Methods of studying pedagogical phenomena are called. Cheat sheet: Methods of pedagogical research. Let's take a closer look at some of these methods.

The correct choice of methods plays an important role in conducting pedagogical research. The method of scientific and pedagogical research, according to S.S. Palchevsky, is a way of penetrating into the essence of complex psychological and pedagogical processes of personality formation in order to establish certain objective patterns of upbringing and training for the purpose of their practical use.

The method of pedagogical research is a set of methods and techniques for understanding the objective laws of the processes of teaching, upbringing and development. There is no single classification of methods, but there are different approaches to it. Usually the following groups of methods are distinguished:

2. Formalized - they are characterized by a greater degree of abstraction and methods of cognition that are based on abstraction from the content and generalization of the form of various pedagogical phenomena and processes. These include quantitative modeling of pedagogical phenomena and processes. Currently, computer modeling of pedagogical phenomena and processes is increasingly used.

3. Theoretical - they include: theoretical consideration of the tasks and subject of the study, determination of the logic of the study, consideration of the necessary study methods and expected results, theoretical analysis and synthesis of the research results.

Groups of methods are also distinguished according to other criteria:

According to the purpose of the research, these are methods of theoretical search, methods of identifying ways to improve practice.

According to sources of information, these include:

· methods of studying theoretical sources;

· methods for analyzing real pedagogical processes, which in turn are divided into methods of studying in natural conditions, and methods of studying in specially organized conditions in accordance with the purpose and hypothesis of the study.

Natural study methods include:

· observation - direct, direct, indirect, indirect, short-term, long-term, systematic, selective, included, complex;

· conversation - a method of collecting facts about pedagogical phenomena in the process of personal communication according to a specially designed program, but during its course you can change questions in accordance with the answers received;

· survey - obtaining information by asking a standardized system of questions, carried out in two main types: questioning and interviewing;

· questioning - a survey using a questionnaire to obtain answers to a pre-compiled system of questions, which can be open (free answers by the respondent), closed (choosing an answer from a number of proposed ones) and mixed;

· interviewing - a way to obtain information through oral questioning; can be free (not regulated by topic and form) and standardized (based on previously given issues), allows the accumulation of individual facts and therefore plays an auxiliary role - indicative or clarifying,

· testing is a standardized research method designed for precise quantitative and specific qualitative characteristics, assessment of individual psychological and pedagogical characteristics and human behavior by comparing these assessments with certain predetermined standards - test norms;

· analysis of documentation and products of activity - personal files, medical records, characteristics, class magazines, lesson plans, diaries, reader forms, curricula, orders, instructions, reports and balances, articles in the school wall press;

· expert assessment method - is used in cases where the reliability of the information necessary for decision-making is relatively low, therefore it is preferable to participate in such an assessment not just one, but a group of experts.

Methods of studying in specially organized conditions include: pedagogical experiment in natural and laboratory conditions, experimental testing in a public school.

According to the logic of the research, methods are distinguished: studying the state of the problem, experimental search for new solutions to the problem, processing the results of the experiment, etc.

According to the methods of processing and analyzing research data, the following methods are distinguished: qualitative analysis, quantitative processing of results (statistical and non-statistical).

In addition, based on the form of causality, deterministic and probabilistic methods are distinguished.

Theoretical methods include:

· Analysis is the decomposition of the whole under study into its constituent elements, the identification of individual features and qualities of the phenomenon. For example, a teacher’s actions in a lesson can be divided into separate components (methods of communication, motivation, explanations) and analyzed separately. The analysis is carried out at different levels: social-pedagogical, organizational-didactic, personal, activity-based, etc. (in philosophical, psychological, pedagogical, didactic, methodological aspects). Types of analysis: classification, structural (relationships and interconnections are identified), functional (functional dependencies are determined), causal (the causality of phenomena is revealed).

· Synthesis is the reunification of elements into a coherent structure. Thus, by observing a lesson, the researcher finds out what changes in the students’ actions occur when the teacher’s actions change. Analysis and synthesis are closely interrelated, so the researcher must have equally developed skills in both.

· Comparison consists of determining the similarities or differences between phenomena. When making a comparison, the researcher must first determine its basis - the criterion.

· Ranking is a method by which everything secondary that does not significantly affect the phenomenon under study is excluded. Ranking makes it possible to identify the main thing and separate secondary facts.

· Generalization. When studying a phenomenon, it is necessary not only to highlight its main features, but also to generalize them. The greater the number of essential features of phenomena that have been compared, the more conclusive the generalization.

