Using mini-projects in work with philology students

Introduction

mini-project philologist education

The project method has become extremely popular in recent years. This method has become widespread in secondary school practice, and recently it is increasingly being used both in vocational education and higher education institutions.

Under the influence of the comprehensive technologization of education, project technologies have evolved from the project method and function in modern pedagogical research under the term “project method”.

The project method is not a fundamentally new method in national pedagogy. It originated in the 20s of the twentieth century in America. At different times, project technology had different names: it was called the problem method, the project method and associated with the ideas of humanistic orientation in education. The main provisions and ideas of this technology were developed and presented by J. Dewey and W. KilPatrick. They believed that learning should be focused on the appropriate activities of students, in accordance with their personal interests. The problem borrowed from real life and important for students becomes the main didactic unit of the educational process. They have to solve it independently or by the common efforts of the group, applying the necessary experience sometimes from different fields of knowledge, and get a real result. Thus, the whole problem and ways to solve it acquire the features of project technology.

Project technologies were actively used in educational institutions of France, Britain, Belgium, Finland, Germany, where they gained considerable popularity, as they combined theoretical knowledge and their practical application to solve a specific problem.

The problem of using project technologies has always attracted the attention of scientists, in particular, it is reflected in the works of K. Bakhanov, O. Pekhota, V. Sternberg, V. Guzeev, E. Polat, I. Voronchikhina, etc.

Formulation of the problem. The purpose of the article is to reveal the originality of using the project method, in particular mini-projects, in the process of teaching students of higher educational institutions.

The main part

The concept of project technology appeared quite a long time ago, according to W. Sternberg, the origins should be sought in Italy at the end of the sixteenth century.

The prerequisites for the emergence of the project method in education were the socio-economic conditions that required a revision of traditional teaching methods, as it was necessary to meet the needs of the new time in the training of specialists.

Project technology became a teaching method already at the second stage of its development, namely in the late XVIII - early XIX centuries.

In the late nineteenth century, pedagogical traditionalism was replaced by new pedagogical trends, which were called “reform pedagogy”. Each new school of reform pedagogy promoted a deeper interest in the human personality, its interests and needs. During this period there was a transition to a democratic way of thinking. The process of democratization involved the education of a new type of personality that thinks independently and is able to work creatively. That is why the project method was an ideal means to achieve new educational goals.

The next period of development of the project method can be considered the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when capitalism was actively developing. In the pedagogy of this period, there is a further development of theories and systems with new approaches to solving theoretical and practical problems of upbringing and education. And this period of development of the project method is associated with the names of J. Dewey, W. Kil-Patrick.

The project method is becoming increasingly popular in the world, there are many experimental schools where the main method of teaching is the project method and its varieties. Teachers all over the world note the enormous possibilities of the project method, in particular its impact on the activity, independence, creativity, teamwork of students.

However, due to the poor development of project methodology and lack of qualified personnel, the project method was heavily criticized and even banned from use in the Soviet Union.

The next wave of interest in this method can be considered the period from 1965 to the present day. The project method owes its second birth to the works of I. Bastion, B. Butman, H. Goodyens and others. Again, project technologies are perceived as an alternative to the traditional school system. They are seen as a form of learning that is practically aimed at interdisciplinary integration and socialization.

Today there are many definitions of the project method. Thus, O. Kobernik notes that “it is a system of learning where students acquire knowledge in the process of planning and performing tasks that are gradually becoming more complex” [Коберник, 2007]. The same point of view is held by G. Kojaspirova and M. Serdyuk, who perceive it as a system of learning, which is characterized by the acquisition of knowledge by students in the process of planning and performing practical tasks-projects that are gradually becoming more complex [Інтерактивні технології, 2002].

С. Pilyugina defines the project method as a personality-oriented method of teaching, which is based on the independent work of students on the development of a particular problem and the design of the practical result of this work [Інтерактивні технології, 2002]. This definition became the main one in our study.

