On October 19, the My Profession is Teaching panel discussion was held at Saratov State University. Students and teachers of various university educational departments, teachers of schools and organisations of additional education, heads of pedagogical internships gathered in Room 208, the Institute of Philology and Journalism.

Students of pedagogical courses shared their impressions of the first practical experience, and teachers commented on additional opportunities. The participants of the meeting outlined effective teaching methods.

The initiator of the inter-faculty event as part of the Teachers in the Educational Paradigm stratproject of the Priority 2030 development programme was the curator of the strategic project, Head of Priority Projects and Programmes, Professor of the Department of Literary Studies and Journalism Elena Yelina.

The meeting was attended by Director of the Institute of Philology and Journalism Lyudmila Borisova, Dean of the Faculty of Psychological, Pedagogical, and Special Needs Education Tatyana Firsova, Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Language Teaching Methods Svetlana Shilova, and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy Irina Kutyreva.

The meeting was moderated by Olga Dmitriyeva, Chair of the Corporate Department of Russian Philology and Media Education, and Roman Pavlenko, Deputy Director of the Institute of Philology and Journalism for Organisational Work and Public Relations, Associate Professor of the Department of Literary Studies and Journalism.

Olga Dmitriyeva noted that like-minded people had gathered in the room. They were united with the fact that they were teaching pedagogues-to-be. ‘In the Year of Teachers and Mentors, our conversation will be connected with the school – you take a step into the profession already in the second year, when you come to the first internship at school and “try on” the role of classroom teachers – one of the most difficult for teachers. The internship continues in the third year, and then the summer counsellor try-outs begin. Already in the fourth year, you will feel like qualified teachers, you will take part in the Step into the Profession contest of pedagogical skills.’

In the first part of the discussion, students of teaching courses commented how in the 2nd year during the organisational and pedagogical internship they tried teaching at school.

The first speakers were students of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Language Teaching Methods Artemii Yegerev and Kristina Ivanova, who worked at Boarding Lyceum 64 last semester. In their dialogue scene, they showed how important the role of mentors is, who know how to unite the team, help become organisers and participants of creative events, as well as overcome the barrier of professional self-identification. By video link, Deputy Principal for Academic Affairs of Boarding Lyceum 64 (in the 2022-2023 academic year) Natalia Kotyukova addressed the audience, assuring that the students who have completed the internship were ready to work at school.

Assistant of the Department of Philosophy and Methodology of Science Yan Gushchin, also responsible for practical training at the Faculty of Philosophy, and a student Ksenia Brykalina shared their memories and comments on their internships. They talked about the advantages of internships at Holy Protection Gymnasium and private classical schools. According to Yan Gushchin, a competently compiled schedule is important. Ksenia marked was the feeling of being in demand while working at school and finding out which skills were necessary for teaching.

Students of the Institute of History and International Relations Daria Demagina and Ulyana Shabalina talked about the skills of classroom management, shared their impressions of communicating with the pupils, and building trusting relationships with them. The speakers also focused on problematic points, namely the difficulties of combining organisational and pedagogical internships and the studies, the desire to expand the list of lessons attended, and the need for greater independence.

Daria and Ulyana suggested dividing the practice into parts depending on topics and attaching mini-groups of trainees to the classroom teacher. To monitor their development during the year, the pupils had to attend not only lessons, but also extracurricular activities, and parent meetings. Young teachers believe that during the internship it is necessary to understand the age psychology of pupils – everyone should see how the lesson is conducted from the first to the eleventh forms.

Alexandra Lyashkova, a student of the Institute of Philology and Journalism, talked about how a subject teacher could unite work at school and research-to-methodology interests. She shared her experience of using gaming technologies in organisational and pedagogical internships in Gymnasiums No. 1 and No. 5, as well as Humanities and Economics Lyceum. During the internship, the student conducted a lesson in the Russian language in the Your Own Game style on vocabulary and tested an extracurricular lesson on syntax. The game lesson in the lyceum found support from its teacher of the Russian language and literature Galina Muravyeva.

The university curators accompanied the students at all stages of the first experience of immersion into the profession. Then they expressed gratitude to Senior Lecturer of the Department of English Language and Its Teaching Methods Natalia Ternova, Assistant of the Department of Philosophy and Methodology of Science Yan Gushchin, Associate Professor of the Department of National History and Historiography Anton Luchnikov, and Chair of the Corporate Department of Russian Philology and Media Education Olga Dmitriyeva.

In the second part of the meeting, the teachers talked about the opportunities that students would have in different institutions and organisations where they were taking internship.

Director of the Oleg Tabakov Creativity Palace for Children and Youth, Assistant of the Corporate Department of Russian Philology and Media Education Nikita Mukovozov gave an example of involving students in organisational work of additional educational organisations.

Deputy Principal for Organisational Work of Lyceum No. 15 Marina Sergeyeva told the audience how interns could reveal their talents. For example, students who would become teachers of history not only conducted lessons, but also participated in the work of school clubs and museums.

Deputy Director for Organisational Work Elena Yeskina spoke about the long-term successful cooperation between SSU and Gymnasium No. 1. She stressed that students from different faculties and institutes had come to her school and successfully got acquainted with the profession. The peculiarity of the internship was the close cooperation with mentors who set up future teachers to independently conduct homeroom period and extracurricular activities.

The value of the classroom manual for teachers was noted by a teacher of the Russian language and literature at the gymnasium-school of the village of Ivanteyevka, Saratov Region, Renat Khairullin. He shared his experience of visiting the All-Russian Forum of Classroom Teachers and commented on the participation in the Countryside Teacher programme.

The teacher of additional education of the Humanities and Economics Lyceum, a member of the Union of Journalists of Russia Natalia Degtyaryova presented the IntoHighSchool.Ru book, recognized as the best work about the future profession at the 2023 Time to Write Books literary contest. The collective work was prepared by students who were taking pedagogical courses, graduates, and teaching staff of the Institute of Philology and Journalism. There, the authors wrote why they had decided to become teachers of the Russian language and literature and philology students had reflected on their pedagogical future.

Natalia Degtyaryova elaborated on the possibility of teachers' participation in the All-Russian School Chronicle project. Due to it, a form has the opportunity to write and publish their own book.

At the end of the panel discussion, the directors and deans of the SSU educational departments Lyudmila Borisova, Svetlana Shilova, Tatyana Firsova, and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy Irina Kutyreva noted the prospects of the inter-faculty meetings, stressed the importance of sharing experience among students, and spoke about their impressions of the performances of interns and teachers.

Olga Dmitriyeva expressed confidence that the Year of Teachers and Mentors helped students realise what a wonderful profession they had chosen. Concluding the meeting, she quoted a line from a poem by Robert Rozhdestvensky, ‘A teacher is a long-range profession, the main one on earth!’