The process of teaching mathematics consists of several independent types and forms of classes in which interaction between the teacher and students takes place. Therefore, in order to intelligently organize the process of teaching mathematics, it is necessary to understand the essence and features of all these types of classes.

The main and main type is the system. In addition to them, the educational process of teaching mathematics also includes the following types of activities: students’ homework; extracurricular forms of classes and work; electives; extracurricular forms of work. Let's look at each of these components.

Lessons occupy the main place in the activities of teachers and students in terms of time and importance. The classroom-lesson form of organizing the educational process undoubtedly has many advantages: it is economical; it creates an opportunity for meaningful and intimately personal communication between students and, therefore, satisfies the students’ need for such communication; The founder of the classroom and lesson system, Ya.A. Komensky proceeded from the position that individual differences in the mental abilities of students are harmful. He wrote that the development of abilities is like a deviation or lack of natural harmony... Therefore, our method is adapted for mediocre abilities, that is, it can restrain more subtle natures and in the same way encourage slower ones.

History of the school built on class-based teaching system, indeed indicates that such a system does not contribute to the development of individual abilities. Therefore, one can increasingly hear words of sharp condemnation of this system. Traditional education process They compare it to a mass production plant that turns a first-grader into a high school graduate, and only then into a specialist. Different levels of talent among young people exist not because of the education system, but in spite of it. That is, modern education kills talents with its goal of imparting a known and equal amount of knowledge for everyone.

M. N. Skatkin, analyzing the class-lesson education system, points out another significant drawback, namely, that this system organizes mainly individual cognitive activity and there is almost no place in it for collective work. He rightly points out that the so-called frontal form of organizing lessons in the classroom only creates the appearance of collective work; students work nearby, but not together.

We know that everyone individually understands the teacher’s explanations and also individually solves the task, just like everyone else. We see that there is a common goal, but there is no genuine collective work - putting together efforts to achieve it. And even if some student decides to help a friend called to answer at the blackboard, then he will naturally be punished for this act - giving a hint. A paradoxical situation is created when the school is supposed to foster collectivism, but at the same time, students are almost deprived of the elements of genuine collectivism. That is, a person can understand this only at work, games and entertainment. If, for example, he is interested in selling apartments, then he needs to collaborate with a designer, builder, etc., which means working together.

Where is the way out? Attempts have been made for a long time to abandon class-lesson form of education and replacing it with something else. But, as you know, all these attempts did not bring anything good. The solution must be not to replace, but to improve the system itself, as a proven form of universal compulsory education. Read about this in the next article.

Scientific and practical conference dedicated to the 360th anniversary of the classroom system based

On the topic: “Advantages and disadvantages of the classroom-lesson system”

Teacher at Municipal Educational Institution “Secondary School No. 4” in Kashira:

1. General characteristics of the classroom system

The classroom-lesson system, with all its shortcomings, has significant advantages over other systems for organizing the pedagogical process. Reasonable use within its framework of elements of other educational systems makes the classroom-lesson system indispensable for a comprehensive school. The classroom-lesson system, with its mass enrollment of students, allows for organizational clarity and continuity of educational work; it is economically beneficial, especially in comparison with individual training and education. The teacher’s knowledge of the individual characteristics of students and, in turn, students of each other allows them to use with great effect the stimulating influence of the class team on the educational activities of each student.

The classroom-lesson system, like no other, presupposes a close connection between compulsory academic and extracurricular work. Extracurricular work occupies a special place in the structure of the pedagogical process organized by the school. It greatly contributes to the improvement of the educational process itself, although it is not always carried out within the walls of the school. Extracurricular (extracurricular) work can be considered as extracurricular and extracurricular. Extracurricular activities are organized by the school and most often within the walls of the school, and extracurricular activities are organized by institutions, usually on their basis.

Extracurricular and extracurricular activities are of great educational importance. They contribute to the development of cognitive interests, satisfaction and development of the spiritual needs of schoolchildren, and open up additional opportunities for the formation of such valuable socially significant qualities as social activity, independence, initiative, etc. Their main purpose is to identify and develop the creative abilities and inclinations of children and adolescents in various branches of science and culture.

An undeniable advantage of the classroom-lesson system is the possibility within its framework of an organic combination of mass, group and individual forms of educational work.

Mass forms are used mainly in organizing extracurricular activities. They require the participation of the majority of students or their representatives. These are matinees, school evenings, holidays, competitions, olympiads, KVN, conferences, cleanup days, etc. The criteria for the effectiveness of mass forms of organizing the pedagogical process are the quantitative coverage of schoolchildren, clarity and organization in the process, the activity of students and, most importantly, the achievement of educational educational purposes.

