Course dates:

flexible, Riga, Latvia (Levels 1 or 2, in En or in Ru)

The course can also be organised on demand, either as a residential or in-house. Dates and locations of the courses can be changed. Contact us for details.

(deadline for grant applications in your National Agency is February 2025, accreditation deadline is 1 October 2024)

 

Objective:

• Provide the participants with tools for the development of children's creativity and thinking skills.

Who should attend:

• Pre-school, primary school teachers and teacher trainers.
• Policy makers and educational administrators.
• Professionals interested in the development of creativity and thinking skills.

Course contents (see detailed programme below):

• Practical tools for the development of creativity and thinking skills in pre-school and primary education.
• Problem solving and research with young and very young learners.
• Examples of lessons and their anaysis together with the participants.

Learning outcomes:

• Participants are aware of the practical tools for the development of creativity and thinking skills in pre-school and primary education.
• Participants understand how problem-solving and research can be organised with young and very young learners.
• Participants are willing to join professional community working towards better integration of creativity & thinking in any learning activity.

Facilitators:

Dr Alla Nesterenko

A teacher, teacher trainer and researcher in the field of key competences in school education. A certified TRIZ specialist.

Dr Tatiana Sidorchuk

A pre-school teacher and teacher trainer. The author of over 100 papers dealing with the use of OTSM-TRIZ in pre-school education. A certified TRIZ specialist.

 

Dr. Alexander Sokol

A teacher, teacher trainer, researcher in the field of thinking skills in language education. A certified TRIZ specialist. Alexander first learned about TRIZ in 1989 and has been dealing with it ever since.

 

Preliminary programme:

DAY 1
10:00-16:00 Arrival
16:30-18:00 Introduction & getting to know each other
18:00-19:00 Course aims and finalisation of the programme
19:30 Welcome dinner

DAY 2
09:00-10:30 Creativity, key competences & thinking - what are we speaking about?
10:30-11:00 Coffee break
11:00-12:30 Where do we start? The ENV model
12:30-15:30 Lunch and walk
15:30-17:00 The ENV model in practice: banks, trainings and constructors
17:00-17:30 Coffee break & country presentations
17:30-19:00 Developing tasks for own context
19:30- Dinner

DAY 3
09:00-10:30 Towards organising research of young learners: synthesis of objects
10:30-11:00 Coffee break
11:00-12:30 Planning research for own context
12:30-14:00 Lunch
14:00-15:30 Yes-no training as a tool for learning to deal with problems
15:30- Cultural activity followed by dinner

DAY 4
09:00-10:30 Organising learners' research: search for patterns
10:30-11:00 Coffee break
11:00-12:30 Planning research for own context
12:30-15:30 Lunch and walk
15:30-17:00 Technologies for working with problems
17:00-17:30 Coffee break & country presentations
17:30-19:00 Technologies for working with problems

DAY 5
09:00-10:30 Formulation and resolution of contradictions: workshop
10:30-11:00 Coffee break
11:00-12:30 System operator and how can it be used?
12:30-14:00 Lunch
14:00-15:30 Thinking lessons: video fragments & experiences
15:30- Cultural activity followed by dinner

DAY 6
09:00-10:30 Preparation of a series of thinking lessons for own context 11:00-12:30 Sharing lessons with colleagues and feedback
12:30-15:30 Lunch and walk
15:30-17:00 Overview of electronic resources
17:00-17:30 Coffee break and country presentations
17:30-19:00 Development of action plans for the coming months
20:00 Gala dinner

DAY 7
09:00-10:00 Overview of the materials and future plans
10:00-11:00 Validation of learning outcomes
11:00-12:00 Feedback on the course and certification
Departure

 

Course Price

We offer a flexible approach to course fees to ensure that you are able to choose the most appropriate option for your needs.

OPTION 1. ERASMUS+ PACKAGE
(best option for partners receiving an Erasmus+ grant and planning long-term collaboration with TA Group)

• Total price per package per participant – EUR 1400

The price includes 7 days tuition and seminar materials, 6 nights accommodation in a twin room, all meals and coffee breaks during the course, social programme during the course, distant support of each participant during a year + organisation support during a year.

 

OPTION 2. CUSTOMIZED PAYMENT
(The option is for partners interested in a particular course or one of the additional services we offer. You can select any of the services or their combination)

• Course fee – EUR 1250

The price includes 7 days tuition and seminar materials, 6 nights accommodation in a twin room, all meals and coffee breaks during the course, and the social programme during the course.

• Distant support – EUR 250 per year per person (optional)

The price includes online support (answers to questions, comments on reflection, participation in webinars and other online events) during the year following the course.

• Organisation support – EUR 250 per year per person (optional)

The price includes online support for the organisation at the stage of application and reporting, as well as the possibility to have consultation on administrative issues during the project implementation.

 

DISCOUNTS

Each partner organisation participating in the courses is eligible to one of the following discounts: 

• 10% discount for each participant that attends Level 1 and Level 2 courses during one year;
• 10% discount for each participant if the total number of participant from one organisation that attend the courses during the year is 10 and more.

CANCELLATIONS

All changes and cancellations must be submitted in writing. The course organiser will confirm the cancellation in writing. Refund of course fees will be as follows:

60 days before the beginning of the course - refund 100%
30 days before the beginning of the course - refund 50%
less than 30 days before the beginning of the course - no cancellations will be refunded
Please note that all refunds will be charged EUR 50 handling fee.

Information about previous courses:

You can also see photos, videos and the participants' feedback from some of our previous courses.

Photos: Jan 2010, Nov 2010, Sep 2012

Participants' feedback: Jan 2010, Nov 2010, Sep 2012

Video fragments from previous courses

Video feedback of former participants (various courses 2014-2016)

Video feedback of former participants (various courses 2009-2013)

 

The number of places on each course is limited, therefore we are asking you to contact us as soon as possible if you would like to book a place.