Information and communication technologies (ICTS) as a means of fostering cognitive interest in medical college students

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Institution of Higher Education "Rivne Medical Academy" of the Rivne Regional Council

Ternopil National Pedagogical Volodymyr Hnatyuk University, director of the college of the Communal Institution of Higher Education

"Rivne Medical Academy" of the Rivne Regional Council

Information and communication technologies (icts) as a means of fostering cognitive interest in medical college students

Halyna Dida

Iryna Turovska

Rivne, Ukraine

Abstract

The article focuses on the study of the capabilities of Information and Communication Technologies as a means of fostering cognitive interest in medical college students. The theoretical analysis conducted has shown that the use of Information Technologies contributes to the activation of involuntary attention, enhances motivation to learn, expands opportunities to work with visual aids, helping to achieve the goals and solve educational tasks in a medical college. Modern ICTs provide additional opportunities for the formation and development of various competencies in students, formation and development of cognitive interests in students, whose importance and significance in optimizing the learning process and increasing its effectiveness are indisputable, since through this very influence on the consciousness and on the emotional sphere of students, a comprehensive approach to solving educational, formative and developmental tasks is possible.

The use of ICTs is one of the most effective means of influencing a student's feelings and emotions.The article presents an analysis of modern psychological and educational research on this subject, as well as our own teaching experience of using ICTs in the classroom. We have developed and implemented a system of "Information Technologies in Pharmacy" classes with the use of ICTs, designed to be implemented within the framework of studying at Communal Institution of Higher Education “Rivne Medical Academy” of the Rivne Regional Council. Based on a comparative analysis of the input and output diagnostic data, a conclusion has been made as to the possibility of target-oriented development of cognitive interest in medical college students through the use of ICTs.

Our study has also identified another range of problems, namely, the willingness of the educators themselves to carry out their professional activities based on modern requirements. The willingness of educators may be considered in two aspects. First, it is the willingness to use ICTs in their work. Second, the willingness to support the student's personal development in the learning process.

Keywords: Information and Communication Technologies, methodology, educational process

Formulation of the problem. The relevance of the topic of the study chosen is based on the existing contradiction between increasing informatization and computerization of education, which creates enormous opportunities for the development of personal qualities of students, including their cognitive interest on the one hand, and the undeveloped methods, forms and conditions of application of Information and Communication Technologies when training medical college students, the lack of professional qualifications of educators to use modern computer technologies in the educational process, on the other.

Analysis of recent research and publications. Psychological and educational literature defines cognitive interest as an interest in learning activities, in the acquisition of knowledge, in science. Therefore, the goal of a modern educator is to construct an educational process, in which the process becomes exciting for the student, in which the internal motivations for acquiring knowledge (motivations for one's personal growth and development, self-improvement) are prevalent. The use of Information and Communication Technologies in the classroom, which develop and strengthen the cognitive interests, cognitive activity and autonomy of students, may serve as a means of solving this problem.

As a result of the introduction of Information Technologies in the educational process, educators have ample opportunities for individualization and differentiation of the learning process, redirecting it towards the formation of reasoning, imagination, development of interest in the learning process through the novelty and relevance of the ICT tools used. The use of ICTs in the learning process not only enhances the effectiveness of learning, but also helps to improve various learning forms and methods.

Modern ICTs provide additional opportunities for the formation and development of various competencies in students, formation and development of cognitive interests in students, whose importance and significance in optimizing the learning process and increasing its effectiveness are indisputable, since through this very influence on the consciousness and on the emotional sphere of students, a comprehensive approach to solving educational, formative and developmental tasks is possible. The use of ICTs is one of the most effective means of influencing a student's feelings and emotions.

When discussing the specific features of the use of ICTs in a medical college, we established that ICTs are used to communicate information (obtaining key information or knowledge, for example, in the form of an interactive map or a multimedia chart), to entertain (creating a positive experience for students using games or audio-video fragments of a lesson), teaching (enabling a person to link the knowledge gained with their own experiences in order to translate the information into action, for example, when controlling or evaluating the knowledge learned, through electronic tests, assignments) and to create motivation (provide a incentive that gives meaning to the knowledge, experience, or behavior so that the student would be willing to act, such as developing their own presentation). These goals are reflected in the State Standard for Basic Secondary Education, which stipulates that the use of modern educational ICTs in classes aimed at the formation of cognitive, social and communicative, personal and ideological competences of students [1, 2].