It is advisable to divide group forms into educational and extracurricular. Educational activities include a lesson, school lecture, seminar, excursion, laboratory and practical session, which will be discussed in detail below. Group extracurricular work is carried out with students of the same or different ages, united by common interests. Usually these are circles, clubs, sports sections organized with the aim of deepening cognitive interests and expanding horizons (subject clubs, the club for the curious “Why”, etc.); improving labor skills and development of technical creativity ("Skillful Hands", design, aircraft modeling clubs, etc.); development of artistic abilities (dance, choral clubs, vocal group, literary club, etc.); improving sportsmanship and promoting health (sports sections, teams of schools for any sport, etc.); intensification of social activities (international friendship club, clubs “Young Historian”, “Prometheus”, etc.). Circles, clubs, sections usually unite no more than 15 - 20 people, they work according to a program drawn up for a year or six months. Indicators of the effectiveness of group forms of organizing extracurricular work are the stable composition of a circle or section; noticeable collective achievements recognized by others.

The main form of individual educational work is consultations in combination with additional classes. In recent years, individual work with students in the form of tutoring in all or some academic subjects has become widespread. Individual extracurricular activities are organized with the aim of developing the abilities, inclinations and talents of individual students. This could be literary reading classes, solo performance of songs, learning to play a musical instrument, etc. The criterion for the effectiveness of individual forms of organizing training and education is progressive positive changes in the knowledge, skills, behavior, relationships of the student, i.e. in the individual in in general.

Additional education (out-of-school educational work), also organized through mass, group and individual forms, is based on the conditions of voluntary participation, activity and initiative of children, taking into account their age and interests. It is carried out through children's art houses, children's technical, naturalistic, local history stations, music, sports, art schools, libraries, clubs, clubs, sections at house managements, etc.

All the variety of forms of organization of the pedagogical process can be divided into basic, additional and auxiliary.

The genius of Comenius lies not only in creating a general system of education that is familiar to us, but also in its detailed elaboration. In particular, speaking about the universality of education, Jan Amos Comenius distinguishes several age periods. Based on many years of experience, the teacher identifies such 6-year periods based on age-related physiological characteristics. For each of the given ages, Comenius assigns a special level of education, included in the general system of unified education. In this sense, Comenius, as a true Protestant, was an opponent of class or “dead-end” education. “For children up to and including 6 years old, he offers a mother’s school, by which he means pre-school education under the guidance of the mother. For adolescence (that is, for children from 6 to 12 years old), a six-year school of the native language is intended in every community, village, town. For young men (from 12 to 18 years old) there should be a Latin school or gymnasium in every city. For mature young people (from 18 to 24 years old) there should be an academy in every state or large region."

The feasibility of this system lies not only in its sound age specification, but also in a number of features. First of all, each of them has a specific learning content. Further, in view of the different needs of society for one type of education or another, Comenius immediately makes payment for education dependent on its “depth and height.” The mother's school is paid for by the family, the mother tongue school is paid for by the local community, the gymnasium is paid for by the central authority of the area (for example, the municipality), and finally the academy () -. Thus, each level of education, according to Comenius, to one degree or another is the concern of everyone.

For each level, Comenius also developed the content of training. At the mother's school, the child should receive imaginative ideas about the world around him. The basic sciences, the rudiments of which develop in a child, are natural science and geography. This knowledge should not be in the nature of rote learning; it is developed during the child’s daily communication with the outside world. In childhood, a child receives basic labor and housekeeping skills, becomes familiar with household items, their use, and learns to take care of himself independently. “The moral education of preschool children, as he pointed out, consists in instilling in them moderation, neatness, hard work, respect for elders, obedience, truthfulness, justice and, most importantly, love for people.”

The school of the native language, according to Comenius, is intended for children without distinction of gender, class, or nationality. Let us note that this is one of the first experiences of a unified school, relatively separated from the church and aimed at teaching a living, native language. The gymnasium, as providing a more advanced education, already studies foreign and ancient languages ​​(Latin, Greek). The so-called “liberal arts” (philosophy, rhetoric, etc.), as well as natural science, geography, and history are studied.

Comenius demanded that after teaching language (grammar), students move on to studying real sciences - natural science (physics), mathematics, then philosophical sciences (ethics, dialectics), completing the entire course with the study of rhetoric. The six consecutive classes of the gymnasium at the Comenius school are called: grammatical, physical, mathematical, ethical, and rhetorical.

Comenius understood that one of the most important conditions for the proper organization of school education is the availability of good textbooks, and in sufficient quantities. Comenius also defined the range of requirements for textbooks: “They must present them fully, thoroughly and accurately, presenting the most important picture of the universe. And what I especially desire and insist on is that these books must present everything in simple, accessible language, illuminating the path for students in every possible way.”

Summarizing the information of advanced scientists that existed at that time, Comenius based it on his outstanding didactic theory.

2. Advantages of the classroom-lesson system

Comenius' greatest merit is his discovery and development of the issue of a class-lesson system of classes. Komensky was the first to indicate the signs of a class-lesson system:

Specific annual training course starts. Division into classes. Time distribution.

He also highlighted the issue of lesson methodology. The lesson should be taught primarily through systematic presentation by the teacher. The teacher's living word is of great importance for mastering the material. But a very important method is also to use a book in the lesson, although they are dumb teachers. Conversation as a method of work is especially important in the classroom. But the conversation must be conducted skillfully, so that the teacher “incites” the students, posing questions to them, stimulating the activity of all students, everyone to work. During the conversation, students' attention is cultivated, they are accustomed to listening and repeating what the teacher says.

