thinking skills and problem solving help children succeed. c) Show effective communication skills through different approaches. 7) Avoid negatives. a) Focus on rewards and benefits and examples of positive behaviors. b) Show consequences, but avoid visuals that can frighten children. c) If you are going to show incorrect or bad behaviors, employ non-human characters. Wrong actions should not be associated with a type of child or be seen as desirable and imitated. 8) Use media to its fullest strengths.
a) Visual media can be used to show things that might not be easily accessible or visible in real life. For example, you can show microscopic (i.e., bacteria), internal (i.e., how lungs work), or large-scale (i.e., views from space) images. Additionally, you can use time-lapse, reverse, or fast forward video. b) Use media that is interactive. Provide opportunities for viewers to participate via email, texting, or even posts. c) Engage in storytelling over multiple episodes. This will promote regular viewing. Care must be taken to allow individual episodes to stand alone (i.e., do re-caps).
