11 февраля 2016г.
The term ―Ungraded School‖ is defined in the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan ―On Education‖ (Article 1.23) as a comprehensive school with a low school enrollment rate, combined classes and a specific form of classes organization. Moreover, a specific feature of an ungraded school (US) is multifunctionality and multi-subject work of teachers, additional administrative duties of school supervisors, shortage of teaching staff and a weak material and technical base. At the same time, such schools perform the tasks of training and education of the rising generation. Therefore, the creation of decent conditions for pupils and teachers of such schools is a matter of national importance.
The important role in implementation of the above task is played by introduction of innovation technologies into the educational process. One of the prospective lines, in our opinion, is introduction of the information and communication technologies (ICT) into the teaching process.
It should be noted that for the last decade the problem of school computerization and elementary computer literacy in the Republic of Kazakhstan has not been not so pressing as it was before. Computerization of village schools is almost completed, each school has computer classrooms. The most part of the adult population and, all the more, of the children in the Republic of Kazakhstan has certain computer skills that provide them with the necessary minimum required for work and entertainment. Also, a considerable part of pupils has certain Internet experience and skills such as information search and communication, use of e-mail, etc. All this has already become an essential part of the life of each of us.
However, from the viewpoint of education and access to helpful, adequate and necessary information, many children and teenagers have no idea how to make access thereto in a proper and competent manner. For many of them Internet is only the opportunity of entertainments and social networking.
In this regard, the task of introduction of the innovation technologies into the US educational process come to the fore, with the focus on the technologies making it possible to optimize and individualize the educational process, and at least partially to solve the problems of on-the job improvement and development of professional skills and competence of the village schools teaching staff. One of the possible solutions of the above problems is the introduction of the information and communication technologies (ICT) into the US educational process.
The introduction of the ICT has a number of advantages just for village ungraded schools, including:
ü Extended access to education materials and teaching aids (both for pupils and teachers, and, if necessary, for parents);
ü Individualization of the educational and teaching process;
ü Intensification of pupils’ solitary and independent work both in class and at home;
ü Increased learning motivation and activites of pupils;
ü Learning by pupils to use new information technologies;
ü Opportunities to use personal computers for intensification of a teacher’s work in class (the use of presentations instead writing on a blackboard, the use of personal computers for demonstrations, the audio and video functionalities of personal computers, the use of tests and processing thereof; etc.);
ü Opportunities of online sessions for teaching of pupils and improvement and development of professional skills and competence of the village schools teaching staff (master classes, seminars, workshops, experience exchange, distance teaching courses, etc.);
ü The interactive nature of learning: the ICT are capable to respond to pupils’ actions, to begin a dialogue with pupils, which is very important, as under the US conditions children have limited ability to directly consult a teacher at any time in class;
ü Opportunity to select an optimal combination of individual and group work in class.
Along with distinct advantages of the ICT use, there are a number of obvious problems and issues. Part of them is common to all types of schools: lack of time for self-tuition in computer classrooms of the schools; no contact with informatics teachers; if a lesson is not properly organized, pupils divert their attention away from the lesson and put their focus on games, music, etc.; there is a danger that by taking a great interest in application of ICT a teacher will use visual demonstration teaching methods instead of active methods teaching.
Moreover, there are problems typical only for US. In our opinion, the most significant of them are as follows:
ü Insufficient logistic support of schools (outdated computers and office equipment, insufficient number of computers, ill-fitted premises not suitable for installation and use of personal computers, etc.);
ü Inadequate computer literacy of teachers;
ü No teachers of informatics in the schools (as a result, impossibility to consult on installation of software, unsolved problems connected with computer skills, etc.);
ü Low-speed Internet (as a rule, no high-speed Internet in rural areas);
ü Interrupted electric power supply (as a result, impossibility to use personal computers and the Internet);
ü Some pupils and teachers do not have any home computers.
However, in spite of the above problems, the use of the ICT is one of the real opportunities to improve quality of education in village schools of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Taking into consideration the specifics of US, we have tried to adapt the ICT capabilities to the schools of this type. We have taken into account the features and capabilities of online and offline modes.
We associate the use of the online mode with conducting seminars and workshops, giving master classes and Internet-lessons, and partially with delivery of Internet-lectures.
In order to involve more teachers in the work on the portal ―Academy of Ungraded Schools of Kazakhstan‖ of the Kazakh National Pedagogical University named after Abai, we offer subjects, topics, themes and schedules of events and invite all the interested persons to take part in such events and to register themselves. We leave room for holding of events at the request of school teachers and administrations themselves. All these events are held for the purpose of experience exchange, identification of problems and solution thereof. Quite often such seminars and workshops also perform purely informative function, as the necessary information (on new Teaching Materials, on the possibility to use them in US, on advanced training courses, including on distance ones, etc.) is communicated to village schools with a considerable delay.
We hold seminars and workshops with the purpose to keep track of the most significant problems of particular methods, general organization of the educational process, psychological support of the educational process in ungraded schools. Authors of textbooks, leading teachers and teaching methods specialists are invited to take part in such seminars and workshops. Methodological peculiarities of the Teaching Materials, in particular from the viewpoint of their use in the ungraded school environment are discussed at the above seminars and workshops.
