Failure and Improvement in Elementary Engineering

Recent science education reform documents in the United States have called for teachers to teach content related to engineering and science and to do so by engaging students in disciplinary practices. One important practice of engineering is improving from failure. Thus, students should experience productive failure as part of engineering design activities. However, engineering is a new subject for most elementary teachers. Historically failure has had negative connotations in elementary and precollege classrooms. To scaffold students through failure as they learn from and improve engineering designs, teachers will need to understand failure and pedagogical strategies for managing it. This study uses discourse analysis of video from eight elementary classes engaged in engineering to examine the nature of failure in engineering design projects. It also investigates how the collective actions of students and teachers support or constrain the process of improvement from engineering design failure. From these data, we propose a model of improvement through failure. This includes a classification of types and causes failure as well as facilitating conditions that must be present for improvement. We explore three features of engineering and three features of classroom cultures that contribute to learning to engage in productive failure.

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IS IN SYSTEM OF PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION OF TEACHER OF INITIAL SCHOOL

On the basis of theoretical analysis, the content and structure of the concept of «communicative competence», communicative qualities of the teacher, styles of teachers and students, criteria for the formation of communicative competence of the teacher of elementary classes are clarified. The influence of the style of communication of the teacher to the level of its communicative competence is shown. It has been found that communicative competence is an integrated characteristic of the level of professional preparedness of a teacher based on fundamental psychological and pedagogical knowledge and skills that manifest themselves in unity with personal qualities. It involves the ability of the teacher to perceive and adequately explain the behavior of the disciple; notice changes in its emotional sphere and behavior, analyze and adequately interpret them; Use such mechanisms of interpersonal knowledge as empathy, identification, decentralization. The paper noted that the democratic style of communication contributes to the development of activity and creativity of students, the orientation for independent problem solving is carried out, confidence, independence, sense of emotional proximity is formed, the self-affirmation process takes place, a sense of pleasure and confidence in their power appears. This style carries a call for cooperation and cognitive activity. It was found that the formation of communicative competence is expedient to exercise in two ways: 1) the weapons of future teachers with knowledge of psychology of professional communication and their own peculiarities of communication; 2) Formation and correction of skills and skills of professional communication.

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IS IN SYSTEM OF PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION OF TEACHER OF INITIAL SCHOOL

On the basis of theoretical analysis, the content and structure of the concept of «communicative competence», communicative qualities of the teacher, styles of teachers and students, criteria for the formation of communicative competence of the teacher of elementary classes are clarified. The influence of the style of communication of the teacher to the level of its communicative competence is shown. It has been found that communicative competence is an integrated characteristic of the level of professional preparedness of a teacher based on fundamental psychological and pedagogical knowledge and skills that manifest themselves in unity with personal qualities. It involves the ability of the teacher to perceive and adequately explain the behavior of the disciple; notice changes in its emotional sphere and behavior, analyze and adequately interpret them; Use such mechanisms of interpersonal knowledge as empathy, identification, decentralization. The paper noted that the democratic style of communication contributes to the development of activity and creativity of students, the orientation for independent problem solving is carried out, confidence, independence, sense of emotional proximity is formed, the self-affirmation process takes place, a sense of pleasure and confidence in their power appears. This style carries a call for cooperation and cognitive activity. It was found that the formation of communicative competence is expedient to exercise in two ways: 1) the weapons of future teachers with knowledge of psychology of professional communication and their own peculiarities of communication; 2) Formation and correction of skills and skills of professional communication.

ABOUT DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLS OF ELEMENTARY CLASSES TEACHERS TO PEDAGOGICALLY SUPPORT THE RESEARCH (PROJECT) ACTIVITY OF STUDENTS

An analysis of the literature and the practice of forming a teacher’s own skills to organize and accompany research (project) activities indicates significant difficulties that he encounters in his daily activities. The insufficient level of scientific and theoretical knowledge, methodological and methodological training does not allow the teacher to successfully set and independently solve the problems of accompanying students in the educational process. Many teachers experience significant difficulties in organizing and supporting research activities: initiating and defining a research topic, formulating a scientific apparatus, preparing tools for collecting information and conducting an experiment. The article substantiates the conditions for the development of teacher’s skills to organize and carry out pedagogical support of research and project activities of primary school students. These conditions contribute to the formation of these skills of a primary school teacher, especially since the system of continuous teacher education provides significant opportunities for this. The described work carried out based on the ideas of cooperation pedagogy, stimulating productive interaction of community members, which contributes to the development of the qualities necessary for pedagogical support of students’ activities.

Exploring Perceptions of Elementary School Teachers on the Importance of School-Based Life Skills Education. A Case Study

There is an unusual increase in the cases of child abuse, early marriages, suicide, physical and mental violence causing a large number of school dropouts in elementary classes. This calls for the requirement to investigate or evaluate the perceptions of teachers about life skills education in public sector elementary schools. The study was conducted using qualitative interviews from twelve teachers of two public schools where life skill education is being taught. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis. The findings of the study revealed that teachers are aware and have a positive attitude towards life skills education. This study will contribute to raising awareness.T

APPLICATION OF HISTORICAL DATA IN STUDYING THE VALUE «TIME» IN THE ELEMENTARY CLASSES

This article examines the features of the use of historical data in the study of the value of «time» in primary school. Shown is their educational, upbringing and developmental role in the formation of temporal representations in younger students, the expansion and deepening of knowledge, the development of cognitive interest, in the implementation of the connection between mathematical theory and practice.