Category: Communication & Language Development
Agency in Play: Making Space for Children’s Agency With Learning Through Play
6 December 2021
This short animation summarises a new theoretical paper written by the Play in Schools & Learning team that explains the role of play in supporting children’s agency in their learning. How can you make space for children’s agency in their learning? By including play! Play develops children’s motivation and self-regulation, both of which support children’s […]
Evidence-based interventions in the first 1001 days: A PEDAL panel discussion
1 October 2021
PEDAL and the First 1001 Days Movement hosted a fascinating lunchtime panel considering how to ensure our youngest children and their families receive the most appropriate, timely and effective intervention to support their health and development. Professor Mike Robling (Director of Population Health Trials, University of Cardiff) and Professor Paul Ramchandani (LEGO Professor of Play, […]
School Break Times & Young People’s Social Lives in England
16 June 2021
In this lunchtime webinar, PEDAL was joined by Dr Ed Baines from the UCL’s Institute of Education. School breaktimes are important social play settings for children and young people. In the past decade there have been changes to schools and education in England, reports of increases in structured school clubs, and concerns about school food, […]
Play in Green Spaces: A PEDAL panel discussion
25 March 2021
Adults instinctively feel that playing outside is good for children, but what is actually known about the benefits of play in green spaces? As cities around the world continue to expand, more children are growing up without access to the countryside, or even to parks and gardens. Playtime takes place indoors or in the built […]
PEDAL Seminar: Toddlers Think for Themselves!
12 March 2019
Social learning has been a large focus of early developmental psychology for the past three decades. While it reveals how culture is transmitted to young children, questions about how young children come up with their own ideas and learn for themselves have been largely ignored. This talk, with Dr Elena Hoicka from the University of […]
PEDAL Seminar: Not Too Early, But Just Right! – Unleashing the Power of Science in Early Childhood
12 July 2018
Professor Daryl Greenfield is a Professor of Psychology and Pediatrics at the University of Miami. His work is positioned at the interface of research, policy and practice at the international, national and local level. His research examines school readiness with at-risk and dual language learners, with a specific focus on early science education. Science has […]
A Prescription for Play: Why play fosters social and cognitive development
18 May 2018
Join PEDAL for a public lecture by world-renowned psychologist Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, evaluating the evidence for the importance of free play and guided play as a catalyst for learning in social and cognitive development. Kathy explored why play, particularly guided play, might offer a successful midway position between the warring factions of playful and didactic approaches […]
PEDAL Seminar: Bringing Self-Regulated Learning to Classrooms through Research Practice Partnerships
26 September 2017
Dr. Nancy Perry is the Dorothy Lam Chair in Special Education and Professor of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada. Her research has two main goals: understanding how classroom processes are implicated in children’s development of self-regulated learning (SRL); working with teachers to design activities and […]
PEDAL Seminar: Play, self-regulation and early childhood – What does research say?
26 September 2017
A rare opportunity to hear from two of the world’s foremost developmental psychologists about how their research has been applied to education and social policy. Of particular interest to academics, teachers, early years practitioners, and third/public sector professionals, Professor Blair and Professor Sylva highlight the effects of early education on development, attainment and fulfilling individual […]
PEDAL Seminar: Pretence and Creativity during Childhood and Beyond
26 September 2017
This joint Psychology & Education and PEDAL seminar by Dr Julie Kirkham examines pretend play and creativity in the context of early and middle childhood. Dr Julie Kirkham is a Senior Psychology Lecturer and Programme Leader for the MSc Family and Child Psychology at the University of Chester. Her research interests include children’s symbolic development […]