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
G. Melnik-Leroy, G. Dzemydaitė, L. Aidokas, G. Dzemyda, V. Marcinkevičius, D. Melnikienė, A. Usovaitė
CognitiveSTATS: an E-Platform for Advancing Statistical Literacy and Critical Thinking Skills
CognitiveSTATS: an E-Platform for Advancing Statistical Literacy and Critical Thinking Skills
Gerda Ana Melnik-Leroy1*, Giedrė Dzemydaitė1,2, Linas Aidokas1, Gintautas Dzemyda1, Virginijus Marcinkevičius1, Danguolė Melnikienė1,3, Ana Usovaitė1,4
1Institute of Data Science and Digital Technologies, Vilnius University
2Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vilnius University
3Faculty of Philology, Vilnius University
4Department of Graphical Systems, Vilnius Gediminas technical university
The abundance of statistical data and visualizations in contemporary society poses a significant challenge, as their misinterpretation directly impacts people’s beliefs and decisions. The global pandemic underscored the widespread deficiencies in the public’s ability to interpret statistical information critically. Crucially, these challenges persist across different domains and are expected to intensify as the reliance on data continues to grow.
In this talk, we will present the results of the interdisciplinary research project CognitiveSTATS, funded by the European Social Fund (SMART Covid call). The project aimed at developing a prototype for an innovative educational platform fostering statistical literacy. Given that most people do not have the opportunity to pursue formal education in statistics, the research-based platform created during the project aims to help the general public to develop essential statistical intuitions, crucial for comprehending and critically evaluating the most relevant data and phenomena. In order to ensure the effectiveness and attractiveness of the platform, an innovative technological solution was proposed, based on: 1. experimental research and the application of its results, 2. an innovative system architecture that considers cognitive mechanisms, 3. the development of statistical intuitions through familiar data and their visualizations.
The research conducted during the project has pinpointed significant shortcomings in statistical literacy and prevalent numerical cognitive biases within society, such as the exponential growth bias. Furthermore, the project has successfully identified common instances of graph and data manipulation in the public domain. Additionally, the research has shed light on the considerable impact of math anxiety on individuals’ engagement with mathematics and statistics.
The practical and theoretical implications of these results will be discussed, emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary education for adults beyond formal schooling.
Keywords: statistical literacy; educational platform; cognitive mechanisms of learning; visualizations; math anxiety
Biography
Dr Gerda Ana Melnik-Leroy
Researcher at the Institute of Data Science and Digital Technologies, Vilnius University
Dr Melnik-Leroy is a researcher in cognitive science with a PhD at the prestigious Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Psycholinguistics in Paris. Her research focuses on the cognitive mechanisms of learning, speech and information processing, and the development of evidence-based educational technologies. Her papers are published in Q1-Q2 journals indexed in Web of Science. In 2019 she received a postdoctoral fellowship to work at VU DMSTI (the Institute of Data Science and Digital Technologies, Vilnius University). She has successfully led two research projects (under a grant agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania and the European Social Fund). In addition to this, Dr Melnik-Leroy is actively involved in applied research with the French ed-tech company EvidenceB on the applications of AI technologies to secondary education content.
