Sesame Street’s Make Believe with MATH Online Professional Development Course

As a content intern at US Social Impact department, I had a chance to explore more on children’s media educational outreach in informal learning context (family and community) and send social messages to caregivers. I assisted project manager in content research, editing, and design “Make Believe with Math”, Sesame Workshop’s first online professional development course on Google Course Builder platform teaching pre-school math and pretend play for educators and care givers nationwide. http://makebelievewithmath.sesamestreet.org/first/course

This course highlights the importance of math and make-believe play in children’s development, and helps teachers explore how they can integrate math moments into everyday pretend play.

In Unit 1, we provide a brief overview of the research highlighting the importance of math in early childhood, along with some key math language and ways to find math moments in everyday play.
In Unit 2, we identify math concepts that can be explored using everyday classroom materials and discuss opportunities to adapt your environment to meet math goals.
In Unit 3, we focus on the research and best practices around supporting pretend play, and explore the factors of pretend play that can serve as tools for math learning.
In Unit 4, you will practice integrating math concepts into children’s pretend play using a case study and your own learning setting.

I also conducted research around professional development regulations and Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for Educators to support the integration of Make Believe with Math into statewide systems in the U.S. I contacted State Offices of Early Childhood and Head Start State Directors to discuss this online professional development program and to support Sesame Street’s collaboration with these partners.

Some screenshots of the course:

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