All this will then help students learn the material on their own, and not “pore over” it at home. The lesson is structured taking into account the student's level of receptivity. The teacher must remember that he is only a servant of nature, and not its master. Taking into account the nature of the student’s receptivity, the teacher first of all gives the student an idea of ​​the subject. The tone, style, attitude towards students, and the appearance of the class are of great importance. Everything should contribute to easy, pleasant assimilation of the material, stimulating the attention and thinking of students. During the lesson, all senses should be used whenever possible: vision, hearing, hands. Komensky advocates drawing, for the use of visual aids in all its types and forms, indicating the details of the technique of handling visual aids. Not only the perception and understanding of the material is of great importance. Komensky develops a question about another part of the lesson, about memorization. You need to memorize only what is well understood, there is no need to tire your memory.

Comenius described the learning process, formulated the rules by which classes should be structured in schools, and theoretically substantiated them (17th century). Since then, the signs of the class-lesson system have become known to us. These are: classes with a permanent composition of students; simultaneous start of classes for everyone; a certain time of their continuation with breaks for holidays; school day starting in the morning; studying the material according to the rules: from easy to difficult, from close to far. Proposing his educational system, he wrote that learning should happen easily and gently, as if by itself - without beatings or harshness, without coercion, without much effort.

Comenius' ideas fell on fertile soil. The rapid development of industry began; literate people were required to work in factories and factories. There should have been a lot of them. The classroom-lesson system was ideal for solving such problems. were invited to organize school affairs in England, Sweden, and Hungary. In Russia, he did a lot to spread the class-lesson system. But one should not think that the class-lesson system immediately triumphantly entered all schools. There were also glitches. When he was invited to Hungary, he met resistance there from both students and teachers, and he failed to fully realize his plans.

First of all, we note that the classroom-lesson system is economical: there are 25–30 students in a class, and only one teacher is needed. The teacher’s activities are easy to regulate and control: he must have lesson planning, notes or a lesson plan; Lesson topics are recorded in the class journal; students are given grades; The lesson has certain stages, each with a certain time allotted.

It is convenient for the teacher himself to organize the work of students during the lesson: he is in front of the class, all students see and hear him; at his command they stand up, sit down, answer, and go to the board. Present a certain amount of educational material to students, check their assimilation, practice skills and abilities - all these tasks are also solved to one degree or another.

It is most convenient for a teacher with “average” students: they have time to work at the proposed pace; “there are not enough stars in the sky”, they are not distinguished by originality of thinking, but they are conscientious and hardworking. But as soon as a non-standard personality is encountered among them, difficulties begin. And here we smoothly move on to the disadvantages of the class-lesson system.

3. Disadvantages of the class-lesson system

Over the years, I have taught and attended more than a thousand lessons. And this is what I had to observe. The lesson is taught by a wonderful literature teacher, and it is simply a pleasure to hear how students analyze texts, identify hidden meanings, and rise to the heights of literary judgment. But suddenly... we meet the frankly bored look of the student; he constantly looks at his watch - impatiently waiting for the end of the lesson. A unique case? No, every teacher will name more than one such student. Maybe these children are incapable of mental effort, lazy? But you should have seen how the eyes of that same bored boy lit up when, during recess, he showed his classmates an artificial hand assembled from Lego parts - its fingers clenched, grabbed the candy and treated the girls.

And the orderliness of the lesson often turns into a routine. There are so many downright boring lessons at school! The teacher will write down the numbers of examples and problems from the textbook and sit down at the table; only occasionally walks around the classroom to check performance. How does communication happen? The students sit behind each other, with the backs of their classmates in front of their eyes. You can only communicate with the teacher, but this communication is special. It’s not at all the same when two people freely exchange information, express their attitude to something, and together look for an answer to a question. The teacher's question requires a specific answer, and the student tries to give exactly this answer. There is command-administrative control of cognition.

Living conditions are changing rapidly. Today’s children themselves learn much of what will be studied in class earlier. From the Internet, for example. At school, the main thing for them is to learn how to navigate the flow of information coming from all sides. But the classroom-lesson system fails here too. Today, this function is already being taken over by distance learning. A person can now not only study, but also receive a certificate without leaving home.

The school must be rebuilt. So far this process is going very slowly. Inertia is good when it slows down ill-conceived education reforms, and conservatism is good when it preserves traditions and the connection between generations. But now the case is different: between the needs for education and real school education, the contradictions are growing and growing. What is this new system? Obviously more activity oriented. Giving knowledge about how to do things and the experience of “doing”. With priority to the student’s individual activity, work in a group on a project, interaction with specialists on the problems being solved. With new functions of the teacher: he does not so much lead the student as help him to go independently. Classroom learning will give way to learning in an information and educational environment where there are two equal partners: teacher and student. Of course, due to life experience and professional training, leadership will belong to the teacher. As well as the function of organizing the learning process - due to the status of the teacher as a civil servant.

