REFLECTION OF THE CONFERENCE "EDUCATING GIFTED CHILDREN BY IMPROVING STEAM SKILLS AND STRENGTHENING SEL COMPETENCES"
On the morning of the 13th February, 2024, almost 50 educators gathered for a conference related to GIFTED kids education tackling STEAM* and SEL* competences improvement. It is encouraging that the theme and content of the event is becoming more and more relevant to society.
The conference was started by waking-up the imagination, which, together with creativity, is the main force driving for many activities.
"Our wish today, and perhaps our common goal in our educational journey, is to nurture young minds, develop talents and encourage growth. The metaphor chosen for the event reflects this journey: "A gifted child is a ring of potential. The curious petals, the stem of resilience, the blossoming radiance - all these are parts of a fascinating plant". A rose with thorns - lessons in strength. Just as life is not without its thorns, our gifted children face unique challenges - the weight of expectations, the struggle for recognition and the fear of standing out. But these thorns sharpen their resolve. Parents, guardians, teachers, and all those who surround them, are the nurturers of that special roses garden. As we meet, see and nurture gifted children, let us remember that they are a bud, a flower, a thorn, a scent - a masterpiece just waiting to be revealed." - during opening ceremony was told by international projects manager Vida Drąsutė.
In the theoretical and practical parts of the conference, participants learned together to get to know them, got involved in the tasks, and enjoyed inclusive, motivating learning like children. In the practical part, 3 workshops were presented to the participants:
- "Build a bridge model"
- "Mathematics in other way"
- "Unexpected topics - unexpected tools".
During the "Construct a bridge model" workshop provided by Vytautas Magnus University Educational Academy Gifted Centre's teacher Kristina Kondrotienė, teachers explored the development of bridges in a historical context, learned how to distinguish between types of bridges and the most famous bridges in their region, country and world. They discussed whether bridges are just engineering structures or artistic and technological masterpieces. They learnt to apply the content creatively, i.e. they worked in teams to create their own bridge models, analyse and apply them and present them to the audience at the end of the conference. In doing so, they deepened their design, engineering, mathematical and creativity skills.
In the workshop "Math in other way", led by teachers Nida Juozaitienė and Laima Daukšytė - Koncevičienė, participants tried to discover the links between arts and mathematics and explored mathematics in a unique and creative way - not as a strict and specific discipline, but as an interesting, creative and inspiring challenge, applicable to the different abilities of students. After all, familiar objects can be found in works of art: lines, dots, different shapes, spatial figures, mathematical sequences, symmetry, time, numbers and more.
The aim of this workshop is to broaden the perception of subjects that are often considered as different by highlighting their common characteristics and possibilities, thus inspiring teachers to encourage students to find and develop new ways and methodologies that will help them to better understand and master mathematical concepts and to gain more confidence in their existing skills.
In the workshop "Unexpected Themes - Unexpected Means" Rasa Kirkaitė - coordinator of educational programmes at the Lithuanian Zoo - introduced the teachers how to combine different lessons, different means, different services and present them in a different way. History lesson - why not use different experiments, develop not only knowledge but also creativity and exploration? In this case, the participants made mummies, as if they were from Ancient Egypt, out of various waste paper, plastic and pieces of fruit. It was not only history but also biology, chemistry and physics, and of course art.
We hope that we have provided the participants with useful practical tools and strategies to enable them to effectively integrate these methodologies into their own educational process!
Presentations
GATE projekto pristatymas (Presentation of the GATE project) >>
STEAM-Active projekto pristatymas (STEAM-Active project presentation) >>
Ar tiltai - tiktai statiniai? (Are bridges just structures?) >>
Mikropasaulis - jo pažinimas per kūrybą (The microworld - getting to know it through creativity) >>
Netikėtos temos - netikėtos priemonės (Unexpected topics - unexpected means) >>
Thank you to everyone who took part in teh event!
*STEAM (Science, Technology Engineering, Art and Math)
*SEU (Socialinis emocinis ugdymas)"