Steps to Success Start at NIS
The first republican Forum of Young Teachers called “Zhas ustaz: Tabyska aparar zhol” - “Young teacher: Steps to success” has come to its end at Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools.
Kulyash Shamshidinova, the Chair of the Board of Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools, proudly said that the forum participants are her colleagues who are successful and creative:
– We, teachers, meet and teach future prime ministers and presidents, heroes of the nation and world stars, but most importantly, true patriots and happy people. Everyone who starts their career today dedicates their life to school and children.
The Republican Forum continues the large-scale NIS project aimed at the professional development of young teachers. The idea itself was born after a series of meetings of young teachers with the Chair of the Board of Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools Kulyash Shamshidinova. A set of case sessions were held in the capital, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Karaganda, Almaty, Pavlodar, Kostanay cities.
From the UK, Elaine Wilson, a representative of the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge, who has been successfully cooperating with NIS, joined the young teachers.
– In Kazakhstan, there are many good teacher training programs developed by the Center for Teaching Excellence. I am happy to see that this is a leading country for professional development and teachers can constantly improve their competences. Do not think that you know everything, study further, - Elaine Wilson wished good luck to the forum participants.
Two days were full of creative drive, new contacts, professional discoveries, ambitious projects, inspiring trainings and master classes.
The Forum was attended by Minister of Education Askhat Aimagambetov, Director of Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools Development Fund, Head of the Science in Secondary Education SHARE Project Nazipa Ayubayeva, Advisor to the Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Assel Moldabekova.
Young colleagues asked Askhat Kanatovich both philosophical and national questions, as well as personal ones - from personal life hacks to literary preferences.
Nazipa Ayubaeva shared her own history in pedagogy and studies at the University of Cambridge, life and professional principles.
Asel Moldabekova answered a large range of uncomfortable questions. Young teachers were interested in information integration in electronic educational systems, low speed and instability of the Internet in rural districts, problems with servers and platforms for schools.
The master class by Alena Rakhimova from Ust-Kamenogorsk city, dedicated to the assessment – the most urgent priority in today's school was of great interest. Alena especially drew attention to the fact that it is always difficult to assess a schoolchild in group work as objectivity supports the child's interest in the learning process.
An English teacher from Ulan district of East Kazakhstan region, Adil Anarbekov, emphasized that the psychological state of the child is of decisive importance when assessing:
- The golden bridge between the schoolchild and the teacher includes trust, and it is built by honesty, love and faith.
Star education expert David Marsh, who joined from Mexico, despite thousands of kilometers, became related to the forum participants and shared his personal conviction that in any country of the world the main criterion of teacher’s success was due to their loyalty to the profession.
The festive mood of young teachers was supported and inspired by the personal story of Askhat Zhumabekov, a teacher of Physics of Semey Intellectual School, who was the first from Kazakhstan to enter the top 50 of the Global Teacher Prize and become its Ambassador. Askhat admitted that the choice of profession was made absolutely in full awareness. As a real teacher, he conveyed to the forum participants the absolute confidence that each of them can become the best version of themselves.
Applause blew up the hall when the organizers of the forum took the stage - a successful team of the Center for Teaching Excellence, which systematically works on the professional development of domestic teachers.
– Our young colleagues are a strategic resource of every school, they will bring new ideas and new solutions to today's education. I am glad that they are open to new knowledge and ready to learn,” said Zhanbota Kabdykarimova, Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence.
The Center has developed and prepared an open online course “School of a young teacher”, which runs on the online.cpm.kz platform. The new resource included educational materials in various areas: teacher values and attitudes, a kaleidoscope of teaching strategies, horizontal and vertical planning, as well as lesson research, emotions and time management, and other popular priorities.
In each region of the country, the Center for Teaching Excellence has created the Young Teachers' Clubs “Zhasampaz zhas ustaz”, which have already become a professional platform. The Shamshyrak online platform started to post video materials about the experience of the best young teachers, most of them from rural schools.
Today, the first forum “Steps to Success” has already become history, a unique platform for professional development and communication of teachers has been created, the best young teachers of the country, jointly with NIS, continue their way to success.