Education for the Future Conference – March 2018

The conference took place on Friday, 2nd March, 2018, and Saturday, 3rd March, 2018. In total, 56 lectures and workshops in parallel sessions were given, allowing the participants to become acquainted with innovative methods in education. Leading Czech experts shared their experience and knowledge of the latest educational trends that should pave the road for teaching in the fast-paced 21st century.

The meeting put emphasis on the spontaneity and joy of learning. It offered the search for new paths that could transform the “frontal education” still predominant in Czech schools into “experience laboratories” that the children will look forward to, and where they will be able to effectively acquire knowledge, skills, and competences necessary to properly understand the world they will live in. If the teacher’s authority is currently overruled by the authority of internet resources, it is necessary to redefine the role of the teacher.

The presented findings aimed at a wide spectrum of pupils and students, the lecturers presented ways to improve the motivation of children. The conference also highlighted the importance of informal education, which can often teach the children and form them to an even greater extent than the current formal education style does.

Some lectures were also given by representatives of students who, in their contributions, confirmed some problems present in the current schooling system in the Czech Republic, and demonstrated willingness to participate in the operation of school through students’ clubs and committees, i.e., institutions that greatly influence their lives, but the working of which they are so far unable to affect significantly.

The world is changing, so let’s change with it!

They want progress. They do care. It is not just an underpaid job for them. This is at least the impression given by 333 teachers participating in the Education for the Future Conference, held at the CIIRC ČVUT building on 2nd–3rd March 2018. 

The conference built on the tradition of Mensa for Talent Development conferences; however it did not remain with the traditional concept. “This year, we chose a slightly different approach than in recent years” said Tomáš Blumenstein, the main organizer. “A major change was co-operating with other institutions – NIDV, the Fraus publishing house, and the World of Education. Even more importantly, we changed the thematic focus and structure of the programme. The original topic of the development of talented children was extended by the areas of digital education, modern teaching methods and, in general, the topic of effective education. For the first time, the programme was in the form of parallel sessions, and the participants were therefore able to tailor it to their preferences.” Thanks to this new organizational approach, it was possible to squeeze 56 lectures and workshops into two days. The participants had the opportunity to find out how to effectively utilize modern technologies within the framework of the current standard system of education, how to adapt the means of communication to teenagers, how to pass the information on to the students interactively and “inconspicuously”, how to implement alternative teaching methods, how to make developing the potential of children and students attractive to them both at school and out-of-school... Mostly, the audience reacted through questions, sometimes even through laughter, or dare I say, almost child-like enthusiasm for new technologies and methods that they could try out for themselves, and always through thundering applause at the end of each lecture or workshop.

Related topics

• Conferences on talent development

4.3.2018

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