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roots

Design Strategy Capstone A.Sp25 I Armagan Birsel, Cagla Yildirim designed by multilinguals for multilinguals

Meet the Team

Çağla Yıldırım, Strategic Designer, Background in Psychology, Design Research Armağan Birsel, Strategic Designer Psychology, Human Centered Design

Roots is a team of two multidisciplinary, multilingual, multicultural designers.

Meet Cem

a bright, curious 13-year-old who recently moved to New York City from Turkey.

Where is Cem today

Moved 6 months ago

Not fluent in English

Struggling socially and academically

Feels frustrated when he can't fully express his emotions in English

Where is Cem today

Moved 6 months ago

Not fluent in English

Struggling socially and academically

Where Cem could be, with support

Improving his English

Communicating his feelings

Feels frustrated when he can't fully express his emotions in English

Increasing his academic performance

Gaining self-confidence

More than 5 million ELL* students in the United States

174,014 ELL* students in New York City

143,080 K-12 ELL* Students in NYC

Multilingual students navigate a complex web of cultural expectations, languages, and norms in their daily lives.

All of this without the right support can lead to

Adultification

“Adultification

of ELL students—many children take on responsibilities beyond their age, like translating legal documents for parents, which adds stress and affects their school performance.”- Amanda Perez, Bronx Hype

Confusion about identity

“Multilingual students struggle to reconcile their home culture with the expectations of school and society, leading to confusion about identity and belonging.”- Deborah Aviles, Bronx Hype

Frustration and emotional shutdown

“ELL

students struggle more to express their emotions and needs, which leads to frustration and emotional shutdown.” - Berfu Öktenoğlu, Developmental Psychologist

Might not be visible to other people

Adultification

Confusion about identity and belonging

Frustration and emotional shutdown

Why Now

No data to display

SEL Framework becomes essential for ELLS

Enhances language development, academic performances and reduces anxiety by 40% reduction in behavioral issues and increased student engagement

“What Is the Casel Framework? ” CASEL, March 3 2023, https //casel org/fundamenta s-of-sel/what-is-the-casel-framework/ 27%

Enhances language development, academic performances and reduces anxiety by 40% reduction in behavioral issues and increased student engagement

“What Is the Casel Framework? ” CASEL, March 3 2023, https //casel org/fundamenta s-of-sel/what-is-the-casel-framework/ 27%

Vast number of multilingual students interacting with

Multiple cultures and norms

Multiple languages

Social Emotional Skills

Develop identities

Build empathy

Build strong relationships with peers, educators and community members of diverse cultures.

Understand and express emotions

Affirm identities

Vast number of multilingual students interacting with

Multiple cultures and norms

Multiple languages

Social Emotional Skills

Develop identities

Build empathy

Build strong relationships with peers, educators and community members of diverse cultures.

Understand and express emotions

Affirm identities

1.5 X However multilingual learners are “What Is the Casel Framework? ” CASEL, March 3 2023, https //casel org/fundamenta s-of-sel/what-is-the-casel-framework/

more likely to attend schools with fewer resources and less access to trained SEL educators.

Families & Caregivers

Schools Classrooms

The impact is even greater when learning extends beyond the classroom.

Our solution

Using play as a method, grounded in social-emotional learning, we aim to create an accessible,

For who What it is Goal that helps multilingual middle school students and their families family-integrated support system foster emotional expression, autonomy and connection.

Limited English proficiency, adapting to a new culture, and norms can lead to

Confusion about identity and belonging

Frustration and emotional shutdown

Adultification

Key Principles

we’d like to include

Inclusion of Nonverbal Cues

Expressiveness

Autonomy

Limited English proficiency, adapting to a new culture, and norms can lead to

Confusion about identity and belonging

Frustration and emotional shutdown

Key Principles we’d like to include

Inclusion of Nonverbal Cues

Expressiveness

Autonomy

Supporting those still building their language proficiency.

Confusion about identity and belonging

Encouraging verbal, visual different modes of communication.

Ensuring learners can explore and practice SEL freely.

Roots Purpose Driven Card Deck

Card-deck available in duallanguages

Questions co-developed with stakehold

Emotional expression across families an communities

Rooted in Social and Emotional Learning

Framework

An easy, at-your-own-pace tool for fam connection.

Game Components

3 Question Decks

Five core areas of social-emotional learning: selfawareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Available in English and mother tongue languages

3 Question Decks

Five core areas of social-emotional learning: selfawareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Available in English and mother tongue languages

3 Question Decks

Five core areas of social-emotional learning: selfawareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Available in English and mother tongue languages

The Reflection Set

Encouraging verbal, non-verbal, and creative forms of expression.

Element of suspense and variety to the game

Deepen interaction and making each round more dynamic.

Our Strategy

Learn the CASEL framework, learn a new language, learn more about themselves, about each other.

Through an engaging, flexible game structure, we create a space for meaningful, low-pressure interactions that encourage creativity and self-expression.

Roots emphasizes action through reflection, building emotional intelligence by sharing, reflecting, and responding through multimodal activities.

Participatory approach. Engaging all stakeholders, game to adapt to lived experiences