Congratulations to dr. Renatas Kondratavičienė after successfully defending her doctoral dissertation
Primary School Students’ Critical and Creative Thinking Skills in Mathematics and Their Devekopment Through Virtual Learning Enviroments  (Vytautas Magnus University, social sciences, educology, S 007), and a doctorate in social sciences.
The dissertation is available at the libraries of Vytautas Magnus University, Klaipeda University, Mykolas Romeris University, and Vilnius University.
The dissertation is available at: 11 Studentų Str,  Academy, Kaunas district.

The brief summary is presented below.

For the first time in Lithuania, the doctoral dissertation examines the 4th grade students’ critical and creative thinking skills in mathematics and their development through virtual learning environments. Doctoral dissertation extracted answers to the following problematic questions: what are the components of critical and creative thinking skills in mathematics? What are the pedagogical strategies for developing critical and creative thinking skills through teaching mathematics? How to assess the impact of using the tools of virtual learning environments in developing students’ critical and creative thinking skills?
The doctoral dissertation distinguishes five categories of critical and creative thinking skills, enabling to assess the 4th grade students’ skills to analyse, synthesize and draw conclusions, evaluate, study, and generate ideas, formulate questions, and search for solutions. An empirical research instrument to measure critical and creative thinking skills has been developed and justified. A diagram of critical and creative thinking skills, tools for virtual learning environments and components of the 5E model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) developed by the author is presented. The latter was tested practically during the quasi-experiment in the virtual learning environment Moodle developed by the author of the learning course.
The findings of the dissertation study suggest that the results in critical and creative thinking skills development can be achieved by applying 5E stages in virtual learning environments tools, engaging students with a mathematical problem, involving research, mathematical concepts interpretation, deepening and self-assessment activities.

The dissertation was prepared at Vytautas Magnus University in 2016–2021. The right of doctoral studies was granted to Vytautas Magnus University jointly with Klaipėda University, Mykolas Romeris University and Vilnius University, on 22 February 2019, by the decision No. V-160 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.

Scientific supervisor
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Viktorija Sičiūnienė (Vytautas Magnus University, Social Sciences, Education S 007).

Council of defence of the doctoral dissertation:
Chair
Prof. Dr. Habil. Vilma Žydžiūnaitė (Vytautas Magnus University, Social Sciences, Education S 007).

Members:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Violeta Jegelavičienė (Mykolas Romeris University, Social Sciences, Education S 007).
Prof. Dr. Erno Lehtinen (Turku University (Finland), Social Sciences, Education S007).
Prof. Dr. Romas Prakapas (Mykolas Romeris University, Social Sciences, Education S 007).
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aušra Rutkienė (Vytautas Magnus University, Social Sciences, Education S 007).