PEARSON EDUCATIONAL FORUM 2021

Topic: Education in flux: lessons learnt or lessons wasted?

Trainer: Anna Kolbuszewska

What awaits mainstream education in the near and not-so-near future? In this session we will look at trends which the pandemic has brought into focus, and we will try to look into the crystal ball to see if anything about education in the next 30 years is going to be what we are used to or rather what we are hoping for.

Tbilisi Time: 12:30 – 13:30

Topic: Embracing Isolation by Enhancing Student Autonomy

Trainer: Philip Warwick

One of the few benefits is that online learning has shifted the focus more on the students and encouraged them to become more autonomous and take personal charge of their learning – it is important that teachers embrace this and encourage learners not to lose their newfound autonomy when they return to more classroom-based instruction.  In this session we’ll look at what true autonomy is and how teachers can support and build on it to help students create a personalised learning platform that will improve success regardless of the format.

Tbilisi Time: 13:30 – 14:30

Topic: Finding the Formula for Successful Assessment in Stressful Times

Trainer: Philip Warwick

One of the results from the previous year is that students facing their final school leaving exams have been affected more than most. Worried and anxious that they will not be as well prepared through remote learning as they would have been with in classroom work, these students should give us pause for thought and allow us to reflect constructively about exam preparation and whether we could make it more productive and efficient for learners regardless of the medium of instruction. This session will look at practical ideas that teachers can use to prepare students to successfully pass tests in both online and face-to-face learning.

Tbilisi Time: 14:40 – 15:40

Topic: The Golden Rules of Effective Teaching – how to engage your teenage students

Trainer: Magdalena Kania

While trying to balance different teaching contexts, from online to offline or even both at the same time, we need reliable tools and techniques to help you achieve students’ core aims of building language skills and passing exams.  

In my session, I will show you how using a whole range of flexible resources can help you increase your impact on your students’ learning. I will also share some versatile tips and ideas that can be woven seamlessly into your lesson making it engaging and language rich.

Tbilisi Time: 15:50 – 16:50

Topic: Teaching Young Learners online: a recipe for success

Trainer: Michael Brand

Teaching Young Learners online is challenging us in new ways. We’re adapting our methodology and learning new technical skills. We’re finding new ways to engage our students and to make sure they’re learning. In short, we’re looking at how to reduce the distance that’s been created between our students and us.  

In this session we’ll look to develop a recipe for success for teaching Young Learners online. You’ll leave with principles, strategies and practical activities for productive and enjoyable online lessons with your young learners.

Tbilisi Time: 12:00 – 13:00

Topic: Go with the Flow. The Power of Routine with My Disney Stars and Friends

Trainer: Dorota Tolsdorf

Conducting English lessons with preschool children may seem challenging. Teachers need to cater for all the kids’ needs such as movement, fun, games, the love of singing and dancing – but is this enough? You will come away with lots of hands-on tips on how to work with new vocabulary and structures. I will demonstrate a set of universal techniques for songs and stories. We will sample many interactive, low-prep and ready to use tasks that you can use in your classroom the very next day. Let me show you how to make your lessons FLOW!

Tbilisi Time: 13:15 – 14:15

Topic: Can Testing Be Fun?

Trainer: Bartek Janiak

Pleasure, enjoyment, and amusement a day take the stress away. Or at least bring it down to a bearable level. Being long-time experts in education and testing we believe we do know a thing or two about both exams and children – how they learn, what they need and what they are afraid  of. As a result, we have managed to move young learners’ assessment to a whole new level by combining exam reality with fun and having a good time. Let’s talk about how we have done this.

Tbilisi Time: 14:30 – 14:45

Topic: All the Cs: Introducing, Building and Consolidating Future Skills

Trainer: Nick Perkins

Future Skills are skills generally believed to be important for students’ future success. Although, interestingly, none of them are actually new; successful people have always known about and used them. Future skills are often grouped into four categories: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking. In English Code, Pearson’s innovative ELT series for primary, these four categories have been optimised and clustered into what is known as a coding mindset. During this talk we will look at this concept and why it is vital that we use it in the primary classroom, as well as exploring how it is incorporated into English Code.

Tbilisi Time: 15:00 – 16:00

Topic: Lessons that really work – how to help your adult students flourish

Trainer: Magdalena Kania

Learning a language is not linear. Learners go through different phases when their learning goes smoothly and moments when they get stuck. What I have noticed throughout my teaching career especially adult learners can get discouraged by the downs. However, with proper tools and well-designed lessons we can help them to overcome the challenges and give them a lot of support in developing as learners.  

In this session, I will present some universal tools, like an Active Book and other flexible resources that you can use in any teaching contexts, from online to offline or both. I will also give you some tips on how best to run lessons to help our students flourish.

Tbilisi Time: 12:20  – 13:20

Topic: Real Needs, Real Communication, Real Flexibility A Roadmap for Success

Trainer: Rob Dean

Wouldn’t you agree that every student is unique and every class is different? And that teachers need content that is flexible to adapt to their teaching situation and their students’ needs? And you need activities that engage your students whether you find yourself teaching remotely, in class or in a blended setting? This session will demonstrate ways in which we can address these questions – as well as to apply lessons learned from the pandemic – as we develop our students’ communication skills using crisp up-to-date topics along with activity ideas to take away and use in your very next lesson. The session will be illustrated with material taken from the Pearson course Roadmap.

Tbilisi Time: 13:30 – 14:30

Topic: Assessment as part of a learning journey

Trainer: Bartek Janiak

Learning is a journey, but not an easy one. There are tests, mentors, friends, and foes along the way. All important, all to serve a purpose. All aimed at helping students to progress. Assessment plays a key role in this process, and when introduced appropriately, helps rather than hinders progress. Join us to discover the possibilities of the Pearson assessment portfolio and find the best fit for your teaching reality.

Tbilisi Time: 14:40 – 15:40

Topic: Developing not Just Practicing Employability Skills

Trainer: Iwonna Dubicka

Becoming and staying employable is tough in today’s competitive workplace. In this talk we will look at how Business Partner not only helps learners practise language skills in a business context, but also develops business skills alongside essential communication skills, providing them with the tools to be employable. I would like to share my experiences as a teacher and author with reference to different levels from the Business Partner series.

Tbilisi Time: 15:50 – 16:50

Pearson Coffee Room

Grab a cup of tea or coffee and visit Pearson Coffee Room where our ELT consultants are waiting for you to provide you with information about Pearson latest solutions for teaching English everywhere, whether it is at home, in the classroom or in the workplace. Discover our range of support, tools and resources for primary and secondary schools; for private language schools and academic students as well as adults, designed to support you every step of the way and help your every student to flourish.