· Abstraction. This operation makes it possible to isolate a certain aspect of a phenomenon in its “pure form,” i.e. in a way in which it does not actually occur. For example, when studying the learning motivation of schoolchildren, the researcher is interested in their motives, needs, interests, but other qualities (body parameters, hair and eye color) are not taken into account.

· Concretization is finding a particular that meets a general criterion, subsuming it under a concept. Specification allows you to better understand the general.

· Systematization. This operation is necessary to systematize and classify phenomena, i.e. distribute them into semantic groups according to certain (set by the researcher) grounds.

· Formalization. True science is possible only on the basis of abstract thinking, consistent human reasoning, proceeding in logical and linguistic forms in the form of concepts, judgments, and conclusions.

· Method of unity of historical and logical. In pedagogy, “rediscoveries” very often occur (ideas of developmental and problem-based learning, individual approach, etc.). New ideas are interpreted as if they arise independently of past experience, therefore one of the most serious and difficult methodological tasks of raising the theoretical level of works on pedagogy is to establish in them the optimal balance of historical and logical principles. It is necessary to pay attention to the primacy of the first and the secondary nature of the second. Historical is an objectively existing reality. The logical is derived from the historical and is a mental form of its reflection. Thus, by historical we understand the movement (development) of an object, by logical - the reflection of the movement of this object in human thinking.

· Simulation. The modeling method is a general scientific research method in which not the object of knowledge itself is studied, but its image in the form of a so-called model, but the result of the research is transferred from the model to the object. This second object is called the model of the first. In science, there are substitution models, representation models, interpretation models, and research models. Modeling is the process of building a model. Modeling is successfully used to optimize the structure of educational material, improve planning of the educational process, manage cognitive activity and manage the educational process (diagnosis, forecasting, design).

Among the methods of pedagogical research, sociometric surveys are widely used. The term “sociometry” itself literally means “social dimension”. This method of sociometry is, firstly, a convenient way to study and measure hidden interpersonal relationships in a team where students know each other well, and secondly, it makes it possible to identify the structure of relationships in the class depending on likes and dislikes, the presence of groupings, and determine authority elected bodies, the presence of leaders, marginalized (rejected), isolated students. It should be noted that, based on the picture of the life of the student group obtained using sociometry, recommendations can be made on working with this group, on strengthening the cohesion and organization of the class, on ways of further development, studying the collective relationships of students.

The method of independence of characteristics is that it makes it possible, firstly, to obtain more complete and generalized information about a student or class (group) from many people (teachers, class teachers, head teacher, director, parents, comrades, friends, managers public youth organizations, representatives of social institutions, etc.). Secondly, to characterize the student in different conditions of his life and activity, at different stages of development (for example, primary school age, adolescence, youth). Practice shows that the collected information from different individuals gives a fairly objective description of students. The use of the independent characteristics method is especially recommended for studying and analyzing the development of difficult students.

The method of studying and generalizing advanced pedagogical experience is the practice of teaching, upbringing and education, i.e. an organized, purposeful pedagogical process and its results, which are reflected in the quality of the student’s personality. Mass pedagogical experience is the typical experience of public education institutions, which characterizes the achieved level of practice in teaching, upbringing and the implementation of the achievements of pedagogical science in it.

The concept of “advanced pedagogical experience” is used in a broad and narrow sense. In a broad sense, excellence is understood as the high skill of a teacher, i.e. such practice that gives high sustainable pedagogical results. Professor M.N. Skatkin believes that “the teacher’s experience may not contain anything new or original, but, based on the successful application of principles and methods established by science, it will be a good example for those teachers who have not yet mastered pedagogical skills.”

In a narrow sense, advanced pedagogical experience is understood only as practice that contains elements of creative search, novelty, originality, what is otherwise called innovation. Among the innovators of pedagogical work are Sh.A. Amonashvili, O.S. Gazmana, N.P. Guzika, E.N. Ilyina, V.A. Karakovsky, V.F. Shatalova and others.

The scientific study and generalization of pedagogical experience is aimed at solving various research goals:

Identifying the existing level of solving educational and educational problems;

Identifying bottlenecks, blind spots and contradictions that arise in practice;

Identification of leading trends, original ideas, elements of innovative, progressive, born in the everyday creative search of the best teachers, as well as characteristic shortcomings and mistakes;

Studying the accessibility and effectiveness of scientific recommendations that become the property of science and practice.