Will lessons remain in such a teaching system? Most likely yes. But they will take up their strictly defined amount of time and perform their limited functions. After all, in order to teach himself independently, a child needs certain systematized knowledge and skills - the basics, the contours of the picture of the world. A person must understand that there are natural sciences that study objects of living and inanimate nature; There is mathematics, which deals with numbers and the relationships between them, and there is the science of society. And there is art, works of art in which the creator expresses himself, his idea of ​​the world and his attitude towards it. This is all the more necessary because modern man’s individual picture of the world is a chaotic heap, an interweaving of various information obtained from a variety of sources, in the figurative expression of A. Mol - “felt”. And the teacher’s task is to systematize and organize this information in the students’ heads.

The information and educational environment will allow the student to interact with experts in various fields of knowledge, participate in the discussion of problems at a distance and not have to go to school every day - he will be able to communicate with the teacher using a computer. This is a completely different training system. But when will this be? It is very difficult to answer. The classroom-lesson system is the most economical of all. What funds are needed to switch to teaching children in an information and educational environment? Colossal. So someday the class-lesson system, of course, will be replaced by another teaching system, but only in a very distant future.

Currently, the classroom-lesson system is being improved by supplementing students' lessons, using discussions, group work, and workshops. The teacher's performance of the functions of a consultant within the context of students is from the same category of innovations. Elements of the lecture-seminar system in high school, independent work of schoolchildren with various sources of information, including electronic ones; teaching and learning according to individual curricula in groups of variable composition. All of these are directions for modernizing the classroom system.

We can say that the classroom system now is not quite the same as in the past. Its further development will lead to new changes, transformation and integration with other systems. But one can hardly expect a complete and unconditional rejection of those didactic principles that were formulated in the “Great Didactics” by John Amos Comenius.

The essence of this form is that the teacher conducts classes not with one student, but with a whole group of children of different ages, whose levels of training were different. Because of this, the teacher conducted educational work with each student separately. He asked each student in turn about the material he had covered, explained new material to each one individually, and gave individual assignments. The rest of the students were doing their own thing at this time. This allowed students to come to school at different times - at the beginning, middle and even end of the school year and at any time of the day.

Both individual and individual-group forms of organizing education already at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries did not satisfy the needs of society in both quantitative and qualitative terms of preparing younger generations to participate in solving socially significant problems. The overwhelming majority of children remained unenrolled in education, and those who were included in it acquired only the simplest skills of reading, writing, and counting.

Class-lesson education system

At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, Europe experienced a surge in new educational needs. They are caused by the development of various industries, crafts and trade, the increasing role of spiritual life - a revival in literature, art, architecture, and science. All this led to the emergence of mass education of children. The concept of collective education arose, which was first applied in fraternal schools in Belarus and Ukraine (XVI century) and became the embryo classroom-based teaching system. Theoretically, this system was justified and widely popularized in the 17th century by John Amos Comenius. Currently, this form of educational organization, which has undergone significant modification and modernization, is predominant in schools around the world, despite the fact that the class and lesson as didactic concepts are already more than 350 years old.

What is the essence of the class-lesson system as a specific form of organizing educational work? The answer to this question is contained in the features that are inherent in this system. The most important of them are:

students of approximately the same age and level of training form a class, which remains largely constant for the entire period of schooling;

The class works according to a single annual plan and program according to a permanent schedule. As a consequence, children must come to school at the same time of year and at predetermined times of the day;

the main unit of classes is the lesson, the structure of which remains unchanged: survey, teacher message, exercise, check;

a lesson, as a rule, is devoted to one academic subject, topic, due to which students work on the same material;

The teacher supervises the work of students in the classroom; he evaluates the results of studies in his subject, the level of learning of each student individually, and at the end of the school year makes a decision on transferring students to the next grade.

The academic year, the school day, the lesson schedule, school holidays, breaks or, more precisely, breaks between lessons, these are also signs of the class-lesson system.

The classroom-based teaching system has occupied the minds of academic teachers all over the world since its foundation and to the present day. It has been subjected to a thorough analysis and description with all its advantages and disadvantages in numerous fundamental works on didactics and methods of teaching individual academic subjects, as well as in works on educational psychology. The authors of these works are unanimous in the fact that the classroom teaching system has a number of advantages compared to individual training.

Her virtues: a clear organizational structure that ensures orderliness of the entire educational process; simple management; the opportunity for children to interact with each other in the process of collective discussion of problems, collective search for solutions to problems; constant emotional impact of the teacher’s personality on students, their upbringing in the learning process; the economy of teaching, since the teacher works simultaneously with a fairly large group of students, creates conditions for introducing a competitive spirit into the educational activities of schoolchildren and at the same time ensures systematicity and consistency in their movement from ignorance to knowledge.

Noting these advantages, one cannot help but see a number of significant disadvantages in this system, namely: the classroom-lesson system is focused mainly on the average student, creates unbearable difficulties for the weak and delays the development of abilities in the stronger ones; creates difficulties for the teacher in taking into account the individual characteristics of students in organizational and individual work with them, both in content and in the pace and methods of teaching; does not provide organized communication between older and younger students, etc.

