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Educators from Eastern Ukraine learn the principles of the XXI century education
July 12, 2019, 4:43 p.m.Educators from Eastern Ukraine learn the principles of the XXI century education
The Summer Science & Digital [not] School sessions were organized for educators, students and senior secondary school students from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts at the Klym Churyumov International Green School with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine.
These activities were aimed to implement innovative STEM/STrEAM learning methods, Digital Cases, media and soft skills acquisition, and learning innovative management methods (SCRUM-Management) during educational innovation camps.
The training was attended by 24 participants from Kurakhove, Myrnohrad, Starobilsk, Rubizhne, Mariupil, Stanytsa Luhanska and Mariinka. They are teachers and schoolchildren, as well as lecturers and students from pedagogical universities and colleges.
They learned the principles of 21-st century education.
During the training, laboratories for senior school children and volunteer students worked simultaneously to learn, with their teachers and lecturers, the principles of 21-st century education, foreseeing the inclusion of students/schoolchildren in the learning process and the creation of a common learning space using modern digital tools.
The participants of the Summer [not] School have mastered new skills during the 3 modules of the training:
- Let's Open Green STrEAM – advanced training of teachers and lecturers/students in STEM/STrEAM methods based on the openschooling principles;
- Media & Digital – Cool digital learning: a tool of 21-st century education;
- Soft Skills is the foundation of 21-st century education.
Trainers:
Iryna ZHDANOVA is the founder of the International Green School, the trainer of STrEAM&DIGITAL methods (MASHAV, Israel), the executive director of the NGO “Open Policy Foundation” and PhD in History.
Olga BEREZAN is the teacher of chemistry at the Novovolynsk Boarding Lyceum, the specialist of the highest category, the school counselor, the Honored Teacher of Ukraine and PhD in Pedagogy.
Iryna YEGORCHENKO is the senior fellow at the Institute of Mathematics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and PhD in Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
Halyna KANAFOTSKA is the coordinator of the Center for Social Leadership, the trainer-instructor and the scientific consultant.
Natalia VOVKOVYNSKA is the teacher of computer and robotic sciences at the Children's Engineering Academy (Kyiv) and the author of textbooks.
Valentyna PYKALOVA is the senior lecturer of the Department of Computer Mathematics and Data Analysis at NTU “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”.
Natalia OVERCHUK is the teacher of labor education at the Zhytomyr Humanitarian Gymnasium.
Lyudmyla OLEKSYUK is the coordinator of the International Green School.
Mykola STUPAKOV is a volunteer.
The Summer Science & Digital [non] School program can be available at https://www.smore.com/kg6qh
Activities
In accordance with the international standards to organize educational space for the Z Generation, the schedule was like an interactive kaleidoscope: general lessons were replaced by work in small groups for 20-25 minutes in different locations, namely, in the fresh air (on a gallery, in an ethno-shelter, in the area of hammocks), as well as coffee, cacao and kinesiological gymnastics during breaks. Schoolchildren and students, graduates of IGS programs, moderated a part of sessions for educators and ambassadors.
July 2
Eco-premises of the International Green School were presented to the participants, they also took part in a safety briefing and a tour of the territory. Then, Iryna ZHDANOVA gave a presentation of the Open Policy Foundation, revealing the organization’s projects, the history of the International Green School creation, as well as the ideas and principles on which the school was founded.
During the presentation, the key skills of the 21st century, presented at the Davos World Economic Forum, were explained. Iryna ZHDANOVA said that the only competitive advantages of a person over artificial intelligence will remain creativity and mercy, and the development of these competencies is in the focus of the International Green School.
Students Ksenia LYUSTROVA and Nastia SARANA, graduates of the IGS programs, told other students about the International Green School and the SCRUM-management.
At the same time, Halyna KANAFOTSKA conducted a discussion media club to talk about the values of the 21-st century.
In the evening, Oksana LYNDYUK held a master class on Hutsul dances. The participants studied two of them. Both dances were paired, containing game elements and were aimed at teamwork.
After the master class, near a bonfire, Halyna KANAFOTSKA conducted a discussion media club “From the Ecology of the Soul - to the Ecology of the Universe”. The participants, enjoying tea and Hutsul cheese, discussed the issue of trust as the most important criterion for success in the relationship between the participants of the educational process.
July 3
The participants went to the waterfall in the morning, and after breakfast, they listened to the lecture of Iryna ZHDANOVA “Let's open the windows of schools to the future”, which pointed out the advantages of the education process in Lithuania and Israel. At that time, Natalia VOVKOVYNSKA held classes on robotics for schoolchildren.
