Developing creative learning through possibility thinking with children aged 3-7

Abstract not available

Does use of touch screen computer technology improve classroom engagement in children?

Many studies have shown that the use of technology in the classroom may influence pupil engagement. Despite the recent widespread use of tablet technology, however, very little research has been carried out into their use in a primary school setting. We investigated the use of tablet computers, specifically Apple’s ‘iPad’, in an upper primary school setting with regard to children’s engagement. Cognitive, emotional and general engagement was higher in lessons based on iPads than those which were not. There was no difference in behavioral engagement. Of particular significance was the increase in engagement seen in boys, which resulted in their engagement levels increasing to levels comparable to those seen in girls. These findings suggest that tablet technology has potential as a tool in the classroom setting

Languages and Learning at Key Stage 2: A Longitudinal Study Final Report

In 2006, The Open University, the University of Southampton and Canterbury Christ Church University were commissioned by the then Department for Education and Skills (DfES), now Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to conduct a three-year longitudinal study of languages learning at Key Stage 2 (KS2). The qualitative study was designed to explore provision, practice and developments over three school years between 2006/07 and 2008/09 in a sample of primary schools and explore children’s achievement in oracy and literacy, as well as the possible broader cross-curricular impact of languages learning

Remembering Anna Craft

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Routledge via the DOI in this recor

Anna Craft… and beyond

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recor

Teachers as writers: a systematic review

This paper is a critical literature review of empirical work from 1990-2015 on teachers as writers. It interrogates the evidence on teachers’ attitudes to writing, their sense of themselves as writers and the potential impact of teacher writing on pedagogy or student outcomes in writing. The methodology was carried out in four stages. Firstly, educational databases keyword searches located 438 papers. Secondly, initial screening identified 159 for further scrutiny, 43 of which were found to specifically address teachers’ writing identities and practices. Thirdly, these sources were screened further using inclusion/exclusion criteria. Fourthly, the 22 papers judged to satisfy the criteria were subject to in-depth analysis and synthesis. The findings reveal that the evidence base in relation to teachers as writers is not strong, particularly with regard to the impact of teachers’ writing on student outcomes. The review indicates that teachers have narrow conceptions of what counts as writing and being a writer and that multiple tensions exist, relating to low self-confidence, negative writing histories, and the challenge of composing and enacting teacher and writer positions in school. However, initial training and professional development programmes do appear to afford opportunities for reformulation of attitudes and sense of self as writer

“I think it fits in”: Using Process Drama to Promote Agentic Writing with Primary School Children

Set against the backdrop of children being “alienated” from their writing (Lambirth 2016), this paper is taken from a UKLA sponsored project where primary school teachers were trained to use process drama in order to give children more agency in their writing across the curriculum. Here we use discourse analysis (Gee 2010) to think about the children’s historical creative writing in relation to the drama lessons which are differently framed (Bernstein 2000) by the teachers. Building upon a theoretical model of drama as “blended space” (Duffy 2014) and writing as problem-solving (Bereiter and Scardamalia 1986), a case is made that process drama can lead to what we term ‘agentic writing’. Agentic writing, we demonstrate, involves children actively translating their embodied experience of the blended space into writing by making a range of intertextual borrowings. These borrowing serve both to capture and transform their embodied experience as the children gain agency by “standing outside language” to achieve “double voicedness” (Bakthin 1986). Seeing the relationship between process drama and writing in this light, we argue, provides a means of reconnecting children to the act of writing

Developing a Theoretical Framework for Response: Creative Writing as Response in the Year 6 Primary Classroom

Focusing on the creative writing of Year 6 boys as they make the transition to Year 7, this article establishes a theoretical model for creative writing as response. In line with Bakhtin’s notion of utterances as ‘interpersonal’ (1986), the model demonstrates the complexity of creative writing – the text is influencing of and influenced by an author’s participation in ‘figured worlds’ (Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner and Cain 1998), but also influencing of and influenced by future respondents. This article suggests that ‘weaker framing’ (Bernstein 2000) in creative writing pedagogy has the potential to alter boys’ identities and refigure their worlds

Including PrEP for key populations in combination HIV prevention: a mathematical modelling analysis of Nairobi as a case-study

Background: The role of PrEP in combination HIV prevention remains uncertain. We aimed to identify an optimal portfolio of interventions to reduce HIV incidence for a given budget, and to identify the circumstances in which PrEP could be used in Nairobi, Kenya. Methods: A mathematical model was developed to represent HIV transmission among specific key populations (female sex workers (FSW), male sex workers (MSW), and men who have sex with men (MSM)) and among the wider population of Nairobi. The scale-up of existing interventions (condom promotion, anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and male circumcision) for key populations and the wider population as have occurred in Nairobi is represented. The model includes a detailed representation of a Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) intervention and is calibrated to prevalence and incidence estimates specific to key populations and the wider population. Findings: In the context of a declining epidemic overall but with a large sub-epidemic among MSM and MSW, an optimal prevention portfolio for Nairobi should focus on condom promotion for MSW and MSM in particular, followed by improved ART retention, earlier ART, and male circumcision as the budget allows. PrEP for MSW could enter an optimal portfolio at similar levels of spending to when earlier ART is included, however PrEP for MSM and FSW would be included only at much higher budgets. If PrEP for MSW cost as much $500, average annual spending on the interventions modelled would need to be less than$3·27 million for PrEP for MSW to be excluded from an optimal portfolio. Estimated costs per infection averted when providing PrEP to all FSW regardless of their risk of infection, and to high risk FSW only, are $65,160 (95$43,520 - $90,250) and$10,920 (95% credible interval: $4,700 -$51,560) respectively. Interpretation: PrEP could be a useful contribution to combination prevention, especially for underserved key populations in Nairobi. An ongoing demonstration project will provide important information regarding practical aspects of implementing PrEP for key populations in this setting