Venera G. Zakirova1*, Elvira G. Sabirova2 & Leysan R. Kayumova3
1Institute of Psychology and Education, Kazan (Volga region) Federal University,
Kazan, Russia. E-mail: [email protected]
2Institute of Psychology and Education, Kazan (Volga region) Federal University,
Kazan, Russia. E-mail: [email protected]
3Institute of Psychology and Education, Kazan (Volga region) Federal University,
Kazan, Russia. E-mail: [email protected] *corresponding author email: [email protected]
Abstract
Relevance of this research problem is caused by that many heads of educational institutions note the low level of graduates’ of pedagogical specialties formation of readiness to use interactive training technologies. Therefore it becomes necessary to revise subject and methodical training of elementary school teachers in higher educational institutions in introduction of interactive training technologies in educational process of elementary school. Thus this article is directed on disclosure of a current state, identification of problems and development of recommendations about optimization of this process in higher educational institutions. The leading method of this problem research is questioning in which 567 students of pedagogical specialties of the Kazan federal university are involved. By questioning fragmentary use of interactive technologies in professional pedagogical practice of elementary school teachers, their dissatisfaction with the level of knowledge formation in the field of interactive training technologies use was revealed. In article levels of professional and pedagogical readiness formation of future elementary school teachers to use interactive training technologies are revealed, the necessity to implement the interactive training technologies into the process of professional training of future teachers is proved, recommendations about improvement of the maintenance of a training course are offered. The materials presented in article allow increasing subject and methodical readiness of teachers for use of interactive training technologies in elementary school.
Keywords: interactive technologies, professional pedagogical readiness, elementary school teacher, improvement of educational process.
Introduction
Relevance of the problem
Prompt development of technologies puts forward the new challenges for education demanding revision of the education content, forms, methods of training. One of the main innovations in the field of education is interactive technologies of training. Use of interactive training technologies allows increasing informative activity of pupils at a lesson; all pupils of a class are involved into work. There is a support for personal experience of each pupil. Dialogue training allows creating the subject-subject relations between the teacher and pupils, there are comfortable conditions of training due to creation of "success situations" at the lessons (Novik & Podgórecki, 2015; Ribakova, Parfilova, Karimova & Karimova, 2015).
However, the elementary school teachers know only separate elements of interactive training technologies, their use in practice of elementary school has fragmentary, incidental character. Therefore there is a huge problem in subject and methodical training of elementary school teachers in higher educational institutions on introduction of interactive training technologies into educational process of elementary school. The elementary school teacher has to not only know about interactive training technologies, but also be able to put them into practice. It is possible if the purpose, the contents, forms and methods of professional training are focused on use of interactive training technologies by elementary school teachers.
Literature Review
Theoretical and practical aspects of new technologies of training are developed in works of V. P. Bespalko (2007), A. V. Khutorskoy (2014), G. K. Selevko (2005), E. V. Sidorova (2005), other domestic and foreign scientists. Questions of future teachers’ readiness for professional activity, its diagnostic and control found reflection in the researches of L. V. Antropova (2002), V. I. Vinogradov (1996), A. V. Nazarova (2006), V. S. Lazarev (2003), etc. The important place is taken by works about formation of various components of readiness (N. V. Kalinina (2008), G. A. Kruchinin (1995), E. A. Pyryev (2015), L. A. Filimonuk and E. R. Litvinova (2015), S. V. Shmelyovа (2004), etc.) and readiness of students for various types of professional activity (Maslennikova, 2014; Novikov, 2005; Pryazhnikov, 2008; Hovrina, 2002; Sadovaya, Khakhlova & Reznikov, 2015; Yusupova, Podgorecki & Markova, 2015).
Despite the increasing interest in questions of use of interactive training technologies, the formation problem of future elementary school teachers’
readiness to use interactive training technologies exists and demands the solution.
