Sending Learning Boxes to Malaysia’s ‘lost generation’

When the pandemic started in 2020, we were approached by Teach For Malaysia who were trying to figure out a way to curb learning loss for students in rural Malaysia where there was low or zero bandwidth. The school closures greatly affected these kids as they were unable to access any form of online learning during this time. With that, the Learning Box project was born.

We worked with Teach For Malaysia and Yayasan Hartalega to create and deliver Learning Boxes to the 500 students over 6 months. Since then, we’ve also worked with SC Johnson and UBS. By the end of Quarter 1 2022, we will have sent out a total of 7,500 boxes to students in need.

Each Learning Box contains materials and bilingual instructions (Bahasa Malaysia and English) for 6 to 10 activities. The activities are designed to require minimal guidance from a parent or teacher to encourage self-directed learning.

"The kit includes various science and arts themed activities designed to spark curiosity and fun in the way students learn so that they will stay engaged with their lessons when they are not in school,"

said TFM Head of Special Projects Loh Ken Ming

Since we started, we’ve worked closely with the teachers to make adjustments to the design of the Learning Boxes. The latest batch of Learning Boxes are more aligned to the Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah (KSSR) Science syllabus. This makes the Learning Box a useful teaching aid for teachers who are lacking in resources.

Whilst there are logistical challenges that the team is still working on ironing out, the response from the students and teachers have been overwhelmingly positive. More than 80% of students who face learning challenges agree that the interactive nature of the activities in the Learning Boxes gave them chance to see the “science” in action.

"I dream to be a scientist when I am older."

said a student from SK Long Luping, excited from her discovery of a keen interest in Science.

We receive daily videos and pictures of the kids successfully (and excitedly) completing the Learning Box activities! Many of them have even created YouTube tutorial videos and TikTok videos documenting their experiments. Receiving this level of engagement from them really keeps us motivated to send more activities their way.

"We hope that this project is to be continued for 2021 not only for a 6 month period. Thank you and again we really appreciate the effort put in helping our students’ learning."

Rawlin, Teacher at SK Long Luping, Lawas

Success Highlights

(from first batch of Learning Boxes, October 2020 – July 2021)

• 97.2% Teacher satisfaction of the content 
• 91.4% rating on the appropriateness of the Learning Box for student context
• 4.5/5 student ratings on the Learning Boxes dispatched
• 75% + students have shared an increase in learning

+84 Net Promoter Score: Teacher’s recommendation of the Learning Box

The Atom & the Dot team is really grateful to have had the opportunity to help bridge the learning gap with our Art Science activity boxes. This project has helped us realise a big part of our dream – to make a difference in the learning process of students in Malaysia, regardless of income level and background.

We’ve learnt a lot from this experience and are pumped to do more. Whilst we have impacted the lives of some kids, there are so many more out there who are in need. We hope we can keep producing and delivering these Learning Boxes to even more students from rural communities nationwide.