Eugenia Smyrnova-Trybulska

Quality of Higher Education and Structure of ICT Competence of Teachers in Ukrainian High Schools

Abstract This article examines ways of improving the quality of higher education in Ukraine in context of European quality standards for University educational space. The European standards and guidelines are considered in relation to internal quality assurance. The paper describes interdependence between the education quality of the University and the ICT competence’s level of its educators. It presents the indicators to achieve internal quality standards in educational process. There are results from the questionnaire of the Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University’s educators about dependence between the level of educators’ ICT competency formation and the quality of educational services. We describe the model of ICT competence corporate standards for the educators developed in the Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University. There are also presented the indicators and tools to measure the level of educators’ formation in the corporate standards.

Quality Hybrid Education Evaluation: Academic Staff Performance Assessment (Cases: Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University and the University of Silesia)

Abstract The process of adjusting transformation of education to dynamics of civilization development requires from systems of education to respond to constant corrections from all the stakeholders, agents and processes to upgrade its elements and parameters, which can be facilitated by real-time feedbacks at all levels of systems. Studying quality education in the context of the goals that the mankind has been setting for its sustainable development helps realize the changes in the attributes of educational system and subsystem elements, given quality of education reflects a level of disorder providing objective data on interactions of system elements and their discord with normative goals forecast for certain educational systems. The paper analyzes hybrid education as a form of education which is being determined by transformation of educational systems under applying ICTs for educational processes and by external factors connected with determining sustainable development and with hybridization of environment, which requires new instruments for quality assessment that are currently being under development.

Selected aspects and conditions of the use of robots in STEM education for young learners as viewed by teachers and students

Purpose This paper aims to discuss issues related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. It is emphasized that the need to prepare students with twenty-first-century skills through STEM-related teaching is strong, especially at the elementary level. The authors present selected previous experiences, publications, research into the study topic, and review examples of primary school robotics and programming curricula, as well as associated educational activities. The authors stress that workshops, using kits to build and programme robots, are a modern form of interdisciplinary education of children and youth. Design/methodology/approach The rationale for conducting such activities in schools is found in the European reference framework in the context of training of key competences. Classes in robotics – if properly taught – will have an impact on the development of mathematical literacy and scientific–technical information and social competences. At the same time, competence is understood to mean a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the situation. Besides, an analysis is presented of basic legal regulations in this matter as well as results of a survey, conducted in Poland and Ukraine among in-service teachers and prospective teachers. Findings The study was carried out with the participation of 91 primary school teachers and future teachers in the province of Silesia and at the University of Silesia in Poland, and in Ukraine, at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University. The survey contained 15 questions about the pedagogical research “Robotics and children”. The study was carried out to determine the needs of modern education to introduce the basics of robotics in the educational process of primary school. Originality/value It can be expected that the findings from the prior Polish and Ukrainian surveys can be extrapolated into curricula for secondary schools and vocational education and training (VET) in the coming years.

Theoretical conception and some practical results of the development of mathematical competences with use of e-learning

As we analyse the results of various examinations and competence tests in mathematics, we can say that students have insufficient level of certain mathematical competences. In order to solve this problem, a search to find possibilities to improve the process of teaching mathematics by means of information and communication technologies was started. A system for implementation of individual mathematics learning (Mathematics with Moodle) was prepared; it consists in gradual improvement of the level of mathematical competences of the students. A didactic tool was proposed – e-learning course preparing the students for the graduation exam in mathematics which includes an author’s MatLearn module, shaping mathematical competences of students. Its aim is to increase the level of competences, especially the ones which have not been mastered yet. Programmed learning principles were used to construct study activities in the course.