DIARIES OF TALLINN

04/11/2019

28.09.2019  MONDAY

Our first day started with Riina Tamm, Project Coordinator, welcoming us at the hotel to go to school. When we reached the school(Pirita Majandusgümnasium), the headmaster Thomas Pikhof welcomed us warmly and we hung on reflectors on the trees in front of the school. It was an activity to teach students to wear reflectors to be visible at foggy, dark and misty weather.

The dressing room at the entrance of the school is a room where students can leave their coats and thick clothes. They also have to take off their boots and shoes and wear the shoes they use inside the building in this room. As we were reminded before, we did so and we wore the indoor shoes we brought at school.

After the introduction of the school administrators in the meeting hall and the opening speech of the school principal, a pleasant warming activity took place. Thus, we met new members of the group. Later we had a school tour. When we tour the school we learn that all the remarkable oil paintings on the walls belong to Thomas Pikhof, the school principal. When we visit the school library, we find out that the Librarian also writes children's books and is finally about to complete a children's play.

Librarian Margıt Sarapık with the books she wrote
Librarian Margıt Sarapık with the books she wrote
One of the oilpaintings of School principal Mr. Thomas Pikhof
One of the oilpaintings of School principal Mr. Thomas Pikhof

The variety of opportunities the school offers to its students was remarkable. It was noteworthy that the courses such as Handicrafts and Cooking, which enable students to develop their basic skills and no longer exist in the Turkish education system, were effectively included in the school curriculum. Vice Principal and Project Coordinator Riina Tamm explained that these courses not only provide students with basic skills, but also contribute to the development of hand and mind coordination of students and thus their cognitive development. 

Handicrafts lesson- 2 students with their teacher - Wooden works of students...

The richness of the school in terms of sports facilities was another remarkable point. Then, 3rd grade and 12th grade mathematics classes were visited we had a chance to see the students throughout the lesson. Some of us joined Mirjam Hallingu's 3rd Grade class with 24 students. The students were very active and had a high motivation to follow the lesson. The teacher asked questions to enable students to calculate from their mind; she also diversified the course in modern ways by reading the QR code through the tablets she distributed.  

Mirjam Hallingu’s 3rd Grade Class during Math Lesson
Mirjam Hallingu’s 3rd Grade Class during Math Lesson

In the 12th grade mathematics lesson, the teacher brought objects used in daily life related to the subject. The students were given a bitly link. Students read the course topic from their computer with QR code. They discussed and worked on topic in pairs. When the students had questions, the teacher approached and helped them. The computers belonged to the school and there was a cupboard with computers in the classroom. Although it was free for students to use their mobile phones spesifically for that lesson,the students were very interested in the lesson. After class visits, we watched folk dance performances of primary school students. It was great to witness the children's enthusiasm and their desire to exhibit their performance.  

What remained in our memories from the first day were cute and happy children, gentle and friendly greetings, painter manager and author librarian.... 

29.09.2019 TUESDAY

We visited Gustav Adolf Grammer school on Tuesday. When we entered the school we went to the dressing hall to take off our coats ,shoes etc. and to wear indoor shoes. We were used to this policy which was very different to us when we heard it in our second day. The IT coordinator 'Tiina Linna' gave us information about the structure and and aspects of the school. We learned from Tiina Linna that Gustav Adolf Grammar School (GAGS) is one of the oldest grammar schools in Europe. The school was established in 1631 by Gustav II Adolf, King of Sweden. The school is characterised by its academic ambience and traditions, but also its innovative approach and openness to new ideas. The passion and imagination of school staff, students and families have transformed the old school building, which no longer meets the needs, into a functional building designed for modern and contemporary needs.

It caters for students who need activity and movement during breaks as well as students who are looking for some peace and quiet on their own or with a group of friends. The new school house was built on the principle that studying is not only confined to a classroom - The rooms and all corners of the school were designed to encourage learning and activity. It was interesting that they give responsibility to the students to foster their self- esteem.So each class has got an ICT representative to manage the IT problems of their class. Also the students presented us some coding and roboting experiment to teach the things they did.

Primary school has two fields to specialise in:

• French, General studies;

And secondary school offers students the option of specialising in:

• English and French, Sciences and natural studies, Swedish, Mathematics and English

What remained in our memories from the second day were combination of tradition and modernity, the students who teach the teachers and the oil paintings again. It was quite interesting to see the similarity between the oilpaintings on the walls in this school with the previous one. We learn surprisingly that Tiina Linna is the wife of Mr Thomas Pikhof. We were all very happy to meet this lovely couple 

