What We Are Doing

Research at the Urban Griots Collaborative investigates the potential of embodied and rhythmic practices and communication tools to enhance children's acquisition of multimodal literacy skills.

Our Vision

• to support the early literacy, social and emotional development of all children
• to understand what affordances the drum language communication modality can contribute to children’s development, especially when mediated via a digital embodied learning environment.
• to prototype the design of culturally-grounded technologies that can facilitate the inclusion of relevant cultural knowledge and history to provide new gains for children across a variety of subjects

How We Are Doing It

We employ a range of methods in our design-based research agenda including:

Innovative Musical Instruments	Digital Game Development
Hybrid Learning Environments	Family Literacy Workshops

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What We Want to Find Out

Our research seeks answers to these pivotal questions:

• What are the impacts of embodied learning environments, activities, and games using the Urban Griots approach on children’s multimodal literacy skills development?
• What are the impacts of the same approach on children’s socio-emotional development?
• What are the impacts of this approach on children's family relations?
• How can this research be adapted to help children with learning disabilities (autism spectrum disorder, speech/visual impairment)?

Get Involved

Are you the parent of a child aged 3 to 6 who enjoys music, dance, or video games? Join us for a unique learning experience!



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