Liudmyla Lysenko

(Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine)

Developing creative writing is an important element in students overall learning experience. It is also a part of our professional development as educators and teachers. Creativity, be it in writing or in any other project, does not come from the void and we are not born creative minds. Writing is perhaps the most difficult and tedious areas of the communicative approach to teach. There are mechanisms for developing creativity and fostering imagination. Creative writing normally refers to the production of texts which have an aesthetic rather than a purely informative, instrumental or pragmatic purpose. Most often, such texts take the form of poems or stories, though they are not confined to these genres. (Letters, journal entries, blogs, essays, travelogues, etc. can also be more or less creative.) In fact, the line between creative writing (CW) and expository writing (ER) is not carved in stone. In general, however CW texts draw more heavily on intuition, close observation, imagination, and personal memories than ER texts. There are many reasons why a teacher might be hesitant to use technology in the classroom. For some of us, we grew up just as PCs were becoming a common fixture in homes, and so we cling to paper with a sense of nostalgia. Others, it is the fear of trying to manage a classroom of students online. Finally, in some cases, there are teachers who aren't fortunate enough to work in a district with 1:1 technology. In all these cases, as teachers, we have to overcome our fears and embrace the benefits of using technology to teach writing.

Тетяна Комісаренко

(Умань, Україна)

Стрімкі зміни, що відбуваються в суспільстві, осучаснення освітньої системи, досягнення в галузі теорії та практики навчання іноземних мов ставлять перед освітньою системою необхідність оновлення змісту та методів застосування інноваційних підходів до викладання іноземної мови. В сучасному суспільстві формується чітка соціальна вимога – володіння іноземними мовами. На першому місці за популярністю, звичайно, непорушно стоїть англійська мова.

Olha Kozii

(Kropyvnytsky, Ukraine)

The knowledge of a foreign language becomes more and more topical and important in the modern world. It is assisted by the processes of European integration. The ability to speak a foreign language extends the prospects of employment, assists to development of communicability and tolerance, extends the limits of professional and scientific mobility. The problem of professional training depends on it too.

Natalia Nahorna

(Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine)

LEGO Education Company has been working in cooperation with teachers and educators for more than 35 years. It successfully introduces effective and exciting training, which inspires students for new achievements. The company shares its experience of teaching decision-making skills by means of a game using LEGO-bricks, printed and multimedia materials for preschoolers, primary and secondary school students and extra-curricular classes. Educational decisions of LEGO Education Company allow each child to succeed, encourage to be creative, to work in a team, provide with an excellent opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills needed for solving difficult problems in the future.

Porf. Dr. Eda ÜSTÜNEL, Şeyma KAYA

(Muğla, Turkey)

1. Introduction

Today’s ever-changing society requires that students work together more than ever as we have come to realize that learning is not a one-way street in which students passively learn things directly from the teacher. Instead, communication and collaboration are two buzzwords that have been mentioned quite a lot. Cohen, Manion and Morrison (1996) summarize that the role of the teachers has changed as the society they are in close contact with has been changing. Teachers used to be seen as the main source of knowledge in the past but as Cárdenas and Garza-Loudermilk (2007) conclude, they are now seen as facilitators who help children reach information instead of simply serving it to them. This new perception can be traced back to many different movements in the field of pedagogy and one of them is Constructivism.