Young at Heart Ghana collaborates with Jacobs Foundation to bring to life one of its impactful and far-reaching projects, Project Ananse. Project Ananse is a research-based project that sought to investigate the efficacy of e-learning resources and curated modules from YAH. The project began after COVID-19 to compensate for learning losses during the pandemic, engaging students, teachers, and parents in educational modules in Science and Mathematics, and it was made possible by the Ananse the Teacher App. Ananse the Teacher is a gamified learning app that uses folklore (based on the African folklore hero Ananse, the African Spiderman) and games to transfer knowledge and skills.

The project deployed our ST(R)E(A)M—STEM + Recreation + Arts modules, which were instrumental to its success. The project has thus far realized the successful deployment of our computer lab in a cart across five schools, spread across various contexts: rural, urban and periurban. The rural schools engaged 200 students, the urban schools 200 students and 100 students from a periurban school. The selection process was done to provide a better understanding of how teaching and learning are carried out across contexts and how it affects students’ academic performance. 

In summary, the project was pivotal in demonstrating that gamified ed-tech learning platforms provide a possible avenue for facilitating STREAM (STEM + Arts + Recreation) as a learning approach across rural, periurban, and urban contexts in Africa. Teachers were successfully supported across the five target schools with training and modules to facilitate teaching with ed-tech tools. Parents were not left out; they were also successfully supported across the five target schools with training and modules to facilitate learning support in their wards.

In the experimental research design adopted, results showed a significant difference in post-test scores for students in the test groups across rural, peri-urban, and urban contexts. This finding is very insightful because the potential ST(R)E(A)M approaches to learning remain largely untested among learners in African contexts. Hence, the project and related research successfully tested the effectiveness of ed-tech solutions through ST(R)E(A)M for learners across rural, periurban, and urban contexts in Ghana. Interviews with students provided further details on exciting experiences with learning and willingness to engage. Additionally, since such contexts disproportionately face challenges such as a lack of infrastructure and relatable content, teachers face challenges implementing innovative teaching methods like the ones offered through ed-tech. Interviews and focus group discussions revealed that the modules and training offered to teachers and parents successfully provided the support needed to support learning in school and at home.

Overall, students, teachers, and parents were predominantly excited and enthusiastic about learning through the ST(R)E(A)M approach facilitated by the computer laboratory in a cart (Ananse Learners Network).

YAH is thrilled about the budding partnership with Jacobs Foundation and looks forward to the amazing support we will give learners.