In a previous article, we offered you a report on the LCA course, which presents a student-centered approach, led by our two lecturers and colleagues Gabriela Lojová and Sona Petrášová. We visited the Primary School, Bystrická cesta, the elocated workplace of Dončova in Ružomberok in order to receive their testimonials directly from the participants of the course, what impression this course left in them. In the aforementioned primary school, we approached two participants of the course, deputy Mgr. Janka Urbanová and teacher of the first grade, PaedDr. Zuzana Vlkolínska.
Where you first learned about the LCA course – a student-centred approach.
J.U. I first learned about this course from my colleague Z. Fileková, who is involved in an international project through the Catholic University in Ružomberok.
Z.V. I learned about the student-centered approach from my colleagues Z. Filekova and L. Krasuľová. Since they had completed the LCA course, they approached me with a recommendation to take it.
Why did you decide to participate in this training?
J.U. I wanted to be informed about this way of learning as a deputy headteacher of the school and at the same time gain new knowledge.
Z.V. I was convinced by the enthusiasm of my female colleagues and the expectation of new knowledge.
What influenced you the most during this training?
J.U. The ideas of G. Lojová, their formulation and submission appealed to me very much.
Z.V. First acquaintance with the course as a pre-tasting of something good with p. Lojová and p. Chynoradska online.
Have you taken away any values from the course that you have already managed to apply in practice?
J.U. The initial training and then the course were of great benefit to me. I could name the things I was doing before training in my classes, and I immediately tried some of the activities we did during the online course in my classes.
Z.V. For me personally, the experience with G. Lojová was amazing, she enriched me with her approach, the clarity of the oral speech, in short, the whole personality. When she asked me for photos from my presentation at the end of the presentation, I was proud that I was able to enrich it too.
Furthermore, I was impressed by the positive attitude of the lecturer S. Petrášová to us as pupils, her respect and respect. Interested in my opinions and thoughts. I realized that it was really time to change the teaching process, that there was really no need to insist on memorizing knowledge, that changing the way teaching was okay. I realized that I do not have to have remorse when I believe that I teach little, when I dedicate myself to the atmosphere, to the experience, to the experiential learning of my students. Today I know that the satisfied and smiling faces of my pupils are more than the marks on the certificate or in the edupage. I accepted the fact that I do not have to comply with everyone (the 70:30 rule of G. Lojová).
What do you see as the fundamental difference between a modern approach and a traditional per pupil approach?
J.U. I see it in the fact that it is mainly the pupils who work in the lesson and not the teacher, the pupils do not have so much time to get bored, the teacher does not leave the lessons exhausted. The active involvement of pupils in the process has more meaning and effect. Pupils remember and take away more from the lesson than from the lesson, the main "hero" of which is the teacher and his interpretation.
Z.V. I see the fundamental difference in the view of the pupil, there is no need to be afraid to let him learn "alone", to trust in his abilities, to create an atmosphere suitable for the majority of pupils, to notice the pupil, his needs and experiences, to look at the world, then to enrich each other, to connect the reality of life with the school world, to bring reality to school as much as possible. It is necessary to develop his critical thinking, creativity, empathy, promote cooperation between pupils.
Describe briefly the form of the course, how you were able to actively participate in it, how did you specifically contribute to the good course of the training?
J.U. The course took place online, we did various activities related to the principles of learning aimed at the student, for individual meetings we were supposed to process the tasks that we presented during the training, we also worked during the course in groups on the assigned tasks. By working together on assignments, we also exchanged experiences from our practice, which enriched us with each other, we could compare the diversity of processing a single task, an assignment.
Z.V. The course took place online except for the first and last meetings, which were face-to-face. Each of us had the opportunity to participate with our observations, opinions, real experience in the course. The final presentation was beneficial to all teachers with the opinions and observations of their own colleagues and especially the trainers. I tried to contribute to the good course of training with my own active approach.
Are you interested in motivating schools, management, teachers who have not heard of it before for this type of course in the future?
J.U. Certainly yes. It's a great thing.
Z.V. I haven't thought about motivating other teachers yet, I think I would have to go through more training to spread these ideas further. But of course, I will be happy to encourage my colleagues and those from other schools not to hesitate to get involved in this concept and spread it further.
Thanks to both ladies for an interesting and engaging conversation.
