Abstract
The National Education Policy of India (2020) states that Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is essential towards student’s holistic development. While existing curricula provide structured guidance and learning, they often lack playful and participatory elements to engage children in the learning process. This paper describes the design and evaluation of a non-digital, co-operative and playful activity called Bhavna Chakra (Wheel of Emotions) which aims to teach children about emotional awareness using Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions. The study proposes a design framework based on cognitive appraisal theory, narrative structure and social play. A within-subjects study with 40 students (ages 11–12) from low socio-economic backgrounds compared Bhavna Chakra with an existing SEL task. Children demonstrated higher gains across five of six emotional awareness dimensions (EAQ-30), with notable improvements in differentiating and analyzing emotions. The findings highlight the value of culturally grounded, playful artefacts for SEL in low socio-economic settings.
Keywords
Emotions, Activity, Children, Playfulness
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2438
Citation
Sawian, J., and Sharma, A. (2026) From appraisal to affect: Designing a playful activity for social emotional learning among children, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2438
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
From appraisal to affect: Designing a playful activity for social emotional learning among children
The National Education Policy of India (2020) states that Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is essential towards student’s holistic development. While existing curricula provide structured guidance and learning, they often lack playful and participatory elements to engage children in the learning process. This paper describes the design and evaluation of a non-digital, co-operative and playful activity called Bhavna Chakra (Wheel of Emotions) which aims to teach children about emotional awareness using Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions. The study proposes a design framework based on cognitive appraisal theory, narrative structure and social play. A within-subjects study with 40 students (ages 11–12) from low socio-economic backgrounds compared Bhavna Chakra with an existing SEL task. Children demonstrated higher gains across five of six emotional awareness dimensions (EAQ-30), with notable improvements in differentiating and analyzing emotions. The findings highlight the value of culturally grounded, playful artefacts for SEL in low socio-economic settings.