@PIoE NEWS AND VIEWS
March 2016
Invited visiting scholarship to the University of Shiraz, Iran.
Joanna Haynes has been invited by the Centre for the Study of Children’s Literature at the University of Shiraz to give a keynote presentation at the Iranian Children’s Literature Festival to be held in May 2016. Joanna will also lead postgraduate seminars and workshops, as part of this visiting scholarship, and will be involved in meetings with academics, teachers and students in Shiraz and Tehran who are interested in developing philosophy with children in schools. This invitation arises from Joanna’s publications on philosophical enquiry with contemporary picturebooks, some of which have been translated into Farsi.
PGCAP graduates
Following PedRIO's most recent Exam Board (December 2015) several of our of academics from the Institute of Education have successfully completed the PGCAP programme. They are:
Keith Ansell
Ruth Atkinson
Sofia Chanda-Gool
Christoforos Mamas
Robotics project
Jan Georgeson and Linda la Velle would like to thank Rouen Gargan and the Yr 1 BEd Computing students - and Mark Tarrant and Benji Rogers - for hosting pupils from the three local primary schools involved in our Erasmus+ project 'Robo21C' earlier this month. As well as having the opportunity to work with Blue-bots and robots, the pupils visited the Robotics lab for a demonstration of robotics. The Gangnam style dancing robot was favourite, but the children also enjoyed talking to students about designing and building robots.
Robo21C aims to complement recent changes to the school curriculum by developing teachers’ skills and understanding of robotics and programming.
It also plans to enable primary school pupils to use and apply their acquired skills to become responsible, confident and creative users of ICT. The three-year project, funded through a €262,000 grant from the Erasmus+ programme, involves 11 schools and higher education Erasmus+ institutions across Europe. They include Plymouth University and three local schools – St Andrew’s CofE Aided Primary School in Buckland Monachorum, Ermington Primary School and Ugborough Primary School – alongside partners in Spain, Malta, Lithuania and Denmark.
Reflections, connections and feeling inspired 2016!
BA Education Studies ran another successful annual student conference.
Returning alumni spoke of their careers in education and the successful steps they took after graduation. They were both inspiring and informative. The opening address from Suanne and key note from Paul focused students and provided direction for their considerations of how their degree will inform their work as graduates and how they can be active 'change makers' now and in the future.
Those attending fed back the following:
“It was a really informative and interesting day”
“Thank you for the conference today, really interesting stuff!”
“Just thought I'd send a quick thanks for the conference today, it was very insightful.”
Key insights for every headteacher in the country
This article was written by 'The Key' on Mayflower Academy's Children's Ofsted group after their visit to London with the headteacher, David Sammels, (see web link below). The pupils offered a refreshing insight into their take on leadership. They were a credit to Mayflower Academy. Future Leaders learning their trade at a young age.
If you could speak to every headteacher in the country, what would you
tell them? | Key insights
http://insights.thekeysupport.com/2016/01/20/6825/#more-6825
Digital Quality Assurance Advisor
Access, Inclusion and Disability
Dr Suanne Gibson has had a paper accepted for the ‘International Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion, and Disability’ conference at Ohio State University April 2016. Her paper is entitled -- When rights are not enough: ‘Compassion’ and the ‘politicised’ educator. This paper will form the basis for her key note in June at the annual Plymouth University VC Teaching and Learning conference. If interested in her work please note the following publication is due out in May:
Gibson, S. (2016). Students as core: A time for change in the higher education discourse of 'Widening participation’ and ‘Inclusion’. In Inclusive Education: perspectives on pedagogy, policy, and practice, ed. S. Bartlett and Z. Brown. London: Routledge
Beyond Words: Interactive Seminar Invitation: Friday 27 May 2016, 12-30-16.30. Rolle Building 605
Our project, one of only 8 chosen nationally by the Arts Council Research Programme, explores how people who do not communicate verbally (strokes, learning difficulties, dementias) are included in music making. The project explores the role of the ‘unspoken’ in inclusive music practice and the benefits for participants and their support networks.
Join us to discuss our interim findings and how they could help improve practice across Arts/Education/Social Work/Health. All Welcome!
Free lunch provided and some travel bursaries available.
To book your place, please visit:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beyond-words-seminar-tickets-21628252686
For further information please contact: claudia.blandon@plymouth.ac.uk
Four of Swords
Education Studies and Performing Arts students gave a fantastic performance with the drama company Four of Swords on 11th March at the House Studio. They made use of Augusto Boal’s political ‘Forum theatre’ to explore and consider how to challenge oppression and discrimination when it takes place in education. The students spent 5 weeks working with Phil and Sarah- founders of Four of Swords- as part of EDST co-curricular options. They developed some fantastic ideas and engaged the audience as co-performers in challenging actors’ behaviours. Here are a few pics of their work:
Conference keynote speeches
A university for all ages
Marie Lavelle, Cath Gristy and Joanna Haynes have been awarded PEDRIO funding. The project, 'A university for all ages?' explores age-stereotyping and unconscious bias within the university environment and its impact on student experience. The focal point for the study will be induction week, during which a variety of research activities will take place. Through the use of flash-surveys, photo-documentation and vox-pop mini-interviews, the research team will engage in playful and creative methodological approaches to understand how age is constructed, experienced and resisted.
Plymouth Institute of Education
Location: Nancy Astor Building
Phone: 01752 585300
Twitter: @plymIOE