Those socio-economic changes that are taking place in the modern world put forward new requirements for state educational institutions. Society needs active, active, creative young people who can adapt to modern realities, constantly develop themselves and improve their education.
The value of design technology
The activity of mental activity, critical thinking, the desire to seek and find new knowledge and skills are the most important qualities of a modern person. The pedagogical technology of project training is aimed at the formation of all these qualities in schoolchildren.
Teachers are convinced that the time has come to change the didactic paradigm, focused on the reproductive version (classic look), to individual learning. To solve this problem, new forms and methods are needed, the introduction of the latest technologies in educational institutions.
Methods of design training technology focus on individual independent work and the development of communication skills.
The value of independent work in projects
This type of activity is an essential element of the modern educational process. It allows you to eliminate all the problems, gaps in knowledge that children have. Technology project-based learning at school is impossible without independent work, because it allows the teacher to identify talented and gifted children.
Independent activity promotes educational motivation, guarantees a transition from the level of material reproduction (reproductive approach) to creative learning. Own work, without which no project can do, teaches students to plan their activities. As part of the project learning technology, children gain skills in working with information sources (newspapers, magazines, the Internet). These skills are especially relevant given the enormous amount of information that is raining down on a modern person every day.
In the narrow sense, the term “independent work” implies that schoolchildren perform certain specific tasks. Similar actions are manifested in a variety of forms:
- oral;
- written;
- frontal;
- group.
This element of the technology of project training is used both in the classroom and in extracurricular activities. Teachers note an increase in the quality of knowledge, an increase in the working capacity of children, and an increase in the cognitive activity of their pupils involved in independent activities.
Rules for the organization of project activities
In order to properly organize independent work on a project, it is important to consider the following features:
- be sure to pre-plan all independent studies;
- to carry out serious work on the substantive part;
- systematization of acquired knowledge is important;
- periodic self-control.
In order for the technologies of project and problem training to be effective, certain pedagogical conditions must be observed:
- the presence of positive motivation among students;
- precise setting of goals and objectives, concretization of ways to solve them;
- determination by the teacher of the report option, its volume, form and time of delivery;
- selection of advisory assistance, selection of evaluation criteria.
The creative personality of the pupil within the framework of the technology of project training develops only if the teacher will be able to skillfully manage this process. Only an enthusiastic and caring teacher, constantly increasing his own intellectual potential, is able to stimulate the child’s desire to acquire new knowledge and work independently.
The teacher should direct the student’s creative thinking in the right direction, stimulate the learning process. Design and research training technologies give impetus to the analysis, systematization, selection of their own ways to solve a particular problem.
History of Design Technology
In world pedagogy, project-based learning technologies are not innovative. This technique appeared in the early 20th century in the United States of America. Then project training was called the method of problems, and its founders were an American teacher and philosopher J. Dewey.
He proposed to educate children on the basis of vigorous activity, taking into account the personal interests of the student himself. Dewey proposed taking problems from ordinary life — familiar and important for schoolchildren. Solving them, children make certain efforts. The significance of their work is the greater, the more important the problem is for the child himself.
An American teacher, whose life became the technology of using project-based instruction, proposed his own methodology. The teacher, in his opinion, should play the role of a tutor (consultant), directing the pupil's thoughts in the right direction, and prove the importance of the work performed. His technology of modern project-based learning involves a transition from theory to practice and the combination of scientific knowledge with practice.
In order for the student to be able to solve all the tasks assigned to him by the teacher, it is important to predetermine the results: internal and external. The external option is visible visually, it can be used, recognized, analyzed. The internal result is a combination of skills and knowledge, values ​​and competencies.
Design methodology in Russia
Educational technologies (project training) aroused interest among representatives of the Russian pedagogical school. Almost simultaneously with the development of the American Dewey, a Russian interpretation of the design work appeared.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of enthusiasts led by a teacher S. T. Shatsky introduced the technology of project-based education in elementary school. Due to revolution, collectivization, industrialization, all pedagogical experiments were suspended for some time. And by the decision of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, design and research teaching technologies in 1931 were completely banned for use in public schools.
Even after such a ban was lifted, for a long time such a technique was not applied in the OS. Researchers distinguish several main factors, because of which the technology of project training in elementary school did not take root:
- lack of teachers who are ready to carry out work on school projects;
- illiterate combination of design methods with the classical program;
- there was no clear methodology for project activities at school;
- replacement of individual offsets with collective tests and offsets.
While European countries were actively using project technology in training, in the USSR they acted according to the classical methodology, which did not imply individual work with talented students.
In European countries, the methodology was improved, overgrown with technical and resource support, and yielded excellent results. Gradually, in the UK, Belgium, and the USA, the technology of modern project-based learning has turned into a practical technique that allows you to adapt your child to the surrounding reality. The modernization of the method has not changed its main goal - the practical application of theoretical knowledge.
Design Technologies in 21st Century Education
Many educational systems try to find harmony between pragmatic skills and classical knowledge. So, the main thesis of project teaching technology in mathematics is: “I understand why I know. I know how I can use this knowledge. ”
The development of critical thinking is assumed by all modern educational technologies. Project training solves this problem by involving students in independent activities. For a certain period of time, groups, couples, individual students are required to do the work given to them by the teacher. Its result should be tangible - to solve a clear problem and be fully prepared for practical application.
The use of design methods in their work is an indicator of the professionalism of the teacher, his desire to develop and improve.
Classification of training projects
American professor Collings proposed his own classification of student projects.
