New realities and conditions of organization of the educational process in higher education institutions in Ukraine

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Foreign Citizens Training Center Zaporizhia State Medical University

New realities and conditions of organization of the educational process in higher education institutions in Ukraine

Vasetska L.I. PhD, Associate Professor

Solovyova O.V. PhD, Associate Professor, Associate Professor

Key words: blended learning, educational paradigm, IT-technologies, learning platform, methods and forms of learning, styles.

The article is devoted to the problems of innovation in the modern paradigm of “blended learning”, which is developing in the Covid-19 pandemic. The article highlights the positive and negative aspects in the organization of blended learning. An analysis and interpretation of new components of the modern educational paradigm such as “student social skills”, “individual free educational trajectory”, “independent learning”, “innovative learning technology”, “IT-technology”, “learning platform” and other. The peculiarities of the organization of the educational process, which takes place in an online format in synchronous and asynchronous modes on the basis of MS TEAMS cloud services, are studied. The article identifies the effectiveness of blended learning based on the latest learning platforms. It is noted that the model of blended learning is focused on the active modernization of education and improving the quality of education through digital technologies, to meet the educational needs of students in accordance with their individual capabilities and abilities. Particular attention is paid to the choice of educational platform, optimal ways of organizing blended learning in free economic education, learning styles, analysis and qualification of methodological factors that create conditions for quality distance education. Effective methods of teaching and organization of the educational process are described, the question of methodological bases of transition from offline to online format of education is raised. The article highlights the problems that arise between educators and students during the online learning format. The definition of the term “modern high school teacher” is presented, the typical styles of learning, communication and management of a student group in the conditions of distance learning as a component of blended learning are listed. Criteria for the effectiveness of blended learning are studied and recommendations for improving the format of education are provided, as well as promising areas of research on methodological and organizational issues within the new paradigm of education.

Нові реалії та нові умови організації навчального процесу в закладах вищої освіти України

Васецька Л.І., кандидат педагогічних наук, доцент, керівник Центру підготовки іноземних громадян Запорізький державний медичний університет

Соловйова О.В., кандидат наук з державного управління, доцент, доцент Центру підготовки іноземних громадян Запорізький державний медичний університет

Ключові слова: змішане навчання, IT-технології, методи і форми навчання, навчальна платформа, освітня парадигма, стилі.

Стаття присвячена проблемам інновацій у сучасній парадигмі «змішане навчання», яке розвивається в умовах пандемії COVID-19. У статті висвітлені позитивні та негативні аспекти в організації змішаного навчання. Представлено аналіз і надано тлумачення нових компонентів сучасної освітньої парадигми таких, як «соціальні навички студента», «індивідуальна вільна освітня траєкторія», «самостійне учіння», «інноваційна технологія навчання», «IT-технології» «навчальна платформа» тощо. Досліджуються особливості організації навчального процесу, який відбувається в онлайн форматі у синхронному й асинхронному режимах на основі хмарних сервісів MS TEAMS. У статті визначаються чинники ефективності змішаного навчання на базі новітніх навчальних платформ. Зазначається, що модель змішаного навчання орієнтована на активну модернізацію освіти та підвищення якості освіти за допомогою цифрових технологій, на забезпечення освітніх потреб студентів відповідно до їхніх індивідуальних можливостей і здібностей. Особлива увага приділена питанням вибору навчальної платформи, оптимальних шляхів організації змішаного навчання у ЗВО, стилів навчання, аналізу та кваліфікації методичних чинників, які створюють умови для якісної дистанційної освіти. Описуються ефективні методи навчання й організації навчального процесу, піднімається питання методологічних основ переходу з офлайн до онлайн формату освіти. У статті актуалізуються проблеми, що виникають у освітян і у студентів під час онлайн формату навчання. Представлено визначення поняття «сучасний викладач вищої школи», перераховуються типові стилі навчання, спілкування і керування студентською групою в умовах дистанційного навчання, як компонента змішаного навчання. Досліджуються критерії результативності змішаного навчання і надаються рекомендації щодо вдосконалення формату освіти, а також окреслені перспективні напрямки дослідження з методичних та організаційних питань у межах нової парадигми освіти.