Taking into consideration the instability of the Internet connection, a considerable part of materials is offered by us for use in the offline mode.
In particular, we have developed and tested in the educational process the materials for Internet-lectures with the possibility of their video overview at any time convenient for teachers and administration of ungraded schools. The theoretical materials are also presented in sufficient quantity. Such materials are grouped by subjects, topics and classes and are intended for improvement and development of professional skills and competence of the teaching staff (for individual study). In addition, all the users concerned have the opportunity to ask questions, to request necessary explanations and to propose a topical issue for research.
Moreover, we have placed on the portal the following materials: learning aids and course books for lessons in combined class complexes in the basic subjects of the elementary education grade level; presentation of lessons; didactic materials for the basic subjects of the elementary education grade level; teaching aids for teachers of ungraded schools and for students receiving training in the Pedagogics and Methods of Elementary Education. Such aids contain a summary of theoretical materials, some of the necessary methodological and didactic materials, and the list of literature for additional study. The purpose of the above aids is to provide methodological assistance to the teachers of ungraded schools and to ensure formation, acquisition, accumulation and development of professional competence, necessary knowledge, proficiencies and practical skills of future teachers to work in the specific environment of US.
In addition to development and placement of the materials on the portal, we find it necessary to establish an information bank consisting of different educational products, including video materials (video lessons, video lectures, etc.) Television provides additional opportunities for creation of a proper educational environment in ungraded schools.
In view of the specifics of US, where a considerable part or 2/3 of the total classroom hours is spent by pupils on independent work against the noise produced by pupils of another grade, one of the possible variants of improvement of education quality is the series of specially developed television lessons. Such lessons are complex ones, as the TV broadcasting time does not allow giving the lesson to a full extent of the program. The distinctive feature of a TV lesson is the synthesis of a master class with a standard lesson in several subjects at once. This is a unique training aid for children, where training material is summarized and systemized, and where the necessary skills of independent work (self- directed learning) are imparted. The educational material and assignment samples are offered to children in the form convenient to them. The TV lessons will help to arouse interest in a subject, and in education as a whole.
Due to purposeful use of the features and capabilities of the information and communication technologies (in particular, of educational TV programs) it will be possible to achieve the following results:
Ø Quality learning of the educational material, systematization and generalization (synthesis) of knowledge;
Ø Development of general learning skills for performance of assignments;
Ø Cultivation the interest in learning activities;
Ø Opportunity to give nonstandard lessons.
Achievement of such results is especially urgent for elementary schools where foundations of subject knowledge, educational activities and personal qualities are laid. The TV lessons stimulate learning activities, offers a clue to the principles and procedures of solution and performance of different problems, tasks and assignments.
The project participants took part in development of the materials for newly established educational channel ―Bilim‖ of Khabar JSC. Within the framework of the project the series of lessons in the basic subjects for the 3rd- and 4th- form pupils of ungraded schools have been developed and given.
· G.T. Saudakas, Cand. Sc. (Education), Senior Teacher - ―Ana Tili‖
· Zh.K. Astambayeva, Senior Teacher – ―Mathematics‖ (in the Kazakh language)
· A.B. Akpayeva, Cand. Sc. (Education), Associate Professor - ―Mathematics‖ (in the Russian language)
· L.A. Lebedeva, Sc. (Education), Associate Professor – ―Russian Language‖, ―Literature Reading‖
· E. Uaidullakyzy, Candidate for the PhD Degree in the Pedagogics and Methods of Elementary Education –
―World Knowledge‖ (in the Kazakh language)
· A.Kh. Suleimenova, Senior Teacher – ―World Knowledge‖ (in the Russian language), ―Self-knowledge‖ (in the Russian language).
A.E. Zhumabayeva, Doctor of Education, Head of the Group.
It is planned in the long view to continue such broadcasts. The running time for one TV program will be 45 min. Frequency – once a week. The total number of lessons will be 32 plus a 20-minutes’ introduction lesson. The language- division principle: 20 lessons in the Kazakh language and 12 lessons in the Russian language. The number of lessons in subjects will be determined in the regular course of work.
So, we have taken a number of measures and actions aimed at improvement of the educational and methodological support of the pedagogical process in ungraded schools, including:
ü Identification of leading-edge technologies that can be used for work in the ungraded school environment;
ü Clarification of the main didactic conditions for efficient use of the ICT in organization of teaching process in ungraded schools;
ü Creation of the conditions for introduction of the innovation technologies into the educational process in ungraded schools with the use of the features and capabilities of the online and offline modes for education of children and improvement and development of professional skills and competence of the village schools teaching staff.
ü Development and testing of new education and teaching materials and aids for education of children in ungraded schools with the use of educational TV programs.
List of references
1. E.S. Polat and others. Distant Learning in Profession-Oriented Schools: Training Manual for Students of Higher Education Institutions / E.S. Polat, A.E. Petrov, M.A. Tatarinova and others; under the editorship of E.S. Polat. M.: Publishing Center ―Academy‖, 2009, 208 p.