When choosing a method, you should not so much formally go through their entire set, but you need to determine your optimal set of them for each stage of the study. In this case, one must be guided by the following requirements for the choice of research methods:

apply a combination of methods that allows you to obtain comprehensive information about the object;

methods should reflect the dynamics of the development of the phenomenon and process being studied, the conditions of their functioning and results over a certain period of time;

apply methods that allow you to obtain information from as many different sources as possible (for example, obtain information about the student from the most competent persons who are in constant communication and joint activities with him: from students, teachers, friends, neighbors, parents, grandparents).

Research methods– these are ways to solve research problems.

These include the following.

The study of pedagogical phenomena requires the researcher to directly observe them, accumulate and record factual material related to pedagogical work.

Using this method, the researcher finds out the opinion and attitude of both educators and students to certain pedagogical facts and phenomena and thereby tries to gain a deeper understanding of the essence and causes of these phenomena.

When studying the stimulating role of assessing students' knowledge for their academic performance, one cannot do without analyzing class magazines and progress reports for past years of study.

The essence of an experiment as a research method lies in the special organization of pedagogical activities of teachers and students in order to test and substantiate previously developed theoretical proposals or hypotheses.

Depending on the target settings, the following types of experiments are distinguished: ascertaining, creative-transforming and control.

Ascertaining experiment is usually carried out at the beginning of the study and has as its task the clarification of cases in school practice on a particular problem being studied.

Essence creative and transformative experiment consists in developing theoretical foundations and specific methodological measures to solve the problem under study. A new psychological situation is created in order to transform the state of affairs for the better.

The next stage of research into this problem is to test the findings and the developed methodology in mass school practice. This problem is solved using control experiment, the essence of which is the application of proven methods in the work of other schools and teachers.

The essence natural experiment consists of analyzing certain pedagogical phenomena, striving to create pedagogical situations in such a way that they do not disrupt the usual course of activities of students and teachers and, in this sense, are of a natural nature.

This method is based on the study and theoretical understanding of the practice of the best schools and teachers who successfully carry out training and education.

If there is a need for a mass study of certain issues, it is legitimate to conduct survey and invite students to answer several specially selected questions. This way you can study the problem relatively quickly and survey a large number of students.

Methods of mathematical statistics are used for quantitative analysis of the factual material obtained during the research process.

Theoretical analysis of pedagogical ideas allows you to make deep scientific generalizations on the most important issues of training and education and find new patterns where they cannot be identified using empirical (experimental) methods of research.

Introduction…………………………………………………………..........………….2

1. Features of the study of the pedagogical process………………......3

2. Traditional pedagogical methods of studying pedagogical reality………………………………………………………………………………...6

3. Methods for studying collective phenomena................................................8

4. Quantitative methods in pedagogy………………………………………………………9

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………..11

References………………………………………………………………12

Introduction

Everyone knows that the researcher’s train of thought, the paths that led him to certain conclusions, decisively affect the quality of these conclusions and conclusions. Therefore, knowledge of the subject of pedagogy in isolation from methods of obtaining information about it cannot be successful.

Paths and methods of understanding objective reality are usually called research methods. Using research methods, science obtains information about the subject being studied, analyzes and processes the data obtained, and is included in the system of known knowledge. That is why the pace and level of development of science is so dependent on the research methods used in it.

The objectivity and reliability of scientific conclusions also depends on the general approach to understanding the essence of the phenomena and processes being studied. Methodological platform for research into teaching activities – theory of knowledge, methodology. The general method of scientific knowledge, requirements that are universal in nature, perform a guiding function.

Methods of scientific research are always closely related to the objects of knowledge. The means of extracting information must correspond to the specifics of the subject being studied. This means that each science must develop and use its own methods, reflecting the characteristics of the phenomena being studied.

1. Features of the study of the pedagogical process

A characteristic feature of pedagogical processes is the ambiguity of their course. The results of training, education, upbringing, and development depend on the simultaneous influence of many factors. It is enough to change the influence of even one or two factors for these results to differ significantly from each other.

The uncertain, ambiguous nature of pedagogical processes limits the possibilities of using research methods known in science and forces teachers to resort to various tricks to extract truthful information.

Pedagogical processes are characterized by their uniqueness. In the field of natural sciences (physics, chemistry), a researcher can repeat an experiment many times, using the same materials and creating constant conditions. As a result, he comes to an unambiguous conclusion - a connection between the factors under study exists or it does not. A teacher-researcher is deprived of such an opportunity. During repeated research, he is already dealing with virtually different “material”, and the conditions are almost never able to be kept the same. As a result of previous work, the characteristics of the data used change irreversibly. This is why a “pure” experiment in pedagogy is impossible, no matter how carefully it is prepared and carried out. Taking this circumstance into account, teachers formulate their conclusions correctly and carefully, understanding the relativity of the conditions under which they were obtained.

