On March 24, Saratov University hosted the closing ceremony of the IX Research-to-Education Festival titled The Week of Pedagogical Education. The event was attended by the participants of the pedagogical skills competition titled The Step into the Profession, directors of children's health camps, employees and students of the university. The ceremony hosts were an SSU graduate Oksana Kolina and a student of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Language Teaching Methods Ramil Gasymov.
The first point of the programme was the counsellor's meeting – I Would Become a Counsellor, which was moderated by Associate Professor of the Department of Education Methodology of the Faculty of Pedagogical and Special Needs Education Olga Kozlova.
Its participants shared their impressions of their working experience in children's health camps. ‘The camp is a special place, and the session lasts for more than 21 days. Surely, every teacher should try his or her hand at counselling. This is an experience that allows you to enrich yourself with new pedagogical skills,’ Anna Grigoryeva said, a graduate of the Faculty of Pedagogical and Special Needs Education who teaches the basics of counsellor activities at the Department of Education Methodology.
Ekaterina Chudina, a master student of the Faculty of Pedagogical and Special Needs Education, a primary school teacher of gymnasium No. 4, spoke about the special atmosphere that prevails in the camp. ‘The joy of communicating with children, a sense of responsibility, and a creative approach to work bring up a future teacher in each of us.’
The participants were able to remotely meet with the Deputy Director of the Artek International Children's Centre Elena Savelyeva-Rat and undergraduates Elizaveta Mikerova and Julia Borisova.
One of the honoured guests of the holiday was the Director of the Birch camp Boris Amhir, who fairly remarked, ‘Children learn from you, and we learn from them. The counsellor is first of all kind, attentive, and careful. With some of the pupils you have to be a mother, with someone wise – a mentor. But every child, without exception, needs attention and support.’
The director of the Springlet Sports and Recreation Complex of Gazprom Transgaz Saratov LLC, Lyudmila Alenicheva and the Head of the Department of Patriotic Education and Preventive Work with Youth of the regional Ministry of Youth Policy and Sports Sergei Kotlyachkov.
During the event, the winners of the first stage of the video competition titled The Expectation and Reality of Summer Counsellor Practice were awarded. The videos were posted on the SSU VKontakte page, where students voted for the best video.
The winner in the Expectation nomination was the team of the Faculty of Pedagogical and Special Needs Education consisting of Anastasia Kopytina, Daria Krylova, Arina Zhirnova, Ekaterina Medvedeva, and Daria Tarabrina.
In the Reality nomination, a student of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Language Teaching Methods Ramil Gasymov won. The video that received the majority of comments was from a student of the Faculty of Biology Kristina Ganina.
‘Reality in the camp is fun, uniqueness. Even a school does not give as many emotions and impressions in a year as a camp in 21 days,’ the Chair of the Department of Education Methodology, Professor Ekaterina Alexandrova emphasized.
At the end of the ceremony, the Deputy Head of the SSU Office of Social Work Marina Kabanova summed up the results of the competition of pedagogical skills titled The Step into the Profession. She noted that this year the competition had become “adult”, Saratov University had held it for the 18th time, for nine years the competition had been held as part of The Week of Pedagogical Education. This year, students of Volsk Pedagogical College, and the college staff joined the jury team, which, according to the project organisers, should become a good tradition.
According to the competition results, Maria Tyurina (Balashov Institute, SSU) and Valeria Shidlovskaya (the Institute of Chemistry) received III degree diplomas. Alyona Bunygina, a student of the Institute of Philology and Journalism, took the second place, and Ramil Gasimov, a student of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Language Teaching Methods, won the first place. The contestants also received diplomas of participants for individual nominations. Also, they were given prizes by the Trade Union Committee of SSU students and the Regional Committee of the Trade Union of Educators of Saratov Region.
The winners were congratulated by Associate Professor of the Department of Education Methodology of the Faculty of Pedagogical and Special Needs Education, SSU, Marina Burmistrova, the Chair of the Trade Union Committee of SSU students Victoria Bannikova, and the Head of Priority Projects and Programmes Elena Yelina.
Presenting the prize to the winner of the competition and closing The Week of Pedagogical Education, Elena Yelina noted the key role of a teacher in the life of every person. ‘All of us have favourite teachers who largely determine our path. There were several of them in my life, one of them is in the hall today – it is Boris Amkhir. We got acquainted in the Birch camp, where I studied as a camp counsellor in my student years. This is a man who could simultaneously bugle and played the drum. I have never met such people in my life. This is a completely unique personality, the personality of a real teacher’
To remind, the IX Research-to-Education Festival titled The Week of Pedagogical Education was held at SSU from March 21 to 24. Its members were able to attend lectures, master classes, took part in discussions, where the prospects for the development and formation of the professional path of a young teacher, innovative pedagogical methods, social support measures, etc. were considered. During the festival, there were held the Step into the Profession competition of pedagogical skills, the Olympiad in pedagogy for undergraduates – The Future Professionals for the New School, and a meeting with the regional Minister of Education Mikhail Orlov.
