Kidspire Vietnam : Teenovation

We are empowering youth to continue their education while becoming change agents for their life and their local communities.

Kidspire Vietnam's Teenovation is a 30-hour design-thinking challenge, available to chronically underserved orphaned children, to help them understand and identify the dimensions of wellness, adjust their mindset, prioritize education, and find their voice to speak up and take control of the direction they follow for their future. 

At scale, Teenovation will help thousands of orphans to adjust their mindset and behavior, helping them to follow pathways for their futures that were previously unimagined.

There are 170,000 orphaned children in Vietnam, plus thousands more from the covid-19 pandemic. High percentages are dropping out of school before upper secondary school. Youth growing up in orphanages are at a disadvantage for completing school, going to college, or getting job opportunities. They feel powerless to make decisions for their career, and it is common for adults, such as orphanage management, to make career decisions on their behalf. Many of these youth end up in low-wage jobs with difficult conditions.

Teenovation will be accessed by students via live streaming video, utilizing chromebooks, and free online tools. During the course, youth will develop their digital and internet literacy skills, while learning about dimensions of the wellness wheel - followed by participation in a design thinking challenge where youth will ideate wellness solutions that may benefit themselves and their community - culminating in a pitch/demo event where youth share their ideas publicly. As youth complete the course, ultimately helping to free themselves from the fixed mindset that informs them that they cannot pursue their career interests.

• Vietnamese orphans are chronically underserved, falling between the gaps in the education system, resulting in high numbers of orphaned youth dropping out of upper secondary school, where they find themselves ill-prepared to qualify for professional jobs with livable wages.
• 37% of Vietnamese youth intended to be in upper secondary school are out of school (this percentage is certainly higher for orphans, though exact percentages are unknown).
• The typical Vietnamese teaching methodology focuses on theory and rote memorization, creating a boring environment for students, especially for orphans who lack support systems encouraging them to realize the importance of education.
• Orphanages are often toxic environments, where youth end up not believing in themselves, lacking self-confidence, and don't dare to share their opinions. (Hindawi Journal, 2018, "Prevalence of Depression and Its Associated Factors among Orphan Children in Orphanages").
• There are 15,000+ such orphans in institutions across 64 Vietnamese provinces and another 155,000+ orphaned children living in informal care environments. (MOLISA Vietnam and UNICEF Vietnam)
• Our solution addresses these factors by:
  • Introducing edtech, a platform loved by youth, to combat their disengagement
  • Introducing the wellness wheel to help youth increase their awareness of common wellness dimensions that may impact their confidence, motivation, and mindset
  • Introducing design thinking to help youth develop their complex problem solving, creativity, communication, collaboration, and courage to share their ideas. 
  • Introducing pathways to their future, so students can see that staying in school can help them achieve dreams they have for their futures, and find the internal motivation to do so.

In Vietnam there are 170,000 orphaned children. 9% are living in government recognized institutions, and thousands more in unrecognized institutions.

Our solution is directed towards age 13-17 youth within the government recognized institutions.

Without parents advocating for them in the public schools, these youth remain on the fringe, receiving limited academic support. Within the orphanage, youth are rarely encouraged to pursue higher education, and are regularly years behind their peers in grade level, dropping out of school at high rates.

In the 32 orphanages where we have worked in recent years, our teachers spend meaningful time with the students, both inside and outside of the classroom, observing, listening, and learning from the youth. Our solution is a direct result of our interactions and conversations with these youth, in recognition of their needs, including:

• Providing youth with crucial 21st century skills of digital and internet literacy, a necessary life skill.
• Engaging youth with a student-centered methodology, helping them to overcome their general disinterest in learning
• Introducing youth to issues of wellness so that they can be more aware of their potential vulnerabilities, and begin to change their mindset from one of discouragement to one of hope and motivation 
• Engaging youth in a design thinking challenge, where they have the opportunity to grow their 21st collaborative and communicative skills, while participating in creative and complex problem-solving.
• Supporting students with the motivation to stay in school as they realize how important it is in preparing them for their future possibilities.