And E. Polat generally equates the project method to the whole pedagogical technology, which contains a set of other methods, mainly creative ones [Полат, 2006].

Despite the fact that the opinions of scientists on the definition of the project method are not always unanimous, each researcher adds something creative to the development and implementation of the project methodology, but all scientists emphasize the presence of project preparation stages, there are four of them.

Stages of work on the project:

1. Organizational and preparatory (group formation, topic selection, etc.).

2. Planning (drawing up a plan, writing abstracts).

3. Technological, which involves working in groups, searching for arguments and facts that should confirm or refute a particular hypothesis).

4. Final (registration of the results of work, their presentation to the public with further discussion, self-analysis, determination of the prospects for further research in this direction, etc.)

Since the project method is aimed primarily at the development of creative, research and analytical activities of students, the main task is to teach them to think independently, find and solve various issues, applying knowledge from different fields, the ability to predict the results and possible consequences of different solutions, the ability to establish cause and effect relationships. The student's activity should be aimed at the result that he will get by solving a practical or theoretically important problem.

The project method promotes the formation of skills of interaction and cooperation in small groups. Students should understand that in order to achieve a common goal, all participants need to learn to negotiate with each other, to help each other in the process of solving the tasks. That is, the solution of project tasks requires responsibility, forms the ability to communicate, negotiate, feel your friends.

The teacher becomes the organizer of the cognitive activity of his students, sometimes a consultant and assistant. Such activities should help to increase motivation in learning, and the teacher will be able to implement an individual approach to each student.

The project method should teach students to navigate the vast sea of information, find it independently, be aware, be able to communicate and negotiate, cooperate with different people in different life circumstances. It is the project method that allows students to immerse themselves in creativity and turn the learning process into an interesting and effective creative work.

However, the project method also has a number of difficulties, the solution of which should be foreseen and constantly worked out with students, in particular, the inability of higher education students to independently identify the main and intermediate goals and objectives, find the best ways to solve them, argue their opinions and independently evaluate their activities.

That is why, in order to achieve the desired result, it is necessary to teach students to think independently, to set and solve various problems, using knowledge from various fields of science, to establish cause-and-effect relationships, etc. To achieve this goal, it is necessary, first of all, to interest students, to motivate them. Because motivation can become the unceasing source of energy that will encourage independent activity and creativity. The most common ways to motivate students to work are:

- the effect of interest (students are provided with new and unknown information that needs to be studied);

- the effect of mystery (students are provided with a variety of intricate problems, the solution of which is already interesting for higher education students);

- contradiction effect (students encounter contradictions in the seemingly logical explanation of certain material and try to explain them);

- the effect of challenge (students' desire to test themselves, develop their abilities, accept the challenge and take risks is triggered);

- the effect of confidence (students must be sure that they have reached the required level of requirements, that they are trusted in the learning process);

- the effect of unrealized reserve or self-comparison (feedback on their progress in learning is mandatory; the teacher should use real results and the results that students could have with the proper attitude to learning);

- the effect of preventing the loss of interest in learning (not to overload students with a huge number of tasks that can cause stress, blocking of thinking and cognitive activity; not to bring the situation to a critical state);

- the effect of constant search in the learning process;

- the effect of individual goal-setting or planning of learning goals and objectives by the students themselves (the student sets individual learning goals, which inspires confidence in himself and, as a result, ensures success in learning);

- the effect of creating a situation for students to maintain a general positive attitude towards learning, the teacher, the educational institution (the teacher discusses issues of concern to students in the classroom, even those that are not entirely related to the topic of the lesson; gives students the opportunity to speak out, attract attention; applies mutual control and mutual verification of work, etc.)

The project method requires considerable effort from the teacher, in particular, understanding of all psychological and pedagogical mechanisms of influence on students, the ability to competently distribute functions between project participants, to be an independent consultant who should refrain from corrections and hints [Буднік, 2018].