30.10.2019 WEDNESDAY The day to Visit Tartu University

When we reached Tartu we visited Youth Academy. The director Rinn Tamm gave informations about Academy. We learned from the presentation that the main aim of the University of Tartu Youth Academy (UTYA) is to give opportunities and possibilities for the development of pupils who have a deeper interest in science. The UTYA offers both the facilities to enrich pupils' knowledge beyond usual school curriculum and also the resources to spend their leisure time meaningfully. Pupils of elementary and high schools who feel that the standard curriculum is insufficient for their needs can choose from various enrichment courses the UTYA proposes. They have courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry, life sciences, and also in linguistics, philosophy, and other areas. Some courses are correspondence courses conducted via ordinary mail; some are carried out using e-learning facilities. For pupils who are interested in participating in different kinds of contests the UTYA organizes national olympiads in mathematics, physics, chemistry, informatics, biology and geography, and other areas. Successful performance at national olympiads gives the opportunity to participate on international contests or olympiads. For teachers and schools, the UTYA has developed and gathered various teaching resources that help organize individualized learning in classes and are useful for additional extracurricular activities (for instance, arranging contests in schools or preparing instructions for individual work). For schools there is also a possibility of ordering teacher-training sessions regarding gifted childrens' education and psychology. Parents who are interested in gifted children - for instance, whether their child is gifted or how to support such a child - can find some recourses in respective sections of the UTYA's website. There is also a mailing-list devoted to the topic of gifted children - parents can share there their experience and problems and search solutions to these problems together. Parents can also receive individual counseling

After Youth Academy we were met by Ken Ird, Tour Guide, at the entrance of the main building of Tartu University. When you enter the building, you can easily understand that you are in a well-established and magnificent educational institution.We were informed by our guide about history of the university when we were touring the university. On 30 June 1632, the King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden signed the Foundation Decree of Academia Dorpatensis, which marks the beginning of our university's distinguished history. In the turmoil of catastrophies Estonia experienced like World War I, German and soviet occupations ; the university's academic life was interrupted by several stages of evacuation of students and professors and the university's property. The statue in the meeting hall, showing two students carrying their injured friends and, other symbols like the monument to Gustav II Adolf, the King of Sweden, erected in 1928 (sculptor Otto Strandman) - was removed their place in the period of Soviet repression and took their place in the hall again when Estonia gained its independence at 1991. 

The statue at Tartu University Meeting Hall
The statue at Tartu University Meeting Hall

After lunch we visited Tartu Science Center AHHAA. The center was established as a special project of the University of Tartu in 1997. AHHAA's slogan is Think playfully.. The three basic values of center are knowledgeability, professionalism and friendliness and the aim of Science Centre AHHAA is to introduce science to everyone and encourage studying through the joy of discovery.

In accordance with the slogan of the center, we thought and learned with fun... 

What remained in our memories from the third day were the romantic sculpture "kissing in the rain" at the square and the science museum's slogan "think playfully" 

31.10.2019 THURSDAY

We had a movie watching and discussion session on Thursday as we did in every meeting. We watched a French movie called La Familie Belier together. It was about a young girl gifted in music and has a deaf family. After watched the movie we had a discussion session trying to answer the following questions. Do you Think Paula is a Gifted students? How do you define the basic characteristics of the Music Teacher character in the film ?

What should be the qualifications of teachers with gifted students in their classroom

What does Paula's boyfriend and close friend represent in the film?

The family is deaf and dumb in the film, so it is impossible for them to understand their daughters musical talents. Do other families similarly have difficulty understanding the talents of their children? Paula begins to realize the beauty and quality of her voice by joining a choir because of the boy she likes. How do you think people can discover their areas of passion and their talents?

During the discussion, we witnessed how the life of the young girl changed with the discovery of his musical talent. It was emphasized that gifted children should be supported by their teachers and the teachers should believe them, show patience and tolerance to understand them, be flexible by offering alternatives. We focused on how families with gifted children can support their children 

A  group work at movie session
A group work at movie session

Later, an interview was held with three gifted students. The students shared with us how they discovered their talents. They talked about the difficulties they experienced and their strengths. One of the students took part the interview was Saskia,Riina's daughter  

It was an interesting experience for us to meet Riina as a mother and to see her relationship processes with her gifted daughter in terms of motherhood. Riina shared with us that she had been a gifted student and that this project had allowed her to look back on her own gifted aspects. The last event of the day was a seminar on 'underachivement in gifted students by Viire Sepp from Tartu University. The most striking detail in the seminar was that the failure rate in gifted students was higher than other children.What remained in our memories from the fourth day were the magic of music and the lost abilities. 

01.11.2019 FRIDAY

The last day of the project we discovered the beauties and culture of Estonia. We visited a bog, beatiful natural area. While walking down the boardwalk we saw the bog plants, unique nature and the unique reflections of the sun's rays on water.

The unique beauty from our Bog walking
The unique beauty from our Bog walking

After the bog it was time to visit legendary captain's village and Kasmu Maritime Museum. It was so interesting to learn the history of the village and museum by Aarne Vaik, the owner and founder of maritime museum. The unique rooms and objects of the museum allowed us to capture fascinating photos. 

Aarne Vaik, Kasmu Maritime Museum Founder and a view from the museum

In our closing meeting, we evaluated our week and decided next meeting dates in Bulgaria and Romania and our last supper we received our certificates of attendance, watched the cheerful Estonian folklore group, and We thanked Riina for this prolific and dreamy week in Estonia. All and all we had a wonderful week in Estonia, we found a very strong education system and we met wonderful students and people....

Thanks a lot...

With our certificates: Sefa Akseki, Demet Akıncı, Selcan Yavuz
With our certificates: Sefa Akseki, Demet Akıncı, Selcan Yavuz
107 Primary school "Khan Krum" for Erasmus KA229 project "Dealing with gifted education " | All rights reserved 2018
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