1. We are utilizing edtech. Using live video streaming technology and student chromebooks, as well as ensuring that students are taught the basics in digital and internet literacy. We use widely available free online tools and websites (such as Google Education Suite, Google Classroom, among others). Our entire learning platform uses educational technology.
2. To improve learning outcomes. We're focused on issues that cause orphaned youth to drop out of upper secondary school and supporting these youth with an evidence based design thinking curriculum, facilitated by loving and caring teachers, to help them adjust their mindset and choose to stay in school. The science of learning is clear: Design thinking and strong relationships with educators help students develop more complex skills they need to learn and thrive - such as perseverance and self-direction.
3. For typically underserved learners. This solution is directed to institutionalized orphans, a population group in Vietnam with limited educational resources available to them and almost no support geared towards helping them to stay in school or be prepared for their futures after leaving the orphanage.
4. In SE Asia. This solution targets Vietnam.
5. In a way that is accessible.  We distribute chromebooks to the youth in the orphanage, utilizing fast and affordable internet to stream free classes, providing access to underserved youth in remote locations.
6. And affordable. The solution is provided free of charge to participating orphanages, utilizing low-cost chromebooks and freely available learning platforms - with a target of soon being available via lower cost mobile devices.

• Tra My Nguyen
• Country Director
• Kidspire Vietnam 

• Holistic wellness, including mental wellness, and growth mindset are both characteristics that should be better emphasized in education, for all learners, everywhere.
• In Vietnam, especially for orphaned children who have experienced significant emotional and/or physical trauma in their lives at a young age, it is crucial to address wellness and mindset in the learning process if we are to combat high percentages of youth who so disengaged and disinterested in school that they are giving up on education and quitting school altogether.
• Kidspire Vietnam is the only organization in Vietnam providing edtech opportunities inside of orphanages, and also the only organization focusing an education solution on wellness and mindset in orphanages in attempt to improve learning outcomes.
• Complex problem solving is a crucial job skill, prioritized by global employers, but underdeveloped in Vietnam. Our solution provides youth an important opportunity to develop this skill.
• We believe this 10-week, 30-hour project, not only has the opportunity to improve the health, wellness, mindset, creative and complex problem-solving, and learning outcomes for institutionalized orphans, but it could also benefit youth from all backgrounds in Vietnam (where the leading educational methodology is theory and rote memorization and there is a great deal of youth stress and depression due to high emphasis on national test scores for continuing education).
• Vietnam is a market that has a lot of impressive competition in the education sector, including STEM, EdTech, MOOC. The entire market would benefit from an increased emphasis on wellness and mindset (especially growth mindset). 

• Yes, we have tested each component of the solution.
• We have evaluated the 10 week, 30 hour approach and learned that the youth appreciate this timeline.
• We have evaluated the wellness wheel with our students and learned that this is a new concept to the youth, but one which greatly helps them to increase their awareness of wellness dimensions - some that they encounter daily.
• We have evaluated virtual live streaming classes with youth joining from remote orphanage locations. 
• We have experienced youth participating in the solution and choose to stay in school, and also youth participating in the solution and still proceeding to drop out of school.
• We have evaluated the Design Thinking Challenge with youth participants.
• And most promising, we have seen youth identify their wellness vulnerabilities, find an inner motivation, and choose to stay in school and go on to University, following their career aspirations.

