The importance of this study is linked to the topic of increasing the quality of future teacher
professional training by creating a collaborative learning environment.
The purpose of this research is to conduct a theoretical analysis of the effectiveness of creating a
collaborative learning environment in university and demonstrate its impact on the successful
professional activity of future teachers. The paper presents the data of the experimental research in
the form of Action Research, conducted among 1st and 2nd year students of pedagogical specialties
in the natural sciences (chemistry, biology, physics, computer science).
The core requirements of the personality-oriented, activity-based, systemic, environmental,
axiological and competence-based approaches form the methodological foundation for building
a collaborative learning environment. Students who are immersed in a collaborative learning
environment have the opportunity to reflect on the level of formation of their own professional skills,
the success of achieving educational goals, and the processes of self-realization, self-development,
and self-actualization on a regular basis.
This study examines the impact of collaborative learning on students’ communication skills,
knowledge quality, assessment of educational achievements, and study time savings.
The research findings are linked to the use of Action Research in the educational process, involving
students in the process of professional self-improvement. The novelty of the research is characterized
by the identification of developmental effect of a collaborative learning environment based on the
concept of a zone of actual student professional growth.
The practical significance of the research is the development of positive experience in structuring the
educational process, with the prospect of applying this experience in future professional activities,
such as working with students.
Keyword(s) : reflection
Psychological Mechanisms of Student Teachers’ Professional Reliability Training
Society demands higher education teachers with new professional skills. Satisfying this demand
requires socio-cultural and scientific research to discover ways to develop such qualities in student
teachers. This article was written as part of the author’s doctoral dissertation research: Student
teachers’ professional reliability formation. The purpose of this study was to identify the psychological
mechanisms of student teachers’ professional reliability training.
Methodology. The following research methods were used: psychological testing, expert evaluation and
pedagogical experiment. Additional methods included: Method of Identity Diagnostics (Schneider,
2007), Method of Reflexivity Diagnostics (Karpov, 2003), Diagnostic Map of Professional Reliability
of Student teachers (Osadchuk, 2007). The study carried out at Omsk State Pedagogical University
(Russia) involved 75 students and 4 teachers. The educational experiment was carried out in the
natural conditions that were familiar to students, and the natural course of the educational process
was not interrupted.
Novelty. The author developed and pilot-tested a range of new educational tools to actualize the
psychological mechanisms to train professional reliability of student teachers. These tools included
different types of unsupervised activities, motivation training, teaching methods, and pedagogical
support strategies.
Results. The article presents experimental data showing the correlation between indicators of
professional reliability, identity, and reflexivity of student teachers. It contains a diagnostic map of
professional reliability for student teachers developed by the author, which can serve as one of the
tools for monitoring the education quality in teacher training courses. The findings can be used in
educational program development, organizational and methodological documentation, as well as
educational and extra-curricular activities related to higher teaching education goals and syllabi.
Editorial: Open reviewing
When I was a post-graduate student at Imperial College London, one of the highlights
of the week was the research seminar. As its name suggests, this was a meeting of
the research students to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and, crucially, for the
critical examination of any reports or papers that we were in the process of writing. It was
an unspoken rule that nothing could be submitted for publication until it had passed the
internal review of the research seminar. Although it was often frustrating for the authors,
it had the desired effect of sharpening the arguments, exposing any inadequacies in the
analysis, improving the readability. It almost guaranteed that, when the article was submitted
to a scholarly journal, it would be accepted with only minor revisions. The hard
work had already been done in the research seminar.
Students’ feedback: messages and implications
Abstract
Active learning increases the role of organized and systematic feedback between all the stakeholders
of modern education. Although this factor has been given considerable attention in the literature,
the study of written feedback from students and the subsequent response of the teacher deserves
closer investigation. This research reveals – on the basis of feedback forms analysis – the level of
development of students’ competences of self-regulation, reflection and evaluation. Zimmerman’s
model of self-regulated learning was used as theoretical premises of the paper; qualitative analysis
was employed for data interpretation. The study helped to identify a range of problematic areas in
students’ self-regulatory processes in learning including,
• inconsistencies in the evaluation of performance aspects and the performance in total;
• organisational issues concerning the use of the feedback form;
• underdeveloped reflective skills (difficulty in analysing the educational experience critically and
understanding how to use it in the future performance).
The article discusses ways to address these problems on the part of the teacher. The findings show
the importance of learners’ feedback for the teacher as an indicator of their metacognitive skills
development. Close attention must be paid to students’ responses, their “decoding” and acting upon
them help establish dialogic relations between the participants of the educational process, thus,
increasing the quality of educational experience.