Organization Of Independent Work Of Students With Disabilities

Abstract

One of the main tasks of modern education is the development of the complete human being, which is realized through a competency-based approach to learning. The competency-based approach is the priority orientation of education towards its result: the formation of the necessary competencies, self-determination, socialization, development of individuality and self-actualization. Independent and individual work of students plays a great importance in the development of personality and the formation of the necessary competencies. Independent work of a student is one of the main components of the educational process, it contributes to the formation of knowledge, skills and ensures the acquisition of creative techniques by a student. The article considers the methodological aspects of the organization of independent work for students with disabilities in mathematics in conditions of a competency-based approach on the example of studying the courses “Elements of higher mathematics”, “Probability theory and mathematical statistics”. Particular attention in the study is paid to the importance of a person-centered approach to teaching, the adaptation of didactic materials and the integration of students with disabilities in the educational process. This is updated by the main provisions of inclusive education, such as the introduction of new teaching methods, the adaptation of curricula, the change in the forms, methods and techniques of teaching students with disabilities.

Keywords: Competency-based approachinclusive educationindependent work in mathematics

Introduction

Modern society presents key challenges for the education system - the search for effective ways of personal development. To solve this problem, the education of our country has adopted new educational standards, targeting school teachers, college and university teachers at studying, in the process of which a person is formed who can think independently, solve complex problems and is capable of self-education.

One of the ways to solve this problem is to realize a competency-based approach. Many scientists - teachers, psychologists, and teachers – deal with the competency-based approach ( Mikhashchenko, 2015; Morodenko & Gileva, 2019; Troyanskaya, 2016; Zhafyarov, 2016). The essence of the competency-based approach is that the student does not receive ready-made concepts, definitions and formulas, but conditions are created so that the students themselves form the knowledge necessary to solve practical problems. According to Troyanskaya ( 2016), competency-based professional education is an objective phenomenon in education. The market places new demands on specialists for the goals, results and pedagogical technologies of training. As a goal, the formation of specialist’s corresponding competencies is considered.

At the present stage, much attention is paid to inclusive education, the education of children and adolescents with health limitations (HL). As the statistics shows, every year the number of students with disabilities increases. At the same time, any person, even with disabilities, has the right to receive education at school, a intermediate vocational educational institution (IVE), or at a university (HVE) ( Kosova & Izetova, 2020; Zorina, 2018). Many teachers, psychologists deal with the issues of organizing students’ independent work, they show various ways of organizing independent work of students with disabilities. The most common ones are the organization of self-study with a differentiated or individualized approach in teaching students with disabilities ( Seregina, 2018). A number of scientists give author's definitions of the independent work of students (schoolchildren). By independent work of students, we mean the planned educational, educational-research activities of students, carried out on the instructions and with the systematic guidance of the teacher, but without his participation ( Gusev, 2014; Morodenko & Gileva, 2019).

Problem Statement

Our study is aimed at finding methods and techniques for organizing the independent work of students with disabilities while teaching mathematics at a secondary special educational institution, and at adapting existing didactic and evaluating materials to the characteristics of students with disabilities. Psychologists, teachers, doctors note that students with locomotor impairments often cannot establish cause-and effect relationships, identify the main thing in the text, cannot use concepts correctly, cannot work with definitions, formulas, theorems. Students with locomotor impairments may have decreased attention, they do not remember the material well, are very excitable, and are prone to mood swings ( Kashtanova et al., 2017; Martynova, 2016a). The teacher should take into account all these features of students with disabilities and adhere to the recommendations, given by scientists, on the organization of the educational process for such students.

• When holding classes, it is necessary devote more time to completing tasks.

• Alternate different types of oral and written assignments.

• Sound and visual representations of educational material should duplicate each other.

• Use cognitive enhancing methods.

• Use visual materials, training videos.

• Classes should not last for more than an hour or an hour and a half.

• Reserve time for physical exercises (exercises for the eyes, for hands, etc.)

