Project-and research-based learning as a technology for developing master students’ methodological culture development

Abstract

In accordance with the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard of Higher Education ++, the graduates of the master’s programme on “Teacher education” must be ready to solve research problems in their professional field. This implies that the students develop an appropriate methodological culture through their involvement in independent project and research activities. However, the analysis of the current state of practice in training master students in the field of education demonstrates that it is still dominated by teaching technologies that focus on performing and reproduction activities of students, contributing to developing the habit of receiving ready-to-use knowledge. As a result, the contradiction between the objective need for the formation of a methodological culture among students on the one hand, and inadequate development in many students in the field of “Teacher education”, on the other, is aggravated. The research aim was to show and substantiate the didactic conditions for project-and research-based learning as a technology aimed at the efficient development of master students’ methodological culture. Research methods were theoretical (analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization and etc.), empirical (educational experiment, testing in order to assess the level of research competence formation), and mathematical methods of data processing. Results: The process of master students' methodological culture development is based on a search for information and implementation of didactic activities and conditions that serve as a motivation tool for students to be a part of research activities. The course on “Methodology and methods of educational research” becomes a platform for methodological culture development among master students on the “Teacher education” programme. The efficiency of students’ methodological culture development is increased if: (a) the structure and content of their methodological culture are designed on the basis of convergence of conventional and research-based approaches and (b) the project-and research-based teaching technology is implemented through a short-term (limited by the course duration) projects and a number of variable components (a combination of individual and team forms of independent activities),“inverted” or “blended” learning techniques; interdisciplinary, problematic and interactive training; reflection at the end of each class; exams in the form of a project defense, etc.). Impact: The results will be useful for development of educational and methodological support for research-oriented teaching in the process of theoretical and practical training of future bachelors, masters, graduate students, as well as in the system of additional and vocational education.