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Category: Secondary (11+)

T: Transitions: Play and the transition to school

6 July 2022

How can we use play to support children in their transition to school?

U: Unconventional ideas: What is creativity and how can it be nurtured?

5 July 2022

Why are play researchers interested in creativity?

W: Why we all need play in a crisis

5 July 2022

How can play help us to understand and process thoughts and emotions during times of trauma or crisis?

Z: Zest! Motivation and playful learning in the classroom

5 July 2022

How can teachers harness children's inner drive to learn?

Play, Self-regulation, Executive Function and the Classroom Context

5 July 2022

How and why do playful approaches to teaching support the development of self-regulation?

David Whitebread Memorial Lecture 2022: Theory and Research on Self-Regulated Learning Meet Real Life in Classrooms

15 June 2022

PEDAL and the Whitebread family come together annually for the David Whitebread Memorial Lecture to celebrate the memory of Dr David Whitebread, PEDAL’s founder and a pioneer in early childhood development research. This is a recording of the inaugural David Whitebread Memorial Lecture, given by Professor Nancy Perry from the University of British Columbia in […]

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 […]

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 September Speaker Series: Play in the Pandemic

4 January 2021

This webinar was part of our September Speaker Series, recorded in September 2020. These lunchtime sessions aimed to bring together academics, practitioners & policymakers to discuss some of play research’s key issues virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Professor Sara Baker was joined in this webinar by Helen Dodd, Professor of Child Psychology at the University […]