It also makes sense to emphasize another important feature of pedagogical processes. They involve people of all ages, starting from infants.

Pedagogical research must be planned, organized and carried out in such a way as not to cause the slightest harm to the health and development of the subjects. It is also desirable that they also give positive educational and educational results.

There is only one way to compensate for the variability of pedagogical processes and obtain objective conclusions when studying them - by greatly increasing the number of observers. In this case, the shortcomings of individual studies are smoothed out due to their mass nature. In the social sciences, which includes pedagogy, conclusions are formulated only in an averaged, generalized form. Extreme deviations are usually cut off, giving way to a calm mass trend.

The ultimate goal of any pedagogical research is to identify order and regularity in the process being studied, that is, to establish a pattern. The concept of regularity can be defined as the fact of the presence of a constant and necessary relationship between phenomena. If it (the pattern) always exists under certain conditions and manifests itself constantly, then the pattern is obvious here. Scientists are trying to clarify the limits of this category, to establish differences between the concepts of “pattern” and “law”, which in essence coincide. When they talk about regularity, what is emphasized here is the fact that there is a constant and necessary connection between phenomena, although this connection itself may not be fully explored. Sometimes they say that a pattern is an incompletely understood law, or that it is a law whose scope and form have not yet been established. The concept of regularity is often used to denote such a connection between phenomena, the peculiarity of which is their mass nature. It is also used to designate such a connection between the phenomena of objective reality. It is in this sense that the concept of regularity is used in pedagogy.

A law is a strictly fixed pattern. Philosophers define it as an internal constant and necessary connection between phenomena, processes or systems. It is also emphasized that the scientific law reflects objective, essential, necessary, general, stable and repeating connections between the phenomena of reality under certain conditions.

By reducing the diversity of phenomena to essential relationships, patterns and laws at the same time seem to simplify knowledge, clarify it, and give it a more rational form, convenient for storage and transmission. Thanks to patterns and laws, humanity can operate with an incomparably smaller amount of information, but information of a higher quality.

The dialectical way of knowing the truth consists in establishing patterns and laws. To know the law means to understand its operation. To explain a law means to answer the question: why is it the way it is, or, what is the same, why can’t it be different from what it really is?

The law cannot be repealed, but it can be properly used to one’s advantage.

Scientific laws are classified according to the criterion of generality, depending on the range of phenomena to which their action extends. The first group includes laws whose scope is relatively narrow, these are the so-called specific, specific laws. The second group consists of general laws, the scope of which is quite wide and is not limited to one or several types of phenomena. The third group consists of the universal laws of the material world, the action of which is manifested in all areas.

Scientific laws are also distributed according to other criteria. For example, there are laws that reflect the connections between phenomena in time and space, dynamic and static laws. There are laws expressing functional, probabilistic, static connections. Laws are also divided into quantitative and qualitative. The former allow the performance of mathematical operations to calculate changes in the processes to which they apply. The second quantitative manipulations are not allowed. But this does not mean that the law is wrong. We emphasize that the objectivity of the law does not depend on the form of expression. If it correctly reflects the connection, then it does not matter in what form it is expressed.

2. Traditional pedagogical methods of studying pedagogical reality

Traditional methods are usually called methods inherited by modern pedagogy from researchers who stood at the origins of pedagogical science. These are the methods used by Plato and Quintilian, Comenius and Pestalozzi; They are still used in science today. Traditional methods of pedagogical research include: observation, study of experience, primary sources, analysis of school documentation, study of student creativity, conversations.

Observation is the most accessible and widespread method of studying teaching practice. Scientific observation is understood as a specially organized perception of the object, process or phenomenon under study in natural conditions. Scientific observation differs significantly from everyday observation. The main differences are the following: 1. Tasks are defined, objects are identified4 2. results are necessarily recorded; 3. The received data is processed.

To increase the effectiveness of observation, it must be long-term, systematic, versatile, objective and widespread. While emphasizing the importance of the observation method, its accessibility and prevalence, it is also necessary to point out its shortcomings. Thus, observation does not reveal the internal aspects of pedagogical phenomena. When using this method, it is impossible to ensure complete objectivity of information. Therefore, observation is most often used in the initial stages of research in combination with other methods.

