TWI for the Children, Inc.
Training Workshops in Serbia and Montenegro and in Bosnia and Herzegovina

March 25 – 31, 2006  

The purpose of this page is to provide information on the TWI for the Children Training Workshop Series held in: Podjorica, Montengro; Capljina, and Trebijne, Bosnia and Herzegovina during the period 25 March - 31 April 2006. 

Dates

Activity

Remarks

March 25, 2006

(Saturday)

• Travel to Dubrovnik

Overnight Mlini

March 26, 2006

(Sunday)

• Bonnie Miller Arrives Dubrovnik from UK

Overnight Mlini

March 27, 2006

(Monday)

• Travel to Podjorica , Serbia and Montenegro

Overnight Podjorica

March 28, 2006

(Tuesday)

• Workshop in Podjorica
• Travel to Mlini

Overnight Mlini

 
PODGORICA WORKSHOP

Educators in Podgorica , Montenegro , were enthusiastic participants in a seminar on March 28 on Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder presented by Bonnie Miller, organized by Azra Saje and interpreted by Vjeko Saje under the auspices of TWI for the Children, Inc.  Topics included characteristics of learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder and their impact not only on academic performance but also on the child’s social and family life.  Uniqueness and temperament of children as well as their special talents were discussed.  Numerous strategies for helping these children in the classroom and for cooperating with their parents were offered in the seminar.  In addition, the following materials created by Bonnie Miller were distributed to each participant:

 “Connecting with Children in the Classroom: Manual for Teachers”

“Communicating with Children:  Manual for Parents”

“I Can Learn” guidebook about Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder

 “I Can Learn” video or DVD (one per school)

Handouts on Active Learning and other related subjects

Attendees gave the seminar outstanding evaluations and mentioned that very few of the seminars they were offered used such dynamic, interactive, and interesting methods of presentation and dealt with such practical subjects which affect all teachers.

March 29, 2006

(Wednesday)

• Travel to Capljina
• Visit Medugorje

Overnight Capljina

CLICK HERE to see additional pictures of the workshops in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Look for the Album titled TWI Training Workshop - March 2006

March 30, 2006

(Thursday)

• Workshop in Capljina
• Travel to Mlini

Overnight Mlini

 
Capljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina Workshop

Over a hundred and fifty educators, pedagogical institute staff and orphanage caretakers gathered in the Capljina Municipality on March 30 to participate in a seminar on Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder.  The audience, which was evenly divided between Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats, worked together in small groups and pairs to learn about learning and attention problems in children and to discuss ways in which they will share the materials (see above) and information with their colleagues at their schools and institutions.  The workshop included simulations to demonstrate how it feels to have various learning difficulties such as auditory processing problems, visual discrimination problems, and poor fine motor (handwriting) skills.  Role-playing of parent-teacher conferences gave teachers practice in using a simple and respectful protocol for encouraging teamwork between home and school.  Enthusiastic evaluations requested more of this type of seminar with dynamic presenters and hands-on participation of the audience.

March 31, 2006

(Friday)

• Travel to Trebinje
• Workshop in Trebinje
• Travel to Mlini

Overnight in Mlini

 Trebinje. Bosnia and Herzegovina Workshop

In Trebinje the next day, Bonnie Miller and her TWI team presented a similar workshop for seventy-six educators.  In addition to the above topics, Bonnie demonstrated many activities for active learning, and the audience carried out several of their own hands-on exercises for math and other subjects.  Discussion also focused on multi-sensory learning (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) and relevant education to help children learn skills for their future.  Identifying the strengths as well as the difficulties of children with learning and attention problems was an important part of this seminar.  As in the other two workshops, multiple intelligences and emotional intelligence skills were introduced.  Parent-teacher cooperation was practiced in pairs, and ways to share the information and materials (see above) from the seminar with colleagues was also discussed in small groups.  Participants were very upbeat about the interesting, interactive and multimedia methods of the workshop presentation and the professionalism, expertise, and energy of the presenter.