Teachers and experts share best teaching practices at conference in Tbilisi

Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi hosted a conference for teachers ‘Student-Centered Approaches to STEM Teaching’, where teachers and education experts jointly discussed the instructional environment leading to pupils’ holistic development, the importance of technology integration in the process of instruction.’

More than 200 STEM as well as English and geography teachers, and over 50 Georgian and foreign experts in the field of education attended the conference where innovative approaches to STEM teaching and the best practices adopted by the teachers, as well as teaching resources and technologies, were showcased.

The sessions held as part of the conference highlighted the importance of student-centered instruction and technology-enhanced STEM teaching; the significance of improving students’ twenty-first century skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, for instance, was emphasized throughout the conference.

Georgia has achieved significant progress over the last 25 years. However, recent research indicates that one of the factors impeding the economic growth of the country is the shortage of professionals. This deficit is most acutely felt in the fields of engineering and technology (STEM)”, stated Magda Maghradze, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Account- Georgia.

Experts said  in order to enhance pupils’ motivation for studying STEM subjects, it is essential to inspire their interest. Photo: TEE.

To overcome the above obstacle "Millennium Challenge Account- Georgia” implements programs in the sectors of general, vocational and higher education which focus on enhancing the quality of education and developing human capital in the sphere of STEM,” she added.

Irina Abuladze, the manager of Training Educators for Excellence Project, believes that in order to enhance pupils’ motivation for studying STEM subjects, it is essential to inspire their interest, to make classroom activities fun and connect them with actual, everyday life.

The 21st century pupil is a global village citizen living virtually in the informational ocean who finds it difficult to focus on perceiving, comprehending and using definite information. Therefore, approaches of teaching must be altered, it is vital to make them pupil-centered, interactive, dynamic, to challenge learners and jointly search for solution. Formulas and equations alone do not lead to pupils’ interest”, she said.

Photo: TEE.

On December 25, 2015, the Millennium Challenge Account- Georgia and The LEPL National Center for Teacher Professional Development signed an agreement according to which through financial and expert assistance of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the centre will support te professional development of VII-XII-12 grade STEM and English and Geography teachers, and of public school principals.

In total, the program will provide up to 25,000 specialists with long-term training; besides training, there will be instructional meetings organized, instructional resources developed and additional support in introducing new practices into the school environment will be provided.