Methodological Framework
In 2013 567 the 1st-5th year students and masters studying on the “Primary education” profile at Institute of Psychology and Education of KFU took part in questionnaire to detect professional and pedagogical readiness of future elementary school teachers to use interactive training technologies. In the course of research we used the following diagnostic tools:
- the questionnaire for students directed to identify knowledge about essence of interactive technologies, about need to study interactive technologies in educational process of higher education institution;
- the questionnaire for elementary school teachers directed to detect their readiness to use interactive technologies, to define a state and problems which the teacher faces while using interactive technologies, to determinate the need to introduce interactive training technologies into process of professional training of students of pedagogical profiles;
- the method of determining the formation level of readiness to use interactive technologies in primary school.
The presented questionnaires and techniques allow revealing formation levels of teachers’ readiness to use interactive technologies in educational process of elementary school, and also carrying out timely correction. In this regard in the course of research a special course "Interactive technologies at elementary school" for students of the pedagogical profile "Primary education", system of interactive lessons of a psychology- pedagogical practical work; the information-subject support of a special course and psychology-pedagogical practical work including EMS (Educational and methodical set) on a special course, system of multimedia presentations according to the content of lectures, didactic tools of monitoring of knowledge and skills quality were developed and introduced by us.
Results
Results of the analysis of questionnaires testify that students of the 1st course (159 questioned) couldn't give the correct and full answer to the question: "How do you understand "interactive training technologies"?". Some of them specified that heard nothing about interactive training technologies.
Students of the 2nd course (24 people from 106 questioned) answered the question: "How do you understand "interactive training technologies?" as follows: "It is training actively directed on pupils" "The introduction of new technologies and ways of training into educational process", "Introduction of more effective training methods", "It is the technology of the new type entered to increase the knowledge level of pupils", etc. None of students
could give clear definition of this concept. They knew only that it is the new technologies of training directed to increase efficiency of educational process.
63 students of the 3rd course (from 90 questioned) tried to make an explanation: "It is something new, some innovations assuming activity of pupils" "These are such technologies where existence of feedback between the teacher and students (or pupils) is an indispensable condition", "New opinions, decisions, their generalization, possibility of their application are expressed", "Perhaps, this concept means training which bears in itself not only information from the teacher, but also pupils bring into training process something new", etc.
On the 4th course (83 students from 102 questioned) answers were: "It is new technologies which take root into teaching and educational process for the purpose to increase children’s informative activity, their interest; which mean creation of a situation, favorable for communication, that children were not afraid to express the opinion", "It is new, nonconventional technologies of training which increase interest, activity of pupils at lessons, increase motivation for educational activity", "Interactive training technologies allow pupils to feel at lessons more comfortably, surely", "It is new, modernized and more effective methods of training", "It is some innovations in training, it is nonconventional ways of training", "It is some innovations which help to erase a barrier between the teacher and pupils", "It is new technologies, promoting development of each child, opening individual opportunities of children", "It is work in subgroups, use of computer technologies, display of movies, musical accompaniment of a lesson", "It is introduction into training process of the new interactive training methods which are more productive. These methods are connected with game", "The new methods applied in any subject training. For example, "Microphone" when children figuratively imagine that they (everyone individually) speak into a microphone. Thus, children become more uninhibited, learn to express the thoughts", etc.
25 students of the 4th course specified a concrete method from a set of the methods used in interactive training technologies – "Microphone". Substitution of the concepts "interactive training technologies" and "information (computer) training technologies", use of technical means of training at lessons is observed.
On the 5th course students (96 people) also tried to give an explanation to the concept "interactive training technologies". They wrote that it is the modern, new training technologies increasing efficiency of training process, directed on activization of children’s cognitive activity. However 9 students interpret as interactive technologies information (computer) training technologies (use of multimedia installations, computers, audio-, the video equipment and other technical means of training). Among interactive training methods
brainstorming, carrying out discussions, work in groups were called. "It is the modern training technologies aimed to develop the child in a communication situation". "It is the methods directed on activization of pupils’ informative processes such as brainstorming, discussion". "It is work in subgroups, the solution of problem situations at lessons". 5 students of the 5th course didn't make an explanation to the concept "interactive training technologies" at all.
