Pedagogical science/ 2.Problems of
training specialists.
4.Strategic directions of the reform of the educational
system
Shayakhmetova Rosa
Iskanderovna
Director of the City
Methodological Centre of the Education
Authority in Kazan, Candidate of Pedagogic
Sciences, Assistant Professor, Russia
Scientific and methodological provision of the development of innovative education in
modern conditions
In recent years the activity of municipal methodological
services has become more difficult and diverse in its tasks, content, forms and
ways of implementation respectively. Along with the conventional work that any
methodological centre is engaged in, the municipal methodological services
ensure the scientific-methodological maintenance of pedagogical innovations,
establishing close ties with Institutions of Higher Education and Scientific
Institutions.
It is almost impossible for authorities to solve problems of
development in the modern system of education in a qualitative manner without
the work of the methodological service. If the education authorities set goals
and detect the main directions and strategy of the system on the whole,
methodological services create a favourable environment in which to implement
the desired goals; namely the functioning and development of educational
institutions. This role of the methodological service can be defined as
supportive. For this purpose, the methodological service performs such
functions as rendering practical and intellectual aid, the stimulation of
innovative activities, the detection and elimination of defects, mending and
establishing contacts and connections that exert a positive influence upon the
implementation of goals in educational activities.
The creation of a favourable external environment for the
development of educational institutions is one of the main areas of the support
because, as research shows, educational institutions face numerous obstacles
and unfavourable external factors impeding their innovative activities.
However, it should be remembered that the support rendered
by the methodological service is firstly aimed at the activation and not the
substitution of self-guided work in educational institutions. In this respect
it is important to determine the objects and the volume of support correctly.
Its content, forms and methods should stimulate the activity of educational
institutions themselves rather than suppress it.
The methodological service is responsible for the quality of
the support rendered with the expectation of getting definite results from it.
It may happen that the preparation has been carried out in a qualitative manner
but the implementation of the knowledge gained has not been realised. In the
case of unsatisfactory results from the support, the reason should be found
both in the support itself and in the usage of its means in the educational
institution. Therefore, the main outcome from this should be the correspondence
of school education to the targets of priority development because it is
exactly this that is crucial for both individual success and for long term
development. On the basis of this estimation, a national educational
initiative, “Our New School”, is presently being implemented. One of the key
aspects of this initiative includes the creation of a stimulus system for the
best educators, with a constant increase in their level of qualification, and a
replenishment with a new generation of teachers.
A new school demands new teachers as well. Educators that both
possess psychological knowledge and understand the peculiarities of child
development, as well as being professionals in other fields and who are able to
help children find their way in life and become self-reliant, will be needed.
The key feature of the modern school is teachers who are attentive to the interests
of pupils and who are open to everything that is new.
In the methodological service of Kazan City, there is
sufficient experience in working with pedagogical personnel, the leading
principles of which are differentiation, continuity and targeting. Work with
educators on increasing their professionalism is notable for its cyclicality,
which is the base of consistency. Consequently, its presence leads to a
positive result that enables a shift from traditional forms of work to new
ones. The methodological centre of the city works on the level of a service
department and is in demand in new conditions.
The content
of this support is firstly the organisation of continuous education for
pedagogical and administrative personnel. The methodological service of the
city conducts an analysis on the increase in the qualifications of personnel,
reveals the professional development needs of personnel and undertakes training
events by making contacts with institutions of further vocational education.
Presently, the City Methodological Centre (CMC) has the possibility to
formulate educational programmes, linking them directly to those vital problems
that are being solved in the educational system. Such training consists of more
motivational intensity and personal orientation for educators and institutional
leaders, rather than training of a mass nature. The combination of training
along with the adoption of its results into practice brings about the greatest
and most useful effect. It is not merely by chance that training events
organised today by our centre in the city have become widespread. The
educational activities of the CMC are fulfilled through the holding of training
seminars, internships, practical training courses, master-classes and
short-term courses to increase qualification, with the participation of
practical specialists from institutions of higher education and so on. An
analysis of results from a survey, along with the comments of participants at
the final round-table discussion, concludes that these events in CMC, which are
aimed at increasing professional growth of educators, are conducted in an
organised manner; they are informative, interesting and orientated to solving
the immediate problems of education in modern conditions; the teaching personnel
are highly skilled; participants get very good theoretical and practical
preparation in the areas of administration, pedagogical planning and
information technologies that undoubtedly promotes an increase in the
professional expertise of leaders and educators in the educational institutions
of Kazan city.
