From April 22 to 25, 2025, a meeting of chemistry didactics from the Faculty of Science at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice (UPJŠ) and teachers and students from the Faculty of Science at Palacký University in Olomouc (UPOL) took place at the Institute of Chemistry, UPJŠ. The goal of the meeting was to expand the existing cooperation between the two faculties, focusing on supporting and enhancing the quality of future chemistry teacher training through the development of digital skills.
The meeting was officially opened by the Director of the Institute of Chemistry, Prof. RNDr. Zuzana Vargová, PhD., and the Head of the Department of Chemistry Didactics, Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Mária Ganajová, CSc.
As part of the program, the group visited the Department of Physical Chemistry at UPJŠ, where Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Andrea Straková Fedorková, PhD., and her team presented the department’s research activities and facilities. An important area of collaboration is the research of Mgr. Kamila Petrželová, Ph.D. (UPOL), who presented the “Interactive Map of the Czech and Slovak Chemical Industry” and highlighted the value of field trips to chemical enterprises in chemistry teaching. Participants from UPOL also had the opportunity to try working with the interactive periodic table of elements, which is well-established at the Institute of Chemistry, UPJŠ.
The second part of the program included a joint class within the course Didactics of Chemistry I, where students from both universities engaged in solving tasks using the SATL method (Systemic Approach to Teaching and Learning) in the context of teaching inorganic chemistry. They also visited partner schools in Košice – Staničná 13 Primary School and Šrobárova 1 Grammar School – where they observed modern didactic methods focused on digital formative assessment and the use of digital teaching resources directly in classroom instruction.
As part of the ongoing development of collaboration aimed at using the eTwinning platform in university-level chemistry teacher training, a training session was held under the guidance of RNDr. Monika Poľanská, an eTwinning ambassador. She introduced participants to opportunities for involving university teachers and their students in international educational projects via the eTwinning platform. The event significantly contributed to deepening mutual cooperation between the Faculty of Science at UPJŠ and UPOL and opened new opportunities for joint activities in chemistry teacher training, didactic research, and international project collaboration.
Fhoto: ÚCHV PF UPJŠ