Working at an imposed pace, E. Parkhurst noted in her critical statements about the class-lesson system, is bondage, it is the deprivation of the student’s freedom to work in accordance with his abilities. The class-lesson system, as Ch. Kupisevich rightly notes, imposes on students an artificial organization of work, forces them to frequently change subjects over short periods of time, as a result of which students cannot complete the work they have started, think through it, or deepen their knowledge. The bell, this typical attribute of the class-lesson system, not only determines the time of work and rest for children, but also at the end of the year measures the time during which they must be able to report on their progress for the whole year of study. As a result, some students are promoted to the next grade, while others - even if they are weak in only one subject - remain in the second year, although with better organization of work they could successfully fill the existing gaps. To a large extent, repeating a year is also due to the rigidity of the weekly school schedule, which imposes the same pace of work on all children, regardless of their capabilities.

Undoubtedly, critical statements about the classroom system, which have especially intensified since the end of the last century, are fundamentally fair and have served as the basis for numerous searches by pedagogical theorists and practicing teachers, on the one hand, for new teaching systems, and on the other, for ways to improve and modify and modernization of the classroom and lesson system of organizing training in accordance with the new requirements of a developing society and the achievements of psychological and pedagogical science.

The most widespread in our country and abroad was the classroom teaching system, which arose in the 17th century. and has been developing for more than three centuries. Its contours were outlined by the Jesuit Fathers under the leadership of I. Loyola, the system was improved by the German teacher I. Sturm, and the theoretical foundations were developed and implemented into mass practical technology by J. A. Komensky.

The classroom-lesson form of teaching organization is distinguished by the following features:

A permanent composition of students of approximately the same age and level of preparedness (class);

Each class works in accordance with its annual plan (learning planning);

The educational process is carried out in the form of separate interconnected, following one after another parts (lessons);

Each lesson is devoted to only one subject (monism);

Constant alternation of lessons (schedule);

Teacher leadership (pedagogical management);

The use of various types and forms of cognitive activity of students (variability of activity).

The class-lesson form has a number of advantages compared to other forms, in particular individual ones: it has a more strict organizational structure, is economical, since one teacher works simultaneously with a large group of students, creates favorable conditions for mutual learning, collective activity, competitiveness of education and development students. At the same time, this form of training organization is not without shortcomings that reduce its effectiveness; the main one among them is the reliance (orientation) on the “average” student, the lack of opportunity to carry out individual educational work with students.

Along with the classroom-lesson form, which is the main (main), modern schools also use other forms, called differently: auxiliary, extracurricular, extracurricular, home, independent, etc. These include consultations, additional classes, instructions , conferences, club and extracurricular activities, club work, extracurricular reading, homework for students, etc.

The invention of the classroom-lesson system, which now seems natural and obvious to us, at one time was a revolution in education, which is compared to the invention of the wheel in technology, because it opened up the possibility of universal and relatively economical education (one teacher can teach up to 30 or more schoolchildren). As for higher education, already in the first universities of Europe, starting from the 13th–14th centuries, there were collective forms of education - lectures and seminars.

To be precise, it must be said that it existed before J. A. Comenius: in the Strasbourg school of I. Sturm (1538), in Jesuit schools and colleges; in public primary schools in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Saxony; in fraternal schools in Ukraine and Belarus. But he described the learning process, formulated the rules by which classes should be structured in schools, and it was J. A. Komensky (17th century) who theoretically substantiated them. Since then, the signs of the class-lesson system have become known to us. These are: classes with a permanent composition of students; simultaneous start of classes for everyone; a certain time of their continuation with breaks for holidays; school day starting in the morning; studying the material according to the rules: from easy to difficult, from close to far.

Proposing his education system, Ya. A. Komensky wrote that learning should happen easily and gently, as if by itself - without beatings or harshness, without coercion, without much effort.

Comenius' ideas fell on fertile soil. The rapid development of industry began; literate people were required to work in factories and factories. There should have been a lot of them. The classroom-lesson system was ideal for solving such problems. Y. A. Komensky was invited to organize school affairs in England, Sweden, and Hungary. In Russia, K. D. Ushinsky did a lot to spread the class-lesson system. But one should not think that the class-lesson system immediately triumphantly entered all schools. There were also glitches. When J. A. Komensky was invited to Hungary, he met resistance there from both students and teachers, and he failed to fully realize his plans.

The classroom-lesson system has the following characteristic features:

Groups (classes) include students of approximately the same age and level of readiness for learning. The teacher works with the whole class (frontally) or with groups within classes, giving them different tasks.

The main form of training is a lesson - a segment of training of 40–45 minutes, representing a unit of the educational process that is relatively complete in content and method of construction.

The entire period of study is divided into academic years, quarters, school days, vacations, and classes are conducted according to a single plan and schedule.

The teacher supervises educational activities, explains new material, gives assignments, and monitors their implementation.

