The city of Belgrade (Serbia) recently hosted a professional workshop for German teachers organized by the local office of Goethe Institut. Ms. Ida Farkas, the German teacher in High School, was invited to participate. The agenda was focused on how to create better teaching environments and best practices in the ongoing pandemic.
“The main focus of this event was to exchange and encourage ideas for a better teaching environment and more invigorating practices in the classroom both virtual and real in the wake of the ongoing pandemic,” Ms. Farkas describes. “The workshop began with a podium discussion for all the participants (approximately 100) where we discussed some examples of project-based learning,” she adds.
Smaller group workshops were held to show the practicalities of this idea. The main goal was to integrate projects into an already developed and running curriculum which has been proven to motivate and engage students. “As soon as language (or any content) is put into real-world practices, students understand and appreciate the learning process thereby gaining more knowledge and fluency,” our teacher remarks.
After the workshop there is an online phase, “where I continue working with my colleagues from Serbia and Montenegro,” she announces.
