Eleven students from the Vitebsk region became prize-winners of international subject Olympiads over three years

November 11, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA/. Eleven students from the Vitebsk region have become prize-winners of international subject Olympiads over the past three years, including four young talents who won silver and bronze medals at Olympiads in 2009. This was announced by Larisa Zenkova, Vice-Rector of the Regional Institute for the Development of Education, at the interregional scientific and practical conference "Gifted Children: Identification, Education, Development," which is being held today in Vitebsk, according to a BELTA correspondent. Participation in the Olympiad movement, contests, exhibitions, and conferences is one of the most widespread areas of work with gifted children, as well as a form of identifying capable and talented young citizens. For the last seven years, the region has maintained leadership in the country in terms of the number of winners of republican subject Olympiads. In 2009, at the final stage of the Republican Olympiad, students from the region received 101 diplomas, including 14 first-degree diplomas. In addition, over the past 1.5 years, the region has held 18 regional distance Olympiads in various subjects, with the participation of over 12,000 primary school students and students in grades 5-8. "The results of work in this area allow us to consider distance Olympiads and contests as the most effective forms of identifying gifted schoolchildren, contributing to the development of motivation and the formation of universal competencies in children," noted Larisa Zenkova. In the region, 270 student scientific societies have been created and are operating, including 130 in primary schools. The works of young researchers evoke interest and public recognition. If in 2005, 34 young Vitebsk residents became diploma winners of international and republican conferences, then in 2009, there were already 139 students, 88 of whom participated in international conferences. A multi-level system of contest and festival events contributes to the identification and support of gifted children in the field of artistic and aesthetic activities and the development of their creative potential. Based on the results of participation in contests and competitions, Vitebsk students won 7 prizes in team events and over 20 in individual events at the international level, and over 30 awards in team and individual events at republican competitions. The successes and victories of gifted children at various events should not become the main and only criterion for the quality of the work being done, emphasized Larisa Zenkova. Especially since there is the concept of "exploitation of giftedness" of the same children, which is fraught with moral and psychological overload, and loss of physical and mental health. "When talking about the effectiveness of work with gifted and highly motivated students, it is necessary to pay more attention to such parameters of child development as breadth of outlook, interdisciplinary systemic thinking, degree of mastery of key competencies, positive professional and life self-determination, and others," added the specialist. -0-