Introduction

Formulation of the problem. The pandemic forced universities to transform the educational space and organize the educational process in higher education in the optimal formats. Higher education has found a format of blended learning, adapting to distance and temporal constraints in society. Blended learning involves online and offline forms of organization of the educational process. The question of whether it is better or worse to learn in this format is incorrect. In pedagogy, as well as in general in the scientific and educational sphere, such emotionally colored concepts are not used. Whether such training is effective or ineffective is a complex, debatable and topical issue of higher school didactics. However, in the context of globalization of education, economic and social life, in terms of epidemiological challenges to society - it is a logically determined phenomenon that has entered the global educational space with updated and adjusted rules and requirements for its existence and implementation in the modern educational process. Thus, the issues of updating the paradigm of the concepts of distance (online) education, the choice of learning platform, effective ways of organizing blended learning, learning styles, analysis and qualification of methodological factors that create conditions for quality online education are becoming very actual.

Analysis of recent research and publications. The rapid development of information technology in the XXI century has made the problem of modernization of the education system urgent. In Ukraine, the essence of such modernization is most reflected in the Concept of distance education [3]. The state national program “Education. Ukraine of the XXI century” [6], provides the development of education on the basis of new concepts, the introduction of the latest pedagogical technologies in the educational process, the creation of a new system of information support of education. To achieve these results, it is necessary rapidly to develop distance education, the introduction of which in Ukraine is provided by the National Informatization Program [8]. In addition, distance learning technologies in universities are analysed in the works of K. Mukhtar, K. Javed, M. Arooj, A. Sethi [4], C. Rapanta, L. Botturi, P. Goodyear [7] study online teaching in universities during and after the Covid-19. N. Kaur, D. Dwivedi, J. Arora, A. Gandhi [2] study the effectiveness of online learning in medical universities during COVID-19. K. Hong, K. Lai, D. Holton [1] talk about students' satisfaction with online learning. S. Oncu, H. Cakir [5] consider new methodological technologies in online learning.

Purpose of the article. The purpose of the study is to analyze the new educational paradigm “blended learning”, to reveal the content of typical didactic concepts of this paradigm, to describe teaching methods, to summarize the experience of organizing the learning process in online education, to consider learning styles, communication and student group management.

Research results

blended learning higher education

Online learning has led to rapid reformatting, modernization of the educational process, as well as the widespread and active introduction of interactive methods, mandatory integration into the educational process of modern computer programs, hardware and new computer learning platforms.

From March 2020, all Ukrainian students became “part-time students”. According to the orders of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (№ 406 of 16.03.2020, № 1 / 9-576 of 12 October 2020) the main strategic direction in the organization of training in the Higher education institutions was the focus on mixed or integrated form of education, i.e. the correlation of forms of education depends on the “quarantine conditions” in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic in the certain administrative territory to which a particular educational institution belongs.

Another important concept, which has recently been frequently mentioned in the scientific and methodological literature, is the concept of “soft skills” or “social skills”. In terms of distance learning, many educators are concerned about the formation and development of “social skills”, “communication skills” at students. It is known that “soft skills” occupy the first place among the skills that are necessary for a competitive specialist of the XXI century.

“Soft skills” - a set of skills of a general nature, closely related to personal qualities; one way or another important in any profession. To a large extent, these skills depend on the personality traits of a person: his mind, way of thinking, attitude to other people. The term began to be widely used in developed countries after the 2000.

Online learning, at first glance, has neglected these skills, depriving students of the opportunity to acquire a wide range of social, communicative skills of teamwork, skills of resolving communicative conflict situations and effective interaction with each other. However, this is a superficial idea of the possibilities of distance learning, because the methodically competent organization of online learning also no less effectively contributes to the formation and development of these skills. It is important to choose methodically the right online platform, to determine the necessary methods and tools for learning. The following methods of training and the organization of educational process are effective:

- Synchronous interaction. This type of interaction assumes that students and teachers work according to a pre-concluded and agreed schedule, which takes into account all the subjects of the student's workload. At the same time, it is advisable to optimize the schedule compared to full-time training. Platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Skype, etc. are suitable for synchronous interaction.

