Let us also do something to make learning and teaching more enjoyable! Pestalozzi Friday – The Hungarian professional development community of the international Pestalozzi Programme

Abstract

This study aims to present the story of the creation of the Budapest based Pestalozzi Friday
professional development community as well as some of its most typical activities. The descriptions
are supplemented by the analysis of the results of two small-scale surveys conducted
among the participants. The fi rst survey shed light on the fact that although the principles
of cooperative learning are considered essential at school, the majority of the participating
teachers still rarely implement cooperative structures. The second survey conducted among
the Pestalozzi Friday participants shows what prevents us teachers from creating similar
professional development communities and from doing something together for more likeable
schools. Becoming aware of our aims and diffi culties will hopefully help overcome the
obstacles.