REFLECTION ON READING LITERACY IN THE CONTEX OF THE CHALLENGES OF THE NEW DIGITAL DECADE

Reading literacy has changed its character in recent decades. It increasingly goes beyond the simple skills of decoding text and retrieving information. The possibilities for skillful navigation in the information’s sea, for extracting reliable information in a „post-truth“ situation, for dealing with infodemic are among the characteristics of reading literacy today. This report provides a theoretical overview of the literature, which presents the latest policies to stimulate reading literacy, understood as critical thinking and working with different types of texts, including digital. The report also presents and analyzes the results of the 2018 PIS A literacy survey of 15-year-old students. Emphasis is placed on the performance of Bulgarian students and comparison with previous research results. Reading literacy is invariably related to digital literacy, the results of the authors research in this direction are also presented. Basic recommendations to teachers for the formation of reading literacy and critical thinking of students are done.

THE NATURE-BASED SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL APPROACH AND SCIENCE EDUCATION FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILD: A NECESSARY RELATION

The article presents the Nature-based socio-emotional approach and science education for primary school child as a necessary relation on two levels. At the conceptual level the approach is analysed through the prism of the cumulative effects of nature and society to the cognitive and socio-emotional development of the child’s personality: in primary school age cognitive and emotional-volitional mental processes are socially predetermined and have the essence of a result. At the applied level, the Nature-based socio-emotional approach is analysed through active learning in nature as an authentic learning environment – the focus is on the acquisition of knowledge, the formation of cognitive and socio-emotional skills to overcome consumer culture and sustainable development of nature. In this regard, the effects of active learning are viewed in sync with the learning environment, which collectively generate added value to learning and become a kind of „key“ to creating a modern vision of science education in primary school today .

GAME-COGNITIVE SITUATIONS TO STIMULATE PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR

The process of development in preschool and primary school age implies the expansion of contacts with the social environment and, accordingly, the opportunities for full and diverse communication. There are new real and virtual models, in addition to parents, for imitation and identification, the process of social learning is developing in terms of attempts to model social relationships. The game-cognitive situations for stimulating prosocial behavior (behavior aimed at external observance of social norms) presented and tested in the educational process in the kindergarten are a consequence of a study of the life values and educational orientations of the modern Bulgarian family, as well as the notions of 5–7-year-old children about the needs and claims between children, teachers and parents, their ideas of good and evil, likes and dislikes of peers. They can also be realized in the system of the primary level of primary education in the classroom.

MODERN APPROACHES TO RAISING THE PEDAGOGICAL CULTURE OF PARENTS IN AN INFORMAL ENVIRONMENT

This article analyzes and summarizes the results of a study conducted through a survey of parents and interviews with teachers interacting with each other through innovative forms (trainings, team building, workshops) in an informal environment and sought a correlation with the quality of student-parent-teacher communication, in terms of online learning. The researched innovative solutions and activities are presented to the future pedagogues in order to improve the pedagogical preparation of the pedagogical students from the Faculty of Pedagogy of Sofia University „St. Kliment Ohridski “and their motivation for the realization of fully- fledged relationships, a two-way relationship with parents as a major factor in increasing the effectiveness of the educational process.

PEDAGOGICAL INTERACTION IN DR. THOMAS GORDON’S PROGRAMS

The article provides a brief description of Dr. Thomas Gordon’s programs: Parents Effective Training, Training Effective Teachers, Training Effective Children and Youth. They have proved their efficiency in recent decades, combining traditional techniques with innovative methods of pedagogical interaction with children. On this basis, a study was conducted with 23 Bulgarian trainers in these programs. Their opinion is extremely important because they have observation of the target groups and the positive impact of what they have learned on their relationships with students, teachers, parents, children, youth. The survey was conducted with the help of a questionnaire, which consists of open and closed questions. The obtained results are summarized and analyzed.

