The Second HUPE Split Branch Meeting Report in 2024-2025
The second regular HUPE Split Branch meeting of this school year was held on Thursday, 26 June 2025, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The participating teachers were warmly welcomed by their kind hosts at Obrtnička škola in Split and took part in three engaging and inspiring workshops.
Agenda items:
- Anita Lasić: HUPE news
- Filip Škifić: Young Minds: “Two Sides of the Mirror”
- Miranda Barac: Chatbots in the Classroom: Supporting Teachers and Tutoring Students
- Matijana Đuka: Integrating AI in the Classroom with Critical Thinking
- Anita Lasić opened the meeting by warmly welcoming all participants. She presented an overview of the recent HUPE election results and informed attendees that no applications for the position of HUPE Split Branch President had been received by the given deadline, 15 May 2025. As a result, she will continue to serve in this role. She also updated members on the revised membership fees and shared details about the upcoming 33rd Annual International HUPE Conference. In addition, she announced the results of the HUPE short story writing competition – HUPE in Storyland– and provided information about HUPE Day, along with the upcoming teacher training opportunities in New York and Bath.
- The first workshop Young Minds: “Two Sides of the Mirror” was delivered by Filip Škifićfrom Mala filozofija Association. The workshop was structured in two sessions and focused on building self-esteem in the classroom. The first session - What do I want to reflect? began with a short film on negative self-talk and self-acceptance, followed by a guided discussion about inner criticism. The second session - "What do I want to become?" focused on ideals, social pressure, body image, and core values. The goal of the workshop was to empower teachers through practical knowledge to encourage young people to critically recognise the internal and social narratives that shape how they see themselves.
- The second workshop Chatbots in the Classroom: Supporting Teachers and Tutoring Students was presented by Miranda Baracfrom Obrtnička škola, Split. It explored the practical applications of AI-powered chatbots in education. This session highlighted how AI chatbots can support teachers with administrative tasks, lesson planning and content creation, while also providing personalized tutoring for students. Participants learned practical strategies for integrating chatbots into everyday classroom activities.
- The third workshop Integrating AI in the Classroom with Critical Thinking was presented by Matijana Đukafrom OŠ Ivan Leko, Proložac. Since AIs continue to appear in everyday life, the students encounter them more often and need to deal with the relevance of AI in different aspects of their lives. That leaves us with many questions about the future and emphasizes teachers' need to keep up. This session presented practical strategies for incorporating artificial intelligence tools into the classroom while fostering students' critical thinking. It showed parts of the teacher training including AI innovations, practical tips and important questions. In addition, it presented several AI tools to create engaging and innovative AI-infused lessons.
The meeting was carried out in an extremely relaxed and motivating atmosphere. It was very successful and ended at 14:50.
Anita Lasić
HUPE Split Branch President