If the project is carried out directly during the class, the load on the teacher increases significantly: it is necessary to ensure that the “working noise” does not turn into shouting and quarrels; to prevent the emergence of psychological communication problems between students; if students have problems in working with scientific literature, it is important to prepare generalized additional material that will answer the questions posed, etc.

Given the theoretical and practical experience of both domestic and foreign scientists, we note that there are many classifications of project types. We consider the classification of A. Klymenko and O. Podkolzina, who, distributing projects according to the dominant method or type of activity, distinguish the following:

1. Applied projects - provide for the distribution of activities of all its participants and a clearly defined result of this activity; it is also mandatory to determine the structure of the work, the design of the results and their presentation. Varieties of such projects are: draft law, draft dictionary, draft reference material, etc. O. Pekhota calls this type a practice-oriented project and emphasizes the mandatory organization of coordination work (discussion of each stage and its results, presentation of the results and ways of their practical implementation).

2. Research projects - involve solving creative problems with an unknown result in advance. This type of project has a clearly defined structure: a) relevance of the study; b) definition of the subject and object of study; c) purpose and objectives of the work; d) definition of research methods and bibliography; e) hypothesis and ways to solve the problem; f) analysis and synthesis of the main provisions of the study; g) discussion and presentation of the results; h) presentation of the results; i) determination of the prospects for further study of the topic.

3. Information projects - involve the study of the characteristics of any processes, phenomena with their further analysis and generalization. Information and research projects have a consonant structure, and sometimes they are combined.

4. Role-playing projects - involve students performing certain specific roles determined by the project objectives. Such projects do not have a clearly defined structure, the dominant activity is the game.

Ukrainian researcher O. Pekhota, in addition to the above types of projects, identifies another one:

1. Creative projects, as well as role-playing projects, do not have a specific plan for joint activities of students, but the planned result and the form of its presentation are mandatory. It can be a video, newspaper, magazine layout, collective collage, etc.

Also, all projects are divided into short-term (mini-projects) and long-term and medium duration. If the first ones are carried out in the classes of one subject and the time of their implementation is limited to one, maximum two classes, the long-term ones can last from one month to a year, are interdisciplinary, are carried out mainly outside the classes and are devoted to a large topic, and the medium duration is the study of one or two topics.

According to the number of participants, there are: individual, collective (pairs), group, mass.

Individual projects are carried out independently by one student, collective projects are carried out by a couple of students, group projects are carried out for a group of students, and mass projects are carried out for a whole course or courses. Individual and group projects are most often used.

By the level of integration, there are projects involving material from only one discipline and interdisciplinary projects that take into account the content of many disciplines. Students are most interested in interdisciplinary projects. According to the use of didactic tools, the following projects are distinguished:

- printed (the result of work on these projects can be textbooks, textbooks, workbooks, etc;)

- visual (tables, diagrams, drawings, maps, etc.);

- information and communication (computers, peripheral equipment, multimedia and virtual reality technologies, artificial intelligence, various means of communication, etc.)

By the nature of project coordination, they are divided into: with coordination (the teacher checks and monitors each stage of the project, gives instructions and tips, guides and corrects) and with hidden coordination (the teacher is a full participant in the project).

By inclusion in the curriculum, projects are divided into:

- current (the teacher allocates a separate part of the course to the project activities of students);

- final (based on the results of such projects, students' mastery of certain educational material is assessed).

By the nature of contacts, the following projects are distinguished:

1) internal or regional - projects organized directly in the higher education institution or between different educational institutions within the region;

2) international - bring together participants from different countries.

The selection of project topics depends on the level of preparedness of students, the psychological readiness of higher education applicants to perform this type of task, etc. Also, the topics of projects can be formulated both by scientists within the framework of approved curricula, by teachers themselves, taking into account the interests of students, the topics of the discipline, as well as by the applicants for higher education themselves, which fully ensures their interests.

Each project has its own unique sequence of actions, but there is an algorithm of project activities that can be used regardless of the subject and issues, type and timing of the project.

