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SUMMARY:3D Thinking: Primary school children representing ideas and narrat
 ives within constructional and pretence play - Dr David Whitebread and Mar
 isol Basilio
DTSTART:20140527T153000Z
DTEND:20140527T170000Z
UID:TALK49423@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Araceli Hopkins
DESCRIPTION:3D Thinking: Primary school children representing ideas and na
 rratives within constructional and pretence play\n\nDavid Whitebread & Mar
 isol Basilio\nUniversity of Cambridge\, UK\n\n\nThe Play\, Learning and Na
 rrative Skills (PLaNS) project is a collaborative research study between t
 he Faculty of Education\, the Lego Foundation and three local Cambridge pr
 imary schools. The overall aim of this study is to investigate the contrib
 ution made by construction and pretend play experiences to 5-10 year old c
 hildren’s developing oral and fictional and non-fictional writing abilit
 ies. \n \nIn earlier studies\, we have found that providing a playful\, pr
 oblem-solving context results in significantly better structured and more 
 creative writing\, and in enhanced  metacognitive and self-regulatory skil
 ls\, both of which are well-established as core skills impacting extensive
 ly on academic achievement and general well-being.\n\nIn order to investig
 ate these issues further\, the PLaNS intervention is being carried out ove
 r one school year with children in 3 age groups through the primary years.
  The 108 children in the study are undertaking guided play activities\, in
 volving ‘small-world’ constructional and pretence play. The use of Leg
 o sets to facilitate 3-D representations affords the opportunity for movem
 ent and change as the construction or story is discussed and built.\n\nIn 
 this talk we will present examples of the children’s playful activity du
 ring these tasks\, of the self-directed and dialogic talk they engender\, 
 and their support for metacognitive and self-regulatory skills. We will al
 so present examples of the children’s own reflections on using  ‘small
  world’ constructional toys to support their thinking and narrative skil
 ls.\n\n\nProfile\nDr. David Whitebread is the Principal Investigator of th
 e project and Marisol Basilio is the Research Associate\, both based in th
 e Faculty of Education. Dr. Whitebread is a developmental psychologist and
  early childhood education specialist\, who has written extensively about 
 the role of play and playfulness in children's development\, particularly 
 in relation to early metacognitive and self-regulatory abilities\, and the
  implications for early childhood education. Marisol Basilio is currently 
 completing a PhD concerned with the role of pre-verbal communicative tools
  in the early emergence of self-regulation.\n\n
LOCATION:Faculty of Education\, 184 Hills Road\, Cambridge\, CB2 8PQ\, (Rm
  GS5\, Donald McIntyre Building)
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