INCLUSION, SOCIALISATION AND INTEGRATION OF THE CHILD WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN A KINDERGARTEN GROUP

The process of socialisation and integration represents unity, and at the same time – a continuous controversy between two aspects: socialisation and individuality. Due to this, the process is a single upside stream – the entry of a child into the world of adults, in the social world. Every child is a unique personality with its individual qualities, interests, abilities and educational needs. Every child with special educational needs has the right to be taught on an individual schedule with content, matching its own necessities and capacity. The general education kindergarten, in which the authors work and teach pupils with special educational needs has established a tolerant community and guarantees schooling, tutoring and mentorship for everybody.

USE OF BLOGGING TO INCREASE WRITING, READING AND DIGITAL SKILLS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL

In recent decades, more and more web-based solutions are being integrated into the learning and teaching process in schools around the world. One of the most used among them for creating, storing and managing information flow is blogging. The combination of blogging in BEL (Bulgarian Language and Literature) classes is key to the development of digital and communicative speech competencies at all educational stages. There is a significant amount of research that proves that with the use of blogging a significant part of students are motivated and become better writers and readers. The article presents some of the results of a developed and tested system of BEL lessons in two experimental classes from the initial stage. For two months, students used student blogs to introduce texts from assigned tasks to literature. The web-based technology has increased students’ interest in learning, their writing and reading skills.

DEVELOPMENT OF SPATIAL PERCEPTIONS IN PRESCHOOL AGE THROUGH GEOMETRIC TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE APPLICATION OF A COMPETENCE APPROACH

During preschool age a number of notions are formed related to the development of the child’s personality. Orienteering within space is part of the mathematical preparation of children in kindergarten. This section is one of the most difficult to master. A specific feature of childhood is the concrete-image thinking. To perceive the world around them, children need many examples. Preschoolers handle objects – they rotate, move, but do not analyze their actions. This paper describes the need and role of setting appropriate cognitive tasks to promote the development of spatial orientation of preschool children. The main part of the cognitive tasks related to the formation of spatial perceptions is intended to be mastered through the mathematical educations. Insufficient provision of materials and difficulty in perception by children do not motivate teachers to prefer to work in time for additional activities. It is this fact that provokes us to show that many resources can be created that are interesting for children and at the same time have great cognitive value. Practical developments about the topic are presented, which are realized in the education of students – future pedagogues. Various options are proposed, related to translation or transfer of an object, construction of objects and counting of geometric figures. The presented practical results are part of a study of the possibilities for applying a competency approach in kindergarten. In order to achieve a change in the educational system, it is necessary the University to prepare young educators for a new way of pedagogical interaction.

IMPLEMENTING STEM APPROACH IN KINDERGARDEN

The following work is devoted to the description of an innovative approach to kindergarten learning through the application of the methods of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, better known as STEM learning. The aim of the work is to increase popularity of the approach and stimulate teachers to implement it more often in the learning process. STEM increases children’s knowledge and skills, thanks to the interdisciplinarity, research approach, learning by playing, learning by doing, project-based and problem-based learning and the opportunity for touching to real-life situations. This paper addresses the main principles of STEM and the possibilities for realization different STEM situations, based on the kindergarten curriculum. Different digital tools are described, like programmable toys and devices and LEGO constructors. Various ideas for conducting experiments are presented, too. They are useful for increasing children’s motivation and interest in the approach. An example version of a plan for work on a STEM project is proposed, which includes the steps for its implementation and which is adapted to the expected learning results in the kindergarten.

THE PLACE OF AUGMENTED REALITY IN THE LEARNING PROCESS

One of the most important aspects of meaningful reaching out to students is the ability to be engaged in their work. As a digital generation, today’s students want learning, not passive participation. Innovation-based hours are a fun, challenging, and effective way to deliver personalized inter-thedal connections. Augmented and virtual reality can be used to improve student learning and engagement. The educational environment and learning process can be transformed in a way that captivates students and meets their new digital needs. Augmented reality is the premise of creating a virtual world – real or imagined – and allows students not only to see it, but also to interact with it. Thus, the training itself becomes modern, interactive and practice-oriented. In the scientific report, the authors examine the essence of the concept of „augmented reality“. They note the benefits of introducing augmented reality into the learning process for teachers and students. The report shares good practices by describing applications they used to work and create resources (Google Expeditions, Smart Classroom AR, Merge EDU, Mozaik 3D, Lens Studio, Unity, etc.) science scholars in school hours and interest groups.