Abstract:

The importance of the problem under study is determined by the issue of maintaining the medical students’ professional education quality. During the Covid-19 pandemic education everywhere shifted from face-to-face learning to long-distance learning. Teachers faced the issue of maintaining the learning process with no loss in quality. In Russia graduate and postgraduate students not only had to study, but also took part in practical work of healthcare facilities helping to cope with the influx of patients and doing the work of the doctors affected by the disease. That caused an additional problem for the teachers of minor subjects like educational science and psychology. We had to maintain the quality of higher education aimed at holistic development of future professionals and scientists, helping graduate and postgraduate students cope with more professional duties and the raised level of professional responsibility. It was necessary to create a learning environment than could help the individual to become familiar with the necessary information, to make progress and to develop.

Methodological framework for structuring the classes based on the semiotic approach in learning (N.G. Salmina). This approach emphasizes the development of the consciousness semiotic function which allows modelling phenomena and processes forming a comprehensive idea of the object and then linking separate models into a holistic structure. We chose to refuse traditional lectures and shifted to active teaching methods used for mindset trainings. For every class we prepared “workbooks”. The necessary theoretical information was briefly summarized. During the lecture students did special tasks that were a part of every information block.

The tasks arranged students' mental efforts. They were formulated in such a way that students performing tasks in education science or psychology could define the intrinsic properties of the reality they were studying (phenomena, processes, and states). Notion words and specific terms in a logical connection that represents the individual’s inner life and their psychic work, were recorded. We were especially concerned with student’s fully organized work at practical classes and seminars under the conditions of distance learning. Practical classes were performed as doing tasks recording the answers using specially designed learning maps. Special attention was given to learning and applying in practice psychological methods of maintaining working efficiency and doctor’s work under extreme conditions.

To assess the results obtained, achievement levels were determined – informational and activity component knowledge, and emotional evaluation of the studied material. For comparison we used the results of students’ answers obtained within the period of recent 3 years (N=137). Comparison study showed that in the experimental group the level of knowledge did not drop, but quality changes occurred, and we obtained the data showing lesser scatter. The number of low quality answers curbed, but the number of very good answers curbed as well.

Keywords:

professional education, distance learning, practical studies, semiotic function, sign and symbolic activity, modelling