Transforming Digital Learning with Math and Basketball

Our Organization

Learn Fresh Education Co.

What is the name of your solution?

Transforming Digital Learning with Math and Basketball

Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

Enhancing the NBA Math Hoops digital app to create virtual learning communities promoting STEM education and social/emotional development for youth.

Film your elevator pitch.

What specific problem are you solving?

Learn Fresh seeks to reduce racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps in math and STEM education. Elementary and secondary education in mathematics and science are crucial for success in postsecondary STEM majors and a wide variety of STEM-related occupations, and success in high school STEM courses can guide students toward STEM-related postsecondary education and employment. Among students who enter the workforce directly after high school, those who have taken STEM-related career and technical education courses are more likely than others to enter skilled technical jobs. Strengthening STEM education at the K-12 level raises overall student achievement, increases advanced high school course taking, reduces performance gaps among demographic groups, and improves college and career readiness in mathematics and science.

According to the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), in 2019, 19 percent of fourth grade students did not meet even basic mastery of prerequisite knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work at their grade level, a number that jumps to 31 percent for eighth graders. The achievement gaps along racial lines are stark: While 20 percent of White eighth graders did not meet basic proficiency, 43 percent of Hispanic students, and a massive 53 percent of Black eighth graders did not meet basic proficiency. The COVID-19 pandemic has served to exacerbate existing gaps in opportunity and achievement for low-income students, amplifying the need for impactful, effective programs and interventions.

In addition to working to address the STEM achievement gap, we also have a growing need in this country to support children socially and emotionally, providing the necessary skills to be successful in many facets of life into adulthood. Sadly, the pandemic has only served to exacerbate the mental health challenges that young people face. In October 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association highlighted the pandemic’s impact on young people and declared the state of child and adolescent mental health a national emergency. These organizations acknowledge the role of schools in building community, and warned that those focusing solely on academics, rather than supporting kids socially and emotionally as well, are the schools most likely to be struggling. 

Additionally, these hardships and the subsequent academic toll may be experienced more adversely by low-income students. According to New York University’s Institute of Human Development and Social Change, research clearly demonstrates that poverty has a profound negative influence on child development, including mental health and academic achievement. Development of social and emotional skills, including emotional regulation, resilience and building relationships with adults and peers, are important for all children during this challenging time, but perhaps most critical for low-income children, who are likely facing disproportionate levels of stress and hardship. 

What is your solution?

Learn Fresh is requesting support to provide crucial updates to our highly successful NBA Math Hoops digital app. Developed to mirror the gameplay of our NBA Math Hoops physical board game, our digital version enables access for a greater number of students to the game. However, Learn Fresh recognizes that, while students are still developing key STEM skills through game play, the digital experience does not enable students to benefit from some of the key social and emotional aspects of board game play, including teamwork and good sportsmanship. The digital updates proposed here will help to build community and encourage these important social and emotional skills, at a time when students are in particular need of these types of experiences. Emerging evidence regarding the impact of the pandemic on children suggests significant social and emotional support for students is needed. 

Broadly, NBA Math Hoops provides fundamental math and social-emotional learning through a basketball-themed board game in both physical and digital forms, a curriculum that builds math and social-emotional competencies, and a community program experience built in partnership with NBA/WNBA teams and local schools, districts, out-of-school-time providers, and families. The program targets students in grades 4-8 and is highly adaptable to any education system or learning environment. The curriculum is offered as 12 lessons, designed to be implemented over an approximately three-month period, and incorporates board or digital game play at a frequency deemed appropriate by the educator. Each Math Hoops game is roughly 30 - 45 minutes in duration; students draft a team of NBA and WNBA players and compete to solve quick math problems while thinking critically and making decisions. The game builds students’ fluency with core math skills and concepts, such as number sense and statistical analysis, as well as key social-emotional skills such as leadership, grit, and resiliency. 

The specific digital updates proposed here include significant and critical additions to the NBA Math Hoops mobile app. These updates include a comprehensive statistics analysis infrastructure that will provide in-game and post-game data to students. This data will allow students to make more informed decisions about their lineup of NBA/WNBA players. This update will also incorporate data visualization tools that enable students to compare statistics of the players they have unlocked, along with the ability to receive alerts when there are big changes to players’ shooting percentages during the season. The last addition is perhaps the most exciting, and will enable student engagement and collaboration, helping to promote those critical social and emotional skills among participants. These updates include the incorporation of multi-player functionality and student-led leagues. These updates will allow students to set up leagues with friends, or for educators to establish leagues in the classroom, much like a fantasy sports system but within the parameters of a COPPA-compliant, student-safe app. Within student- and educator-created leagues, students will be able to play in real-time against classmates and friends with the addition of multiplayer functionality.

NBA Math Hoops supports students of color and students from low-income communities in grades 4-8. Of our program educators, 93 percent serve primarily low-income students, and 80 percent of our students are from communities of color. These students face significant educational opportunity gaps. In alignment with the priorities of MIT Solve, Learn Fresh recognizes the barriers to access that exist for young people of color in the STEM fields. Learn Fresh understands students of color face systemic factors within the instruction they are given, and are often starved for relevant, engaging learning opportunities, learning almost universally from curricula and materials that do not reflect them, their culture, or the realities of their lives. This makes the NBA Math Hoops experience particularly meaningful for students, in that it is rooted in a contextualized experience that reinforces their racial and STEM identities. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has served to exacerbate existing gaps in opportunity and achievement for low-income students, amplifying the need for impactful, effective programs and interventions such as NBA Math Hoops.  

