Nurturing Critical Minds: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Education and the Workforce
Nurturing Critical Minds: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Education and the Workforce
We are delighted to invite you to our upcoming international conference on “Nurturing Critical Minds: Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Education and the Workforce”. The conference is interdisciplinary, it will cover a diverse range of fields and perspectives on the development of critical thinking skills in different academic fields at universities and labour market institutions. Showcasing the holistic approach, the conference aims to explore the vital role of critical thinking in diverse academic disciplines and its significance in the ever-evolving landscape of labour market institutions.
The conference aims to bridge the gap between universities and labour market institutions, fostering a culture of critical thinking that thrives in the classroom and enhances professional growth in the workplace. This conference will serve as a platform for educators, researchers, and labour market professionals from diverse fields to explore innovative strategies, and share best practices and collaborate on integrating critical thinking skills into educational curricula.
Keynote speakers
Alistair Starling
Co-Founder and Managing Director of the European Diplomats
Luís Sebastião
Associate Professor in the Department of Pedagogy and Education, Director of the Center for Research in Education and Psychology, University of Évora
Dimitris Pnevmatikos
Professor in the Department of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Western Macedonia
Erika Vaiginienė
Associate professor in the Department of Business, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vilnius University
Inga Jončienė
Head of Business Development at Alliance for Recruitment
Adam Mastandrea
Assistant Professor in the Department of Foreign Language Teaching and Research, Institute of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Philology, Vilnius University
Daiva Penkauskienė
Director of Modern Didactics Center, Associate Professor in the Institute of Educational Sciences and Social Work, Mykolas Romeris University
Sandra Kairė
Associate Professor, Director of the Institute of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy, Vilnius University
Kay Hemmerling
Dr Kay Hemmerling, Chairman at the Institute for Moral-Democratic Competence (IMDC e.V.)
Programme
Programme
Simona Kontrimienė
The Interplay Between Critical Thinking, Emotional Touchpoints and Personalised Learning: Experiences from Two Erasmus+ Projects
The Interplay Between Critical Thinking, Emotional Touchpoints and Personalised Learning: Experiences from Two Erasmus+ Projects
Simona Kontrimienė
Institute of Foreign Languages, Vilnius University, Lithuania
Abstract
Critical thinking (CT) is, among other things, a rational, sceptical and unbiased analysis or evaluation of factual evidence. Yet given the cognitive, emotional and behavioural levels of integration of information, cognitive performance must be married to emotional responses as well as behavioural expressions. The present paper explores our experiences from two Erasmus+ projects, KA220-SCH Women's Legacy: Our Cultural Heritage to Equity and KA203 Innovative Teacher Education Through Personalised Learning (INTERPEARL). In the first project, critical thinking was combined with the method of emotional touchpoints in literature analysis, and in the second project, CT was applied in the personalisation of two teacher training programmes at Vilnius University.
Our findings suggest that the interplay between critical thinking and emotional touchpoints in literature analysis promotes higher order thinking via emotionally charged reasoning and organisation. Such an interplay develops one’s ability to reflect over texts and see a broader picture vis-à-vis the ultimate meaning and alternative directions in life. In regard to personalisation as a novel approach to teacher education, which the INTERPEARL project aimed to develop, CT as the ability to identify central issues, interpret facts, apply generalisations, etc. aligns with the frameworks of social constructivism, reflective practice and mediated learning, the pillars personalised learning rests upon.
Keywords: Critical thinking, ERASMUS+, cognitive performance, emotional touchpoints, personalised learning.
Biography
Dr Simona Kontrimienė serves as Head of the Department of Research in Languages for Specific Purposes at the Institute of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Philology, Vilnius University. She is also an Associate Professor of English for Specific Purposes (Psychology) and Quantitative Research Methods at Vilnius University. Kontrimienė’s research interests cover methods in social science research, spirituality and spirituality-related constructs, teacher education, personalised learning, psycholinguistics, parenting, romantic love, etc. Email: .