Then schoolchildren and students studied SCRATCH programming using Makey-Makey, and the educators got to know about lectures on chemistry from Olga BEREZAN and on robotics from Natalia VOVKOVYNSKA.
The participants got acquainted with each other during an interactive game, and then Halyna KANAFOTSKA held an interactive lecture “From the Ecology of the Soul - to the Ecology of the Universe”, and after lunch, the participants learned the chemistry of straw weaving. After Space Cocoa, educators learned programming with Makey-Makey, and students got familiar with robotics.
In the evening, there were SCRUM and dancing on the gallery, and the training day ended with a discussion club dedicated to a rethinking of the future. The event was moderated by Halyna KANAFOTSKA.
On the second day of the [not] Schools, the ambassadors of the International Green School initiated making steps to a river.
Traditionally, there was a master-class on Hutsul dances every day that promoted the empathy between the participants and formed confidence.
July 4
The day began with a hike to the waterfall and morning exercises. Then schoolchildren and students got acquainted with the innovative SCRUM method of planning. At that time, Iryna YEGORCHENKO told teachers about the risks of ignoring mathematics. This is not just a school subject, but a discipline that is important for life, helps avoid manipulations and develops critical thinking and decision-making skills in non-standard situations. This is extremely important in the 2020+labor market.
Halyna KANAFOTSKA conducted an interactive motivational session “From Dreams to Action! Enjoy” for students and schoolchildren.
Natalia OVERCHUK delivered a lecture on geometric figures in traditional Ukrainian art, a connection between traditional art and mathematics in the Green STrEAM methods of IGS.
After kinesiology gymnastics and coffee in the open air, teachers were divided into two groups. For the first group, Natalia OVERCHUK conducted a master class in straw weaving using octahedra, which are the basis of Hutsul “spiders”. For the second one, Olga BEREZAN held an exciting lecture on chemistry.
Next, project teams were created during networking.
After lunch, the schoolchildren tried to create a robot under the direction of Natalia VOVKOVYNSKA, and the students got acquainted with interesting mathematics (Iryna YEGORCHENKO).
Iryna ZHDANOVA with educators conducted a brainstorming and discussed a video clip about the 21-st century education.
Then, the lecturers got to know about the use of landing in the educational process and got acquainted with a SMORE tool, which allowed you to create your own page without programming skills.
Valentyna PYKALOVA conducted classes on coding/programming for teachers. Two young mothers, Iryna GRUSHKOVSKA and Natalia SARANA (a teacher from Rubizhne) jointly created the “Patriots” team and drafted a project about Ukraine together with Yan SHYNKARUK, a student of the displaced Pervomaisk Industrial and Pedagogical College.
The other two teams presented their projects with clay pictures and coding.
More information about this is described in the Iryna Zhdanova blog at lb.ua.
Then the participants drank Space Cocoa, and Iryna ZHDANOVA told about the benefits of using the WhatsApp messenger in the educational process.
From this day on, the participants were divided into groups and began to develop their projects, which would be presented to other participants. The lecturers’ task was to create a methodology of conducting a GREEN STrEAM [not] lesson or an interactive program in a vacation camp. Students and schoolchildren created a group of ambassadors and began to develop a promotion project of GREEN STrEAM methods for the International Green School.
Later, Nastia SARANA, a student of the Rubizhne Secondary School № 5, a graduate of the IGS programs and a participant of the joint international digital project (MASHAV), presented the Zoom video conferencing tool.
The evening has traditionally ended with dancing in the gallery. The participants showed a shadow theater, directed by Natalia OVERCHUK.
July 5
The training day started with a promotional plan presented by the ambassadors in the form of a role-playing game. All participants were divided into 3 groups: optimists, pessimists and investors. The first group was to fully support the project. The task of the pessimists was to look for disadvantages in the promotional plan. Investors should make the final decision regarding support.
Then Iryna YEGORCHENKO gave a lecture, the ambassadors created their own page using the SMORE app to share their impressions of the Summer [not]School at https://www.smore.com/9wxrh
The students, together with Natalia VOVKOVYNSKY, created a robot, the schoolchildren worked with Makey-Makey, and the chemists studied the author's techniques of Olga BEREZAN.
After dinner, Natalia SARANA conducted a chemistry lesson in the Green STrEAM “Yum-Yum Laboratory”, during which she talked about the hormone of happiness and cooked chocolate. Then the participants continued to work on projects.
After supper, the participants worked at the digital labs to learn Whatsapp, Canva and SMORE in practice.
At the end of the fourth day, a family of Hutsul musicians came to visit IGS. They talked about local ethnic instruments and how they are created, and younger students also turned out to be great musicians.
The day was ended with the shadow theater.