1. Problem statement. As we have already noted, this can be done in different ways (the teacher himself offers, students or we take what is proposed by scientists). Mandatory discussion of the topic with the teacher, determination of the number of participants, division into groups.

2. Assessing the possibilities for solving the problem: identifying sources of information, planning ways to collect and analyze information, forms of presentation of the result.

3. Formulation of goals and objectives.

4. Development of options for solving the problem, selection of the most effective of the proposed: establishing procedures and criteria for evaluating the work process and results, distribution of responsibilities among group members, solving intermediate tasks, observation.

5. Organization and implementation of the project.

6. Generalization of the results in the form of a final product: analysis of information, formulation of conclusions, registration of the result.

7. Presentation of the project: reporting, debating, defending their point of view, giving final conclusions

8. Analysis: evaluated through collective discussion and self-evaluation.

We consider analysis to be an important stage of work on the project, as this stage allows students to identify gaps in their knowledge through reflection, to give an objective assessment of the results of their activities. It is clear that the evaluation criteria for project research should be developed taking into account the goals and objectives of each individual project. However, we consider it necessary to highlight the main criteria in our opinion based on an analytical approach:

1. Ability to independently acquire knowledge and solve problems. This ability is manifested in the ability to formulate a problem and choose adequate ways to solve it, to be able to search and process information, to formulate conclusions, justification and implementation of the decision, to create a forecast, models, layout, creative solution, etc. This criterion evaluates the formation of cognitive learning activities.

2. Formation of knowledge on the subject and ways of action, manifested through the ability to reveal the content of the work, competently and reasonably in accordance with the topic under consideration, to use the knowledge that is available and known ways of action.

3. Formation of regulatory actions, which is manifested in the ability to independently plan and manage their cognitive activity in time, use resource opportunities to achieve the goal, make a choice of constructive strategies in difficult situations.

4. Formation of communicative actions, which is manifested in the ability to clearly state and arrange the work, present its results, reasonably answer questions.

However, it is possible to evaluate the results of the completed project using an integrated approach, then conclusions about the level of project skills are made on the basis of an assessment of the totality of the main elements of the project for each of the four named items.

It is also worth distinguishing two levels of project skills: basic and high. The main difference between these two levels is the degree of independence of the student's project: during the project, the teacher records what the student is able to do independently and what only with the help of the project manager.

The project is completed at a high level, if it is indicated that the meta-subject skills of students are formed at a high level, that is, the ability to independently acquire knowledge and solve problems, the formation of regulatory actions and communication skills.

The project is completed at the basic level, if it is indicated that all the mandatory elements of the project are demonstrated, all questions are answered, and an appropriate assessment is given for all the above criteria.

In working with foreign students, it is advisable to use mini-projects, as they are short-term, which allows the teacher to immediately check and make certain adjustments. In addition, foreign students may not always be fluent in presenting material, which is why mini-projects make it possible to organize communicative and cognitive activities in the classroom in the form of a project, during the implementation of which problematic tasks are solved, subconscious memorization of lexical units and grammatical structures is carried out. Such projects are interdisciplinary in nature, which is more appealing to students and makes it possible to practically apply previously acquired foreign language communication competencies, a number of components of general competencies, in particular, working independently, the ability to find and analyze information, the ability to identify problems in the course of educational activities and solve them, the ability to apply them in practice, the use of information technology, the ability to self-education.

Long-term research interdisciplinary group projects of medium duration should be defended at the end of the course of studying a particular discipline as a test for the material passed.

The following types of mini-projects should be used in working with students with foreign languages: crossword puzzle, test, newspaper, emblem, presentation.

It is worth starting work on the project with preparatory tasks that should help students in further project activities. The system of preparatory tasks contributes to the formation of skills through language strategies. Preparatory tasks should be related to the topic of the project, should be informative and cognitive. It is important that students do not receive ready-made information during the preparatory tasks, but have the opportunity to find and apply them independently. At this stage, higher education applicants are encouraged to active thinking, independent search, analysis, systematization and generalization of information [Рыбина, 2014].

