Programme Overview
09:30 – 09:45 Welcome and Introductions
09:45 – 10:45 Keynote 1
Steve Antony
10:45 – 11:45 Workshops
Samantha Hulston and Lucy Rodriguez-Leon – The Open University
Angela Colvert – University of Sheffield
Sara Stanley – Author & Early Years Consultant
Hywel Roberts – Botheredness.co.uk
Fey Cole – South West College, Northern Ireland
12:00 – 13:00 Keynote 2
Amber Ogunsanya-William
13:00 – 13:10 Closing remarks and end of conference
Workshops
A. Samantha Hulston and Lucy Rodriguez-Leon – The Open University
Young children’s narrative play: exploring characters, actions and social dynamics
This session draws on findings from a recent study exploring children’s narrative play around picture story books depicting challenging social and emotional issues. Vivid vignettes of play episodes will be shared. We will invite attendees to consider how responses to stories emerge unexpectedly. We will look at the role of various factors, such as the nature of the book, the role of the teacher, choice of resources and children’s interests and lived experiences.
You can find them at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-jayne-hulston-1090111b9/
This session is aimed at University Based attendees.
B. Angela Colvert – University of Sheffield
JOIN THE DOTS: Shaping Dreams of Time and Space through Playful ‘Transmedia Storying’ in School
Come and join the D.O.T.S. (www.dots.team) – a mysterious agency which specialises in creating digital dreams. In doing so you will participate in an Alternate Reality Game which was co-designed with teachers during a two-year ‘Playful Pedagogies’ research project (funded by the British Academy). Drawing on our findings we will highlight the potential of ‘transmedia storying’ as a way to understand and develop the digital literacy practices of the 21st Century, particularly those related to S.T.E.A.M. education (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths). Come and explore new ways to connect to the past, explore the present and realise the future as a space of multiple possibilities.
You can find them at: www.argle.net/about
This session is aimed at primary attendees.
C. Sara Stanley – Author & Early Years Consultant
Using picturebooks for philosophical play and storymaking in the primary classroom
The workshop will explore ideas for using picturebooks to enable practitioners to pay attention to children’s play and the stories they create within imaginative worlds. There will be opportunities for shared thinking and discussion as well as a toolkit for practical ways to share children’s thinking in the classroom, home and community.
You can find them at: saraloisstanley@yahoo.co.uk
This session is aimed at primary attendees.
D. Hywel Roberts – Botheredness.co.uk
Botheredness – Story, Stance & Pedagogy
In this workshop, Hywel will share his classroom strategies that encourage children and young people to run to the writing, explore the world, engage in solutions, and apply their knowledge. There will be Drama!
You can find them at: www.botheredness.co.uk www.linkedin.com/in/hywel-roberts-botherednesshq
This session is aimed at all attendees.
E. Fey Cole – South West College, Northern Ireland
Story-Based Play as a Pedagogical Approach in Adolescence
As young people move into adolescence, play is often reduced in favour of more formal, outcome-driven approaches to literacy and learning. Drawing on research from Fey’s book ‘Play and Adolescence: Developing a Playful Pedagogical Approach for Teenagers’ Holistic Learning, Growth, and Wellbeing’, this workshop explores how story-based play can be used as a practical teaching approach to support engagement, literacy development and a strong sense of belonging among teenagers. The session focuses on narrative practices such as collective storytelling, role-play, world-building and informal text-making, considering how these can create secure and inclusive learning spaces in which adolescents feel confident to participate and take risks with language and meaning. Rather than locating story-based play within a single subject area, the workshop examines how narrative approaches can operate across disciplines, supporting learning, identity development and community-building. During the workshop you are invited to rethink how playful storytelling can sit at the heart of learning for teenagers and make a positive impact on their holistic growth and wellbeing.
You can find them at: https://linktr.ee/Fey_Cole https://www.linkedin.com/in/fey-cole-0191032a https://www.instagram.com/fey_cole_eyc/https://www.facebook.com/FeyColeEarlyYearsEducation/
This session is aimed at all attendees