Students Build Up Social-Emotional Skills While Tuning in to Their Favorite Shows

What if you could earn gift cards by streaming your favorite shows and movies on Netflix and Disney+? Well, thanks to ThinkHuman.tv (TH), a proud PIPs Partner, students in classrooms all over New York City will be earning PIPs’ currency of good for engaging in social-emotional learning (SEL) modules while watching their favorite shows. To learn more about the TH browser extension and how it uses shows like Schitt’s Creek and The Mandalorian to make SEL accessible and fun, make sure to check out our blog post here.

Sure, the functionality and cool factor of the TH browser extension is indubitable, but is it effective? The short answer: yes. TH recently wrapped up a string of pilots at schools in NYC, including one at the Chapin School. After completing a series of classes and homework assignments using TH learning modules, the Chapin students completed a survey which yielded impressive results. Co-founder Ilya Lyashevsky shares, “Virtually 90% of the students actually engaged with the platform, and many of them went beyond what they were asked to do.”

What’s more, after participating in the TH pilot, the majority of students reported having a deeper knowledge of emotions and emotional language and being able to better identify the underlying needs when it comes to their own and others’ emotions. Survey results also indicated that TH inspires its users to pursue an EQ certification.

How does TH plan to encourage user retention and consistency when it comes to furthering their SEL education? Why, with rewards, of course! According to the majority of survey responses, ‘reward points that I can redeem for real-world products’ was the top ranked incentive. While TH has its own points system that it uses to reward users for completing modules and leveling up, they’ve partnered with PIPs Rewards to make the rewards even more enticing. When students complete lessons with 75% accuracy or higher or maintain a TH practice routine, they earn PIPs which can be accumulated and redeemed for gift cards.

Now that TH has a completed pilot under its belt and data to guide them toward an even more successful program, in order to keep students engaged, retained, and emotionally well, Lyashevsky explains that their plan is to use “PIPs as both the carrot and the stick.” Not only will students be able to earn PIPs for completing TH learning modules, but they also risk missing out on bonus PIPs if they don’t keep their activity consistent.

Propelled by trial runs at not just the Chapin School, but also LaGuardia Community College and other educational institutions around NYC, TH will continue its study phase to collect more data regarding the program’s efficacy. Lyashevsky describes the various end goals of TH from the perspectives of students and administrators: “This is going to help you understand yourself better, build better relationships…do better academically. That’s the selling point to the students….To the administrators…it’s about supporting students, reducing anxiety, depression, dropout rates, improving academics,” and so on. Be sure to keep an eye out for TH’s evolution, as it may soon be a staple in SEL both in and beyond the classroom.

Mikayla Zeitlin
Communications & Marketing Manager, PIPs Rewards LLC
June 7, 2022