VISUALIZATION OF CULTURE: EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

The authors of the article focus on changes related to education. Education is considered as a communicative construct arising from the process of symbolic interaction between individuals who establish meanings when coordinating their statements. The communicative generation of situations and orders of knowledge is interpreted as educational semiosis. Analyzed is the discourse of modern humanities which are competing with each other in determining the current socio-cultural situation. Highlighted is the research tendency, asserting the point of changing the cultural morphogenesis by means of its visualization processes. Based on this, the hypothesis of a gap between culture and education is put forward. According to this hypothesis, cultural relations are increasingly mediated by figurative participation, while educational practices appeal to verbal and textual forms of the situational mediation. Within the relations between actors in education, this is reflected in the dominance of legitimate (metanarrative) samples, the transmission model of educational knowledge, the communicative preference for orderliness, the desire for unambiguity, the clarity and completeness of logocentric forms of thinking, and so on. The change of the mediation form in the organization of educational interaction and the transition from the verbocentric order to the ocular-centric one, is suggested as a step in the development of modern education. It must affect the way educational relations (educational communication) function, the way words (speech) and images (vision) are inter-related, the principles of students’ orientation in their attitudes to the sign-symbolic world, their partners in interaction, and to themselves. In the first case, the point is to organize educational communication based on the principles of paradoxicality, paralogicality, and disproportionality of statements and images of the situation. Here the most important educational objective is to make the participants of the educational interaction consider their differences in their interpretations of the world, their styles of utterance, and their discursive positioning. In the second case, the educational objective is the liberalization of vision, which emerges in the course of perceptual work emancipated from the primary procedures of interpretation and comprehension of the visible and relying on the action of the image as the context of the statement. The third case is about worldview constants, radical changes in the position of the educational subject, acquiring the experience of self-detachment in learning. In the final analysis, this provides an opportunity for differentiation and diversification of the worlds of human presence.

QUALITY OF THE SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT: A COMPARATIVE STUDY USING THE SACERS RATING SCALE

The quality of education is the main priority in most states’ policy, and Russia is no exception. Russia pays much attention to the accessibility of quality education for all citizens regardless of their place of residence and social status. The quality of education is considered a complex characteristic of educational activity and students’ training. We will consider it within the framework of this article in the context of the assessment and development of the school educational environment. The quality of the educational environment is provided by the following factors: content components relating to the interaction between participants of an educational relationship; organization of the educational process; conditions for professional staff growth and comfortable environment for exceptional children. The study using the SACERS rating scale revealed that schools in different districts of the metropolitan area differ in terms of providing students with equal conditions in their educational environment. The most significant differences were revealed in the following components of the educational environment: the creation of organizational conditions for extracurricular activities and additional education; interior solutions to ensure privacy, the comfort of communication, and motor activity; conditions for the learning and development of students with special educational needs. The study showed that schools with a higher quality index of the educational environment have quite homogeneous educational conditions. They provide relatively equal access to quality education compared to a group of structural units with a lower quality index. The differences in the compared educational organizations specifying the heterogeneity of educational conditions are related to characteristics such as the variability or uniformity in the use of resources, resource availability or its active use, whether it is a systematic or fragmented working process, and the focus on control norms or development.

INTERNET MEMES AS A WAY OF DEVELOPING FUTURE ENGINEERS’ MOTIVATION TO STUDY A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN THEIR PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

Introduction The article considers the issue of increasing the motivation of technical university students to study a foreign language using English-language Internet memes, which are considered to be significant material for teaching Generation Z students. The purpose of the article is to theoretically substantiate and experimentally test the memes’ effectiveness in building motivation to study a foreign language. The research’s scientific novelty is identifying ways of organizing future engineers’ work with memes based on a variable methodological apparatus. Materials and methods The author analyses the literature on the study of the motivational processes among students of a non-linguistic university studying the English language and using creolized texts to organize their English language-learning process. The research material comprises memes taken from the Internet that correspond to the sections of their discipline program. Results and discussion A workflow for increasing students’ motivation to learn English based on their work with memes has been designed, including methodological and technological, content-motivational, and reflexive-evaluative modules. A methodological experiment has been carried out to test the proposed methods of increasing students’ motivation. An example of organizing the work with memes is given. Conclusion. The results of the methodological experiment conducted at the Trekhgorny Technological Institute confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed methods of developing students’ motivation. It was revealed that memes could become a powerful teaching material that helps to increase the motivation of future engineers to learn English.