July 6
The last day was the most responsible because, in the end, the participants had to present their projects. It started with a lecture by Iryna YEGORCHENKO. After breakfast, the participants continued to work on it, as well as listened to the Olga BEREZAN's commentary on the book by Elizabeth Helen Blackburn and Elissa Epel “The Effect of Telomeres”. The schoolchildren Iryna (from Starobilsk, Luhansk Oblast) and Ilya (from Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast) told about international startups, which most impressed them.
Natalia OVERCHUK delivered a lecture on the traditional art of pysanka painting in GREEN STrEAM methods; then the participants split up into mini-groups to create their own pysankas.
After lunch, the participants went to the Novakivsky stone, the largest stone in Kosmach, which offered incredible views. At this time, all who wished participated in the straw weaving classes and tried to create a Mobius band.
After the tour, Natalia VOVKOVYNSKA told about an effective tool for creating Kahoot educational tests. A Zeetings service for creating interactive presentations was also presented.
Then the participants were divided into groups. The schoolchildren were engaged in robotics, the students learned straw weaving, and for educators, Iryna ZHDANOVA conducted an interactive lecture on the creation of startups.
After dinner, Oksana LYNDYUK and Natalia SARANA presented Kosmach wedding dress. Engineering and traditional Hutsul art have been united in the Mykhailo PANTELYUK’s workshop “Tarnytsia” - how to make a wooden saddle for a horse to carry goods.
The training resulted in the conference “From the Ecology of the Soul - to the Ecology of the Universe”, in which the participants presented their projects. During the “Let's Open Green STrEAM” project, the teams created the SCRUM board for implementation of the projects.
The ambassadors initiated and organized “KUPALA-anti-KUPALA” festival near a bonfire, which further united the participants of the training into one team of mentors, trainers, ambassadors and volunteers.
Impressions of the participants:
“I was struck by the diversity of education at the Green School. Each lesson was informative and interesting. As for me, I was pleasantly impressed by an atmosphere. Schoolchildren, students and educators worked inspirationally during the entire training and enjoyed it. I felt teamwork in the group and a creative approach to everything we did. We were told and showed the opportunities to work with WhatsApp, Canva, Zoom, Smore, Kahoot, etc., taught programming, helped to create a robot with our own hands and much more. I am grateful to all who tried to make my stay in the Green School as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. I thank the teachers, who have expanded my knowledge in these or other fields, and the organizing committee for unforgettable summer practice in the picturesque village of Kosmach!”
Oleksandra KUTSENKO, the student of the 9th grade from the Secondary School-Kindergarten in Rubizhne.
“If you once have the opportunity to visit the International Green School, be sure to take advantage of it! The weekly session lasts for a moment, with one breath - lectures, exercises, debates, coffee in the open air, group work, Space Cocoa, presentations, discussions, Hutsul dances, walks to the waterfall and conversations again. The day at school ends long after midnight, but you do not feel the fatigue because like-minded people are near, and you feel incredible synergy; at the same time, you are simultaneously invigorated by the incredible beauty of nature.
“Mediation in a mixed group - lecturers, teachers, students and schoolchildren - was very interesting for me. Work with trainers created a basis for reloading, for a thorough analysis of reality, thinking and planning of the future.
“In a week, we received from Iryna ZHDANOVA a lot of necessary information about the Green Stream, project activity, startups, using the SCRUM management, etc.; from Olga BEREZAN, about features of work with gifted youth; we got to know about the use of modern educational technologies from Valentyna PYKALOVA, Natalia VOVKOVYNSKA and Iryna YEGORCHENKO; we had discussions on values with Halyna KANAFOTSKA and master classes with Natalia OVERCHUK and Oksana LYNDYUK.
“We sincerely thank Iryna ZHDANOVA for the opportunity to work with the students in an extraordinary invironment - the International Green School.”
Natalia MATSAY, the dean of the Natural Sciences Faculty at the Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University.
“It is pleasant to note that the training had a qualitative, busy and diverse program. The warm and friendly atmosphere was surprised. The children, students and teachers liked to work in a team and make decisions together. The training participants have deepened their knowledge of modern education. Everyone went inspirational and happy because they became creative.”
Olga BEREZAN, the teacher of chemistry at the Novovolynsk Boarding Lyceum, the specialist of the highest category, the school counselor, the Honored Teacher of Ukraine, the trainer at the Summer Science & Digital [not]School in IGS and PhD in Pedagogy.
