Blended Twinning, 2022, University of Padova
On May 11–15, 2022, the Blended Twinning workshop “LIT(for)ECEC. Split and Integrated Preschool Comparison” took place at University of Padova. The visiting lecturer was Dr Associate Professor Birutė Autukevičienė and five students from Vilnius University.
The scholar has shared the feedback on the visit.
– In what Twinning activities did you participate? What was the main purpose?
– The title of the activity was: LIT (for) ECEC. Split and integrated preschool comparison. Key actions for implementation were:
• To meet colleagues to share ideas, values, and knowledge about ECEC (Early Childhood Education and Care) in the two countries.
• To establish contacts with schools to conclude the agreements.
• To design the research plan (students with professors) and the research tools. The research could be a case study.
• To conduct the research (discussions, mini-focus groups, interviews, and questionnaires to the subjects involved in the two schools' environments).
• To visit the Italian and Lithuanian school contexts by the two students' teams and Professors to explore the differences between methodologies, evaluation, and school continuity between pre-primary and primary school in the two different systems.
• To analyze data and discuss research conclusions.
– What did you learn from participating in Twinning activities?
– There was sincere and open communication between the Italian and Lithuanian project participants during this project. This cooperation and genuine friendship will continue. We currently communicate via online means. The students and the teacher will spread the experience gained during the project to the pedagogues of our country by sharing with their colleagues and preparing presentations at conferences and lectures.
During this visit, we disseminated information about the activities of the VU Institute of Educational Sciences, the speciality of Childhood Pedagogy. This project is an excellent opportunity for professional exchange. After implementing the activities, information about it was provided on the Institute of Educational Sciences website.
– How will you use this knowledge in your future studies / further collaboration with partners?
– Participation in Twinning activities is a great and valuable opportunity for personal and professional development. The participants improved their communication skills in a foreign language and learned a lot of interesting facts about Italy, its history, and exciting places to visit. When communicating with students from another country, you are learning to respect their linguistic, cultural, and ethnic identity. In the professional field, students and a teacher learn about, compare, and evaluate nurseries, preschools, and primary education institutions of both countries' peculiarities of the organization of activities, educational environments, and organization of the educational process, as well as the system for evaluating the child's achievements, peculiarities of cooperation with parents, etc. Students will apply the good experience in practical work with children.
– What obstacles did you encounter participating in Twinning activities? How did you solve them?
– No challenges. All planned activities went smoothly.
– Would you recommend participating in Twinning activities for other students/professors? Why?
– We recommend participation in Arqus Twinning activities to other students and teachers, as it is an excellent opportunity for professional development, establishing professional connections, and implementing professional innovations. This is one of the motivation factors to learn, find out, and work in a modern way.