THE CONCEPT OF TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN THE 1ST GRADE OF A GENERAL EDUCATION SCHOOL

The teaching of mathematics should reflect the global trends in the development of mathematical and pedagogical scientific thought. The authors develop guidelines for studying mathematics in the 1st grade based on the Federal State Educational Standard. Thus, the structure and the form of the textbook content are described by chapter. The theoretical part should allow students to complete screening questions, univariate and multivariate tests, problems, and exercises. Each chapter of the developed textbook is divided into paragraphs, and each paragraph is divided into items. One item of theoretical material contains either a new idea to study or a set of interrelated concepts that define a new idea. According to this, it is possible to form mathematical knowledge trajectories. So, there are broad opportunities to transform knowledge elements into multimedia forms, including presentations, videos, test modules, and other newly emerging means of representation and visualization, using the achievements of artificial intelligence. It is possible to define main themes such as natural numbers counting, acquaintance with geometric shapes, comparison of objects in the value and quantity, acquaintance with a squared paper and measurement standards, the study of objects position, the sets consideration, introduction to the algorithm concept can. The authors’ conceptual directions of teaching mathematics in the 1st grade provide the foundation for mathematical education in general education schools for all the years of study.

PSYCHOLOGY OF ADOLESCENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY COMPLICATED BY VISUAL IMPAIRMENT: FEATURES OF INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

It is customary to consider interpersonal relationships as a significant factor influencing the development of individual mental processes and personality. In recent years, studies that reveal the specifics of interpersonal relationships in persons with different types of dysontogenesis, including those with intellectual disabilities, have been of particular interest to specialists. This article presents the results of studying the interpersonal relationships of adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID), complicated by visual impairment. When it comes to comparing the interpersonal relations in adolescents with intellectual disabilities, complicated by visual impairment and their peers with uncomplicated intellectual disabilities, the results of the study show that there are features which are general to both groups and features which are specific to only one group. In the surveyed groups, only one-third of adolescents consider their mother and father as a parental couple. More often than not, they communicate with their mother and refuse to communicate with their father. The adolescents of both groups are characterized by the following: low involvement in terms of interaction with peers; the presence of emotionally deficient or emotionally excessive reactions (with a predominance of the emotionally deficient type); poor decision-making, the desire to shift responsibility to others; lack of interest to become a leader; frequent conflicts with peers and inability to resolve them constructively. In addition, adolescents in the surveyed groups often demonstrate reactions to frustration in an active-aggressive or a passive-suffering manner. Moreover, in adolescents with uncomplicated ID, reactions of an active-aggressive type dominate, and in adolescents with ID complicated by visual impairment, reactions of a passive-suffering type are dominant. It is important to note that adolescents with ID complicated by visual impairment tend to be isolated from their peers and show high affection for home and their families.

THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF CIVIC POSITION FORMATION IN PEDAGOGICAL SCIENCE AND PRACTICE

The problems of the civic position formation of an individual are rooted in multiple factors. These include a challenging stage in the development of Russian society, social, cultural, economic, and political problems, rethinking the country’s past, and unclear value references. All these factors can lead to moral disorientation and a loss of ideals. At the present stage, the formation of civic position is an interesting subject of research for many scientists. They reveal the essence of Citizenship as a concept and describe civic position formation’s psychological aspects. Moreover, citizenship is considered a social phenomenon, the formation of which depends on social relations and the organization of the educational process. During the last decade, there has been an increased interest in research on the problem of citizenship formation at an adolescent age. In pedagogy, the following types of positions are distinguished: lifestyle, social, and internal. The similarity of the concepts of Internal Position and Attitude is emphasized, and it is explained that Attitude defines Position as a unified system of individual-personal relations between a person and their surrounding reality. Objective and subjective factors under the influence of which a person’s civic position is formed are also explained. The objective factors refer to socio-political conditions. Meanwhile, subjective factors refer to the interests of the individual, their needs, abilities, and values. On this basis, the following components, which are most often highlighted by scientists in the study and generalization of a person’s civic position, and contribution to its formation, are listed: cognitive (knowledge of citizenship, civic position, civil rights and responsibilities), motivational-valuable (a humanistic feature of a person’s relationship to society, work, people and themselves, civic value orientations), and activity (ability to fulfill one’s civil rights and duties, comply with social and legal standards, carry out socially significant activities for the public good). Three levels of formation of a person’s civic position are distinguished and described (low, average, high). The relationship and differences of such concepts as Patriotism, Citizenship, Civic Position, as well as Patriot and Citizen are emphasized, and their essence is revealed. By Patriotism, we mean the feeling of love and attachment to a country and alliance with other citizens who share the same sentiment to create a feeling of oneness among the people. As part of the study of the civic position formation, the concept of Civic activity is touched upon, which is explained and classified by the following types: official (electoral process) and unofficial (participation in socially significant activities). The manifestation forms of a person’s civic position affecting their formation are outlined (passive, active, conformist (consumer), rebellious (protest), constructive). At the same time, emphasis is placed on an active civic position, in which society and the state are interested. The conclusion clarifies the definition of Civic Position, which is explained as a system of positive value orientations that an individual may possess in relation to the state, law, civil society, themselves as an active citizen, carrying out socially important activities, and a focus on the public good. The analysis of the studied topic allows us to state its undoubted theoretical and practical significance since this problem is relevant and not fully solved at the present stage of the socio-political development of Russia.

REDESIGNING AN UNDERGRADUATE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE UNIT: REFLECTIONS ON ALIGNING DEPARTMENTAL PEDAGOGIC OBJECTIVES WITH THE NEW TEACHING PROGRAMME AND ASSESSMENT

In this paper, we look into how the new structure of the final-year undergraduate language assessment introduced by the School of Modern Languages (SML) at the University of Bristol (UoB) has affected the teaching on the final-year programme in the Department of Russian. This paper tests whether the intended learning outcomes, the content of the course, teaching on the individual modules, the learning resources and the new assessment can be considered as ‘constructively aligned’, i.e., whether the Russian language teaching team working on the new course design succeeded in ensuring that “the learning objectives, the learning processes and the assessment mode and criteria relate systematically to each other”. We will also explore whether the new blended synchronous and asynchronous teaching fits into the redesigned curriculum and whether the teaching programme continues to address the development of students’ discipline-related and transferable employability skills linked to the three areas of the Bristol Skills Network: knowledge and intellectual abilities; engagement and influence; personal effectiveness and wellbeing. The key element of this research is the analysis of the anonymous student feedback questionnaire (SFQ) which includes qualitative questions related to all three written modules taught on the redesigned final year Russian language unit: the students were given an opportunity to analyse the quality and effectiveness of their learning on this unit.

PROGNOSTIC PARAMETERS AND RISKS OF STUDY OVERLOAD IN ADOLESCENT STUDENTS

The paper presents the results of an empirical study on study overload in adolescent students. The theoretical and methodological grounding of the study is given. The objective relevance of the problem of study overload for the modern system of general education is shown. The nature and manifestations of study overload in the educational process were studied through cause-effect relations. Psychodiagnostic data was subjected to mathematical and statistical processing (correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis), classified, summarized, and interpreted. The results obtained in the empirical study allowed us to understand the prognosis and risks of study overload formation on psychological well-being in adolescence. The conclusion is given that study overload is caused not at the expense of the students’ main study load but as a result of attending additional types of educational classes. The results obtained concluded that one in five adolescent students have a significant, often maximum, pronounced excess of study load. Moreover, one in four students experience the presence of moderate study overload. To prevent study overload, we state that one should focus not only on the normative regulation of certain types of educational activities but also on the students’ subjective state. Recommendations of possible directions of preventive work with students on psychological prevention of study overload are outlined.