Experience learning is another long-used method of pedagogical research. In a broad sense, it means organized cognitive activity aimed at establishing historical connections of education, identifying the general, sustainable in educational systems. Using this method, ways to solve specific problems are analyzed and balanced conclusions are drawn about the advisability of their use in new historical conditions. Therefore, the method under consideration is often called historical. It is closely related to another method - the study of primary sources, also called archival. Monuments of ancient writing, legislative acts, projects, circulars, reports, reports, resolutions, conference materials are subjected to careful scientific analysis. Curriculum and educational programs, educational books, class schedules are also studied - in a word, all materials that help to understand the essence, origins and sequence of development of a particular problem.

The methodology of pedagogical research means a set of principles, methods, techniques, techniques, procedures and organization of the actual research work, i.e. studying pedagogical phenomena, solving scientific problems in the educational process.

What is pedagogical research methodology?

To date, this is a fairly developed branch of pedagogical science. There are methods that have been historically established for a long time and have already become traditional, but there are also those that arose relatively recently or are being created at the present time. Previously known ones are processed; Modern computer, computing and video equipment is used.

Classification

Methods of pedagogical research, although very conditionally, can be divided into two large groups: general scientific and specific pedagogical. The following division is also possible: methods of theoretical research, modeling, formalization, probability theory; systemic, structural-functional, statistical analysis. Logical methods: comparison and comparison, analysis and synthesis, analogy, induction and deduction, evidence, generalization and abstraction. We do not dwell on their characteristics.
There are also practical methods (as opposed to theoretical ones), whose task is to create, collect and organize empirical material - facts of pedagogical content, products of educational activity.
There are classifications of research methods according to sources of information accumulation, for studying the pedagogical process in natural conditions, the same - in specially modified conditions, according to the method of processing and analyzing research data.

Pedagogical sources: pitfalls of the issue

Before moving on to presenting the issues of research methodology, we emphasize: sources precede methods. This must be understood this way: before using methods as a research tool, you must have a base of facts and the facts themselves. For it is they who encourage the researcher, who sees a pedagogical problem, to formulate it in the form of a scientific problem, and then turn to research methods. In short, the idea of ​​sources and facts precedes the idea of ​​research methods. The very idea of ​​scientific research begins when a discrepancy, contradiction, or gap is discovered between some new, unknown fact and a known theory.
We focus our attention on the idea expressed because in the textbooks on pedagogy that have been published over the past 30 years, there is no clear and precise presentation of this issue. Moreover, in them, firstly, the question of pedagogical sources is not even highlighted as an independent question; secondly, in a number of manuals there is a confusion (contamination) of the concept of “method” with the concept of “source” of pedagogical research. Some of them include the following methods: studying school documentation and student work; also - studying written, graphic works and products of students; studying children's works and documentation of educational institutions; studying the products of students’ activities, etc. In textbooks on pedagogy in recent publications, this issue is covered in a similar way.
The inaccuracy here lies in the fact that we mean only the products of student work and the products of students’ activities, and, for example, not preschoolers, students, etc. But the main drawback of this judgment is that sources (products of activity, student work, school documentation) are classified as methods. In this case, adding the words “study” or “analysis” to them does not help, since the actual methodology of study and analysis is not disclosed, and this is the essence: what methods to study and analyze - this is precisely what, unfortunately, not shown. In addition, “student products” (students’ and children’s works) are studied using one method, and documentation from educational institutions using another.
In some textbooks on pedagogy, among the methods of pedagogical research, “the study and generalization of advanced pedagogical experience” is named. But the fact of the matter is that this “study and generalization” itself needs methods and organization of research; these are not methods, but rather an area of ​​study. And experience and practice are, as has already been said, an inexhaustible pedagogical source, but not methods.