The advantages of the classroom-lesson system: clear organization and orderliness of educational work, the organizing and educating role of the teacher, interaction of students and the possibility of collective ways of working, cost-effectiveness of teaching - are combined with a number of serious disadvantages: limited possibilities for an individual approach, focus on the “average” student, work in the same pace for everyone, the predominantly verbal nature of the activity, a certain artificiality in dividing classes into 40-45 minute segments. The indicated “weaknesses” of the classroom-lesson system caused criticism and a desire to search for more advanced forms of education.

Question 3.

A lesson is the main form of organizing learning. Lesson structure and types. Requirements (didactic, psychological, educational, developmental) for a modern lesson.

A lesson is a form of organizing the educational process in which the teacher, for a precisely set time, organizes cognitive and other activities of a permanent group of students (class), taking into account the characteristics of each of them, using types, means and methods of work that create favorable conditions for all students mastered the basics of the subject being studied, as well as for the education and development of cognitive and creative abilities, spiritual powers of the students.

In each lesson, one can identify its main components (explanation of new material; consolidation; repetition; testing of knowledge, abilities, skills), which characterize various types of activities of the teacher and students. These components can appear in various combinations and determine the structure of the lesson, the relationship between the stages of the lesson, i.e. its structure.

The structure of a lesson is understood as the relationship between the components of a lesson in their specific sequence and interrelationship with each other. The structure of the lesson depends on the didactic goal, the content of the educational material, the age characteristics of the students and the characteristics of the class as a collective. The variety of lesson structures implies a variety of their types.

Typology and structure of the lesson. The qualitative originality of lessons is determined by their goals and content, delivery methodology, and the characteristics of the school, teacher and students. In order to identify common aspects in a huge variety of lessons, their classification is objectively necessary. The problem of typology of lessons and their systematization is quite complex. In domestic didactics, there are different approaches to classifying lessons. Depending on what features were taken as a basis, certain variants of the typology of lessons were proposed, which is quite legitimate.

One of the classifications of lessons was based on the methods of conducting them, i.e., teaching methods, in connection with which lessons-lectures, film lessons, lessons-conversations, practical lessons, etc. were distinguished.

There have been attempts to classify lessons, for example, by the nature of students’ cognitive activity (lessons on the primary perception of facts, lessons on the formation of concepts, etc.), by the degree of independence of students’ work (lessons on independent work of schoolchildren, lessons on how a teacher works with a class), etc.

The most common is the classification of lessons according to the main didactic goals and the place of lessons in their overall system, proposed in some modifications by B. P. Esipov,

N. I. Boldyrev, G. I. Shchukina, V. A. Onishchuk and other didactics.

In accordance with this classification, the following types of lessons are distinguished:

 lessons for students to master new knowledge, which include the accumulation of factual material, observations, the study of processes and phenomena, their comprehension and the formation of concepts;

 lessons in the formation and acquisition of skills and abilities;

 lessons in generalization and systematization of knowledge;

 lessons of repetition, consolidation, or, in another wording, ‒ complex application (V. A. Onishchuk) of knowledge, skills and abilities;

 test lessons (with oral and written testing of knowledge, skills and abilities);

- combined lessons in which several didactic tasks are simultaneously solved.

Unfortunately, this classification cannot be recognized as universal, since it is almost not always possible to observe in its pure form any of the given types of lessons, except for combined ones. In addition, the above classification reflects only educational goals and does not take into account the implementation of educational tasks in the lesson and the nature of the educational and cognitive activity of students in the classroom. Therefore, the typology of lessons continues to be one of the pressing problems of didactics.

Along with typology, lesson theory pays great attention to its structure.

The structure of a lesson is a set of its elements that ensure the integrity of the lesson and the preservation of the main manifestations in various options. The components of the lesson are closely interconnected and are carried out in a certain sequence.

The structure of the lesson depends on the goals set, the content of the material being studied, teaching methods and techniques used in the lesson, the level of preparation and development of students, and the place of the lesson in the educational process.

Lessons have a very diverse structure; they cannot be planned and conducted in a formulaic manner, according to a single, once and for all established scheme. In addition to the above factors, the structure of the lesson is also greatly influenced by the creative nature of the teacher’s work and the specific working conditions in a given class. Each lesson differs from other lessons in its own characteristics, even if they are taught on the same subject in parallel classes. In a lesson you can always see the specific “pedagogical style” of the teacher.

However, due to the fact that various methods of classification established a limited number of types of lessons, there was a steady tendency to assign a certain, rather rigid structure to each of these types.

For example, a combined lesson was structured according to the following scheme: an organizational moment, checking that students have completed their homework, questioning students on the material covered, the teacher presenting new material, consolidating the learned material, and homework.

The stereotyped nature of such a structure caused fair criticism from didactics and advanced teachers.

An analysis of the best practices of teachers and the results of special research led to the conclusion that the traditional understanding of lesson structure does not meet modern teaching tasks. The structure should not only reflect the external manifestations of the organization of joint activities of the teacher and students in the lesson, but also express the essence of the internal processes with which the cognitive activity of students is connected.

