Research Article: 2017 Vol: 20 Issue: 3
Olga A Sizova, Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University
Rimma A Ulyanovа, Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "Nizhny Novgorod State Conservatory M I Glinka"
Svetlana M Markova, Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University
Albina A Karpukova, Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University
Galina A Kazantseva, Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University
This article describes the problem of overcoming the crisis of the traditional evaluation system in education. It identifies priorities in the development of assessing students’ practical readiness for solving professional problems. Problems are set, the goals of the development of modern community, of the society as a whole. Priority inquiries of the labor market have been identified. There is a shortage of young professionals capable of self-fulfillment in the context of a qualitatively different arrangement of living space. The necessity of transforming the assessment model of students’ achievements is determined. The possibilities of applying innovative methods and means of evaluation are highlighted. The theoretical approaches in the sphere of the evaluating system of the students’ achievements in higher education are generalized. The fundamental preconditions for the development of new effective forms of assessment means and its inclusion into the professional training process are revealed. Ways of improving and control implementing in the teaching process are presented based on the research analysis in the field of development of assessment means. Those ways are designed to assess objectively the level of students` achievements. The experience of implementing assessment means in the process of preparing students-musicians is described on the example of the module "Musical-Performing Training"
Education, Modern Community, Innovative Methods.
The context of modern socio-economic society development has caused the emergence of a number of preconditions of the strategy changing of individual’s professional development. Qualitatively different patterns of organization of the whole cycle of mankind’s life space are formed. The purpose of those patterns is to resolve related to social activity issues and self-adapting to the rapidly changing conditions.
The society today needs specialists that are trained in various fields of activity. At the same time, the requirements for the efficiency and competence level of the young specialist are as high as never before. In the eyes of modern society, this is a person who is able to make decisions independently, as well as be personally responsible for those decisions. This is an individual who can control, critically evaluate the result of his or her work, who can find ways to overcome difficulties associated with the direction of professional activity, who can be formative and creative. The gap between the theoretical graduates knowledge and the professional competencies that is necessary for the professional functions performance in accordance with the types of professional activity becomes more and more tangible (Paputkova, 2015).
Satisfaction of needs for highly professional and qualified specialists remains a pressing problem for organizations. At the same time, the degree of preparedness of university graduates who have received a classical "knowledge" education does not satisfy employers, since the content of student training programs often lags behind the rapid development of technology. New socio-cultural, economic needs of modern society (the development of the info sphere, science-intensive technologies and the regulatory framework changes) require immediate changes in the professional training system of the future specialist (Asio & Khorasani, 2015; Khorasani & Almasifard, 2017). The use of only a traditional system that lacks an objective tool for achievement assessing does not allow determining the formation of the practical component of competencies, which cannot ensure the effectiveness of the monitoring process and of assessing students` achievements (Zolotareva, 2014).
Based on the above, let us note the special relevance of the problem, which is directly related with the assessment of the future specialist's preparedness for professional activities carried out under the new conditions, as well as the possibility and ability to fulfil their potential.
Therefore, it is timely to develop and implement of the new and effective assessment means that allow to measure and assess the level of formation of general cultural and professional competencies. Therefore, the present study aims to review and determine the problem of overcoming the crisis of the traditional evaluation system in education.
The tendencies related to the changes in the education sphere are focused on the realization of practical orientation in educational activity. Those tendencies are oriented not as much to the development of knowledge as to the formation of readiness to use the acquired knowledge actually in practical and professional activity. Within this thereof, it is important to understand that the tools for monitoring and verifying the results of mastering disciplines should be oriented directly to assessing not as much the "knowledge" component of the educational result as the student's ability to independent, individual activity. Therefore, it is necessary to create new assessing means that will allow measuring and assessing the level of such readiness (Paputkova, 2015).
Systematization, comparison and analysis of theoretical approaches to determining the content of the term "competence" reveals the absence of an clear understanding of the term (Khutorskoy, 2002; Selevko, 2004; Zeer, Pavlova & Symaniuk, 2005). Meanwhile, the differences in the interpretation of the concept do not contradict the authors' clear interpretation of the definition of "competence", precisely from the point of view of its activity-oriented direction.
With the development of emerging educational technologies, development and implementation of "individual educational routes" for assessing students` achievements, the most flexible, objective, dynamic system for evaluating educational outcomes is needed, that will reflect various approaches to monitoring students` achievements.
The level of competence formation cannot be estimated with the help of a traditional system, so it becomes logical to switch to innovative forms of control that allow adequately assess the training effectiveness. The adjustment of the assessment system is associated not only with the introduction of modern innovative methods for assessing knowledge, but, first of all, with assessing the formation of practical readiness to perform professional tasks, identifying personal changes (the formation and development of professionally significant qualities). It should be noted that the achievements of students are a complex of formed competences and are expressed in the educational result.
