A children's picture book

I am currently working with the research team in the MOI-The Joy of Learning Multiliteracies development programme and with the graphic designer Maroy Oy on this children’s picture book called Kupla (Bubble).

The visuals of the book are created as a collaboration with graphic designer Maroy Oy and are based on my and my college Jenny Byman’s artwork. It has been so inspiring to see my paintings cut, reassembled and transformed into something new.

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The book is designed to engage small children in multimodal and multisensuous explorations of their surroundings. In the story a soap bubble ends up in a forest and children are invited to go on an adventure together with the Bubble.

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We are still developing the book. The plan is to invite teachers and libraries to test the book Kupla with children. We will then consult them to give feedback and development suggestions for the book. This knowledge will be used to further develop the book. When published the book will be available in Finnish and Swedish.

More soon…

Reference:

Kupla/ Bubble. Byman, J., Renlund, J., Kumpulainen, K., Keso, M., Sintonen, S., Vartiainen, J., Sairanen, H. & Nordström, A.. (2020). by MOI-The Joy of Learning Multiliteracies, University of Helsinki.

Pedagogical Workshop

A sensory workshop in the framework of multiliteracy pedagogy

I have been working with my college Jenny Byman on this sensory workshop for children during a couple of years as part of the MOI-The Joy of Learning Multiliteracies development programme. In the workshop children are invited to create imaginary creatures through reflecting about different sensory experiences like: smells, sounds and textures. The creatures evolve and get new characteristics as different sensations are explored. We have been testing the workshop with children and developing it further through different settings. The best part of the process has been experiencing all the wonderful imaginary creatures the children in our workshops have created.

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“The aim of the sensory workshop is to stimulate the children’s sense of curiosity and to encourage them to explore their immediate environment as well as inspire them to express themselves through interpretation. During the workshop, the children move both indoors and outdoors. The physical features of different learning environments are integrated in the pedagogical process. When improving children’s multiliteracy skills using arts-based methods, their creative process relies on their experiences, imagination and knowledge. The sensory observations allow them to explore, internalize and interpret features in the environment. This process can include elements such as discussions on aesthetic and social issues. The children are required to use their imagination to give new meanings to their observations while producing information from their subjective experiences, which they can share with others through their works of art.” (p. 40, Kumpulainen et al. 2018)

You can read more about the sensory workshop and it’s pedagogical steps in the digital version of the MOI development programme’s book: Playful Parts : The Joy of Learning Multiliteracies. Open access through this link

The book is also available in Finnish and in Swedish.

On the MOI-The Joy of Learning Multiliteracies web-page you can also find a blog post in Finnish, describing the Sensory Workshop.

Reference:

Playful Parts: The Joy of Learning Multiliteracies, Kumpulainen, K., Sintonen, S., Vartiainen, J., Sairanen, H., Nordström, A., Byman, J. & Renlund, J. (2018). Helsinki: the University of Helsinki

Bångstyriga bitar: Inlärning av multilitteracitet med glädje. Kumpulainen, K., Sintonen, S., Vartiainen, J., Sairanen, H., Nordström, A., Byman, J. & Renlund, J. (2018). Helsingfors: Helsingfors Universitet.

Kurittomat Palaset: Monilukutaitoa Opitaan Ilolla. Kumpulainen, K., Sintonen, S., Vartiainen, J., Sairanen, H., Nordström, A., Byman, J. & Renlund, J. (2018). Helsinki: Helsingin yliopisto

Research paper

Our most recent co-written research paper in the ‘Luonnon Haltijat’ research group at the University of Helsinki is published.

Children’s Augmented Storying in, with and for Nature. Kumpulainen, K., Byman, J. Renlund, J & Wong, C. C. (2020). Special Issue "Young Children, Maker Literacies and Social Change". Kumpulainen, K., Burke, A. & Yaman Ntelioglou, B. (ed.). In: Education Sciences. 10, 6, 15 p., 149

Paper Abstract:

Drawing on a relational ontology and scholarship of new literacies, we investigate the materiality and performativity of children’s augmented storying in nature. Our study is situated in a Finnish primary school in which a novel, augmented reality application (MyAR Julle) was utilized as a digital storytelling tool for children (n = 62, aged 7–9), allowing them to explore, interact, and imagine in nature and to create/share their stories. The data corpus consists of their narrations of their augmented stories in nature, their augmented story artefacts, and video/observational data from their construction of such stories in nature. Narrative analysis reveals how the children’s augmented storying in nature was performed through playful, affective, and sensuous, identity, cultural, and critical literacies, which were imaginatively constructed into being at the nexus of their sensed reality and fantasy. These literacies make visible human–material–spatial–temporal assemblages during which the children played with/through the augmented character Julle, felt and sensed with/through Julle, and re-storied their experiences, cultural knowledge, and identities with/through Julle. They also engaged in critical thinking with/through Julle. The study contributes to knowledge on the meaning of materiality in children’s storying in, with, and for nature and the educational possibilities of augmented storying for children’s (eco)literacies.

Link to the paper.

And if you want to learn more about the brilliant open access augmented reality application MyARJulle, designed by professor Kristiina Kumpulainen and graphic designer Maroy Oy, please visit the www.myar.community/julle/ webpage