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IIATM TEACHERS' CONFERENCE
26th to 28th August 2005

The core of our work within the IIATM project consisted fo teams of researchers and practising teachers working together on the development and trialling of tasks.

The schools and staff involved were:

Czech Republic

Základní škola, Školní 900, Neratovice; staff: Jitka Michnová, Irena Kro?áková
Základní škola B?lohorská 174, Praha; staff: Blanka V?trovcová
Základní škola Ostrovní 9, Praha; staff: Klára K?enková, Jana Poláchová
Základní škola U Santošky, Praha; staff: Miroslav Hricz
Gymázium Elišky Krásnohorské, Praha; staff: Zuzana Korcová
K?es?anské gymnázium Kozinova, Praha; staff: Michaela Ulrychová
Gymnázium Jana Keplera, Praha; staff: Klára Horká
Základní škola Campanus, Praha; staff: Marie Kubínová

Germany

Schule am Jungfernkopf, Kassel; staff: Angela Becker, Kathrin Scheuch
Schule Vollmarshausen, Lohfelden; staff: Brigitte Bergmann

Greece

Πειραματικ? Σχολε?ο Πανεπιστημ?ου Μακεδον?ας, Θεσσαλον?κη; staff: Petros Oikonomou
64o Δημοτικ? Σχολε?ο, Θεσσαλον?κη; staff: Olga Kassoti
11o Δημοτικ? Σχολε?ο Αμπελοκ?πων, Θεσσαλον?κη; staff: Michalis Matsoukalidis

United Kingdom

Bishop Lonsdale Primary School, Derby, UK; staff: Sara Bull, Clare Bladon
Ripley High School, Ripley, Derbyshire, UK; staff: Sue Orchard, Sheila Rollinson

Other schools either trialled the tasks for us or allowed us to trial tasks in their schools for which we are extremely grateful, however these schools were not formally part of the project.

Základní fakultní škola Uhelný Trh, Praha
Základní škola Chlupová, Praha

We are immensely grateful to these teachers for their contribution to the project and to the pupils in the classes they teach, for trying out many of the tasks presented in the book.

The Teachers' conference in August 2005 was a unique opportunity for tutors and cooperating teachers and student teachers from the five teams to meet and review the work from the units which have been trialled in the four countries.

Participants of the conference

CZ – staff (Milan Hejny, Darina Jirotkova, Marie Kubinova, Nada Stehlikova), teachers (Klara Grosova, Miroslav Hricz, Zuzana Korcova, Irena Krocakova, Jitka Michnova, Michaela Ulrychova), interpreters (Irena Matalova, Diana Urbanova, Jana Spilova), external evaluator (Pavla Polechova), helper (Anna Pisanova)

DE – staff (Brigitte Spindeler, Bernd Wollring), teachers (Angela Becker, Kathrin Scheuch), students (Stefanie Retzlaff, Arne Jendrossek)

GR – staff (Marianna Tzekaki, Giorgios Barbas), teachers (Olga Kassoti, Michalis Matsoukalidis, Petros Oikonomou)

UK – staff (David Benson, Graham Littler), teachers (Claire Bladon, Sara Bull, Sue Orchard, Sheila Rollinson)

Programme

Each team had three hours in which they presented tasks from their unit and then the results of the tasks from other countries which had been trialled in their classrooms.

Several different approaches were made by the teams, with presentations by teachers and student teachers and workshop style presentations to make the participants aware of the underlying philosophy of the tasks for a particular unit.

Summary and evaluation

The conference achieved its aims and in addition the teachers from the different countries had the oportunity to meet each other, discuss the work, establish friendships which could lead to Comenius 1 projects in the future. The tutors could see where changes to the tasks needed to be made to make them accessible Europe-wide.

Here is an evaluation made by one member of the IIATM team.

Evaluation of IIATM Teachers’ Conference

The conference created a watershed for the Project; it allowed us to take stock of the progress we have made and to plan our path forward. Based on teachers’ experiences in the classroom, we now have clear ideas on how to develop our ideas further.
Through presentations and discussions, teachers made significant and confident contributions to the evaluation of the Project and its resources.
Importantly, the conference successfully provided the opportunity to analyse and critically evaluate our work so far in a safe and supportive environment.
The conference rightly underscored the view that the book and CD must be user-friendly and provide practical, paedagogically justified ideas and resources for the classroom.
All contributions were gratefully received and genuinely valued for the support they were providing.
Participants engaged in valuable professional discussion which served both to stimulate intellectually as well to promote a genuine spirit of international cooperation and openness.
Mixed national groupings fostered healthy debate and significantly encouraged quieter colleagues to make contributions.
For some groups, a three hour slot was a little long; perhaps this should be regarded as a maximum.

David Benson

University of Derby, UK

02/09/05

Photoalbum

The accompanying pictures can say much more than words about the happy atmosphere in which the conference was conducted, the efforts which were made to present the work in a positive way and the dedication of all the people present. The photoalbum can be found here.

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