Identification and overcoming of subject deficits of students – future math teachers

Abstract

Introduction. A modern teacher should be ready to solve a number of urgent professional tasks imposed by the requirements of educational standards and international initiatives. Working teachers experience certain difficulties in their professional activities caused by a number of objective and subjective factors, including the quality of training at a university. The research purpose is to identify and overcome the deficiencies in the subject-methodological training of students – future math teachers in the aspect of modern requirements. Methodology and methods. The study involved forty-eight fourth- and fifth-year students of the Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University named after V.P. Astafyev. The following research methods were used: analysis of scientific literature, systematization and generalization of scientific research results, pedagogical experiment, quantitative analysis of experiment results using the Pearson’s chi-squared test. Results. The diagnostics of seven subject competencies of students – future math teachers – was carried out according to three components: cognitive, axiological, praxeological ones. Difficulties associated with the ability to solve mathematical problems of functional, geometric, probabilistic content, as well as with the personal, social and practical context were revealed. These deficits were overcome by including professionally oriented tasks in the content of elective disciplines of an educational program, as well as using an online course in the discipline “Elementary Mathematics”, which allows designing students’ individual educational trajectories to overcome their difficulties. The results of repeated diagnostics after training showed an increase in the level of formation of subject competences (χ2 = 6.63; p < 0.05). Conclusion. The conducted study shows the prospects of identifying and overcoming the professional deficits of a teacher at the stage of training at a university. The described experience can be used in the practice of preparing a student at a university to prevent subject deficits in the future professional activities of a math teacher. In the future, the study will be continued in the field of methodological and other deficits of a math teacher.