EDC in cooperation with the partners from Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Russia started the project about promoting the critical thinking approach at the end of 2011: the exchange and dissemination of experience in this field. The project is financed by the Foundations of Open Society Institute.

The aim of the project was to broaden the possibilities of using the critical thinking approach in Latvia that is based on the experience of the project partners – Ukrainian and Azerbaijani specialists. During the project while mastering the methods and strategies of developing critical thinking we offered the teachers of Latvia possibilities to improve the secondary students’ learning and socio-cultural competences using the textbook published in Ukraine for secondary school students and the didactic material for teachers “Foundation of critical thinking”.

Objectives of the project:
- to acquaint teachers and students with the textbook “Foundation of critical thinking” developed by the Ukrainian specialists and to adapt it for the use in schools of Latvia;
- to assist teachers to master the critical thinking approach and to apply it more widely in the teaching/learning process in the secondary school.

The target group of the project: secondary students, teachers, parents

Activities planned in the project:

• To get acquainted with the textbook and the didactic material “Foundation of critical thinking” developed by the Ukrainian specialists and to adapt it by adjusting it to the situation in Latvia.
• To approbate the adapted teaching/learning material together with the Ukrainian and Azerbaijani specialists and teachers of Latvia.
• To offer the project participants methods and strategies promoting critical thinking and creativity in the seminars.
• The didactic material “Foundation of critical thinking” for the use in the secondary school of Latvia will be prepared as the outcome of the project.

 

Implementers of the project:

Coordinating organization of the project:

Teachers for Democracy and partnership (TDP) (Ukraine) www.tdp.org.ua
Project partners:
Education Development centre (Latvia)
Center for Innovations in Education (Azerbaijan) www.cie.az
INTERCENTRE (Russia)

The project participants were school teams and representatives of school administration from Rīga Secondary school Nr. 95, Jelgava Secondary school Nr. 5, Rīga Ukrainian Secondary school, Rīga Secondary school Nr. 53, Rīga Zolitūde gymnasium, Rīga Secondary school Nr. 74, Rīga gymnasium „Maksima”, Rīga Anniņmuiža Secondary school, and Garkalne Secondary school.

The implementation of the project  was ensured by the critical thinking specialists of the Education Development centre Iveta Vērse, Sandra Kalniņa, Linda Ugaine, Aija Kalve, Irēna Freimane, and its staff members Aija Rusiņa and Līga Puniņa, as well as Olena Pometun, Igor Suschenko and Ludmila Pilipchatina from Ukraine, Vafa Jagubla from Azerbaijan.

During the time period from August 15, 2012 till January 15, 2013 the 2nd part of the project „Ensuring the sustainability of the project results” is being implemented. Project objectives in this stage are the following:

• To improve teachers’ and education policy makers’ critical thinking skills and competence in four regions of Latvia (Latgale, Vidzeme, Kurzeme and Riga);
• To help teachers acquire better the methodology and strategies of critical thinking and to apply more efficiently the acquired knowledge and skills in their everyday instructional practice at school by offering them to use the material “Foundations of critical thinking” in their classroom.