KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

A two-day international conference entitled "Problems and Prospects of Development of Modern Pedagogical Education" started at ASPU on November 10.

The academic conference organized jointly by the Academy of Pedagogical and Psychological Sciences of Armenia, ASPU and Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University (RAU) is dedicated to the first anniversary of the Academy.

The conference brought together leading specialists in science and education who tried to identify and discuss the problems in general education and university pedagogy, development trends, and peculiarities of private methods.

ASPU Rector Srbuhi Gevorgyan congratulated the founders of the Academy and wished the structure productive activity. She said the conference addresses the current challenges and concerns caused by the education crisis. The rector expressed hope that in their reports the speakers will give reasons and answers to the question why the subject of childhood and the teacher became so distant from each other.

Speaking about the process of teacher training, Srbuhi Gevorgyan said research has shown that teachers do not want to increase knowledge, rather, they have some social fears; this is not a new reality either in Armenia or abroad.

"The generation of 2010-2014 was considered to be a new generation that has new psychophysiological characteristics," she said and called the specialists’ attention to the following questions: why we have left the subject of childhood alone? Why the adults have forgotten their responsibilities?

"We continue to learn and teach a method that is not effective and applicable while working with today’s children. Children are left alone in the virtual space, and they have formed only clip thinking, which leads to short-time satisfaction, attention deficit and increase in neuropsychological tension and other problems. Attention deficit has in turn led to mental deficiency. games do not have mental/cognitive load and do not pose communication problems," she said. The Doctor of Psychology says in addition to all aforesaid problems, the feeling of empathy has decreased and many choose the option of expressing emotions and feelings in symbols.

Srbuhi Gevorgyan thinks it is time to have a new methodical apparatus for the modern subject, which will make the learning process more effective also for children with special educational needs.
"If we do not take practical steps to overcome the crisis of teachers' activity, we will turn into an island whose analyzes and research will not serve its mission,” the ASPU rector said once again hailing the activity of the Academy for formulating clear recommendations within a year, combining the experience of pedagogues and psychologists, and supplementing statistical data with practical discussions.

RAU Rector Edward Sandoyan congratulated the scientific institution [Academy] on the first anniversary. He noted with regret that there is no dialogue between the previous and current generations.
Following his grandson’s interests, the professor says from time to time he notices a lack of interest in the educational process. Edward Sandoyan also spoke about the economic research carried out in small countries and stressed that there is a low standard of living in countries where few financial resources are invested in education. "There is a direct connection between education and living standards. "Unfortunately, for us, these areas have been neglected for three decades and more."

Speaking about the high status and respect of teachers in different countries Mr. Sandoyan addressed ASPU Rector Srbuhi Gevorgyan saying: “We need to do our best to make your teaching community highly demanded, otherwise we will not have a developed economy and country, and will lose the best traditions and heritage of education for thousands of years.” He added that the main problem of society is to boost pedagogy.

Srbuhi Gevorgyan read for the conference participants the message of Alexey Lubkov, Rector of Moscow Pedagogical State University (MPGU), an academician of the Russian Academy of Education. Professor Lubkov congratulated the Academy of the first anniversary and expressed his regret for not being able to participate in the conference. “The activity of the scientific structure is promising and forward-looking, and I believe that it creates the necessary cultural dialogue, which plays an important role in meeting the educational needs of modern society and ensuring the development of educational activities,” the MPGU rector said in part.

Professor Vitaliy Rubtsov, Rector of Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Doctor of Psychology, an academician of the Russian Academy of Education, a foreign member of the Academy of Pedagogical and Psychological Sciences of Armenia, participated in the conference online. The professor said that today the international education community is seriously worried about the problems in the modern education system. The conference and the reports of the participants are also aimed at identifying those problems.

Mr. Rubtsov says education has become very sensitive today. It is necessary to review the interdisciplinary abilities and skills of specialists. In his speech, he focused on three main problems of education. The first one is the digitization of education, which has affected the content of knowledge, the way of organizing its transfer, methods, personalization of learning and the innovations created as a result (which should not be neglected) as well as the training of specialists, who in turn should teach generations.

Eduard Ghazaryan, President of the Academy of Pedagogical and Psychological Sciences of Armenia, spoke on the topic "Physics and Symmetry."

As Rector Srbuhi Gevorgyan noted later [when describing Eduard Ghazaryan], an inquisitive scientist and teacher teaches to learn and teach every day.

In his speech, Professor Ghazaryan made a historical review and presented how symmetry was perceived in the past. Then he spoke about symmetry in physics, nature, its manifestation in art, etc.
“Symmetry is beauty. Nature is a great museum of art, and natural phenomena are samples of art. Physics is an art and cannot become obsolete, just as art does not become obsolete,” Academician Ghazaryan said.

The conference continued in sub-groups, with the participants discussing the development of media literacy of preschool children through online media, problems and development prospects of high schools in Armenia, importance of safe learning environment in public schools, effective pedagogical ways of developing communication abilities of children of senior preschool age, etc.

In their reports, the participants of the conference also referred to the issues and development trends of education technologies in higher education, the role and methods of analyzing physics problems, etc.

The international conference will continue on Saturday, November 11.