The meeting was attended by the Rector of the University of Lodz, Prof. Elżbieta Żądzińska; the University of Lodz Chancellor, Kamilla Szcześniak; the Dean of the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Prof. Alina Wróbel, Prof. Monika Wiśniewska-Kin and Weronika Kisiel who are responsible for the project, the First Deputy Governor of the Lodz Province Marcin Buchali and representatives of the Regional Education Authority in Lodz.
Educational boards, wooden blocks, a picture book – combining theory and pedagogical practice
The project draws on the recent developments in cognitive psychology and pedagogy, which clearly show that young children have enormous cognitive potential. They learn through acting, moving and speaking, and use all their senses and engage their emotions to explore the world. In this unique model of learning to read, children construct knowledge about the world of letters and sounds casually, thanks to carefully designed materials.
The team has developed a rich set of teaching aids in cooperation with the Technology Transfer Office of the University of Lodz. They include educational boards, wooden building blocks, an artistic picture book – Picture Book, a book for teachers, a book for parents and five types of educational games adapted to the learning method.
The closing meeting of the six-month project implementation cycle took place at the Faculty of Educational Sciences. The gathered guests were welcomed by the Dean of the Faculty, Professor Alina Wróbel:
It is a great honour for us. While opening this event, I would first of all like to emphasise that we attach great importance to all activities that are part of the strategy of the University of Lodz, but also of the criteria for evaluating the quality of scientific activity. Such activities include implementation processes that make cooperation between academia and the wider socio-cultural reality, including education, a reality. Of course, we focus on the area of social reality that concerns pedagogical practice. Here, I would like to thank both the Rector and the Chancellor for their support in such activities. Many thanks also to the Technology Transfer Office.
She then added:
I would also like to mention the exceptional support and openness of the Governor, Tobiasz Bocheński, when, during several meetings, we exchanged various reflections, our hopes, inspirations and ideas on how great it would be if the implementation could be carried out at a provincial level. The attitude of Tobiasz Bochenski was truly exceptional. And for this exceptional favour, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the First Deputy Governor of the Lodz Province Marcin Buchali.
Marcin Buchali, who was present at the meeting, emphasised the great success of the project and assured his continued full support.
Rector of the University of Lodz, Prof. Elżbieta Żądzińska said:
We are extremely proud of this project and are delighted that such a project has been developed at the University of Lodz. Special congratulations to the Dean for recognising this huge potential. This took place just after I started my term. We started reviewing the implementation potential of various projects at the university and “Effective surprise” immediately caught our attention. Many congratulations, but above all, thank you! Thank you for the enthusiasm, passion, openness and support of everyone present at our meeting today.
Learning to read which triggers thinking – the joy of learning
Pre-school children learn by speaking, constructing and moving. They activate the senses and emotions and construct knowledge about the world of sounds and letters as if casually, on the occasion of "effective surprise" (J. Bruner). It is with the surprise that the process of learning begins, that children's cognitive enthusiasm is triggered, that the joy of learning is released.
Extremely intuitive, interesting and creative language, visual and construction material constitute the beginning of cognition, a multisensory experience which leads to survival first in the world of the voice and letter, over time speech and writing, ultimately independent thinking and problem solving.
Together with my team, I have created a completely new model for literacy learning. Children learn by speaking, acting and moving. The senses and emotions play an important role in this process. Thanks to the designed aids, children construct knowledge about the world of sounds and letters as if casually, inadvertently, as a result of "effective surprise". Children were and are the source of my inspiration. Most importantly, the builder, the artist, is not lost in the child. We stimulate their abstract thinking, release their cognitive enthusiasm, unleash the joy of learning
– Professor Monika Wiśniewska-Kin spoke about the essence of the project.
The project has been acknowledged and received numerous awards and honours, including awards during the INTARG® International Invention and Innovation Fair; Award of the Minister of Education and Science for Implementation Activity; Łódź Eureka 2020 awarded by the Council for Higher Education and Science at the Mayor of Lodz. Cooperation was also established with the Pinokio Theatre in Lodz and the director Honorata Mierzejewska-Mikosza. As a result of this cooperation, an interactive theatre performance for children is being created. Its premiere is scheduled for 30 September this year.
Gold medal for a project for children to learn to read
IBBY Award for the graphic design of the UL project
Effective surprise – implementation at a provincial level
The implementation covered 177 municipalities in the Lodz Voivodeship Three hundred and fifty four teachers will be trained, which will ultimately translate into working with a group of nearly 4,500 children each year. Materials for teachers and children were also provided to the establishments (implementation monographs for teachers, as well as implementation material kits for action learning, which included a demonstration alphabet, circle diagrams, letter memory, flashcards, card games). The recruitment processes, both of units and teachers, were conducted by the Regional Education Authority in Lodz. Additionally, the teachers participated in a discussion of the proposed methodological course of action and experienced learning by doing during development games.
We have observed that effective surprise activates not only cognitive processes, but mainly emotions, and emotions put children in a state of immediate readiness to perform a task through motivational energy. And the energy was released in both teachers and children. It was used to learn by speaking, by doing and learn in a perceptual way. Thus, they wanted to know the answers to the problems that were arising, they triggered the curiosity mechanisms, and the curiosity mechanisms triggered the brain systems of reward and memory.
These are completely new categories that for the first time have appeared in education. We don’t have textbook packages, exercise books or thumbnails. We have proposed creating a continuation in the picture book, building whole narratives and triggering a spiral of memories. One memory activates another memory. The whole process of consolidation is done through contact with board games. We operate in a very natural way, which is through play. At the moment we have four- and five-year-old children who read fluently
– concluded Professor Monika Wiśniewska-Kin.
Source: Prof. Monika Wiśniewska-Kin, Weronika Kisiel, Department of Childhood Pedagogy, University of Lodz
Edit: Iwona Ptaszek-Zielińska, photos: Maciej Andrzejewski, Communications and PR Centre, University of Lodz
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