“A few days ago, classes at the International Green School ended, and memories about them remain. Meetings with interesting people, a new experience in organizing 21-st century education. During the session, educators, students and schoolchildren have become a joint team, in which they hear and respect everyone, and give the opportunity to show creativity. We realized that science and art can and must be together. And the one who visited the Carpathians felt the breath of the mountains, admired the incredible starry sky, listened to the sound of streams and waterfalls, felt the local color and never forget this region. Thanks to the organizers of the event for an unforgettable experience!”
Lilia MAKSYMENKO, the social teacher at the Pervomaisk Industrial and Pedagogical College in Rubizhne, Luhansk Oblast.
“When I came to the Green School, I did not know what was waiting for me. To visit Kosmach, I had to go by train for 35 hours. Of course, this time is enough for different thoughts. The road to Kosmach was long, the landscapes in a window changed from the beautiful to the most beautiful ones - the nature of the Carpathians around is horizons of incredible beauty. When I was in the Green School and saw a program of staying there, I was a little shocked because there was no free time. But training was very interesting, and you did not notice the time. Thanks to the training sessions and the discussion club with Halyna KANAFOTSKA in the open air near a bonfire, I learned a lot for myself and got information to think. Iryna ZHDANOVA inspired us by stories about STrEAM education. SCRUM-management with Lyudmyla OLEKSYUK proved to be simple and very convenient; I try to apply it in my work now. And Space Cocoa in the open air in the Carpathians had an energy boost and incredible emotions. I want to thank a lot to Natalia OVERCHUK for interesting STrEAM cases and robotics, Valentyna PYKALOVA for stories about the Green STrEAM LABS, Makey-Makey were complex processes in simple things, very easy and understandable, Iryna YEGORCHENKO for a talk on the openschooling principles - how to combine math and art, this information is a ‘bomb’ for my ideas, thank you so much. Teamwork is very good; you meet different people and share ideas. I have received a great deal of important information for thinking and positive emotions because lectures and training sessions outdoors in the Carpathians were incredible. I would like to express my gratitude to Iryna Anatoliivna ZHDANOVA and all the teachers - you are people who inspire! Thank you so much for all 5 days; it was unsurpassed!”
Anna PUZACHOVA, the teacher at the Mariupol Construction College
“‘Dream! Act! Enjoy!’ were the words that became my slogan exactly a year ago, and they will be with me all my life! Getting acquainted with the incredible person having shining eyes and radiating positive has turned my life to the best, gave me a huge start, erased all my sadness and uncertainty! This incredible person is the director of the Open Policy Foundation Iryna Anatoliivna ZHDANOVA.
“I was my 4-th visit to the International Green School, but every time it was incredible in its way. An unforgettable meeting with the Great Teachers waited for us and this time. There were Olga BEREZAN, whose textbooks we were using to prepare our young chemists for academic competition, Natalia VOVKOVYNSKA, who presented the world of robotics for us, Valentyna PYKALOVA, who opened fabulous space of Makey-Makey for us, Iryna YEGORCHENKO, who opened a wonderful world of the queen of science, mathematics, Natalia OVERCHUK, who presented “Chemistry of straw weaving”, “Chemistry of Mathematics”, “Geometry of Pysanka Making”, “Magic Shadow Theater” and a master class of making dolls, and Lyudmyla OLEKSYUK’s work with a scrum board. Conversation with Tamara KARPINSKA is simply incredible! How amazing the discussion clubs with Halyna KANAFOTSKA are!!! I was just delighted with the wonderful acquaintances with our students, schoolchildren-ambassadors and colleagues from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Thank you for the opportunity to reveal myself, fulfill my dreams and forget about the war! We thank the director of the Open Policy Foundation Iryna ZHDANOVA for dreams, peace and self-confidence, strengths and opportunities!!!”
Natalia SARANA, the teacher of geography, biology and chemistry at the communal educational complex “Secondary School of І-ІІ Levels № 5 - Pre-school Educational Institution (Kindergarten)” of the Rubizhne City Council, Luhansk Oblast.
Video impressions of Halyna KANAFOTSKA, the coordinator of the Center for Social Leadership, the trainer-instructor and the scientific consultant, Kyiv.
More impressions are available on the landing created by the ambassadors during the Summer Science & Digital [not] School: https://www.smore.com/9wxrh
The Mass Media covered the Summer Science & Digital [not]School for Educators (as of July 12, the mass media list will be supplemented):
A life without a line of separation. A broadcast on Ukrainian Radio with Iryna Zhdanova and journalist Olena Sharpanska.
The organizer of the First Summer Science & Digital [not]School for Educators is the NGO “Open Policy Foundation”. The School was conducted within the project “Let's Open Green STrEAM” with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine, and it is a continuation of the last year's project.
We thank the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine for the consistent support of projects aimed at providing access to education for children and young people in the East of Ukraine who have suffered from the war.