Technology of organising students’ project activities towards development of educational independence of a future pedagogue

Introduction. Educational independence is of major importance for the modern teachers’ work; its development is significant for training of future pedagogues. The development of educational independence oriented at the changes of the present and the future and at continuous self-improvement requires applying innovative pedagogical strategies and technologies. The introduction of project activity organisation technology for students of pedagogical profile, to be implemented in the educational process at the initial stages of training, is applied fragmentarily and is not comprehensively researched. Aim of the research: theoretical substantiation and approbation of project activity organisation technology for the development of students’ – future pedagogues’ – educational independence. Materials and methods. The participants of the experimental survey were represented by students majoring in “Pedagogical Education (different profiles)” at Tambov State University named after G.R. Derzhavin (45 persons) and State University of Education (45 persons) in 2022-2023 academic year. Theoretical research methods: analysis and generalisation of the history of the given issue, modern approaches to the development of educational independence, pedagogy of project activity. Empirical research methods: “Assessment of the ability for self-development, self-education” (V.I. Andreev), “Readiness for self-development” (V. Pavlov); expert card for assessing educational independence; assessment of project activity results; questioning; observation; content analysis of reflective texts. Statistical methods: Mann-Whitney U test. Results. The project activity organisation technology was developed for the formation of educational independence of a student – future pedagogue at the initial stage (level – Bachelor degree), depending on the initial level of preexisting educational independence (Introductory stage; Corrective stage; Development stage; Intermediate goal achievement stage). It was established that the use of the project activity organisation technology in the educational process has a positive impact on the development of educational independence of a student – future pedagogue. The research results confirmed the positive dynamics of this influence. The expedience of using project activities in future pedagogues teaching process was duly substantiated. The students, participating in project activities, select the field within the chosen speciality which will help them to realise their full potential in the future. It was revealed that the application of the designed technology showed effectiveness in the development of educational independence of a student – future pedagogue according to the following criteria: motivational/target-oriented (U = 584; p ≤ 0.01); cognitive/activity-based (U = 531.5; p ≤ 0.01) and evaluative/reflexive (U = 547.5; p ≤ 0.01). Conclusion. The novelty of the implemented research lies in the development of a project activity organisation technology for a student – future pedagogue, aimed at the development of educational independence, a set of supporting content, project topics for individual work. The results can be used in teaching other profiles and levels of higher education.