CC BY
44
THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE ACMEOLOGICAL PLATFORM
OF A FUTURE TEACHER
N. N. Azizkhodzhaeva
The modern educational system is characterized by the variety of training methods and innovations focused on the development of a student’s personality. The modernization of the educational system in Uzbekistan determines how to reach a new quality of education. In this context the requirements for the training of future teachers in the system of higher education of teachers also change.
During the period of training, students obtain their main professional skills. Future teachers understand the need of continuous self-improvement. They build up such qualities as the ability to make decisions, to bear responsibility, and to develop professional skills. In such an environment it is necessary to facilitate the achievement of high levels of professionalism. As practice shows, the acmeological approach is focused on the determination of objective and subjective factors of a person’s professionalism as a demonstration of the highest level in the professional activity of a specialist, and their self-improvement and self-development. A.A. Bodalev notes in his research papers that “small acme” is a forerunner of the “macro-acme” of a person. The development of “small acme” depends on the way the professional training of a student is organized. When a person is a student, their life strategy is actively developing, and a student understands how to live and act successfully and how to gain steady occupational status in modern society in future.
The achievement of the best results, i.e. “acme in professional occupation”, in educational systems was studied by А. А. Bodalev, О. P. Burdakova, А. А. Dergach, V. G. Zazykin, N. V. Kuzmina, etc. In accordance with the theory of
S.G. Vershlovsky, the acmeological platform (position) of a teacher is considered to be an integral part of their professional competence and a necessary precondition for carrying out training activities. The concept of an “acmeological platform” is based on acmeology ideas as a part of the science of achievement of the highest level of professionalism. Acme is the top level of personality development, however, it does not mean a final point of development, it just means a higher level that opens new horizons for further development.
Levels of competence of a future teacher depend on the way their professional training was organized, when he/she was a student. During this period, “small acme” is very important, when an individual reaches their top level, typical for this period. The acmeological platform of a future teacher means their devotion to the achievement of the highest level in training activities, and the development of creativity and presence of humanistic motivation in professional activities. The acmeological platform can be characterized as integrative characteristics of a person, it is both a result of the development of a person and a potential force or leverage for the further evolution of a person; this is a force that makes a person move further. The acmeological platform includes the following components: knowledge and experience, emotions and a system of values, selfconsciousness and the ability to make conclusions, communications, and
205
motivation. When a future teacher develops their acmeological platform he/she needs to set goals, gather information, make a plan of future activities, plan how to implement the goals, and to analyze the foregoing (process of reflection). In order to decide whether a teacher has developed its acmeological platform, it is necessary to determine the integrated criteria, which include: self-education, professional and personal skills, dominating position, style of training activities, drive to gain successful results, self-determination, self-respect and respect of other people, which are interrelated and accumulated in professional activities.
The acmeological platform, as a pedagogic phenomenon, is multidimensional. Depending on the circumstances it may be both a purpose and a result of the process of education, as well as a method that determines the essence of the pedagogy phenomenon. Training conditions that contribute to the development of the acmeological platform include the amplification of such disciplines as: (а) psychology and pedagogics, (b) methodology and
(c) pedagogical practice. Adherence to the above conditions makes it possible to reduce the “gap” between theory and practice, create training environment of collective “acme” that makes it possible to coordinate and agree the activities of all students, provide for high motivation in reaching success, and focus of students on the improvement of personal characteristics and professional skills.
In the process of education it is necessary to use active methods of education, new pedagogical techniques and innovative methods of training. At the learning sessions, students should use new skills and knowledge, develop their own strategy and activities, and demonstrate their theoretical and practical skills and knowledge. Learning sessions should include interactive games, special exercises, and training tasks. Practical training should provide for the presence of a “cognitive component” of the acmeological platform, and the ability of students to test their own knowledge and skills. Participation in such sessions should stimulate reflection, understanding and reconsideration of one’s own motives, goals and interests. Students should know how to solve professional problems with creativity, and plan their own self-development and professional self-improvement. Exercises undertaken during practical sessions should provide for the presence of motivational, communicative, emotional and axiological components of the acmeological platform. Sessions devoted to the development of reflection skills should be focused on the development of the skills of carrying out self-analysis and self-evaluation of one’s own activities. The curriculum should be prepared taking into account the ability of students to solve professional tasks and correspond to emotional, axiological and reflection and self-consciousness components of the acmeological platform.
The process of training students should create conditions for independent recording and evaluation of one’s own achievements. For this purpose, it is possible to use a professional portfolio. The students’ portfolio may include performed tests, exercises, papers, essays, results of tests, rating control pictures, etc.. The process of the development of the acmeological platform of a future teacher depends on the use of acmeological training techniques, i.e. such techniques that are focused on the successful activities of each student. Training techniques are focused on the achievement of a certain result using a specific training system. The acmeological training technique is a technique that helps a
206
student to achieve success and high level results, based on a steady incentive of achievements; this is a systematic training technique built by means of design of the training process and stage-by-stage diagnostics. The acmeological technique helps to gradually organize learning activities of a future teacher by providing for their success in training and self-development. The lecturer’s task is to purposefully design the development of a future teacher through the organization of their core activities, in the process of which the intellectual, personal, social and communicative development of a person takes place. Acmeological techniques include: interactive games, workshops, development techniques; techniques of personality-oriented training; methods of making forecasts; teaching how to solve problems.
A well-developed acmeological platform of a teacher mainly determines the competitiveness and professional and social success of a teacher. This process brings results when a future teacher has developed such a professional and personal quality as communicativeness. The acmeological platform of a future teacher is an integrative characteristic of their personality focused on the achievement of high level results and pedagogical performance, the development of creativity of a teacher and a student, and steady humanistic motivation in training activities.
Bibliography
1. Дергач А. А., Кузьмина Н. В. Акмеология - наука о путях достижения вершин профессионализма.
2. Кузьмина Н. В., Зимичев А. П. Проблемы акмеологических наук. - СПб., 1990.
3. Манойлова М. А. Эмоциональная компетентность педагога и ее развитие в процессе профессиональной подготовки в вузе// Современные технологии в высшем и среднем профессиональном образовании: материалы 4 регион. науч.-метод. конф. - Псков: ПГПИ, 2003. - С. 159-160.
207