Methods

After these remarks, we will briefly consider methods of pedagogical research, without adhering to a strict classification. The fact is that the researcher uses them in combination, although at certain stages of activity he turns to one or another method.
Observation (observational methods) is a universal method of many sciences: psychology, biology, chemistry, astronomy, as well as pedagogy. To emphasize that we are talking about observing educational phenomena, we will henceforth call it pedagogical observation. The term “pedagogical observation” itself has a number of meanings: everyday meaning (“Keep an eye on the child so he doesn’t run out onto the road”); observation of a practical teacher (educator, teacher, lecturer); control observation (inspector, director, school administration); educational observation (student-intern, cadet, listener, teacher-trainee) and observation of the researcher. We will talk about the latter in more detail.
Pedagogical observation is a method of understanding the pedagogical process and the phenomena of education through purposeful, systematic, direct perception of them, tracking the changes and development of the conditions and results of educational practice. Pedagogical observation is carried out both in natural and experimental conditions. It can be organized at school, and in out-of-school and preschool institutions, and in the family, and in health camps, and at a university, and in the workforce - in a word, everywhere where the experience of upbringing, teaching, and a pedagogical phenomenon is studied and researched.
Observation can be uninvolved or included. An example of non-participant observation could be a visit by the head teacher or methodologist to a teacher’s lesson to study the cognitive activity of students, and the observers do not interfere in any way with the work of the class. And at the same time, the researcher himself can teach a lesson, while simultaneously studying some pedagogical issues, for example, the development of students’ cognitive activity, the effectiveness of collective cognitive activity, etc. At the same time, he himself actively manages the cognitive process, dynamically manages it. This is an example of participant observation.
In practice, both types of observation are widely used. With non-participant observation, the researcher evaluates visible, perceived phenomena more fully and objectively, and records them more accurately than the one who conducts the classes. But at the same time, he will not always be able to identify the motives for some actions of the teacher leading the lesson, he will not record his thoughts on a creative approach to the educational process. With included observation, the researcher knows about all this himself. But at the same time, he is more subjective and biased in assessing his own actions and actions, say, in the classroom. The ability to record some essential details of a lesson is also becoming more difficult; there will be some incompleteness of facts, and this will affect the overall assessment of the lesson and will lead to an inaccurate assessment by the teacher of his own actions.
Pedagogical observation is carried out not randomly and spontaneously, but purposefully and systematically. This requires preliminary preparation. Based on the topic, research objectives, specific, selected scientific and pedagogical problem, it is necessary to formulate the purpose and objectives of the observation, outline its object, place and calendar dates, and identify participants. You should also prepare a plan, questions, sequence, and organization of observation.
At the time of non-participant observation, one should not interfere with the educational process. It is advisable that those being monitored do not know its purpose and topic. Otherwise, their behavior may turn out to be deliberate and unnatural. Then the observed facts will turn out to be atypical, random and even distorted.
It is necessary to record the observed material. This can be an ordinary protocol recording or transcript, or, if possible, a sound recording or phonogram. The protocol must indicate the exact conditions of observation: date and hours, who is being observed (group, class, brigade, individual), where, type of activity or activity (lesson, extracurricular activity, work activity, camping trip, etc.), who conducts observation: teacher, educator, someone else. The recording is made in free form or in any other way.
After the lesson, observation materials are supplemented and clarified by conversation with the teacher and, if necessary, with students. The protocol is being specified. Subsequently, his materials will provide the necessary facts when analyzing the topic being studied.
Entries in the diary are usually kept in this form: on the left half of the sheet - observations, on the right - value judgments. In this case, it is necessary to record all information about the observed process: date, place, time, object, etc.
Observation provides living facts, gleaned, as a rule, in natural conditions, and sometimes in specially created conditions, for example, during an experiment. In this case, the facts are reliable. The disadvantage is that during observation, facts that reveal the topic of research may not appear, or few of them will be collected. Then the observations will have to be repeated many times, and this takes a lot of time.
Survey methods: conversation, questionnaires, interviews are quite widespread in pedagogical research.
Conversation- this is an exchange of judgments, thoughts of two (dialogue) or several individuals, groups. There is its leader and other participants. It has different forms.
Catechetical(from the Greek katechesis - instruction, teaching) - a question-and-answer form of presenting a topic (originally Christian doctrine): a question is formulated and an answer is immediately given. For example, on the topic “Spelling the particle “not” with adjectives” - 1) How do you spell the particle “not” with adjectives? Answer: Together and separately. 2) In what cases is it written together? Answer: When a word with the particle “not” can be replaced by another word of the same meaning without a particle (unhappy - sad, short - low) or when this word without a particle is not used (for example, ridiculous, unsightly). 3) When is the writing separate? Answer: When there is an opposition in a sentence - not long, but short; not big, but small.
