Multisensory learning environments: Meeting needs in a human centric approach to education
Join this event to hear Alison Macdonald and Caroline Oliver present early findings from their ongoing research in a democratic school in England, and argue for attention to multisensory experiences in framing notions of inclusivity in educational settings.
Multisensory learning environments: Meeting needs in a human centric approach to education
17 Oct 2023, 13:00 – 14:00
Drawing on both qualitative ethnographic research carried out in classrooms and two periods of Photovoice research conducted with teachers and young people at a progressive democratic school in England in 2023, this presentation explores the importance of negotiating young people’s sensory needs in teaching environments. We draw attention to the sensorial qualities of human and non-human interaction in the classroom, including attention to noise, touch, temperature, movement, hunger etc. and how these aspects can contribute to the emotional regulation needed to scaffold learning.
This event will also explore how interactions are negotiated in practice and through boundary-making between staff, pupils and among each other. We argue that centring multisensorial preferences in lived experience offers a fruitful way to sharpen and inform understandings of ‘inclusivity’ in educational practice, to help realise this oft-claimed, but less often realised ideal within a variety of educational settings, both democratic and mainstream.
This event will be particularly useful for researchers interested in alternative educational settings, democratic education, secondary education, SEN, as well as ethnography, and participatory methods in the sociology of education.
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Dr Alison MacDonald
Department of Anthropology, UCL
Dr MacDonald's research focuses on critical exploration of the meanings and structures of education, with a specific focus on alternative approaches and provisions for education in England. She is particularly interested in the links between education and inequalities, and using ethnographic methodologies to achieve an evidence based understanding of the mechanisms and conditions for inclusive education.
Dr Caroline Oliver
Education, Practice and Society - IOE
Dr Oliver is a sociologist, with interests in migration and the sociology of education. Her current work is looking at educational contexts and institutional settings, as well as exploring parental identities and home school interactions, especially among marginalised groups.