Date: Friday June 26 at 2am PDT USA

Guest Speakers:

Professor Anne Clerc-Georgy, Chair, Early Childhood Education, HEP, Lausanne, Switzerland

Emeritus Professor Marilyn Fleer, Australian Research Council Laureate Professor (2018-2024), Monash University

Summary:

This presentation aims to present content related to Vygotsky’s conception of imagination and creativity. It begins with central concepts and clarifications of the English translation. This is followed by two educational experiments with the intervention of a Conceptual PlayWorld where the new institutional practices supported the development of the psychological function of imagination. One example is from Australia and the other from Switzerland. Together they illustrate how teachers working in early childhood settings can organise learning in play in ways that mature children’s play and develop their psychological function of imagination in both children and themselves.

Zoom Link:  https://zoom.us/j/98564124237 [zoom.us]

Meeting ID: 985 6412 4237

Passcode: Vygotsky

Readings:

Fleer, M. (2024). Infants and toddlers in imaginary situations: The genesis and conditions that support the development of imagination. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction [sciencedirect.com],Volume 48

Clerc-Georgy, A., Moreau, I.T., Sardi, B.M. (2025). Play and Concepts at Preschool: How They Dialectically Enrich One Another to Prepare for the Transition to School. In: Bøttcher, L., Winther-Lindqvist, D., Hedegaard, M., Fleer, M. (eds) Sustainability, Care, Play and the Zone of Proximal Development. Perspectives in Cultural-Historical Research, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-92131-5_15 [doi.org]