Heuristic(from the Greek heurisko - I find) - a teaching system in which a series of leading questions is asked. During the conversation, the leader gradually leads the interlocutors to perceive new information. They become, as it were, accomplices in its discovery. The ancient Greek thinker Socrates mastered the high art of such conversation, which is why such a conversation is also called Socratic.
In pedagogy, there are three types of conversation based on its purpose: informational, educational and research.
IN informational During a conversation, the leader informs the interlocutors of new information, for example, from the field of science, technology, art, politics, sports.
Purpose educational conversations - explain, instill in the interlocutors ideas and concepts about the principles and norms of ethics, law, aesthetics, healthy lifestyle that exist in a given society, about the rules of relationships between people according to the laws of morality, beauty, health. Often such a conversation is called ethical, but this is inaccurate, because the topic of the conversation is not limited only to issues of morality, it is much broader. The conversation reveals the meaning of regulating people's behavior in society in accordance with these norms. The ultimate goal of such work is the formation of individual behavior.
A research conversation involves its leader receiving new information of pedagogical content from the interlocutors themselves. In a heuristic and educational conversation, its leader gives new knowledge to others, shapes and transforms the behavior of others; in a research conversation, he himself receives new information from others. This is his goal.
The art of a research conversation consists in “extracting” from interlocutors as much new information on the topic of research as possible through a series of questions, in order to find out more facts. Before the conversation, it is necessary to formulate specific questions to which the researcher would like to receive answers.
The number of answers may vary depending on the topic and situation. During the conversation, it is advisable not to look at the prepared questionnaire: a relationship of trust always predisposes the interlocutor to frankness, to greater objectivity and information content. You should not ask your interlocutor questions that affect his honor, dignity, or inquire about intimate, deeply personal aspects of his life. A respectful attitude towards the interlocutor, tact and goodwill will ensure the success of the research conversation.
The content of the research conversation must be recorded immediately after it is conducted, so to speak, without delay. It is possible to make a recording, especially a tape recording, during a conversation only if the interlocutor does not object and if such a recording does not embarrass him, does not distract him, does not lead to isolation and does not cause a feeling of wariness.
In each case, it is necessary to accurately indicate the date, place of the conversation and information about the interlocutor: last name, first name, patronymic, profession, specialty, position, etc., for example, physics teacher, 7th grade class teacher, school principal so-and-so, grandmother of student so-and-so, etc.
The value of conversation as a method lies in the fact that it is always live contact between the researcher and the object of study. Direct communication makes it possible to vary questions and ask clarifying questions. At the same time, the researcher often receives information about such valuable facts, the presence of which he did not even suspect.
Questioning is a method of written survey, developed in detail in sociology. Currently, questionnaires are widely used in pedagogical research and especially in social pedagogy.
A questionnaire is a questionnaire consisting of a series of ordered questions and statements. There are two answer options: selective, when from several proposed and analyzed, the respondent chooses the one that corresponds (or is closest) to him personally, and constructive, in which the respondent himself formulates the answer. The survey is carried out either with the respondent’s face indicated, or, for greater objectivity, anonymously, i.e. without indicating the surname of the person being questioned. Questionnaire questions are closed, i.e. nothing more is added to the proposed questions; open, when there can be additions to the proposed questions and possible answers.
Having chosen a topic for a survey, the researcher composes questions so that they can be answered specifically. For example, the wording of questions like: What kind of music do you like?
What profession do you like? It is difficult to answer them specifically, since they are too broad and vague. There could be a clarification here: what genre of music do you like or prefer? What kind of profession do you like? As in a conversation, the questionnaires should not contain questions that affect the dignity of the individual or intimate moments of life.
Advantages of a questionnaire: it allows you to obtain a lot of information in a relatively short time. Its data can be subjected to quantitative analysis by turning to statistical methods and using computer technology. This way a generalized picture of the pedagogical phenomenon will be captured.
The disadvantage of questionnaires is that the factual material received is not personalized; there is no direct contact between the questionnaire and the object of study. During the process of collecting material, it is impossible to ask the respondent clarifying questions. It is possible that the answers will be distorted either due to a misunderstanding of the survey question or a deliberately frivolous attitude towards the questions and answers.
When processing questionnaires, doubtful ones (incomplete, filled out not according to instructions) are not taken for calculation. Quantitative data obtained through questionnaires are then complemented by qualitative analysis and interpretation.
