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It’s already the 4th year that the Pedagogical University’s Faculty of Primary Education has been cooperating with the “Step by Step” Charity Foundation within the scope of which a number of joint programmes are being implemented.
As a result of regular cooperation twenty-six BA and MA students of the given Faculty participated in the training sessions aimed at developing professional competences of teachers and pedagogues held from 10-11 November.
The two-day initiative, aimed at improving the quality of education, was an addition to the training sessions organized in the previous academic year, which also targeted the identification of actual problems in the sphere of primary education, finding effective solutions, and improving students’ professional capacities and skills.
An introduction exercise, a retrospection of the work done, identification of the participants’ primary experience, the process of introduction of teachers’ criteria, child-centred education peculiarities, study of the “Step by Step” programme as a tool for teachers’ professional development, presentation of practical assignments, discussion and summarising- these were the main activities of the first day of the training.
What is more, during the session, the students can assess their professional skills, develop research abilities.
“The participants are given a special assessment tool with which future pedagogues can study the learning processes, various spheres of teachers’ activities, and clearly evaluate which tool is for what kind of competence, and how teachers should deal in different situations”, mentioned the Dean of the Faculty of Primary Education Heghinei Khachatryan during her interview to the old.aspu.am, adding that some of the students had also participated in the training in the previous year due to which they identified their strengths and weaknesses and obtained professional courage.
On the second day of the “Step by Step” training programme, the participants referred to the work fulfilled on the previous day, after which the performance evaluation form and a video presentation was made, together with the review of teachers’ works, individual assessment, group discussion of the results, etc.
Likewise, speaking about the achievements, the Dean of the Faculty observed that as a result they had a good teaching material, educational manuals with which the students would be able to conduct a research, evaluate themselves, and realize how to work in professional environment.
“We need other forms of organizing the learning process; a classroom- auditorium system long ago sputtered. We need new, diverse, and dynamic forms of academic processes where there will also be a clash of ideas. This is a non-standard form of a learning processes that activates students raising in them the desire to also continue education”, added Heghinei Khachatryan.
Students themselves confess that the training sessions helped them to realize that there is little that they do not know; nevertheless, they need to coordinate all of that, as well as the skills and capacity to practice what they already know.
This was also noted by the 2nd year MA student Hasmik Hambardzumyan in her interview to the old.aspu.am, where she confessed how impressed she was.
“It’s already the second time that I am participating in the training session; this seems to the logical continuation of the previous one which helps to work in large groups, learn a number of new methods, and when possible, to also use them”.
The senior expert of trainings of the “Step by Step” Charity Foundation Marinei Mkrtchyan, in her turn, mentioned that they discussed with the students the document about “Professional Development Tool Aimed at Improving the Quality of Teaching at Pre-School Establishments” during the trainings.
Similarly, the expert noted that the aim of the trainings also was to introduce quality teaching criteria to the students, to discuss and study the behaviour and actions that a teacher should not have.
“This is already the second training session organized for the ASPU students; and once again it has proved that future pedagogues have a huge theoretical knowledge and high motivation, they hold discussions and increase the scope of interest”.
To conclude, the participants of the seminar received certificates. Moreover, the Dean of the Faculty of Primary Education Heghinei Khacahtryan also awarded certificates for undertaking outstanding volunteering activities and for best participation in the educative processes of the school to the Faculty’s previous year’s graduates Lilit Levonyan, Nelly Smbatyan and Anna Minasyan.
