For five days I was proud to be a teacher

Opening of the teachers' conference 2010

The conference of winners of the seventh Russia-wide Dynasty Foundation grant competition for mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology teachers was held in Moscow Oblast 1–5 July 2010.

Nearly 200 teachers from 60 Russian regions participated in the conference this year. The participants included master teachers and young, but already notable, specialists. Forty events were offered them during the five days of the conference.

The conference program was organized in four sections: mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. The last two sections were held for the first time.

Aleksandr Zilberman teaching a master class

The lecture “Science: Russia—USSR—Russia” by the legendary Simon El'evich Shnol became a special event of the conference. The outstanding scientist, historian of Soviet and Russian science, professor in the biophysics division of the Physics Department of MSU, Doctor of Biological Sciences, and full member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences told participants about the development of Russian science from the beginning of the XIX century to the end of the XX century and about the lives of supporters of intellectual thought. “The history of mankind is not only—and not mainly—the history of wars and commanders but more so the history of the development and advancement of human thought,” believes Shnol.

Valentina Nikolaevna Kirilenko, head of the Biology Office of the Pskov Oblast Institute for improving educator qualifications; Galina Aleksandrovna Tsirlina, MSU professor; Nikolai Egorovich Kuzmenko, Deputy Dean of the Chemistry Department of MSU; Sergei Nikolaevich Lovyagin, leading methodologist of GlobalLab; and Elena Vladimirovna Kovalevskaya, group leader and GlobalLab project coordinator, gave reports in the chemistry and biology sections.

The reports and master classes in the mathematics and physics sections turned out to be interesting. Sergei Arkturovich Yazev, Director, Astronomical Observatory of Irkutsk State University; Raphael Kalmanovich Gordin, mathematics teacher, School No. 57, Moscow; Vladimir Igorevich Shevchenko, Deputy Director, Alikhanov Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics; Valery Idelevich Ryzhik, mathematics teacher, “Physical–Mathematical School” Lyceum of Ioffe Physical Technical Institute; Aleksandr Rafailovich Zilberman, Docent of Physics, Moscow Institute of Open Education; and Aleksandr Davidovich Blinkov, Docent of Mathematics, Moscow Institute of Open Education, spoke at the conference.

Lubov Strelnikova, master class on “Nanotechnology: Invisible revolution?”

The program also had interactive formats. Visitors to the discussion cafe discussed more than twenty relevant topics in only two hours.

What is the generation theory? Time management for teachers: are there peculiarities? How to create a quality presentation. How to manage child and teenager conflicts. What gender problems are associated with working at school? These and other issues were tackled during practical seminars.

Actors of the Popular Science Theater demonstrated the essence of natural phenomena by physical experiments. Sergei Kirillov, physics teacher of the highest category and a Soros teacher, and Yuri Andreevich Gaiduk, organizing teacher of the Palace of Children and Youth “Intellect," were the leaders of the project.

During the talk show “Science: Myths and Reality" led by the famous science journalist Lubov Strelnikova, scientists were made to answer the trickiest questions of the teachers.

The teachers were very active during the meeting with Sergei Maratovich Guriev, Rector of the New Economic School and Chair of the Dynasty Foundation Board in 2010. The topic for the meeting was “Economics as a career for an 'A' student in the exact sciences." He told the participants about college requirements for school graduates, about the most in-demand professions in the nearest future, and about business and professional qualities necessary for a career in economics.

Konstantin Petrov, Dynasty Foundation Program Director, presenting awards to winners

The five–day intellectual marathon closed with an awards ceremony for the winners of the teachers' competition.

“For five days I was proud to be a teacher."
“I am grateful for the opportunity to freely express my opinion and listen to answers freely expressed."
«Five days full of emotions. Good feelings, positive energy! You know what to do, how to do it to achieve future victories in your initiatives."
“It's impossible to single out any event. For me, every minute of the conference was very useful. I have learned, absorbed, and understood a lot."
This is only a small part of the teacher feedback from the conference.