These goals are reflected in the State Standard for Basic Secondary Education, which stipulates that the use of modern educational ICTs in classes aimed at the formation of cognitive, social and communicative, personal and ideological competences of students.

Presenting main material. To prove the hypothesis that the use of Information and Communication Technologies in the educational process will contribute to increased level of cognitive interest of students, we organized a pilot experimental project, which was carried out on the basis of Communal Institution of Higher Education “Rivne Medical Academy” of the Rivne Regional Council. The study included 74 respondents aged 18-20 - 3rd year students.

The study was conducted in three stages: ascertaining, formative and control phases.

The ascertaining stage was aimed at studying the initial level of cognitive interest development among medical college students.

With this aim, we selected three methodologies: “Questionnaire for Studying Cognitive Activity of Students” (author's interpretation), “Personal Aptitude for Creativity Questionnaire” (by G. Davis) [5], “Cognitive Activity Level Diagnosis” (G.I. Shchukina, T.I. Shamova) [3, 4]. These methodologies allow us to identify the degree of expression of cognitive activity and independence, as well as to identify the predominant type of cognitive interest in students. All subjects were divided into a control group and an experimental group.

The results of the initial diagnostics showed that a high level of cognitive activity (35% in the control group and 10% in the experimental group) and independence (30% in the control group and 20% in the experimental group) was demonstrated by the smallest number of subjects. A high level of expression of cognitive activity and independence is characteristic of students who actively participate in medical informatics classes, show independence in solving problems, are proactive, focused, do not get distracted during classes, show persistence in problem solving, experience positive emotions (joy, satisfaction, pride) from the results. information communication attention study

The control and experimental groups are dominated by subjects with an average and low levels of expression of cognitive activity and independence. A low level of cognitive activity and independence is characteristic of students who do not tend to show initiative and independence when performing tasks in class, when they have difficulties in finding a solution, they tend to lose interest in the task itself and exhibit anger, frustration, they are not active in the classroom in terms of asking questions. An average level of cognitive activity and independence is characteristic of students who show greater independence in choosing solutions to problems, they usually ask clarifying questions or seek help from the instructor or classmates, without experiencing negative emotions, they show interest in the class, however, this interest is situational, unstable in nature. In addition, this group of students requires constant support from the instructor in order to maintain their interest.

It was also established that the majority of students in both groups (65% in the control group and 60% in the experimental group) show the entertainment type of cognitive interest prevailing, i.e., the subjects are dominated by the entertainment motivation of activity based on the characteristics of the material studied (vividness, uniqueness, etc.), rather than the personal characteristics of a student themselves, as opposed to a true cognitive interest.

Thus, the intermediate results of the study were obtained, which established that students' cognitive interest is not formed adequately without deliberate psychological and educational influence from the educator. The results obtained once again convinced us of the relevance of the problem chosen. The results obtained once again convinced us of the relevance of the problem chosen.

There is no doubt that there is a need to develop and organize a set of classes with the use of ICTs within the framework of “Information Technologies in Pharmacy” in order to enhance the level of development of cognitive activity and independence in students, as well as to develop their cognitive interest.

The aim of the formative stage of the study was to develop and test the system of classes with students within the “Information Technologies in Pharmacy” course involving the use of ICTs.

The aim of the formative stage of the study was to develop and test the system of classes with students within the “Information Technologies in Pharmacy” course involving the use of ICTs.

We have developed and implemented a system of "Information Technologies in Pharmacy" classes with the use of ICTs, designed to be implemented within the framework of studying at Communal Institution of Higher Education “Rivne Medical Academy” of the Rivne Regional Council.

The key principles of implementation of this system of classes can include: the principle of personal development, humanization and democratization of education, the principle of consciousness and activity of students. The expected results of the implementation of the system of classes included an increase in the level of cognitive interest, broadening and deepening of knowledge on pharmacology.