With origins as a physical board game in 2013, NBA Math Hoops has expanded and innovated as part of our strategic response to the needs of students and educators during the pandemic and as we collectively work to mitigate the negative outcomes for students resulting from this challenging time. Shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we pivoted to a virtual program model built around a digital NBA Math Hoops board game, incorporating virtual educator trainings, virtual tournaments, and weekly virtual programming for students. These program structures have helped to meet the direct needs of students by providing high-quality, engaging academic programs that can be implemented virtually, regardless of the students’ physical location. This digital strategy has also served to strengthen and streamline program implementation more broadly: As we return to in-person programming during this 2021-22 school year, we are focused on completing development projects that will position us to more broadly serve students and educators, while increasing our capacity to rapidly scale NBA Math Hoops programming both domestically and abroad. This project is situated within that context and would specifically support critical development of the NBA Math Hoops digital game. 

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

NBA Math Hoops is a free digital resource; we strive to ensure that all children have access. Since the app has been launched in October 2021, over 60,000 downloads have occurred across 125 different countries.

Broadly, NBA Math Hoops supports students of color and students from low-income communities in grades 4-8. Of our program educators, 93 percent serve primarily low-income students, and 80 percent of our students are from communities of color. These students face significant educational opportunity gaps. In alignment with the priorities of MIT Solve, Learn Fresh recognizes the barriers to access that exist for young people of color in the STEM fields. The current beneficiaries of Learn Fresh programming compose the following cultural demographics: 6% Asian-American/Pacific Islander; 27% Black/African-American; 22% Hispanic/Latinx; 11% Multiethnic/Multiracial; 12% Native American/Alaskan Native; 22% White. Our program delivery is split evenly between the genders, 47% female and 53% male, and 82% of the students we serve are in grades 4 – 8. 

Over the course of a five-year period, regular program evaluations by the American Institutes of Research have shown consistent gains among students participating in NBA Math Hoops across major demographic groups (female, male, Black, Latino, White), as well as consistent improvement in the program’s impact each year. A 2021 third-party assessment of 5,556 students participating in NBA Math Hoops demonstrated 29 percent gains in math fluency and 19 percent improvement with higher-order math skills related to statistics and data analysis among program participants, compared to 15 percent and 3 percent, respectively, for a control group of non-participants. A 2019 social-emotional outcomes study showed that program participants were 30 percent more likely than a control group to report growth in key attributes like leadership, grit and resilience. 

How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

Learn Fresh team bring a wide range of experience and talent to the organization, and program participants benefit from the diversity of staff perspectives. The team is small, composed of 12 full time and 2 part time staff members, but operates efficiently and effectively to deliver Learn Fresh experiences to nearly 250,000 youth annually. All Learn Fresh program staff (including two executive staff) are hired directly from local community partners, and all have extensive experience implementing our programs with students before joining our organization. The team collectively brings over 100 years of experience living and teaching in the communities that we serve, ensuring our programs are uniquely tailored to benefit students and educators in the most efficient, supportive, and impactful way possible. Through our community-based program model, program staff maintain close relationships with educators in each region that we serve, and our most committed program educators serve as informal advocates for programming in their communities, helping grow the programs and engage more students and educators. 

Learn Fresh has undertaken a steady growth trajectory since the launch of our first community program in 2013. The organization has successfully navigated the financial challenges of balancing digital development with on-the-ground programming and has flourished in the face of significant societal challenges in 2020. We have firmly entered a growth phase, with a range of new opportunities surfacing for funding partnerships and programs. To fulfill our ambitious vision for program growth, we intend to expand the Learn Fresh team incrementally across all departments. The team enjoys strong consistency, with no staff departures in the last three years. 

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Facilitate meaningful social-emotional learning among underserved young people.

Where our solution team is headquartered or located:

Our solution's stage of development:

How many people does your solution currently serve?

Learn Fresh annually serves 250,000 youth both nationally and internationally. Since its launch in October 2021, the digital Math Hoops app has over 58,000 downloads in 125 different countries.

Why are you applying to Solve?

Participation in this opportunity would be tremendously advantageous for Learn Fresh, particularly at this moment. The pandemic forced our small operation to quickly pivot and think about accessibility, and the opportunities available in the digital space. Learn Fresh has been fortunate to experience a steady positive trajectory since its founding in 2013, and the past few years have demonstrated that we are in a clear growth phase, with ambitious goals to positively impact millions of youth in the United States, as well as internationally. However, we are mindful of the need to grow intentionally and with a clear focus on equity and accessibility. The peer engagement and mentorship offered will be beneficial as we think through these aspects of our organizational growth. In addition, the media exposure will help raise awareness about the mission of Learn Fresh, and the free resources that we have available for learners. Providing all youth with access to our experiences is our ultimate goal. 

In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?

Public Relations (e.g. branding/marketing strategy, social and global media)

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Nick Monzi, CEO and Co-Founder