As an example of such tasks, we can apply the technique of critical thinking technology - Bloom's cube, developed and proposed by scientist and psychologist Benjamin Bloom. On the faces of such a cube are written words: Name, Explain, Share, Invent, Suggest, Why. After announcing the topic of the mini-project, the teacher or student coordinator throws the cube and focusing on the question written on the face that fell out, formulates the question. It is convenient that you can focus on the words written on the faces and start the question with these words. This greatly facilitates the task for students who are not always fluent in foreign language communication. This technique is unique in that it allows you to formulate questions of different nature. For example, the facet of the Name involves questions of reproductive nature. These are the simplest questions and you can start teaching students this technique with them. For example, name the name of the main character, the name of the author of a particular book, the genre of the work, etc.

The Why facet helps to establish cause and effect relationships. For example, why does Raskolnikov commit a crime?

If the Propose facet falls out, the student should offer his/her task that will allow applying a particular rule or offer his/her vision of a problem or idea. The student must explain how to apply this or that knowledge in practice to solve a particular situation.

Invent is a creative facet, questions should contain an element of fiction. Come up with an alternative ending to O. Pushkin's novel “Eugene Onegin”.

Share - the questions of this facet are focused on activating the thinking activity of students who have to analyze, separate facts from consequences and evaluate the value of the knowledge gained.

We can use Bloom's Cube in two ways:

- The questions are asked by the teacher (this is the easiest option and can be used at the first stages of work with students who are non-native speakers);

- Questions are formulated by students (this is a more difficult way because it requires some preparation and skills).

As a rule, such preparatory work at the first stages can take a lot of time in the classroom, but with the constant use of this method, the time for its implementation will be reduced.

After such preparatory work, you can proceed to the implementation of mini-projects. Thus, the project “Make a crossword puzzle” is quite productive. Its implementation begins with the study of the technological map, that is, the algorithm of actions:

1. Study the material of the educational text on a particular topic.

2. Make a list of key terms related to the material being studied (here it is necessary to note the number of keywords, and that all of them must be nouns in the N.c. singular).

3. Make questions to the key terms.

4. Draw a picture of the crossword puzzle grid.

5. Number the pictures of the grid (horizontally and vertically).

6. Make the text of questions and answers.

7. Check the text for numbering and spelling.

8. Make a crossword puzzle.

There are also certain requirements for the presentation of the finished mini-project, in particular, the first should be the title page, which indicates the name of the author, the name of the crossword puzzle. The second sheet should be the crossword puzzle itself without answers. The third sheet should contain questions to the crossword puzzle, and the fourth sheet should contain answers and sources used.

This version of the mini-project can be used both as a result of studying certain material and as a consolidation of new material. In the first case, it will be individual mini-projects, after the completion of which students can exchange them and perform, which will help the teacher to check the degree of assimilation of the studied material and the degree of understanding by each student. In the last variant it can be a group mini-project.

A prerequisite for such a mini-project should be clear regulations. It is necessary to indicate on the flow chart the time allotted for each stage of the crossword puzzle. This will help students to organize their work and not go beyond the specified time. As a result, we have ready-made mini-projects for the students to add to their portfolios.

Another equally interesting type of mini-project is the creation of tests. Here, at the stage of preparatory work, we introduce students to different types of tests, explain their features, thereby forming certain knowledge and preparing them for writing such control tests. Also, a mandatory stage is the study of the technological map:

1. Study the material of a scientific text (article, monograph, textbook) or a work of fiction.

2. Familiarize yourself with the types and types of tests (students should think about what types of tests they will use in their work).

3. Compose at least 7 tasks using all types and types chosen by students (or suggested by the teacher).

4. Formulate the tasks in the form of statements. All of them should be clear, understandable, concise, without repetition, obscure words and symbols, without using negative particles.

As a result, we have a finished product that students can exchange in pairs to check their level of preparation. The positive side of this task is that you can immediately check and correct, for example, an incorrect question, offer your own version.