The package of classes developed by us for the “Information Technologies in Pharmacy” course with the use of ICTs was implemented within two months. We used such information and communication technologies as: presentations, educational films, interactive crossword puzzles, virtual tours, etc.

Following the implementation of this package of classes, recommendations for educators on the use of ICTs in classes at medical colleges were developed: recommendations for preparing a multimedia class, recommendations for using ICTs at different points of a class, recommendations for optimizing the use of ICTs to avoid harm to the health of the students.

While conducting the formative experiment, we observed that the use of ICTs in college classes contributes to a better exposure of the practical relevance of the material studied, the students showing their ingenuity through solving creative problems, teaches them to ask questions regarding visual aids, to express their feelings and emotions about it and to work out their own solutions. The use of new Information and Communication Technologies contributes to the realization of the idea of developmental learning, improved forms and methods of educational process organization, mastering of knowledge, abilities and skills of working with information, as well as the ability to independently acquire new knowledge by the students.

The aim of the final (control) stage was to identify the effectiveness of the development of cognitive interest in students by using Information and Communication Technologies.

The comparative results of the levels of development of cognitive interest among students in the experimental and control groups both prior to and following the implementation of a system of classes with the use of ICTs are shown in Table. 1.

Table 1. Dynamics of the Level of Expression of Cognitive Interest in Students during the Ascertaining and Control Stages of the Experiment within the “Information Technologies in Pharmacy” Course (%)

Based on the data presented in the table, we are able to conclude that the use of a variety of ICT tools in the “Information Technologies in Pharmacy” classes, increased the level of development of cognitive interest, cognitive activity and independence in the experimental group. While the indicators in the control group remained at the same level, the experimental group showed an increase in the number of students who were found to change their type and raise the level of cognitive interest (cognitive activity and cognitive independence), i. e., the number of subjects with high and medium levels increased, the number of subjects with a low levels decreased.

Conclusions. Based on the data obtained, it may be concluded that the use of various ICT tools in the “Information Technologies in Pharmacy” classes allows to increase the level of cognitive interest, in particular, of such criteria included in it as cognitive activity and independence. The data obtained are illustrative of the presence of positive dynamics among the students of the experimental group, which employed various ICT tools, and these dynamics were expressed in the following indicators: attention focusing, increased number of questions asked in the classroom, positive emotional experiences, the need to exchange opinions, the need for intellectual achievements, interest in the activities performed, proactivity and independence in setting tasks and determining ways to solve them.

To conclude the article, it should be noted that our study has also identified another range of problems, namely, the willingness of the educators themselves to carry out their professional activities based on modern requirements. The willingness of educators may be considered in two aspects. First, it is the willingness to use ICTs in their work. Second, the willingness to support the student's personal development in the learning process. The key points are the motivational willingness of educators, as well as the cognitive component of their professional competences (willingness for consistent updating of professional knowledge, analysis of the professional situation, professional self-reflection). Summarizing the above, we would like to note that the use of ICTs in a classroom helps students to work with information in a competent manner, contributes to the formation and development of the information culture of medical college students, develops independent thinking and cognitive interest. To date, there is no doubt that student learning can be more successful if the educator has mastered the methods and techniques of using ICTs and implements them in their own teaching practice.

References

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2. Duo-Terron, P., Moreno-Guerrero, A.-J., & Marin-Marin, J.-A. (2022). ICT Motivation in Sixth-Grade Students in Pandemic Times - The Influence of Gender and Age. Education Sciences, 12(3), 183.

3. Kremenkova, L., Plevova, I. ., Pugnerova, M. ., & Sedlakova, E. . (2021). Information and communication technology and critical thinking in university students. World Journal on Educational Technology: Current Issues, 13(4), 902-910.

4. Mykhaylichenko M.V., Rudyk YA.M. (2016) Osvitni tekhnolohiyi: navchal'nyy posibnyk [Educational technologies: a study guide]. Kyiv: CP "COMPRINT". 583 p. [in Ukrainian].

5. Salari, S. and Jenaabadi, H. (2015) Comparison of Creativity and Self-Confidence of Gifted and Normal High School Students of District Two in Zahedan. Psychology, 6, 1750-1755.

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