Webinar #20 | Shaping affective and effective ‘playful pedagogies’ in schools through creative partnerships and co-design practices

In this webinar presented by the CREATE Centre, Peter Higgin (Artistic Director of Punchdrunk Enrichment) and Dr Angela Colvert Senior Lecturer in Education at University of Roehampton) will discuss rationale and principles that underpin Punchdrunk Enrichment’s educational practice in school settings. They will share their work on a new three-year teacher development programme, the Immersive Learning Collective and draw out some of the core-approaches that shaped the first year of the programme. The Immersive Learning Collective provides an opportunity for teachers from a range of schools meet regularly with Punchdrunk Enrichment practitioners to deliver new projects, learn about and apply immersive principles in their school and share knowledge with peers and the wider sector. This webinar will highlight that when understanding the social and educational impact of Punchdrunk Enrichment’s work it is important to attend to, and value, theprocess of play as practices evolve and merge. A new pedagogical model of ‘immersive play’ will be presented, which emerged from Colvert’s empirical research into Punchdrunk Enrichment’s practice. This model foregrounds the way that artists, teachers, and children’s ‘affective’ and ‘effective’ engagements often inflect and intersect in complex ways. It also highlights that a developing sense of purpose, place, urgency, and community all inflect with the learning outcomes that teachers and artists observe.

Biographies 

Peter Higgin, Artistic Director  Punchdrunk Enrichment 

Peter is  joint CEO and Artistic Director of Punchdrunk Enrichment, a charity creating transformational theatre for education, community and family audiences.

As a founder member of punchdrunk, in 2008, he established Punchdrunk’s enrichment practice, taking the company’s innovative approach into educational and community settings. Today Punchdrunk Enrichment is an independent charity dedicated to creating experiences for as wide an audience as possible.

Credits include co-creator of The Lost Lending Library (2013 - present), Punchdrunk Enrichment’s flagship literacy project that brings a magical narrative to primary schools, boosting children’s reading, writing and speaking skills in the process (over 70 schools. London, Gold Coast and Edinburgh). Reimagined for  family audiences (Festival 2018 Gold Coast & Brisbane festival 2020, with Imaginary theatre). He is the co-creator and co-director of Small Wonders, a magical experience for children aged 5-11 years and their families that ran as part of LIFT 2018 and Edinburgh International Children’s Festival in 2019. In 2015 he co-directed Against Captain’s Orders, a family adventure at the National Maritime Museum. Past projects also include The Oracles (2017), a cross-platform experience for primary school children created in collaboration with Google’s Creative Lab and Grumpy Sailor and Greenhive Green (2016), a storytelling project for care home residents including those with dementia.
punchdrunkenrichment.org.uk

Angela Colvert, Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Roehampton (UK) 

Dr Angela Colvert is Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Roehampton specialising in the co-design of games with and for children to support learning. Her current research focuses on the educational potential of transmedia storytelling and immersive theatre practices in school settings. 

She regularly collaborates with a range of industry partners and has developed award-winning educational games, including the Bafta-nominated 'Teach your Monster to Read'. She also supports charities and not-for-profit charities to improve playful possibilities and educational opportunities for children and young people both nationally and globally. Most recently this has involved working with the Digital Futures Commission and the UK Literacy Association to investigate the role and impact of digital technologies in children’s daily lives. As part of her work with student teachers at Roehampton, she is committed to developing innovative modules which support teachers to develop creative and playful approaches to curriculum design.