Pedagogical sciences/ Modern teaching methods

Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences Shintar Z.L.

Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno

Teaching learning cooperation as the condition of forming intellectual independence in elementary school students

Modern society has a need in educating independent, responsible person. Intellectual independence means successful academic-learning activity of the student that is enriched by his intellectual feelings, which transform into the feeling of confidence in his abilities, possibilities by surprise from his success.

That personal quality is the result of psychological and personal development of the child, new creation, that is formed in learning cooperation. The scheme of subject-subjective relationships, that forms the base of pedagogical cooperation, found practical embodiment in the experience of teachers-innovators (S.A.Amonashvili, I.P.Volkova, T.I.Goncharova, I.N.Ilyina, S.N.Lisenkova, V.F.Shatalova). That experience is based on even, partner relationship of subjects of teaching activity, on teaching without forcing, on work not only in the “zone of actual”, but also near future development of the child.

When listing the factors and conditions of pedagogical cooperation, along with aforementioned factors, V.N. Petrova lists personal approach and collective activity. In the researches opinion, despite the differences of pedagogical technologies used in studies, the ability to organize communication of the teacher with the students and students with each other unites the aforementioned teachers-innovators. [2,p.27].

However, the implementation of the idea of cooperation in practical activity of the teacher happens with big difficulties. In other words, the theory and practice show that pedagogical cooperation is determined by correctly organized action both from the teacher’s side, and the students’ side and is “characterized by the fact that situation in which the student cooperates with the teacher and other students ensures the implementation of the whole richness of impersonal relationships. That fact gets objective expression in changes of the structure of the cooperation… from common, divided with the teacher action, to supported action, further to mimicking and self-education” [2,p.20].

However, according to I.A.Zimnaia, ‘not every task is adequate to cooperation: active dialog and joint decision happen only in the case when logical reasoning, mutual analysis and mutual valuation of the different points of view is necessary” [1, p.319]. According to the psychologist, “the task, adequate to the cooperation, should objectively allow for the existence of more than one point of view on its content and way of solving it” [1, p.320]. When we raise the question, which tasks we can count as adequate to the cooperation, psychologists name the problem learning.

This way, we came to the conclusion that formation of the intellectual independence of the elementary school student is possible in the process of his active learning activity that is based on the problem research. In order to solve problem learning tasks it is necessary to organize purposeful learning cooperation.

However, psychologists’ observations say that oftentimes cooperation of the teacher with the elementary school students has reproductive, playing, communicative way [3]. That means that it is necessary to purposefully teach elementary school students this learning cooperation.

In order to solve this issue it is necessary to have orientation on integration of the studying courses in the elementary school. Each course has a specific share in solving this issue. Unfortunately, the teachers don’t have enough knowledge in the methodology and means that would guarantee the move to the new style of cooperation between the teacher and the student.

In the practice of the elementary teaching the course “Introduction to School Life” is the main related to the other courses of the elementary school for building the learning cooperation.

The analysis of its content showed that emotional prosperity, skills to learn, skills of cooperation are the main values of the aforementioned course. The students’ and teachers’ efforts are focused on mastering relationships: on the skills to agree, exchange opinions, understand and evaluate each other, i.e. on the ways of the learning cooperation of the student with the teacher, with the peers and himself.

The ways of behavior in different situations in the course are divided into two directions. The first one is connected with the change of the partners of the cooperation: children are taught to specifically differentiate the situations, when they need to answer the question themselves, when they need to answer all together, and when it’s necessary to ask the peer for an advice and give the mutual answer.

The second direction of the behavior in learning situations is connected with the types of learning tasks. There are different tasks at school: the ones that can be solved right away, the ones that need to be denied in solving and the tasks that demand clarification questions from children. Using simple tasks that would not lead to failure, children learn to act in a school way and understand that there are different versions that are valued at school.

Mutual learning-searching activity is in the form of organizing the learning in the course “Introduction to School Life”. When included into it, the teacher doesn’t’ lead the student after him, but rather help him decide the purpose and help find the optimal way to it. In the result of exchanging the thoughts the student comes to the more informative and deep understanding of the situation, relying on which, he acts in a significantly more confident and successful way. This circumstance gives rise to the interest of the student in such exchange of thoughts with the peers and the teacher that along with favorable conditions escalates into the need in business communication with the partners in activity as the most important circumstance in its success.

The diagnosis showed that the level of self evaluation at the end of the course “Introduction to School Life” in the students of experimental and control classes has essential difference: 83% of students of experimental classes showed adequate self-evaluation, in control classes – 42.4%.

The research of involvement in learning cooperation, skills to cooperate with each other, show initiative also showed significant differences: in experimental classes 98.4% showed this skill, in control classes – 67.8%.

Therefore, by teaching children to communicate and cooperate in the learning activity, we will teach them how to learn, make independent intellectual choice, since the first level of this skill presupposes the skill to compensate one’s incapability, incompetence with the help of other people: teacher, parents, peers.

Literature

1. Zimnaia I.A. Pedagogical Psychology: The Textbook for Institution for Higher Education. 2^nd edition. M.: Publishing corporation “Logos”, 1999.

2. Petrova V.N. Pedagogical cooperation, or When you like to learna dn teach, M., Publishing corportation “Sentjabr”, 1999.

3. G.A.Tsukerman, N.V.Elizarova, M.I.Frumina, E.V.Chudinova. Teaching the learning cooperation//Psychology questions.-1992. - #2. – P.35-43.