Engaging Teaching in Times of Crisis

When a crisis hits an entire country or a large swath within it, the future well-being of that country can be devastated by the impact on its educational system. While emergency efforts focus on health and safety, the growth and development of children and youth must also be addressed, as they may be forced to go months and even years without schooling. 

An ongoing collaboration between Osvitoria, a leading educational NGO in Ukraine, and Center for Inspired Teaching, an award-winning NGO based in the United States, offers a compelling look at what happens when innovative cross-cultural partnerships are employed to address this existential problem. Teachers and school leaders across Ukraine are engaging in online, hands-on programming to learn Inspired Teaching’s proven instructional techniques for building students’ curiosity and understanding of academic material, and meeting students’ social and emotional needs.

In this interactive event, participants will learn how the organizations have collaborated in creative ways to bring exciting learning opportunities to teachers and in turn to bring greater engagement to their online, hybrid, and in-person classes in the midst of a war. 

Attendees will get the chance to try some of the activities that have been shared with teachers and to think collectively about what contributions they might be able to bring to their own communities of learners. Activities will include: 5 Rules of Inspired Teaching Improv; The ABCDE of Learner Needs; Identifying and Building upon Students’ Aspirations and Contributions; Inside/Outside; and Seeing with Different Eyes.

Center for Inspired Teaching was named a worldwide Champion of Learning Through Play by the Lego Foundation and has taught educators in the United States, India, Myanmar, South Africa, and Ukraine. Inspired Teaching teaches teachers to embrace the role of Instigator of Thought - and build students’ curiosity and critical thinking skills. Participants in this engaging session will experience Inspired Teaching's research-backed, improvisation-based, whole-body approach to teaching and learning. 

Osvitoria is an NGO developing Ukraine through high-quality educational projects since 2013. Its work focuses on three main directions: professional development and inspiration of teachers, providing equal access to education for all Ukrainian children, and creating innovative educational products. In cooperation with the government and international organisations, Osvitoria fosters educational reforms implementation, develops large-scale national projects and implements educational know-how. During the full-scale war invasion of Ukraine, Osvitoria prioritised ensuring all Ukrainian children have access to quality education and teachers have the necessary knowledge and skills.