L.A. Zaika

State Institution of Higher Education “College of Economy and Technology”, Dnipropetrovsk

Pedagogics of empowerment

Pedagogics of empowerment is ensuring the students with motivation and inspiring to activities. The main principles of pedagogics of empowerment are the following ones:

*creation of conditions to form confidence in one’s own forces and abilities and responsibility for the results of study;

*decision making by the students as to their own way of life and fulfilling of those decisions;

*ensuring of the psychological comfort for students during their study both with the help of special methods and through the availability of the content of study (according to the principle of choice of the steps by each student which he/she wants and is able to carry out);

*creation of conditions to appear the students’ enthusiasm and feeling of satisfaction with the team and individual work and its results which is achieved, first of all, due to the constant feedback.

Pedagogics of empowerment offers students to choose connection of the theme to study with their own ideas as to the future and it gives an opportunity to choose their own way of life. Each theme is studied on the basis of information both about other countries and on the basis of local information. That information is elaborated by the students individually on practice (fulfillment of special research tasks and projects at home), it is obligatory discussed in teams and by the whole group. Elaboration of the themes is dealt with the necessity of every student to make individual decisions concerning their own way of life.

Understanding of the pedagogics of empowerment and personal experience are the important elements in the process of training students to be ready to live in modern informative, poly-cultural, and democratic society. The main components of the methodology of empowerment teaching are self-awareness, self-education of students through activities, making individual decisions in their everyday life. Methodological basis of the empowerment pedagogics is statement that a student is an active and creative personality able for cognition and self-development. While studying students have an opportunity to form their own way of life and system of values, to be aware of the everyday way of life of each person and collectives influences the surrounding people. Traditional pedagogics is based on the principle that a certain part of information given for a student causes the change of his/her attitude (and thus, his values) to some things. The consequence (the waited result) of the last one is a gradual change of activity or model of the students’ behavior. But reproduction of that chain in the process of study does not ensure in practice either formation of values or real changes in behavior. For example, everybody knows that smoking is unhealthy, but, not everyone is ready to get rid of that dangerous habit.

Modern students are influenced with the volume of information hundreds times as much as they can learn. That’s why they have to choose the most important for their attention and. So, just presentation of information is insufficient to influence the value orientation of students, and, moreover, to change their behavior. That’s why an increase of the volume of such information doesn’t influence the students’ behavior very much.

Very different approach appears to be practically effective. First of all, there appears anxiety as to some problem. The student eagers to get information concerning the ways of solving it, looks for and finds that information, makes decision and acts according to that decision. Very often the obtained result generates motivation for a new cycle of activity, that is, anxiety (motive)---information (knowledge)---activities. Thus, activity always begins with appearance of motive in the form of interest, anxiety, awareness of the necessity etc. Such motive can appear both in the process of activity and during comprehension of its results. Student is usually active only when he sees the result or believes in that result. That’s why when a student understands that he can act perfectly, he feels anxiety (motive), searches for information and then implements the planned activity. In the process of study a teacher can use that model and stimulate students’ activity using the following ways:

* help in formation of intentions;

* help in formation of questions:

* feed-back.

The subject “English language for specific purposes” is based on the above mentioned principles and is intended to help students not only imagine their desired future but actively draw it nearer; the subject pays attention to the students’ decisions as to their own behavior and life style, but not to the external problems. In the process of such learning the teacher’s role is changed. He acts like an organizer of the students’ activities, inspires them, coordinates their efforts. Students choose the way of activity independently, do the activities, discuss them, and make decisions. The teacher only creates conditions for safe and effective process of study, and invites to take part in that process. He must be able to listen to a student and hear him. The important factor is demonstration of the behavior model by a teacher, which is oriented to a sustainable development and perfection of the students’ skills for critical thinking. Definition of the problem issues promotes students to find solutions. Having knowledge obtained independently, students are better prepared for new challenges and further activities.

Thus, principles of the subject “English language for specific purposes” are based on the empowerment pedagogics and can be presented in the following way: the beginning – a simple and interesting task which invites a student to ask and motivates him ---anxiety of a student (motivation)--- search for information and asking questions---knowledge---participation in projects and realization of the planned---activities---positive feedback concerning the results of the activity. Each theme for study is built in such a way. The main way to indulge students into the activity is a control or audit – a special task for independent research by a student of his own life style, analysis of the existing experience with the help of questions or activities. Information obtained during the check-up initiates discussion and is a way to indulge students into the theme.

Thus, one can distinguish algorithm of students’ self-research in different themes of the course:

*the first audit (research by the students of their own habits and style of everyday life is the way to involve students into the theme, to initiate discussion in the team and group);

*grasping the meaning of the problem (why that is a problem for me);

*finding information on the problem and existing ways of its solution in the world);

*definition of the purposes (what I want to achieve); formation of intentions and the plan of activities;

*realization of the plan;

*a check-up of the results; estimation;

*and plans for future.

Thus, the main idea of the course is in realization in the learning process the principles of ensuring of the dialectical correlation between values and behavior of the personality; activity of the student and motivation necessity for activities in a certain direction; accessible tasks which are set for students; unity of the content with the students’ everyday life. Achievement of changes in habits, behavior and life style of students is expected. The most important part of learning is self-stimulation and motivation of students to suggest personally and socially significant purposes of their own activity and realization of those purposes; giving an opportunity for students a freedom of choice of forms and ways of activity; system organization of active research activity of students. The content of lessons promotes development of the following students’ key competences:

*civil – particularly, ability for critical thinking; ability to take part in discussion, to argument, to make decisions;

*social – ability to listen to others actively, to communicate and cooperate effectively, particularly, in a pair and group, to be responsible for the results of the joint activity;

*general cultural – ability to use methods of self-education which are oriented to the system of individual and general human values;

*skills for learning – ability to think, compare, generalize, observe, to search for information from different sources, and to research independently.

The teacher’s activity is based on the intensive and mutually acceptable cooperation. The teacher fulfills the following functions:

*enthusiast (indulges students into the activity, increases their motivation, supports, encourages, directs for realization of the set purpose);

*adviser (helps students find optimal direction of the activity according to their social and cognition needs);

*carrier of information (has knowledge and skills, gives individual and group consultations);

*leader (organizes the students’ activity, creates corresponding conditions for them, provides with necessary resources);

*coordinator (helps the students to do their work according to the planned, promotes communication, and supports the feedback);

*and expert (analyzes the process and results of the planned).

The most important for the teacher is the ability to foresee the whole process of the students’ activity, and to forecast the results of that activity.