PEDAGOGICAL CONDITIONS FOR FORMING BILINGUAL MATHEMATICAL COMPETENCE IN BASIC SCHOOL STUDENTS

Introduction. In the process of bilingual education, schoolchildren must not only qualitatively master the content of the subject but also overcome language difficulties. There is a connection between speech and mathematical activities. The essence and structure of bilingual mathematical competence are based on this relationship, allowing bilingual students to effectively acquire knowledge in the conditions of national-Russian bilingualism. We have also proposed ways of forming bilingual mathematical competence focused on developing mathematical speech culture and teaching schoolchildren to use multicultural knowledge. Aim. The article aims to characterize the pedagogical conditions directed at the emergence of bilingual mathematical competence among basic school students (grades 5 to 9) within national-Russian bilingualism. Material and methods. The study relies on theoretical methods of comparative analysis, synthesis, and generalization provided by the scientific and methodological literature on the researched topic. Results and discussion. Works indicating a clear relationship between the language of instruction and the subject of Mathematics were analyzed. The need to take into account the mother tongue of schoolchildren in bilingual education was established. In addition, it was found that the degree of native and Russian language proficiency affects the mathematics achievement of bilingual students. According to the analysis, bilingual education should lead to the emergence of competencies distinguished by a high level of language proficiency and high-quality mastering of the subject. Conclusion. The concept of “bilingual mathematical competence” got a detailed description in the course of the research. This concept combines components of a school subject, languages ( native and Russian), and a component of intercultural communication. The following pedagogical components were described: 1) tasks aimed at mastering terminology, symbols, and graphic images; verbal and logical constructions of the mathematical language; written educational texts; 2) illustrated Yakut-Russian, Russian-Yakut terminological dictionary in mathematics for the 5th and 6th grades, which includes 349 terms and set phrases; 3) bilingual strategies aimed at reducing the linguistic complexity of mathematical problems (by replacing unfamiliar or rare words; changing the passive voice to active verb forms; reducing long names and indications; highlighting individual conditional sentences, or changing the order of the conditional and main sentences; replacing complex questions to simple ones; clarification of abstractions using more specific information); 4) methods and techniques of bilingual teaching of mathematics (consecutive translation, visual aids, immersion teaching, semantization); 5) tasks that contain historical, ethnocultural, and local history materials.

THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF SMART TECHNOLOGIES: IS SMART EPISTEMOLOGY DERIVED FROM SMART EDUCATION?

The paper deals with the impact of smart technologies on cognitive and educational activities and assesses the role of smart education in education and cognition from semiotics and epistemology. The authors of the article consider smart-technologies as modern information technologies of various profiles, developed mainly for the performance of the semiotic and epistemological functions of the person with its maximum possible replacement in different areas of life. The article notes that when evaluating smart technologies, some criteria are often overlooked, while the importance of others is exaggerated. In general, quantitative scenarios for the use of smart technologies prevail over qualitative ones. This situation leads to the fact that the main characteristics of smart technologies are replaced by secondary ones, causing overestimated expectations. For example, the authors examined the misconception that a student who studies a subject as part of online learning using smart technology begins to participate in an epistemological situation from a semiotic perspective. It is because online learning makes students “discover” knowledge independently, without the necessary methodology and teacher support. An overwhelming amount of research sees this situation as an achievement, and the authors consider it to be a negative factor. However, according to the assessment of the consequences of smart learning, the best results are shown by students who already possess some methodological knowledge. At the same time, the vast majority of students show a decline in their performance in online education. The authors of the article note that from an epistemological point of view, such a property of smart technologies as a functional substitution of the subject is very consonant with some constructivist trends in epistemology and cognitive sciences, admitting “cognition without a subject.” These smart technologies’ parameters in education and epistemology allow some studies to voice ideas about the possibility of forming smart education and smart epistemology as non-subject ways of knowledge and cognition. The article demonstrated that this situation is permissible if one does not distinguish between the concepts of “information” and “knowledge” and the processes of cognition and informing. It is shown that if this condition is ignored, then the concepts of “knowledge” and “cognition” lose their meaning since the process of cognition is a way of relating knowledge and information, and it is impossible without a subject. The authors conclude that smart technologies should be considered an additional tool used for similar, but not heuristic, creative and primary actions prioritizing the subject in education and epistemology.