- Asynchronous interaction. Remote mode allows you to take advantage of flexible planning of working hours and workload for both students and teachers. This means that interactions take place asynchronously, without scheduled online meetings. The teacher publishes a list of teaching materials, digital resources, tasks, and students process them at a pace convenient for them, in accordance with the specified deadlines. Platforms such as Google Classroom, Moodle, Edmodo, Padlet, etc. are suitable for asynchronous interaction, where links to various materials and activities are placed.

In distance learning, classes can take place synchronously or asynchronously. In addition, it should be born in mind that in some cases, including for objective reasons, students or teachers may not have the technical capacity for digital interaction at all.

Yes, there is no single methodological basis for the transition from offline to online learning. The era of informatization of educational space has led to the reformatting, or rather transformation, of traditional forms of learning - lectures, workshops, seminars, laboratory classes, consultations in modernized formats of presentation and organization: classical lectures have been replaced by online lectures in synchronous mode, including popular binary lectures, act lectures, lectures-conferences. For example, ZSMU has been promoting lectures on topical professional issues for several years, which are held online and given by heads of departments, leading specialists, professors or invited leading specialists in a certain field. Such lectures can be listened online by any student of ZSMU, regardless of the course of study and year of study at the university. This format allows students to implement “their own learning trajectory” by attending lectures, issues and topics of interest. Such organizational experience opens up prospects for students to choose the future independent path of a scientist from the very first steps at the university.

The normative documents of the content of higher education (curriculum and textbooks) proposed by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine have provided the scientific and pedagogical community with new paradigms of educational concepts. These paradigms require a clear definition and logical methodological interpretation.

Among the didactic concepts, the most frequent are such concepts as “individual free educational trajectory”. The individual free educational trajectory of the student must give the student the right to choose disciplines that will satisfy his worldview knowledge and ideas. In the student's individual curriculum, 50% are normative disciplines approved by the Ministry of Education and Science, 25% are compulsory disciplines established by the Higher Education Institution, and another 25% are chosen voluntarily by the student from the list offered by the educational institution. The Ministry of Education and Science provides an indicative list of subjects, but the institution must offer at least 20 subjects so that the student has something to choose from. European universities have had for many years already offices where students submit their wishes in advance, and on this basis make a schedule of classes.

Hundreds of free and for-money online lectures, special courses, webinars from the world's leading universities are on the Internet and provide a wide range of free choice in obtaining professional and general knowledge and skills, in mastering general and subject competencies. However, for such independent activity, students must have the skill of “independent learning”. This is a top skill of our time, because the educational paradigm includes the concept of “lifelong learning”. Therefore, the skill of “independent learning” can be realized only under the conditions of methodically correct organization of distance learning.

Thus, the urgent task for higher education is the task of effective organization of online learning based on modern innovative learning technologies and the optimal use oftechnical means, which is correlated according to the selected educational computer platforms.

Innovative learning technologies are purposeful, systematic and consistent implementation of original, innovative methods, techniques of pedagogical actions and tools that cover the holistic learning process from defining its purpose to the expected results.

Learning platform - a personal learning environment that helps students to independently manage the learning process.

According to the educational reform in Ukraine, universities received the right of autonomy in their educational and organizational activities. From here, each university of Ukraine independently chooses educational platforms for the implementation of its organizational and educational tasks and goals. The most popular among learning platforms are ZOOM, MS TeAmS, Moodle, SAKAI, OLAT, Lotus Learning Space, REDCLASS.

The question which of these platforms is the most effective and best meets the needs of higher education institutions in the implementation of educational objectives and obtaining high results is relevant and debatable.

In this article, we do not outline the task of comparing the capabilities of different educational platforms, but offer each to do it independently based on their achievements and analysis, which we offer, describing the educational work on the platform MS Office 365 in TEAMS.

The experience of teachers-methodologists, who began to create their own video and audio materials, interactive learning tasks that can be integrated into computer training programs for training in universities, proved to be valuable. Lack of “live” offline learning, which provides an emotional background and special communication tactics, taking into account the factor of different channels of perception and assimilation of information by our students (audi- bles, visuals, discretes, kinesthetics, etc.), extensive use of video training material partially compensates emotional coloring and communicative diversity of situations of the educational process.