The structure can change depending on the content of the educational material, conditions, students’ preparedness, etc. A lesson in mastering new knowledge consists, for example, of elements that are common to lessons of this type: perception and awareness of educational material, comprehension of connections and relationships in it, generalization and systematization of knowledge. But in the structure of individual lessons for mastering new knowledge, there may be no reproduction of basic knowledge, for example, when studying material unfamiliar to students.

In addition to the indicated main stages, each type of lesson also has an internal structure - a methodology for solving individual didactic problems at each stage of the lesson. This technique is the most mobile part of each lesson, since the methods, techniques and teaching aids used in the lesson are used in various combinations, sequences and relationships. For example, at the stage of perception and comprehension of new educational material, a teacher can use explanation, problem presentation, heuristic conversation, various types of independent work of students, and technical teaching aids.

In the conditions of developmental education, it is proposed to consider the structure of the lesson at three levels: didactic, logical-psychological and methodological. The main one is the didactic structure, consisting of constant components: updating students’ previous knowledge and methods of action, the formation of new concepts and methods of action and application - the formation of skills and abilities (M. I. Makhmutov).

Among the general requirements that a high-quality modern lesson must meet are the following:

1. Using the latest scientific achievements, advanced pedagogical practices, building a lesson based on the laws of the teaching and educational process.

2. Implementation in the classroom in an optimal ratio of all didactic principles and rules.

3. Providing appropriate conditions for productive cognitive activity of students, taking into account their interests, inclinations and needs.

4. Establishing interdisciplinary connections that students recognize.

5. Connection with previously learned knowledge and skills, reliance on the achieved level of student development.

6. Motivation and activation of the development of all spheres of personality.

7. Logic and emotionality of all stages of educational activities.

8. Effective use of pedagogical means.

9. Connection with life, production activities, personal experience of students.

10. Formation of practically necessary knowledge, skills, rational methods of thinking and activity.

11. Formation of the ability to learn, the need to constantly expand the amount of knowledge.

12. Careful diagnosis, forecasting, design and planning of each lesson.

Each lesson is aimed at achieving a triune goal: to teach, educate, develop. Taking this into account, the general requirements for the lesson are specified in didactic, educational and developmental requirements.

Didactic (or educational) requirements include:

– clear definition of the educational objectives of each lesson;

– rationalization of the information content of the lesson, optimization of content taking into account social and personal needs;

– introduction of the latest technologies of cognitive activity;

– rational combination of various types, forms and methods;

– a creative approach to the formation of the lesson structure;

– combination of various forms of collective activity with independent activity of students;

– providing prompt feedback, effective control and management;

– scientific calculation and skill in conducting a lesson.

Educational requirements for the lesson include:

– determination of the educational possibilities of educational material, activities in the lesson, formation and setting of realistically achievable educational goals;

– setting only those educational tasks that organically follow from the goals and content of educational work;

– educating students on universal human values, developing vital qualities: perseverance, accuracy, responsibility, diligence, independence, efficiency, attentiveness, honesty, collectivism, etc.;

– attentive and sensitive attitude towards students, compliance with the requirements of pedagogical tact, cooperation with students and interest in their success.

Developmental requirements include:

– formation and development of students’ positive motives for educational and cognitive activity, interests, creative initiative and activity;

– studying and taking into account the level of development and psychological characteristics of students, designing a “zone of proximal development”;

– conducting training sessions at an “advanced” level, stimulating the onset of new qualitative changes in development;

– forecasting “leaps” in the intellectual, emotional, social development of students and prompt restructuring of educational activities taking into account the upcoming changes.

In addition to the listed requirements for a lesson, there are others: organizational, psychological, managerial, requirements for optimal communication between the teacher and students, requirements for cooperation, sanitary and hygienic, ethical, etc.

Question 4.

Attempts to modernize the classroom-lesson system: Bell-Lancaster education system, Mannheim, Batavian (Batavia-plan), Dalton-plan, brigade-laboratory training, Trump plan.

Already at the end of the 18th century, the classroom-lesson education system began to be criticized. The search for organizational forms of training that would replace the classroom-lesson system was determined, first of all, by the problems of quantitative enrollment of students and management of the educational process.

In the world history of education, there have been many attempts to modify the classroom-lesson system of education or replace it with others.

Historically established foreign modifications of forms of education Bell-Lancaster system (mutual education system) Originated in 1798, the creators were the English priest A. Bell and teacher J. Lancaster. The essence of the system is that the teacher first teaches older students, then the latter teach younger children. The system makes it possible to organize mass training with a small number of teachers, although the quality of training remains low.

Batavia plan (Bat system) Appeared at the end of the 19th century. in the USA as a selective form of education. This was a reaction to the shortcomings of mass forms of education. It is characterized by the fact that the school day is divided into two parts: the first part is devoted to collective lessons with students, the second to individual lessons and assistance to both stronger students in their development, and weaker ones in overcoming learning difficulties. The teacher works with bright students, and his assistant works with slow students.

