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An international online conference entitled “Chess in Education as a Resource for General Development” and organized jointly by Armenian State Pedagogical and Moscow State University of Psychology and Pedagogy started on April 15.
The focus of attention of scientific circles are the methods and technologies of chess teaching, chess as a tool for general development, exchange of experience in chess teaching, and other issues.
More than 100 participants from different countries have joined the conference, including: Armenia, Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.
The online conference was conducted by the well-known chess commentator Evgeny Atarov, who is currently in Armenia.
Welcoming the participants of the conference at the plenary session, ASPU Rector Srbuhi Gevorgyan underscored the importance of participation of foreign partners, emphasizing that this proves once again that they are not indifferent to the future of chess in education: both sides show interest and consider it a priority to educate a knowledgeable and multifaceted generation through chess.
The rector emphasized the issues discussed at the conference and expressed hope that they will help better teaching methods and theoretical foundations of pedagogy and psychology.
Srbuhi Gevorgyan also expressed hope that the approaches proposed at the conference will be used in the educational process.
Professor Vitaliy Rubtsov. Rector of Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Doctor of Psychology, said although chess has long been introduced in schools as a mandatory school subject, professional circles still wonder why it is necessary in the field of education.
He noted that the title already suggests that chess is, first of all, a resource of general development, and the conference has set itself the task of revealing the influence of chess in education, the effectiveness of its diagnostic and practical application on different age groups, including their intellectual development.
Grandmaster Smbat Lputyan, President of the Chess Academy of Armenia, Director of the “Chess” Scientific Research Institute, said that the education system is changing very quickly. Although discussions about chess as a discipline and its importance are comparatively new, there are many questions that interest the world, and answers to them can be given by such conferences.
Smbat Lputyan added that his experience of teaching chess for 16 years allows him to claim that it is important, necessary and effective for the future: "Chess is becoming even more important today. Chess is everywhere - from preschool institutions to universities. I am sure that in the future people will appreciate our efforts to develop the field."
His speech was followed by reports.
Mariam Ispiryan, ASPU Vice-Rector for Education and Science, presented a report on "Study of Chess Teaching in Armenian Education System." The vice-rector focused on education through chess in Armenian schools, as well as the study carried out within the framework of the discipline "Theory and Practice of Chess Teaching" introduced at ASPU since 2012. “The methodical component ensuring the learning results of the subject has been reviewed. Also, a number of proposals related to the implementation of effective individual and group methods in the education process have been developed," she said.
In their reports, the conference participants also presented the history and significance of the development of the psychodiagnostic support system of the "Chess for General Development" project, the potential toolkit for the preliminary evaluation of effectiveness of teaching chess in schools, effectiveness of teaching chess in "classical" and "game" groups, etc.
In their speeches, the participants also referred to students' abilities, the impact of learning on skills in the 21st century, chess projects for preschoolers developed in Armenia, etc.
After the reports, the participants watched videos and held a roundtable discussion.