Creative projects are especially valuable in the educational process in higher education institutions. Thus, O. Polat in his classification presents creative projects in such a way that their implementation does not require a certain design of the results. The stages of the project should be related to the interests of those who create this project, with the peculiarities of their interaction with each other. The main attention should be paid to the form of presentation of the results. It can be a collage, newspaper, poster, postcard, essay, video, role play, etc. Usually, students can perform such mini-projects in the process of independent work as part of homework or directly in the classroom. Such projects are inherent not only in oral but also in written form. The main results of mini-projects are monological and dialogical statements, tables, drawings. When checking miniprojects, the teacher needs to focus on how the student conveys the content of a particular project.

Newspaper, poster, leaflet - the most common variant of mini-projects. At the preparatory stage, it is worth giving students advanced tasks to study this or that material, to give the opportunity and time for preparation, as well as to clearly define the time limits for each stage of the project, as well as for its presentation to classmates.

The technological map of such mini-projects may look like this:

1. Study the material of the educational text on a particular topic.

2. Structure the material.

3. Select illustrative material.

4. Distribute roles in the team.

5. Taking into account the evaluation criteria to design a newspaper.

6. Present the work to classmates. Presentation time is 5 minutes.

The design of such a project can be any, but there must be mandatory elements that will simplify the teacher's evaluation work. In particular, there should be the name of the newspaper, the presence of a single design, style, correlation of pictures and text, as well as the names of the members of the editorial team.

Since the creation of a newspaper is a group mini-project, each group should receive its own topic or problem to be solved. All other students do not just listen to the presentations of their classmates, but learn how to present the material, pay attention to speech, literary, structural errors, write down the main points, and at the end of the lesson have a complete synopsis on a particular topic.

Another type of such mini-project is the creation of an emblem. It is interesting to use it when characterizing the characters of the work. Offer students to use the emblem to convey the main traits of the character, character, appearance of the hero. Also at the preparatory stage, it is necessary to distribute the characters between groups of students, familiarize them with the technological map of the work and determine the time of execution:

1. Study the material on the specified topic.

2. Highlight the characteristic features of the object under study.

3. Distribute roles in the team (if it is a group project).

4. Show the characteristic features of the object in the picture (emblem).

5. Present the work to classmates. Presentation time is 3 minutes.

Such mini-projects can be final for the study of the work, which will help to check students' understanding of the artistic text.

Creating presentations has recently been a common practice of every teacher and student. However, a more interesting option is for groups of students to create only one, but their specific slide directly in the classroom. Of course, for the implementation of such a mini-project, the classroom should be equipped with appropriate technical means (computers, multimedia boards, etc.) both for the work on the project itself and for the demonstration of the finished product.

In advance, the teacher should divide students into groups, explain where to find the necessary information, illustrative material, conduct a preparatory conversation (or this type of project will be used as a result of a number of classes or one class on a particular topic or topics).

The algorithm of actions for creating a presentation slide is small compared to previous mini-projects, but it involves significant work on finding, processing, analyzing information.

1. Using Internet resources, find the necessary information on a particular topic.

2. Make a slide according to the provided template.

3. Save your work in a shared folder.

All student groups save their slide in a common folder, the teacher, having received all the works, collects them into one presentation (the time of such work by the teacher takes up to 10 minutes). The results of students' work are projected on a multimedia board, each group takes turns to present their research for 5 minutes.

Conclusion

Based on all of the above, we can conclude that the use of project tasks radically changes almost all components of the educational process: the type of relationship between the teacher and the student, the evaluation system, the selection of educational material. The project technology we consider not only gives students more opportunities to improve communicative and literary competencies, but also forms the methodological competence of the future teacher.

The project method is more productive than traditional methods, because during the implementation of the project, knowledge is acquired in the process of using information and solving practical problems.

Project-based learning develops critical and creative thinking, a culture of communication, the ability to perform various social roles during joint activities, contributes to the formation of their own reasoned point of view; works to create the final product and its practical application.

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