In the frameworks of Erasmus+ PRINTeL project in February-March, 2019 an internal Teacher Training (TT) Course aimed at retraining teaching staff members is programmed to take place at Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno (YKSUG).

The trainers of the TT Course from YKSUG who participated in the ToT (Training of Teachers) Courses at 5 EU Project partner universities (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Universitat de Barcelona, Universidade do Porto, Linköpings Universitet, FH Joanneum Gesellschaft mbH) have outlined trainings on teaching and learning in innovative methods for YSKUG teaching staff members and have programmed to share with them all the experience got after passing the abovementioned ToT courses. 

The TT courses are going to be delivered by the 6 ToT courses participants from YKSUG and up to 60 YKSUG lecturers will pass the TT course.  

During the course YKSUG teaching staff members are going to be trained in a number of fields related to innovative technology-enhanced teaching and learning.

TT Course #6 “Hybrid/Blended Teaching and Learning”

Trainer: Head of department Iryna Korliukova (Faculty of Pre-University Training, department of Modern Technologies)

The fifth module of teacher staff development programme at Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno was devoted to blended / hybrid learning. Iryna Korliukova, the training moderator, taught the participants how to organize group reflection by means of moderation. Iryna Korliukova shared her personal experience of organizing group work activity with the students of the faculty of mathematics and informatics and the students of the faculty of pre-university training.

The moderator also presented the ways to create on-line portfolios of students and teachers. The course participants actively discussed the contents of teacher’s portfolio and the possibilities of its application.

In the course of the training, Iryna Korliukova demonstrated the platforms for the organization of distance education – MOOC (Massive Open Online Course). YKSUG’s teaching staff members worked with on-line tools for project-based teaching (Trello platform).

TT Course # 5 “Active Learning with Special Focus on Technology Enhanced Collaborative Learning”

Trainer: Associate Professor Andrei Pranevich (Faculty of Economics and Management, Department of Mathematical and Information Support of Economic Systems)

The training “Active Learning with Special Focus on Technology Enhanced Collaborative Learning” took place at Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno. Andrei Pranevich, the training moderator, presented the principles and forms of active learning to the participants of the training and informed them about theoretical and practical best practices of the colleagues from Leuven (Belgium).

In the course of the training, the teachers developed the course elements with the application of active learning methods. The possibilities of using ICT in teaching process led to a heated discussions in which all course participants took part. The participants also shared their personal experience of using active teaching and learning methods in their pedagogical activity while teaching different courses.

TT Course #4 “Active Learning in the Flipped Classroom”

Trainer: Associate Professor Kanstantin Smatrytsky (YKSUG Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Department of Fundamental and Applied Mathematics)

The technologies of active learning and the possibilities of their application in education were presented by the course moderator, Kanstantsin Smatrytsky, associate professor at the Department for Fundamental and Applied Mathematics. The participant tried the services that they have never used before, such as padlet.com, which is a web service used for simultaneous work with groups, and mentimeter.com, which is used for designing online questionnaires in real-time mode, and others. 

Kanstantsin Smatrytsky paid attention to one of the most important issues in the present-day higher education – whether the changes in the learning process are necessary at the moment. After having an active debate, the training participants gave their own examples of both positive and negative experience of applying modern innovative technologies, methods and tools in their teaching process.

In accordance with the analysis of the results of TT courses discussions it can be inferred that both the moderator and the participants were content with the training and its outcomes.

TT Course # 3 “Active Learning in the Flipped Classroom”

Trainer: Associate Professor, Head of the Department Darya Shpak (YKSUG Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Department of Fundamental and Applied Mathematics)

The teacher training course «Active Learning in the Flipped Classroom» as part of a teaching skills development programme “University of educational innovations: theory, methods and practice of contemporary education” was held at Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno.

The trainings were conducted in the Russian language. The course moderator, Darya Shpak, the head of Academic Affairs Department of the Quality of Education, presented the essence of flipped classroom technology focusing on the fundamental bases of the technology. The advantages and disadvantages of the flipped classroom technology led to heated discussions among the participants.

Darya Shpak introduced a new method of course design, an ABC method which is based on student-centered development of course documentation with the application of blended teaching methods.

In the course of the training, the participants shared their personal experience of using the technology under consideration, analyzed the incentives for using new educational technologies in teaching and learning.

TT Course #2  “Video as a Tool for Teaching and Learning”

Trainer: Associate Prof., Head of the Department Svetlana Gonchar (YKSUG, Faculty of Philology, Department for Foreign Languages)

The classes of the module “Video as a Learning tool for teachers and students: Video Lecturing & Promoting Interaction in the Classroom” started on February 18, 2019.

During the trainings 10 lecturers from YKSUG were introduced to the pros and cons of using videos for teaching and learning purposes and tips for making high quality interactive video.

According to Svetlana Gonchar, PhD, head of the Department of Foreign Languages who is the module moderator, videos create a more engaging sensory experience than using print materials alone. They provide a go-to resource that can be watched from anywhere with an internet connection, and are accessible on a multitude of devices including laptops, tablets and smartphones. This allows for viewing at the student’s convenience and from wherever they are.

The course participants made sure that educational videos increase students’ engagement, they offer the flexibility to pause or skip throughout the video to have class discussions or review particular areas and enable teachers to create a flipped classroom, or “blended” learning environment.

The participants were presented the Playposit which is an interactive web-based video platform that allows educators to make educational and interactive both popular online platforms video (Youtube, Vimeo, etc.) and the videos shoot by themselves.  

They also got acquainted with Explain Everything, an interactive whiteboard platform teachers can use to create engaging presentations, to model a specific skill or highlight important details, as well as to make a simple video that explains a key concept of a task.

Except the final assignment, during all training days the trainees presented their own video tasks and expressed their opinions about how the acquired skills can be applied in their teaching practice.

TT Course #1 “Active Learning and Ict-Enhanced Teaching: M-Learning And Gamification”

Trainer: Natalia Valko (PhD, associate professor at the Department for General Physics of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno (YKSUG)

The classes of the first module “Active Learning and ICT-enhanced Teaching: M-Learning and Gamification” started on February, 11 2019. According to Natalia Valko, PhD, associate professor at the Department for General Physics who is the module moderator, active teaching methods encourage high level of student participation in class activities, aim them at independent reflective search for solutions and results, as well as elaboration of personal competences in the frameworks of individual and collective work.

The participants were presented the technology of QR-codes creation and recognition as well as the options of using of coded information in teaching. At the second part of the class, the course participants could assess the benefits of active teaching methods in combination with immersion in gaming learning environment which required attentive and concentrated searching activity of the participants, dynamic interpersonal communication, elaboration of a common action plan.

The course participants made sure that gamification of education subtly stimulated creative thinking of students, shaped their desire to move from ignorance to knowledge, helped to assess the importance and advantages of teamwork, created cheerful emotional attitude of positive competitiveness.

As a result of the first day, the participants received a task to present themselves at the Forum “Acquaintance” and to design graphic illustrations with the help of the on-line service Canva. In the framework of the first module, the Forum “Professional Dialogue” offers the participants the possibility to ask both the moderator and the colleagues questions on the topics studied and the home task given, share their opinions about the acquired experience of innovative activity, suggest their own ideas, solutions and findings for discussion.