• We will use live streaming video to connect the youth with the teachers and mentors who will be facilitating the solution course. Orphanages will be supplied with cameras, speakers, projectors/screens or we will utilize LCD TVs already onsite at the orphanage.
• This live streaming may also be used in orphanages in more urban settings if covid-19 persists throughout 2021 and 2022.
• Chromebooks will be distributed to participating orphanages and participating youth (both as a cost-saving measure and as an intentional plan to encourage and cultivate collaboration and cooperation among youth, the Chromebook model will be 1 Chromebook : 2 participants).
• The learning platform, including group discussions, quick polling, feedback, research, presentation creation, etc will be facilitated using free Google Education Suite (including Google Classroom), we will also use online collaboration and classroom participation tools such as Jamboard, Kahoot, Padlet, Nearpod, Educandy).
• As we further grow and scale the project to reach more than 1000 youth participants, we will make the solution's learning platform more streamlined so that it can be easily accessed via lower cost mobile devices - which are widely available in Vietnam and many of the youth in orphanages already own these devices. 
• Note: Highspeed internet is widely available and affordable in Vietnam. The far majority of the orphanages already have internet available onsite.

See our theory of change in the image above.

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1. Percentages of youth choosing to stay in school
2. Percentage of youth demonstrating scores between 10-20 on the Rosenberg self-confidence scale
3. Percentage of youth showing in increase in self-confidence, from pre and post program surveys
4. Percentage of youth demonstrating proficency in Internet Literacy 
5. Percentage of youth demonstrating proficient awareness of wellness dimensions
6. Within the context of the design thinking challenge, the percentage of youth demonstrating the ability to empathize with their 'customer' or 'target'
7. Within the context of the design thinking challenge, the percentage of youth demonstrating the ability to solve a complex problem
8. Within the context of the design thinking challenge, the percentage of youth demonstrating an ability for effective storytelling

• By 2022: There are 500 participants, age 13-17, from among institutionalized orphans, with 65% of participating youth choosing to stay in school.
• By 2024: There are 2,500 participants, age 13-17, from among institutionalized orphans, with 70% of participating youth choosing to stay in school.
• By 2026: There are 5,000 participants, age 13-17 (meaning the solution is available to all age 13-17 institutionalized orphans throughout Vietnam), with 75% of participating youth choosing to stay in school.

Note: We have selected the percentage of youth staying in school as our primary impact metric because the very most important issue is the high percentage of orphaned youth who are dropping out of school either before or during upper secondary school - which ultimately puts these youth at a huge disadvantage. We need to first help motivate these Vietnamese youth to choose to stay in school.

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• Legal: Nonprofit access to orphanages requires an MOU for each orphanage
• Financing: Access to funds to scale
• Cultural: General apathy towards the challenges facing orphaned children
• Technology: To truly scale and reach the entire country, this solution would require that we adjust/adapt the learning platform so that it could be easily accessible via lower cost mobile devices.

• Kidspire Vietnam was started in 2009. Our founder was an American who had 3 sisters who lived their early days in Vietnamese orphanages before they were adopted by his family and moved to America. The idea behind the organization was focused on helping Vietnamese orphans to learn important skills in digital literacy and STEM, as they prepared for future careers after leaving the orphanage.
• The initial concept was successful, and the program grew to reach 1500+ students across more than 32 orphanages. Students from the orphanage would be high performers in STEM class, but drop out of school the next year. We could see that something was missing.
• Our first adjustment was implemented by one of our former students who became a Social Worker and then joined the Kidspire team. She advocated for the importance of developing a program focused specifically towards mentoring 18-22 year old youth after they had left the orphanage.
• Our next adjustment added to the 18-22 year old program by including 16-18 year olds who were still in the orphanage - helping them to prepare for what they could expect after leaving the orphanage and going on to university and/or vocational school.
• Our most recent adjustment is Teenovation, ideated by Tra My, and designed to incorporate concepts from multiple programs under the umbrella of one 10-week program: Digital & Internet Literacy, Design Thinking and Complex Problem-Solving, and Holistic Wellness and Growth Mindset. 

7 full-time staff, with a diversity of relevant background including Technology, Education, Communication, Social Work, and former students.

