■KODOMO project

KODOMO project is a practical study for children.  The project gives participants adequate environment for the play and learning.  The idea is based on Vygotskian theory for development and learning.  KODOMO project tries to set the appropriate learning environment for children’s development.  Children are involved into play activities with adult participants. KODOMO project organaizes "Playshop" for preschoolers.

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■Playshop

PLAYSHOP has been executed since October 2003. Playshop is executed under the project. It is an afterschool program in a kindergarten. Laboratory site was set in Miharu kindergarten in Sapporo.

In the beginning, About fifteen children participated in the playshop once a week. Graduate students of the graduate school of Education, Hokkaido University made the play plan and led the participants in the play activity with the kindergarten teachers. Undergraduates belonging to nearby universities voluntarily participated into the playshop. The graduate students recorded play activities in videotapes and made a collective fieldnote after every playshop. Children’s drawn pictures and their original reflected story reported after drama play were also gathered. These resources were used for docomentation and reserch papers. It is seasonaly executed as an intensive activity.

　　　　　　　**** Ants and Grasshopper***　　　　　　Magic lamp***

There are three main research goals in playshop. The first goal is to develop afterschool preschool programs of play. It is against the recent Japanese trend in preschool and nursery day care center, in which the play is set as the secondary activity or it is in opposite side of learning. The second goal is to set an experimental site for student’s research in Human development and learning. The third goal is to study the drama play as a collaboratively imagined world for children and adults. It is inspired by playworld of Dr. Gunilla Lindqvist and narrative play projects of Dr. Pentti Hakkarainen.

Drama play is main activity to be investigated after 2005 school year. We dramatized four original stories as follows; the ANTS AND GRASSHOPPER based on Aesop’s Fables, the MOON EXPLORATION based on “First Men in the Moon” written by Wells, G.H., the MAGIC LAMP based on “One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights Entertainments)” and the KOROPOKKUR (the little people) based on Ainu’s famous folktale. We have investigated the children’s mind through the dram play activities.


　●Organaization

Hiroaki Ishiguro, Rikkyo University, Tokyo
Sachiko Uchida, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare


　●Presentation in English

Hiroaki Ishiguro　(2018.1) Revisiting Japanese Multimodal Drama Performance as Child-Centred Performance Ethnography: Picture-Mediated Reflection on ‘Kamishibai’ In Tatiana Chemi, T. & Du, X. (Eds.), Arts-Based Methods in Education around the World, River Publisher, Denmark. 89-105.

Hiroaki Ishiguro　The experience of drama play and drawing act: what do children narrate in their drawn picture after drama play? European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA), 26th Conference, The University of Bologna, Italy, Bologna, Italy 29th August - 1st September 2017.

Hiroaki Ishiguro, “Kamishibai” (Theatrical performance by picture cards) as mediating artifacts for imaginative literacy learning, European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA), 26th Conference, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland 31st August - 3rd September 2016.


Hiroaki Ishiguro, Dramatization in play for preschoolers in Play-shop of KODOMO project. presented in the 35th annual congress of the Nordic educational research association (round table presentation) (abstract) (slide) 2007.3

Yuki Fujino, The development of emotion and imagination in teacher-supported collective drama play. presented in the 35th annual congress of the Nordic educational research association（poster presentation）　　2007.3　
　　(abstract) (slide)

Yuki Fujino, A study of young children's folktale understanding through an exploration play:On the relation between emotion and imagination in play. presented in the 17th EECERA annual conference　　 2007.8


Hiroaki Ishiguro, Designing Environment for Play After-school in preschool: The first report of Kodomo Project. presented in the seminar of LCHC, University of California, San Diego, Jan. 2004


Hiroaki Ishiguro, Theoretical and methodological issues based on Play-shop of the Kodomo project: Current state for research. presented in LCHC, University of California, San Diego,Nov. 2006 (slide)　　(handout)
05

Hiroaki Ishiguro, Play with Ants, Play as Ants: Kodomo project report on the play-shop. presentated in 'Let's play" in Kayaani, Oulu University, Finland, Oct. 2005

Hiroaki Ishiguro, Development of Imagination through Dramatic Play with Adults. presented in Sevilla, ISCAR, Spain, Sept. 2005