170 Nizhnevartovsk schoolteachers attended intensive STEAM School training sessions

2 september 2021

170 math, physics, computer science and robotics teachers from Nizhnevartovsk were able to finetune their skills thanks to the STEAM School project. The intensive training sessions for teachers were delivered with the support of SIBUR as part of its Formula for Good Deeds social investment program. The goal of the event was to help teaching professionals develop relevant teaching skills and competencies, introduce them to innovative techniques and new approaches used in the field of education.

The sessions’ curriculum had been developed by leading teachers and methodology experts from innovative schools and educational centers. The participants attended lectures and hands-on sessions including a poster session, seminars on the advantages of individualized approach in education, on proper organization of special-focus classes, and on the challenges high school education faces when prepping school leavers for passing out. Special attention was given to developing students' engineering competencies through application of the interdisciplinary STEAM approach. According to the classes’ participants, incorporation of STEAM methods into the school curriculum is feasible and is the most effective way to improve the quality of education and to motivate students to learn.

Direct quotes from STEAM School’s graduates:

I took note of quite a lot of new "tricks" that I could use in my classes. I intend to actively use them and give children the best, Lesya Slesareva, a mathematics teacher at Nizhnevartovsk’s School No. 25, shared. Because I am a mathematician, I was naturally drawn to the lectures given by the speakers representing my own field. Evgeny Shiryaev advocates a more hands-on approach, which is really appealing to me. His lecture put my brain in overdrive and fresh ideas started pouring in. And as for Yury Podkopayev, I owe him the most amazing discovery I had ever made! I was astounded when I learned that the famous "The Simpsons" cartoon show is really all about mathematics.

I often attend refresher courses in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and so I am already familiar with some of the lecturers, Beishenbek Mambetov, a physics teacher with Nizhnevartovsk’s Lyceum No. 2, noted. I'm happy to see them in my own city! The main advantage of such lectures is that they are very informative and provide strong incentives for self-development. Thanks to them, we can see where our education system is evolving. By the way, individualized approach to education is exactly what we strive for and have been actively involved in developing over the recent years.

What I noticed at the lectures is that the speakers did not "follow a script" but delivered their material off-hand based on examples from their own teaching experience, Larisa Prilepina, a physics teacher at Nizhnevartovsk’s School No. 22, commented. This is critical because this prompts you to instantly develop trust for the person, and you want to literally hang on to every word he utters. The project’s experts were very creative in preparing their lectures. Many of my colleagues noted that they not only got a lot of useful knowledge thanks to this program, but also immensely enjoyed it.

These were probably the most interesting and practice-centered intensive training sessions that our teachers have recently been offered by other active teachers, Inna Svyatchenko, director of the Department of Education of Nizhnevartovsk’s City Administration, offered. The classes served as a great generator of new ideas. And, most importantly, this is the kind of knowledge that teachers can use in their own teaching work. Attending teachers had positive feedback about the event and expressed their desire to see the same kind of intensive coursed conducted for the teachers of other subject areas, such as technology.