• The Kidspire Vietnam team is well-positioned to deliver this solution to 500, 2500, 5000, and more participating youth from Vietnamese orphanages - and even beyond the scope of institutionalized orphans to orphans living in informal arrangements, and beyond.
• Our team is influenced by team members who have come through the system as institutionalized orphans and now work as mentors and social workers, helping us to better understand the reality of the conditions in side the orphanages.We have a dedicated team with diverse educational background and experience. We have technologists, educators, social workers, students turned staff, and staff who grew up in the orphanage and can consult us on the challenges of institutionalized living.
• Our team includes members with Masters in Education, skilled in instruction and learning and developing curriculum, as well as tracking indicators.
• Our team includes members with Masters in fields of technology, skilled in STEM, who can help us ensure we are staying on trend in the technology we are teaching in our classrooms, ensuring our students are being prepared for the workforce environment they will encounter after leaving the orphanage.
• Our team includes members who are Social Workers, who are able to help us serve the whole student, considering their background and environment, knowing that not every solution will apply equally to individual students.
• Our team includes members who are lawyers, who can help us draft our MOUs with each orphanage, and ensure that our growth and scale of the project is within the applicable legal framework.

Tra My Nguyen, our Team Lead, is experienced in curriculum development, program development, and  conceptualization and implementation of new ideas.

Tra My conceptualized and implemented "Maker Academy" for 1000+ plus students within Kidspire Vietnam. The 50 hour curriculum extended for 33 weeks to the participants, including concepts of Digital and Internet Literacy, as well as STEM and Robotics - with an emphasis on student creation. Maker Academy was so well implemented that it was awarded as one of the 100 most inspiring K-12 education innovations across the world in HundrED 2019 Collection. 

You can read more about Maker Academy Innovation and HundrEd article about implementing the project and students mindset: Why we need both STEM and The Arts.

• EMpower is a funding partner, and is also working closely with Kidspire Vietnam to help us improve our capacity for Monitoring & Evaluation of our programs.
• Team4Tech is a funding partner, and also supports Kidspire Vietnam in building our capacity - their support changes according to our needs for each collaboration (one project could include helping us improve our curriculum planning, another project could help us improve our use of technology in the classroom, etc etc).

The 10-month tailored support opportunity is AMAZING! Each year we submit applications for various grant funding opportunities - but the additional support offered by Octava and MIT Solve was a huge draw as we were submitting this application.

Tra My is a visionary leader, with incredible empathy for the youth she is serving. She has experience in technology. She knows the needs of her 'customer' from years and years of working inside orphanage classrooms and learning the needs of these youth. As a young and developing leader in Vietnam, especially as she seeks to scale this solution to reach orphanages across every province of Vietnam, the additional tailored support would help to exponentially increase the impact that Tra My can effect as she leads these initiative. 

As we read through the potential areas of tailored support offered by Octava and MIT, if were to have the opportunity to join this 10-month support program, we would enter with the following 4 key areas of solution improvement at the forefront of our minds:

• Refining the business model, especially how we best deliver the solution
• strengthening the theory of change so the inputs and outputs are tightly aligned
• realistically planning a strategy for scale, especially how we might get the content out to a wide number of youth without losing the personal connection that is so important when working with disadvantaged and underserved youth.
• tailoring our solution to be succinctly matched with M&E indicators to effectively evaluate our results and make appropriate adjustments

This initiative focused on institutionalized Vietnamese orphans was initially established to serve the missing educational needs of a specific group of youth, at a specific orphanage. Success over time, led to growth at nearby orphanages and provinces - but it was not initially created with the thought of scale. No one on our team has experience with scale.

As we see look ahead towards future partnerships, we see the following opportunities:

1. The greatest successes we have experienced have resulted from personalized, connected learning, built on quality relationships between teacher and student. We have a lot to learn as we reach more students, ultimately losing some of the personal connection as participation grows. Learning how to evaluate the effectiveness of the program when we have less personal relationship with the participants, would be an area where we could benefit from a partner with such experience.
2. If scale includes an option where youth can access content on their own, at their preferred time, using their own personal devices, we would really like to learn from partners with similar experience as to how they gathered user data to inform them of the potential impact stemming from students participating in such use cases.