Educational result is a system of interconnected components, which includes the level of mastering of basic concepts, as well as the level of practical actions formation (Medvedeva, 2016). It is obvious that each of the components of the learning process is a subject of assessment and that, in our opinion, is a problem.
The main reason is that, currently there is no universal methodology for determining the level of the formation of practical skills and readiness for a certain type of activity.
According to modern needs assessing the achievements of students, evaluation tools should be holistic. Suggesting solutions in both standard and complex (non-standard) situations, the solution of professional tasks should be focused on the application of information from various subject areas, the integration of skills and knowledge in a new non-standard situation, as well as the implementation of universal methods of activity. The assessment mean should include the requirements for the professional situation in the training task, which actualizes important information, skills and professionally significant personal qualities. Tasks should contain situations that are as close to professional activity as possible. Any evaluation tool should contain a problem and create appropriate conditions for a rational solution in a professional context (Blinov, Batrova, Esenina & Factorovich, 2012). The application of practice-oriented tasks in the assessment system of training outcomes, the solution of situational professional tasks and integrated tasks of a professional orientation becomes timely (Medvedeva, 2016). "...it is necessary to emphasize the activity components of a student's readiness, which are manifested in the process of demonstrating competences or their application in solving professional problems in certain situations" (Kazantsev & Perov, 2015).
We offer the following sample of the control task to future music teachers on the discipline "The main musical instrument", as part of the implementation of the module "Music and Performing Training of a Music Teacher". The structure of the task, which we present in the study, was developed with the support of the works of (Tarakanov, 1987; Mazel & Zukkerman, 1967; Kholopov, 2006; Kholopov, 2006; Mazel, 1967).
Along with the development of the assignment content, it is necessary to highlight the planned levels of the educational result. When developing a system for assessing the professional competencies of students, it is necessary to take into account monitoring of knowledge, skills and habits, monitoring competency assessment, objectivity of assessment results, high level of validity of FSES (Federal State Educational Standard), the comparability of the acquired competences and methods of monitoring the future professional activity of graduates (Zolotareva, 2014). In the formation of competencies, within the framework of one topic, it is possible to single out three levels of mastering the material: Elementary (compulsory); Functional (higher in comparison to the elementary one); Competence level (it is a qualitative orienting point for self-improvement) (Vaganova, 2015) (Table 1).
| Table 1: Scheme Of Performance Analysis | ||
| Tasks | Learning level | Students` action |
|---|---|---|
| Study the history of the piece of work creation based on monographic sources, books, periodicals and other sources, which consider the creative views of the composer | Elementary | Searching |
| Study the works from the substantive point of view | ||
| Draw parallels with historical events | ||
| Draw parallels with the literary sources created in the same historical period | ||
| Exemplify by cinematograph story line | ||
| Formulate author`s ideas and intensions that are reflected in the musical material | ||
| Define the form of the piece of work | Functional | Description |
| Define the genre of the work | ||
| Define the style of a musical composition | ||
| Define the tonal-harmonic plan of combustion | ||
| Define the features of the metronithmic side of a composition (Medvedeva, 2017) | ||
| Describe the techniques used, the mechanisms of psychological impact on the listener, the author appeals to in the presentation of musical material. | Competence | |
| 1.Features of musical presentation | ||
| 2.Rhythmic side | ||
| 3.Bowings | ||
| 4.Dynamics | ||
| 5.The Diversity of Modals | ||
| Describe the performance difficulties of the studied composition | ||
| Define ways and methods of solving performing difficulties. | ||
| Analyse the interpretation according to the scheme: | Explanation | |
| 1.The Beat side | ||
| 2.Attitude to the author's notes | ||
| 3.Articulation and bowings chosen by the performer | ||
| 4.Shape-generating dynamics | ||
| 5.Metrorhythmic pattern | ||
| Soundness. | ||
| Pedalization | ||
| Select the audio material | Determining choice | |
| Justify the selection criteria for audio material | ||
| List the stages of preparation for the final execution | Supervisory | |
| Create an audio record of your final result of work with the composition | ||
Work at the functional level involves the search for observed phenomena, their description and explanation. In the process of work at the competence level (that is a qualitative orienting point for self-improvement) (Vaganova, 2015), a search, a description, an explanation, a choice and control (responsibility for the choice) are carried out.
Thus, the dynamic process of improving and modernizing of higher education, conditioned by the pressing problems of modern society, involves the inclusion of the most adequate system for assessing a student's readiness to solve problems in the corresponding types of professional activity.