Online learning can be quite productive and individualized if the teacher follows certain guidelines. First of all, teacher must provide material in different formats (presentation, video, audio, training, case studies, photo collages, diagrams, tables, graphs, etc.), add to the required course accompanying online course for independent work, taking into account the level of preparation of students and individual learning abilities (pace of tasks, type of cognitive activity and the dominant type of perception of information). Secondly, participants in the educational process have the opportunity to share information with each other and with teacher not only during the online lesson, but also outside the lesson in individual chats, which gives educational communication the nature of confidentiality or offers students to receive additional subject advice. The factor of confidentiality of communication makes it possible to reveal the creative abilities of students, which are difficult to stimulate to creative activity in the traditional classroom practical lesson.

However, the online format of synchronous learning not only provides an opportunity to implement new techniques, but also actualizes the inherent distance learning phenomena such as the problem of identifying the real performer of tasks or the problem of discipline, the problem of competence of IT teachers in IT technology and the ability to create virtual educational and methodological environment for providing quality educational services.

The problem of discipline during online learning in synchronous mode is a very important problem, because the consequences of pedagogical inability to organize a group for learning has a very sensitive effect on learning outcomes.

Do students need to have their webcams turned on all the time during online classes? Is it enough that they see a teacher whose camera must be turned on? At first glance, it seems that this is not so important, but this statement is wrong. For effective learning, students need a person who is an authority for them, a professional who will correct the mistake in time, correct, for example, the idea of the phenomenon being studied. This requires the visualization of all participants in the learning process, and if the teacher was able to ensure this in his class - then he provided a certain percentage of the effectiveness of this lesson, the integrity of the learning process. If the teacher provided himself with a factor of organizational influence on students and created optimal conditions for effective interaction with students as equal partners in the learning process, there will be an effective result of such interaction.

The teacher can choose for himself any style of teaching, communication and management of the student group. There are seven learning styles: visual, kinetic, auditory, verbal, logical, social, solitary.

Some styles are better suited for learning certain subjects, and sometimes the best way to learn information is through a combination of styles. If possible, it is recommended to use different styles. This is useful not only for better perception of information, but also for the preservation of residual knowledge. A great way to combine different styles is online learning. It involves the active use of a variety oftechniques such as watching videos, reading, listening to recordings, practicing exercises and communicating on forums.

Unfortunately, during blended learning, the teacher is distorted by the need to comply with disciplinary rules of student behavior in class: free visual contact with the teacher, violation of the class schedule (late or free exit from online classes and re-entry into classes without respectful reasons), false “I hear - I do not hear you”, violation of the time schedule of the task or the format of its implementation with explanations of technical problems or technical and software limitations.

It is important to treat all these problems “carefully differentiated”, ie to distinguish between objective and subjective factors. To do this, the teacher needs to constantly improve in the field of information technology, technical knowledge, the latest educational technologies, because unfortunately or vice versa, fortunately, students are more progressive in terms of modern technology than the teacher.

Conclusions and prospects of further studies

It should be noted that today in Ukraine the scientific and pedagogical community researches and solves problems of training specialists in accordance with European educational standards, training of specialists who are able to solve professional problems in new conditions - blended learning. Modern teachers must acquire certain technical knowledge and skills for active work in virtual digital educational spaces, master innovative pedagogical technologies and new progressive styles, forms and methods of teaching, which are based on the active use of information technology. “Informatization of education” focuses on the widespread use of modern computer and network information technologies, which in turn requires the addition and even replacement of some concepts in the paradigm of “blended learning”. Blended learning encourages teachers to solve new problems not only in the context of the content of higher education, but also in the technical plane of the organization of the educational process of higher education. Today, in the context of the pandemic of COVID-19, which significantly affects the organization of the educational process at Higher Education Institutions of Ukraine, promising research on methods and practices of optimal and rational use of modern information and communication technologies of education, focused on conceptual apparatus in pedagogy and teaching methods. An important task of methodists is to develop didactic materials that will provide flexibility in the transition from offline to online learning during complex epidemiological conditions in society, leading to the transformation of learning in the format of “full-time to distance in synchronous mode.”

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References

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