Masters (14 people) explained the concept "interactive training technologies" as follows: "It is non-standard forms of carrying out classes during which material is given to pupils not in finished form, but they together with the teacher come to solution of the problem", "They assume nonconventional forms of education: problem lectures, educational debates, business games, discussions, trainings, etc. They assume the subject - subject relations between the teacher and students". Most of students specified that interactive training technologies belong to innovative technologies. Among interactive methods undergraduates called: problem lectures, brainstorming, business games, application of multimedia installations, audio and video maintenance of lectures. However not all the methods listed by them can be referred to interactive training technologies.
None of students could offer a competent explanation of this concept. Only 1 undergraduate wrote that this technology means subject-subject relations between the teacher and pupils. None of students emphasize active interaction of participants of pedagogical process; that interactive training technologies mean the use of role-playing games, imitating games, modeling of various situations demanding decisions, exclude a prevalence of one participant of educational process over others, etc. The word "interactive" came to us from the English word "interact" where "inter" means mutual and "act" - to work with. Thus, interactive – capable to interaction, dialogue.
Interactive training is a special form of the organization of cognitive activity which has the concrete, provided purpose – to create comfortable conditions of training when each pupil feels the success, intellectual opportunities. Among the concrete methods used in interactive technologies of training were called: brainstorming, business games, discussions. Carrying out problem lectures, use at lessons audio-video maintenances, multimedia installations were mistakenly referred to interactive training technologies. Only 48,3% of students specified that learned scientific psychology and pedagogical literature about interactive training technologies (generally students of the 3rd, 4th, 5th courses and masters).
Most of students indicated insufficient reflection of problems of interactive training technologies in psychological and pedagogical literature. "I faced shortage of literature when writing a term paper", "It is possible to find material about interactive training technologies only in pedagogical magazines".
Many students note that often theoretical aspect of the question is widely reflected in literature, but a practical side of training is not enough.
Most of undergraduates (8 people from 9) indicated insufficient reflection of problems of interactive training technologies in psychological and pedagogical literature. Undergraduates wrote in the questionnaire that due attention isn't paid to this problem. None of masters specify the name of any book on interactive training technologies.
84,8% of students consider that it is necessary to increase the volume of the offered material about interactive training technologies in educational process of university when studying pedagogics, didactics, a technique of teaching mathematics, a technique of teaching Russian, a technique of teaching the integrative course "World around" and other private techniques, when studying psychology, pedagogical psychology, bases of pedagogical skill. Only 26,1% of students answered that used interactive training technologies during
teaching practice while carrying out lessons of Mathematics, Russian, reading. Students in this case referred to interactive training technologies work in groups, carrying out discussions, and also creation at lessons of problem situations, carrying out trainings.
34,3% of students noted that methods of interactive training during the work with students were used by teachers of higher education institution on subjects: "Technique of teaching natural sciences", "Pedagogics", "Psychology", "Bases of pedagogical skill", "Technique of teaching mathematics", "Technique of teaching Russian". However if to consider that none of the students could give the correct, complete, accurate definition to the concept "interactive training technologies", students don't understand meaning, the content of this concept, don’t know methods of interactive training, there is a high probability of substitution of concepts. For example, one of students wrote: "Methods of interactive training were used by the teacher of Higher education institution during the work with students on discipline of "A basis of pedagogical skill", so that multimedia technical means of training were used at the lessons". Students refer display by teachers of Higher education institution of documentaries, use of multimedia installations at lessons, use of audio, the video equipment to interactive training technologies.
