University of the Aegean, Department of Pre-school Education and Educational Design, Learning Technology and Educational Engineering Laboratory (https://ltee.aegean.gr/en/home/)
Our workshops and educational activities come from courses and activities held at the University of the Aegean’s TEPAES and are aimed at 5–8-year-old children.
Our workshops and educational activities are related to games, pictured scenarios, as well as learning activities with the use of educational materials.
Games are a suitable framework for supporting mathematical activities. Games contain elements of joy and fun which often encourage children to concentrate and persist in an activity long enough to construct the intended knowledge. Even when mathematics begins to become difficult children’s motivation and interest can be maintained, strongly, by presenting mathematics in interactive playful contexts that support and motivate learning. In addition to the cognitive and pedagogical fields, the contribution of games to the mental, social, emotional, cultural and psychological fields is also essential, with the cultivation of various skills and abilities that it achieves.
The games that will take place during the festival are the following:
- “Guess Which Shape”
- “Shape Memory Game”
- “Find the Shape”
- “The city of shapes”
Pictured scenarios support the learning of mathematics as they engage children’s interest, develop their imagination, create motivation for engagement and active participation, make mathematical concepts understandable, develop mathematical thinking and language, relate different topics with each other, pictures are interpreted and translated, creative mathematical discussions are provoked, and problems can discussed are solved.
The pictured scenarios that will be read and analyzed through activities, during the festival, are the following:
- “The Castle with the Strange Gates”
- “A Walk in the Park”
- “The Adventures of Policeman Saini”
- “In the Land of Shapes”
Activities for Geometrical Shapes
The learning activities, which in a critical and creative mathematical education arise through problematic situations and are supported by a variety of materials, encourage reflection and communication, ensure the creation of internal representations, support the cognitive development, as well as the justification of important mathematical ideas.
The learning activities, which will take place during the festival, will be supported by the following educational materials:
- “Geoboard”
- “Math mirror”
- “Connected Shapes” & “Anglegs”
- “Tangram”
Chrysanthi Skoumpourdi: She is a Professor in the Department of Sciences of Preschool Education and of Educational Design of the University of the Aegean. She is the author of three scientific books and co-author of two others. She has published scientific papers in International and Greek journals, in proceedings of International and Greek Conferences, on websites, as well as in International and Greek collective volumes in the field of Mathematics Education. She has participated in scientific research programs and is a member of scientific associations, as well as of scientific journals' editorial boards. She has organized national and international scientific meetings and conferences.
Her main research interests are related with mathematics education, as well as with design, development and evaluation of educational materials and games for meaningful teaching and learning of mathematics.
Chrysanthi Dimitrakopoulou: She is a fourth-year student of the Department of Early Childhood Education and Educational Design.
She has attended seminars about Counseling Psychology and First Aid. For the last four months she has been working at the kids area of WATERPARK Rhodes.
Ioulia Kompogianni: She is a graduate student of the Department of Early Childhood Education and Educational Design, with extensive training in a variety of child-centered topics and scientific activity.
She has published a paper entitled: "Do toys have gender? Investigating toddlers' views on the gender dimension of play", in a Greek scientific journal. She has designed and development of a board educational game for measuring length in kindergarten, and she has presented this work at the 3rd Conference of Undergraduate Students of the Pedagogical Departments ‘Edutopia’.
She has a voluntary activity at the Rhodes Childcare Institution for Girls. She works as a kindergarten teacher in a summer camp.
Eleftheria Xenaki: She is a fourth-year student of the Department of Early Childhood Education and Educational Design.
<p.She has attended seminars about Counseling Psychology and First Aid, for the last two years she has also been working as a babysitter for children up to 6 years old.In the year 2021 she participated voluntarily in the association “Rhodes for life” which supports cancer patients.