• There is a necessity for breaks of 10-15 minutes between classes.

Due to the characteristics of health, the emotional and psychological state of students with disabilities, their independent work should be based on an individualized approach to learning. Such work should be well-organized by a teacher who has received professional training on the work with students with disabilities and knows the health characteristics of people with various diseases.

Research Questions

In the course of the study, it is necessary to answer the following questions.

How to organize effective independent work with students with disabilities in mathematics in the conditions of a competency-based approach to learning?

How to prepare highly-qualitative didactic materials for independent work of students with disabilities in mathematics?

What criteria should be used in evaluating the knowledge, received by students in the course of independent work?

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is the search and adaptation of effective techniques and methods of organizing the independent work of students with disabilities in teaching mathematics in a specialized secondary educational institution and the development of didactic, test materials for the implementation of individualized independent work of students with disabilities in mathematics.

Research Methods

The study has been conducted on the basis of the Kurgan pedagogical college, in the groups with students with special needs, specializing in “Information systems”, “Applied informatics”, while studying the courses “Elements of higher mathematics” and “Probability theory and mathematical statistics”. The pilot testing consists of three stages: initial, training and final. At the first stage, we studied and analyzed scientific, educational, educational-methodological literature on the organization of independent work of students with disabilities, syllabuses of the disciplines “Elements of higher mathematics”, “Probability theory and mathematical statistics”, on the basis of which the relevance of this issue was identified. At this stage, the work was carried out, aimed at finding methodological ways of teaching students with disabilities, theoretical materials were defined and systematized, detailed lecture notes, reference materials and educational didactic material were developed.

At the second, training stage of the testing, the developed materials were tested in the classes on the disciplines “Elements of higher mathematics”, “Probability theory and mathematical statistics” in the first and years of study of the Kurgan pedagogical college, both with students with disabilities and practically healthy students.

At the last stage, the results of the pilot testing were summed up.

Findings

At the training stage of the experiment, in the first and second year groups (13A, 23A), where there were students with disabilities, specializing in “Information Systems”, “Applied Informatics”, while studying the courses “Elements of Higher Mathematics” and “Probability Theory and Mathematical statistics “, all the main provisions of the methodology for organizing independent work, described above, were followed, the experiment lasted 3 terms. Along with the experimental groups (13A, 23A), the students of the control groups (13, 23) were trained according to the traditional methodology. At the end of each semester, intermediate certification was conducted in the above disciplines, the results of which are presented in Table 01 .

The analysis of certification papers and other documents has shown that in the control groups the quality of passing the intermediate certification did not change practically, and in the two experimental groups there was an increase in the quality of academic performance of students with disabilities. The percentage of quality shows the ratio of the number of students with disabilities who have passed the intermediate certification with “good” and “excellent” marks to the total number of students in the group.

Based on the results of the experimental work on the organization of independent work of students with disabilities, we can draw the following conclusions.

• The pilot testing was carried out in a college environment, students with disabilities studied together with practically healthy students, and, as an option, on distance learning.

• The methodology of teaching, developed by the team of authors, has had a positive effect, the developed didactic materials have been carefully prepared and tested.

Conclusion

In conclusion, let us note that this issue is not fundamentally new, but quite relevant today, especially in relation to students with disabilities. The described technique is based on the provisions of the technology of individualized learning, on a competency-based approach to learning, the accumulated experience of the authors of the article, and has shown its effectiveness in organizing independent work of students with disabilities. As the results of the pilot testing have shown, it is advisable to apply this technique in a group with a few students. When organizing the educational process using the technology of individualized learning, distance learning of students with disabilities can be used. The described methodology has been tested and proves that various types of independent work and the use of different forms of its implementation contribute to more effective training of students with special needs, expanding and deepening their theoretical and practical knowledge, skills in the studied disciplines. The described methodology of working with students with disabilities can be applied in teaching students of other areas of training.

References

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