- Projects are games. They include theatrical performances, dances, various games. The main goal of such projects is to involve schoolchildren in group activities.
- Projects - excursions. Their purpose is to study some problems related to public life, the environment.
- Narrative projects. They are aimed at transmitting information through spoken language or musical accompaniment (poems, essays, songs, playing a musical instrument).
- Constructive projects. They suggest the creation of a practically significant product: the manufacture of paving slabs, school beds.
In addition, we highlight the basic requirements according to which innovative educational technology is implemented. Design technology involves:
- practical relevance of research, the ability to solve specific problems;
- the possibility of reproducing the results;
- clear structuring of the project;
- independent work of students on the project;
- identification of research problems, the correct formulation of project objectives, the selection of working methods;
- conducting research, discussing results, adjusting conclusions.
Goal setting in project training
A special skill is the correct formulation of the goal. It is with her that they begin work on the project. The goal is the driving force of any project activity, and the efforts of the group members are aimed at its full achievement.
The project work within the framework of the GEF involves the allocation of time precisely for the careful formulation of the goal, since the final result depends on this stage of work. First, several common goals are determined, then they are detailed, and each specific team member (if the work is collective) allocates their specific goal. The project involves a step-by-step transition from simple tasks to complex actions.
A highly qualified teacher knows that you don’t need to get involved in excessive detailing, as small elements can negatively affect the achievement of an overall result.
Project Learning Goals
For modern educational systems, the following goals are used:
- Cognitive. They involve the study of reality, the solution of issues that are associated with objects of nature. The implementation of such goals forms the students' skills in working with information sources and laboratory equipment.
- Organizational and active. They consist in the formation of self-planning skills. Schoolchildren learn to set their own goals when working on a project, master the skills of scientific discussion, and develop communication skills.
- Creative goals are associated with creative activities: modeling, construction and design.
How to choose a school project theme
Depending on the specific situation, the subject of training projects will be different. In some situations, the topic is taken into account the requirements of the school curriculum. For example, in technology lessons, projects for the manufacture of sewing or knitting products are mandatory. And since some of the projects are offered by the teacher to deepen knowledge on the subject, their direction is chosen by the teacher himself. An ideal situation would be when the student himself chooses the subject of the project, taking into account his interests: applied, creative and cognitive.
Basically, projects raise issues relevant to a particular region. For example, issues related to environmental pollution, the disposal of household waste or the construction of roads can be considered by high school students. Such projects combine several directions at once: ecology, chemistry, physics, geography and biology. And for younger students, topics related to the characterization of fairy-tale characters are suitable.
The results of the completed projects must be tangible, duly executed. Albums, almanacs, videos and newspapers can serve as confirmation of the results of work. Solving the project task, the guys attract skills from various sciences: physics, chemistry, geography.
Primary school students can offer a project related to the cultivation of onions on the windowsill. For high school students, studies related to the study of consumer demand, sociological studies, and polls are suitable.
Distinctive characteristics of the design method
Personal development in the pedagogical process is impossible without the use of design technologies. Education should be aimed at revealing the abilities of each student, mastering self-educational skills and the formation of his personality parameters.
These requirements are fully consistent with the methodology of the pedagogical orientation of John Dewey. When combined with information technology, the teacher solves an important task - the formation of a comprehensively developed person. The educational process turns into a real self-study. The child participates in the choice of the educational path, is fully included in the educational process. While working in a small team formed for the course project, students gain experience in social interaction.
The purpose of project training
The main purpose of project training is to create conditions under which students could acquire knowledge from various sources on their own. Children gain communication skills by working in creative groups. The thinking of schoolchildren develops in the process of accomplishing practical tasks. In addition, children learn to identify a problem, collect information, observe, conduct an experiment, analyze the situation, build a hypothesis and summarize the results.
Theoretical aspects of project training
The student is at the center of the learning process, which is aimed at the formation of his creative abilities. The educational process itself is built on the logic of that activity, which is aimed at the personal growth of the child and increase his motivation for learning. For each member of the project team, their own pace of work is selected taking into account the individual characteristics of the child's development.
In addition, the design technology allows a comprehensive approach to the learning process, based on the mental and physiological characteristics of each student. The basic knowledge acquired by students during traditional lessons, they can deepen and develop, doing extracurricular project activities.
Sample project for high school students
Currently, much attention is paid to the patriotic development of schoolchildren. The design methodology is fully suitable for this activity. For example, you can offer schoolchildren a project related to the revival of ancient ways of obtaining salt from sea water.
In the course of work on this topic, children gain skills in drawing drawings, work with historical sources, communicate with old-timers. In addition to creating a finished blueprint of a salt factory and a description of the method for obtaining salt from sea water, children will be able to become active participants in the practical implementation of the project. For example, they can be attracted as guides for groups of tourists who will visit the existing saltworks. This project will unite the efforts of schoolchildren, local authorities, representatives of the museum, creative art associations and private entrepreneurs.
Conclusion
In order for the design methodology to be as effective as possible, the teacher must perfectly master it. At each stage of the work, there are distinctive features, nuances, without which it is impossible to solve the tasks set at the beginning of the work.
The theme of the project can be proposed by the teacher, students or parents. Whoever initiates the study, it should be interesting to the children, otherwise the design technology will be meaningless. The direction of work should be narrow, otherwise it will be difficult for children to cope with the tasks that the teacher has set for them.
Graduates with design skills can easily adapt in life. They are more successful during their studies in higher educational institutions; it is easier for them to realize their ideas in concrete cases.