Abstract:

This article was prepared in the framework of the project “Supporting practical orientation of training elementary school teachers within the Bachelor program in Education and Pedagogical Science (specialty “Psychological and pedagogical education” for elementary school teachers) based on the network interaction of educational organizations realizing programs in higher education and secondary professional education”.

New requirements to the quality of the school education in Russia described in the federal state educational standards, in the professional standard of a pedagogue, in the concept of modernization of the pedagogical education dictate the changes in the organization, content and technologies for training elementary school teachers.

Within the program in of modernization of the pedagogical education of the Russian Federation in June 2014 the Institute of Education, Psychology and Sociology of SibFU started realizing the project aimed at supporting practical orientation of training elementary school teachers within the Bachelor program. This program employs network cooperation of the university and pedagogical college.

The main result of the strengthened practical approach to elementary school teacher training is the transition from “a teacher who knows” to “the teacher who can” – to the teacher who is competent in constructive technologies of education.

Elementary school teacher training enriched with practical experience allows the teachers carry out the processes of children’s education and development grounded on a systematic and activity-based approach.

A strengthened practical approach to the process of training in the continuous interaction with the pedagogical college supports the Bachelor program university students not only with the academic knowledge but with the applied skills and developed professional and research competencies.

One of the activities aimed at assessing the students’ competencies was the Quest which introduced the first-year-students in the scientific and research activity.

One of the grounds of the Quest was devoted to modeling scientific and research activity allowed trainee teachers to work on problem situations, choose methods, apply the offered decision into practice, reflect the results and carry out self-assessment and peer-assessment. The experts (the university Master program students and the post graduate students) observed the students and made records in the individual assessment sheets to define the level of the research and scientific competency of every student: reproductive, productive or constructive.

The Quest ground devoted to scientific and research activity offered the students the opportunity to carry out a small research on the results of their practical session at school and participation in the activity game.

The students’ participation in the activity, the quasi-model and quasi-professional situation they worked out allowed elementary school trainee teachers refer to their previous practical experience, use their ICT skills, reflect on their professional experience, analyze and describe individual and group results and develop a research product working in a group.

Keywords:

Assessing of competencies, training, elementary school teachers, ICT skills.