To expand upon this point, we will
focus on internships as a means of increasing the qualification (under the
auspices of educational leaders and foreign), that is used actively in the
workings of the CMC. This form creates the conditions that allow interns to
construct their own varying models of professional activity that they have
learned from the studied innovative experience, adapted for the conditions of
an exact educational institution. When using this form, the main role is played
by leaders who show high results in their activity and who are winners of
competitions, fellowships and projects. Undoubtedly, we count on them because
their experience in success, and their zest that allows them to achieve the
results, are projected into other schools. Moreover, their results give others
the motivation to put innovation into practice; they make school staff work
more seriously on increasing the quality of educational services, to undertake
experimental activities and to constantly search for new technologies.
Currently, in the educational environment of Kazan city,
there is a continual process of forming municipal resource centres that are
based on the best educational institutions where educators -participants are
interning in different areas of activity. These centres are relied upon to both
spread progressive experience through practical classes, master-classes,
presentations and individual consultations; as well as to perfect the
professional excellence of educators. Presently, this form gives us the
possibility to effectively and optimally organise methodological support for
the activities of educators and institutions of education in Kazan. It is
important to note the effective functioning of resource centres in such areas
as: 1) The spread of
positive pedagogical experiences while preparing pupils for the Unified State
Examination (USE) and the State Final Certification (SFC). 2) The
implementation of the city project “English for Everyone” devoted to the
reception of ‘Universiade – 2013’ in a
dignified manner.
As regards to the spread of positive pedagogical
experiences, the results from USE in the years 2005-2012, along with
other research, define a typology of significant gaps in the knowledge of
pupils as well as the difficulties that teachers experience of the didactic and
methodological types. This stipulates the necessity of providing a competent
methodological activity with the purpose of increasing the quality of
education. The results of USE and SFC require deep analysis and an evaluation
of the quality in each school and in each subject because we perceive USE not
only as a test for the pupil but as a test for the compliance of the school
with the demands of the present time. Of course, the results of USE are
influenced by the level of readiness in the subject, the testing culture of
graduates and the psychological readiness, i.e. demonstrating your knowledge
and skills in an unusual environment. Due to this, two important constituents of
the activities of the CMC are the motivation and incentivising of the
professional development of teachers in applying technologies of testing and
their active and constant usage from junior school ages; and the development of
new forms and mechanisms for checking the equality of education in schools. In
relation to this, for us the leading role of resource centres is the
replication and duplication of the most up-to-date pedagogical experience. In
the last academic year, thirty nine resource centres were in operation in the
city, each of which was performing their activity in accordance with a
developed plan of work.
On the topic of the implementation of the project ‘English
for Everyone’, its main goals are also
the creation of resource centres as part of specialised schools and gymnasiums
for both increasing the quality of English language teaching and also the
forming of school children’s skills in intercultural communication and their
preparation for volunteering activity. The participants of this project have
become leaders and English language teachers in Kazan schools as well as CMC
methodologists project supervisors. A self-motivated group of authors (teachers and methodologists) have developed a
teaching aid “Welcome to Kazan” with an electronic supplement, the content of
which is thirteen chapters orientated towards practice. Close
attention is paid to the practice of oral speech, working with texts, writing
different types of messages, and mastering the skills of public presentation.
This teaching aid contains information about the history of Kazan, materials
about the cultural and sporting life of the capital, interesting facts from the
history of the Olympic youth movement, and information about the volunteering
movement. Attending the classes that are carried out using all available
facilities of the resource centres and exchanging work experience in seminars
and scientific research conferences is proof that teachers apply modern
pedagogical technologies widely.
On
the whole, we can denote that the idea of creating resource centres for
implementing internships is justified; the activity of providing methodological
support to the work of educators is undertaken and directed at the effective
training of school-leavers.
Hereby, it is important to note that
internships for educators currently working in our city are carried out using
the full support of educational institutions implementing innovative
educational programmes and having positive results. Such “teaching by means of
action” should become a normalisation in training and in the professional
perfection of teachers. Educational programmes for increasing the
qualifications of teachers should be built on a modular principle – they should
change flexibly depending on the interests of educators that, in turn, are
conditioned by the educational requirements of pupils.
Literature:
1. Support the activity of educational institutions by municipal
methodical service. Methodical supply. /Edited by N.V.Nemovoy. .-M.: AIC and FT(Further
Training) of EE. 2004.
2. Potashnik M.M. Exclusive aspects
of school management. Tool.
- Moscow Pedagogical Society of Russia, 2011.Methodical
supply.-M.: Pedagogical society of Russia, 2011.
3.
Lazarev V.S. Innovation
in schools: a manual for the system of higher professional
education and teacher’s development program/ Ekaterinburg, 2011.
4.
Pedagogy. 2012. ¹ ¹ 3,5,7.
5. Innovations
in Education. 2012. ¹
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