Imagine! You know a lot of teachers from abroad. Most of them live very far from you. Sometimes you have the chance to meet some of them (your "neighbours" mostly!) at a conference. Or you travel to them visiting them at their houses like I did during my last summer holidays this year when I was in Austria and Hungary to meet my "neighbours" from the HLW- Skypers'- teacher community.
However. This week a very unique opportunity of international collaboration came through. Two of my teachers' friends from the very far Siberia (Russia) who some of my students had met sometimes by videoconferences taught my students directly at school in front of their classes.
Working and researching at a German university, 1.5 hours by car away from me only, Anna Alexandrowna Bukhtorayova and Mikhail Sergejevitsch Buhktorayov from the Siberian Federal University in Krasnoyarsk travelled to me staying at my home. Great talks, common dinner preparations for traditional Russian food.
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| Borschtsch tastes really good |
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| Blinies: a traditional food, here: filled with salmon |
On Thursday, 2nd October, all students from the connected classes (grade 7- 9) at my school took their chance to be taught by a powerful, enthousiastic Russian teachers' team.
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| Students created a padlet with questions about Siberia |
Most of the students attended a presentation about Siberia and its stereotypes that morning. These stereotypes were the basis for further questions Anna and Mikhail answered directly. One question during the last lesson about traditional Russian dancing let to a small dancing course.
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Anna is talking about Tobolsk, the city,
where Mr Mendeleev was born. |
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| They reported about the life of Mr Mendeleev |
At a 9th graders' chemistry class, whose students are studying about the Periodic Table actually, they spoke about the Siberian scientist Dimitrij Mendeleev.
After they, as Russian university teachers, had got a deeper view into Russian literature sources my students got a lot of further information of this genius person.
Thank you very much, Anna and Mikhail, for your support. Hopefully we will meet again very soon.