Besides we analyzed the outlines of lessons provided by 3rd and the 5th course students (totally 81 persons) of extramural studies on the specialty "Elementary education" after their teaching practice at schools. Results of the analysis testify that students seldom use interactive training technologies in pedagogical activity, they don't know what an interactive lesson represents, don't know methods of interactive training, don't own a technique of an interactive lesson.
During research levels of formation of professional and pedagogical readiness to use
interactive training technologies of students - future elementary school teachers were determined: high level is determined at 79 students (14%), average – at 329 students (58%) and low level at 159 students (28%). The analysis and assessment of the classes given by students during externship showed that most of students mastered the program of interactive training and showed the high level of the abilities, skills, and qualities necessary for the teacher realizing methods of interactive training. Students began to use more widely methods of interactive training at lessons in elementary school during teaching practice than students of the previous final years.
Also for determination of need to introduce interactive training technologies into process of professional training at pedagogical university 205 teachers- graduates of the specialty "Elementary education" were questioned by us. The following data were obtained:
1. One question of the questionnaire was answered only by 96 teachers (46,8%), 51 people (24.9%) didn't answer this question, they found it difficult to specify the priority directions of subject and methodical work of their schools. 58 teachers specified a problem on which they work.
2. Teachers referred the modular training, problem training, the differentiated training, advancing training to technologies of training. The elementary school teachers use concepts: "technology", "method", "approach", "training" as synonyms.
3. Game technologies, problem training, the differentiated training, group forms of work were called among the most often applied technologies and methods of training. Only 40 teachers remembered and wrote that use in the work interactive training technologies (from 205).
4. Most of elementary school teachers noted that had difficulties in using interactive training technologies. That volume of knowledge which they have about interactive training technologies is received by self-education, by mastering experience of other teachers, reading scientific psychological and pedagogical literature about interactive training technologies, thanks to work of methodical associations of elementary school teachers at each separate school.
5. Only 40 teachers (from 205) could call concrete methods of work which belong to interactive technologies and are used by them in pedagogical activity. 6. Teachers (generally graduates of 2007 – 2013 years) noted that heard about
interactive technologies generally at lectures, however the volume of their knowledge is insufficient for carrying out lessons at elementary school. They have huge difficulties in use of interactive training technologies in their pedagogical activity.
The presented problems in preparation of students for using interactive training technologies at elementary school can be solved by the modification of
subject and methodical training of future elementary school teachers.
Discussions
Use of interactive technologies in educational process of elementary school makes it dynamic, modern and interesting for pupils, considerably increases efficiency of learning of material, promotes development of cognitive activity of elementary school pupils. Their application allows making lessons nonconventional, bright and saturated. By the range expansion of the developed information tutorials the application frequency of interactive technologies increases.
Within realization of measures on modernization of education in academic institutions equipment sets were put on the basis of the Federal state educational standard requirements of the primary general education of the 2nd generation regarding material and information support of educational process. Due to the insufficiency of methodical providing and recommendations about use of the equipment the system of the content updating of the students preparation owning modern training technologies including the interactive is necessary.
It should be noted that in the content of subject- methodical training of future elementary school teachers there are disciplines capable to train students of pedagogical specialties to use interactive technologies in educational process.
Consideration of a state and the existing formation problems of teachers’ readiness to use interactive technologies in practice at elementary school allows to make a conclusion that it is necessary to improve the content of subject - methodical training of future elementary school teachers that will allow to improve qualitatively their professional competence.
Conclusion
Thus results of questioning makes it possible to draw a conclusion that the most part of the elementary school teachers and students who were taking part in questioning are not satisfied by the volume of the knowledge gained in higher education institution on interactive training technologies, don't possess abilities of using interactive training methods in the professional and pedagogical activity. It is possible to refer business and role-playing games, master classes, brain storms, discussions in group to the most widespread interactive technologies at elementary school. All these technologies are highly effective and possess a number of advantages: - training become individual, considering features of the personality, interests and
needs of each pupil;