MICROLEARNING AND SEL PEDAGOGY THROUGH THE AUDIO-VISUAL DESIGN OF AHLAN SIMSIM

This study presents an analysis of Ahlan Simsim, a mass-media early childhood humanitarian educational programme created by Sesame Workshop to reach children experiencing conflict and displacement across the Middle East and North Africa. This research examines how the programme’s pedagogical objectives, including its use of language and curriculum are implemented within its audio-visual production methods. It further examines whether the production techniques respond to trends in media consumption. Existing research regarding children’s educational television among children is largely concerned with learning outcomes with little attention given to the manner in which the audio-visual form can act as a pedagogy. This study addresses this gap through a study of Ahlan Simsim. The study is qualitative, using textual and visual analysis of Ahlan Simsim episodes and an interview with series writer and actor Rami Delshad. The research is informed by theories of educational pedagogy, such as microlearning and social and emotional learning. The study arrives at the conclusion that Ahlan Simsim, through its audio-visual production techniques, uses microlearning principles in its use of short segments with narrowly focused learning objectives. The programme’s choice to move from the franchise’s traditional use of Modern Standard Arabic to its strategic use of various regional dialects boosts emotional immediacy, understanding, and engagement without disrupting the educational curriculum. The visual presentation of the programme consists of mid-shots and close-ups with simplified backgrounds, which facilitate emotional readability, reduce the cognitive load, and maximise the viewing experience on mobile devices. The paper shows that Ahlan Simsim is a unique model of methodology where language strategy, microlearning design, and social and emotional learning are directly incorporated into the audio-visual production practice. This study contributes a media-centred lens for analysing educational television produced for learning in digitally constrained and crisis-afflicting environments