TRAINING STUDENTS FROM PEDAGOGICAL SPECIALTIES OF TRAKIA UNIVERSITY (STARA ZAGORA, BULGARIA) TO DEVELOP ELECTRONIC TESTS

Abstract

Background: The evolution and application of digital didactic tests for the evaluation of the knowledge and skills of pupils has become a major element in the academic training of students who opted for pedagogical specialties. This reflects the strong propensity for the optimization and improvement of the efficacy of teaching. This article puts forward a scientific research as well as a case study on first-hand experience in training students from pedagogical specialties in academic diagnostics and examination, together with practical tasks geared towards the formation of professional digital competence with regard to the employment of ICT in diagnostic procedures through classical, face-to-face, and mixed-form training.
 Objectives: The main aim of the study is to examine particular characteristics and opportunities, and to analyze the efficiency of the training provided for the development and design of electronic tests by future teachers in the course of the scholastic training.
 Methods: The experiment involved qualitative and quantitative research. The following techniques were applied: observation, content analysis, and mathematical and statistical methods of data processing. The statistical methods employed were the non-parametric Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests.
 Results: The survey included 150 students from three specialties in the Faculty of Pedagogy at Trakia University of Stara Zagora. The framework and composition of the e-learning course and the details of the face-to-face follow-up training are explained briefly. Aggregated data from the learning management system’s, Moodle’s, logs is also provided alongside representative observation data, and a summary with remarks on the findings from the practical classes with the students is also presented.
 Conclusion: A comparative scrutiny of the learning outcomes was conducted and the principal dependencies and typical merits and demerits of the two forms of training were identified and portrayed in the article. The variation in the end results was found to be statistically significant.