29th NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC PRACTICAL CONFERENCE “NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION IN A COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL – 2023”: CONFERENCE REVIEW

Abstract

This year, the scientific conference "Natural Science Education in a Comprehensive School - 2023" was held in its usual format. It is worth mentioning that during the Covid-19 pandemic, three conferences were held remotely, in 2020, 2021 and 2022. This two-day conference focused on science and technology education, which is a recent priority in society. There is a need to improve the teaching of science subjects and technology at all levels of general education. Particular attention should be paid to early science education. Ensuring adequate science and technology education means providing children with an education that teaches them to reason, think logically, explore, be creative and active. The plenary session of the conference was international and very interesting. A total of four keynote speeches were presented during this session. It is clear that the Plenary "bridged" different continents - Africa, Latin America, Europe. Professor Andris Broks discussed systemic issues in science and technology education, with a particular focus on the major challenges and changes of the present. Speakers from South Africa and Brazil shared their experiences in organising research activities for future teachers. Experiences from both countries in the training of science teachers were explored. The plenary also discussed developments in science education in the updated General Curricula in Lithuania. Informal discussions at the conference focused on educational experiences during the pandemic. All participants acknowledged that education in a pandemic is significantly more difficult. This is especially true for various non-formal education activities, or activities that take place outside the regular classroom (e.g. various project activities, research activities, etc.). Participants, especially those who are more or less regular attendees, stressed the importance of a "live" meeting. After all, informal communication has the main purpose of enabling a person to understand and be understood. This cannot be achieved in an online (remote) conference. It was hoped that the work of the conference would continue. Most conference reports were presented in the form of articles and published in the conference proceedings. One can find full texts in the database at: https://oaji.net/journal-archive-stats.html?number=1984&year=2023&issue=20002 Keywords: national conference, practical work, science education, science teachers, science pedagogy