The Mannheim system arose in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century. and named after the city of Mannheim. The founder of the system is J. Sickinger. Depending on their abilities and academic performance, students were divided into classes of strong, average and weak. The selection was carried out on the basis of teacher observations and tests (psychological measurements, exams)

Dalton Plan In 1905, teacher Elena Parkhurst (Dalton, USA) used a special system of individualized education. The essence of the Dalton Plan as a special form of education was that instead of classrooms, a system of laboratories (workshops) was created in the school for each subject. Explanation of material and lessons have been cancelled. Students studied independently, receiving assignments for each subject and using the help of the teacher on duty. Then they reported on time. There was no single schedule. Collective work took place 1 hour a day, the rest of the time individual work in laboratories

Trump Plan A form of individualized instruction (which emerged at the beginning of the 20th century), combined with lectures, which account for up to 40% of class time. Highly qualified teachers, with the help of students, conduct lectures in large auditoriums (from 100 to 150 people). 20% were classes in small groups (10–15 people), where lecture materials were discussed under the guidance of an ordinary teacher. And finally, the remaining 40% of teaching time was allocated to individual work of students in classrooms and laboratories.

Project-based learning system Developed at the beginning of the 20th century. follower of J. Dewey William Kilpatrick. The essence of this system was that the basis of educational work was not the study of material in individual academic subjects, but the organization of practical activities of children, which was designed together with the teacher (hence the name of the system). Then, during its implementation, students were introduced to elements of knowledge in mathematics, languages, history, etc. Naturally, students did not receive either systematic or meaningful knowledge

The Dalton plan, which was sharply criticized by scientists and practical school workers for its pronounced individual orientation, served as a prototype for the development of a brigade-laboratory teaching system in the USSR, which practically replaced the lesson with its rigid structure.

In contrast to the Dalton plan, the brigade-laboratory system of education assumed a combination of collective work of the entire class with brigade (unit) and individual work of each student. In general classes, work was planned, assignments were discussed, the teacher explained difficult issues of the topic and summed up the overall activities. When assigning a task to the team, the teacher set deadlines for its completion and a mandatory minimum of work for each student, individualizing tasks if necessary. At the final conferences, the foreman, on behalf of the brigade, reported on the completion of the task, which, as a rule, was carried out by a group of activists, and the rest were only present. The same marks were given to all members of the brigade.

The brigade-laboratory system of organizing classes, which claimed to be universal, was characterized by diminishing the role of the teacher, reducing his functions to periodic consultations with students.

Overestimation of students' educational capabilities and the method of independent acquisition of knowledge led to a significant decrease in academic performance, lack of a system in knowledge and lack of development of the most important general educational skills. In 1932, training under this system ceased.

In the 20s In the 20th century, domestic schools also began to use the project method (project-based learning system), borrowed from the American school, where it was developed by W. Kilpatrick. He believed that the basis of school programs should be the child's experiential activities, related to the reality around him and based on his interests. Neither the state nor the teacher can develop a curriculum in advance; it is created by children together with teachers during the learning process and is drawn from the surrounding reality. Students themselves chose the topic of project development.

Depending on the specialization of the study group, it had to reflect the socio-political, economic-production or cultural-everyday side of the surrounding reality. The main objective of the projects was to equip the child with the tools to solve problems, search and explore in life situations. However, the universalization of this method and the refusal to systematically study academic subjects led to a decrease in the level of general education training for children. This system has not found widespread use.

In modern practice, there are other forms of organizing training. In the West, experiments are being carried out to create open schools - education is conducted in educational centers with libraries and workshops, i.e. the institution of “school” itself is being destroyed.

A special form of educational organization is immersion, when over a certain period of time (one or two weeks) students master only one or two subjects. Education by era is organized in a similar way in Waldorf schools.

The idea of ​​organizing learning through “immersion” is based on the teaching of the Russian physiologist A. A. Ukhtomsky about the dominant as the main principle of the work of nerve centers and the organization of human behavior. The classroom-lesson system, represented by different lessons throughout the day, dramatically changes and disrupts the educational dominants of schoolchildren and disrupts the natural processes of cognition. To maintain educational dominance, concentration and integrity of the educational process is necessary.

Maintaining the educational dominant makes it possible to successfully solve many learning tasks that are difficult in a conventional classroom-lesson system: to study the problem holistically and in depth; comprehensively, from the standpoint of different sciences, examine the object in question; ensure students’ personal understanding of the problem, etc.

This form of education allows students to immerse themselves in a certain historical era, in the work of a writer or scientist, in a physical theory or mathematical concept, in a natural phenomenon or technological process. Using the methods of various sciences, students comprehend the universal general subject essence of the object being studied.

“Immersion” training is structured in such a way that the educational dominant is maintained for several days.

For example, during the year 3-5 “immersions” are carried out in any subject (chemistry). Each “immersion” lasts for a week. Every day during the “immersion” there are 5 chemistry lessons and 1-2 lessons in a subject (physical education, music, painting) that does not change the main dominant. This means that 25 chemistry lessons will be taught per week, 75-125 lessons per year (depending on the number of “immersions”). The lessons differ in content and structure; homework is not given.

It is also possible to alternate the usual lessons (1-2 lessons per week) with “immersion”.

For example, at the beginning of the quarter there is an “immersion” for a week, and then 1-2 lessons of this subject per week.