Dual Nature of Students’ Knowledge Formation in the Pandemic Period: Pedagogical and Psychological Aspects

Abstract

The paper focuses on pedagogical and psychological facets of students’ knowledge formation impacted by the coronavirus pandemic situation worldwide. It was found out that the emergent transition to online education was mostly fruitfull for the development of new learning technologies, but at same time many students experienced frustration and uncertainty, studying independently; some lecturers were not ready to refuse from traditional frontal teaching methods. Theoretical analysis was applied to study classic and modern scientific works on the nature of the phenomenon of knowledge and its formation. Comparative analysis of the latest publications on this topic revealed that actual pedagogical approaches stated the importance of learners’ active participation in the interactions and interrelations within the system of the learning process and the relevance of the socio-cultural context of new knowledge presentation. Pedagogical observation and expert evaluation enabled authors’ exploring Generation Z students’ cognitive modes and psychological background, featured by practically oriented motivation, clip thinking, ability for multitasking, prevailing unvoluntary attention and weak memorization, preference for visual presentation of information. Theoretical synthesis and compilation implementation enabled working out practical recommendations for intensifying the process of knowledge formation of Generation Z students. The outcomes of the study were used to modernize an e-course “Methods of Teaching in Higher Education Institutions”, so that it met contemporary demands.