Interview (from the English interview - conversation) is one of the main types of survey through a conversation, which is conducted by the researcher according to a pre-planned plan either with one person or with a group. Their answers serve as pedagogical content material for subsequent analysis, interpretation and generalization, of course, in conjunction with material obtained by other methods. The topics of the interview, as well as the questionnaires, can be very diverse, for example, about the student’s educational activities: favorite and least favorite subjects, independent study work, preparing homework assignments, etc. In the interview, in particular, on the last topic, you can ask the following questions: What subjects get the most homework? Does he prefer to do them alone or with friends? How can we explain this? What subjects does he do most readily? When doing homework, do you seek help from your parents? Are parents interested in doing homework? As in a conversation, the interviewer should avoid asking questions that are tactless or those that the respondent would not be willing to answer frankly. In particular, it is doubtful that, on the same interview topic, a student would openly answer, say, the following questions: do you always do your homework? If you haven’t completed your homework yourself, do you use “cheat sheets”? Do you often copy assignments you haven’t completed from a friend? To such questions, most likely, the interviewer will not receive a frank answer from the respondent, but most importantly, the student’s trusting attitude towards the researcher will disappear. If he needs to get answers (first-hand factual material) to such questions, then it is better to do this using anonymous questionnaires.
Interviews are free: the interviewer is given freedom in setting, wording and order of questions, in their number, but provided that they correspond to the topic of the study. The interview is semi-standardized, when the interviewer uses strictly necessary and therefore pre-planned questions, as well as possible and variable questions. A standardized interview is conducted on the basis of strictly formulated questions in a precise sequence - according to a questionnaire. Answers can be open (any possible) or closed, i.e. only those contained in the questionnaire. The interview material is analyzed.
The advantage of an interview is direct communication between the researcher and the object of study, the opportunity to obtain specific facts first-hand. During the interview process, electronic devices can be used to record material. The disadvantage of interviews is the lack of wide coverage of the persons studied, limited opportunity to use statistical processing of the received material; The moment of chance is also not excluded, i.e. atypical ideas of the interviewee: he may not be a typical representative of the group of people being studied.
Closely related to survey methods are characterization and essays as research methods.
Characterization as a method can be divided into independent and free. Independent refers to obtaining characteristics of the same person from different people on the same topic. For example, the same student can be independently described by the leading teacher, the dean of the faculty (as an administrator), the head of the scientific circle in which this student belongs, the coach of the sports section, the attending physician, the chairman of the student council of the dormitory, the head of the academic group , trade union organizer, friend of the student - fellow student, etc. In this way, the researcher will receive diverse factual material about the student when studying a specific topic about higher school students.
Free characterization involves different people describing one personality trait, but different people. For example, all students of one academic group can describe the ideal student, as each of them imagines him; the same - best friend, authoritative teacher, etc. Then the researcher will analyze what traits different students identified in an authoritative teacher or ideal student.
Essays as a research method are somewhat similar in characteristics. A group of people writes a free essay on a given topic of interest to the researcher. The scope of work is not determined.
It depends on the ability of the author of the essay to briefly or comprehensively present the topic being studied, as well as on the availability of factual material from the author of the essay. When studying the free time of schoolchildren, you can suggest the following essay topics: My vacation; My day off; My daily routine; My favorite leisure activities, etc. Essays are analyzed and summarized. The analysis of facts is a certain difficulty, since they are not contained in a standardized form, but in a free description, and therefore it is impossible to use technical means for analysis. In addition, the people we are interested in (the object of study) do not always willingly agree to the request to write an essay.
Method biographies. Studying the biographies of famous scientists, writers, other figures of art and culture, sports, heroes of labor, war, revolution, political figures, etc. provides rich factual material of pedagogical content. The researcher analyzes the conditions in which they were formed as individuals: what their family was like, the surrounding social environment, hobbies, where they studied, who and where they worked, which, in the researcher’s opinion, contributed to the development, formation and formation of talent and outstanding personality traits. For example, the most interesting material of pedagogical content is provided by studying the biography of A.S. Pushkin (the conditions of his upbringing in the family, lyceum), academicians - brothers Nikolai Ivanovich and Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov, academicians of the same Academy of Sciences of the USSR father Alexander Erminingeldovich and son Boris Alexandrovich Arbuzov; Earth's first cosmonaut Yu.A. Gagarin (according to the recollections of his mother, brother and sister); biographies of G.K. Zhukov, an outstanding commander of the Second World War, who came from a poor peasant family (based on materials from V.V. Karpov, K. Simonov, etc.); conditions for raising sister and brother Zoya and Alexander Kosmodemyansky, who became Heroes of the Soviet Union and died for the honor and freedom of the Fatherland in the last war (according to the memoirs of their mother L.T. Kosmodemyanskaya and others). And the seemingly ordinary example of the large family of Lena Alekseevna and Boris Pavlovich Nikitin on the early and intensive development of children (based on parents’ monographs about their family) is of undoubted interest for teachers and pedagogy. There are a lot of such biographies. We have given only a few striking examples.
The advantage of the biographical method is that the researcher takes to study the lives and activities of those people who, as a rule, have already demonstrated outstanding abilities, practical deeds and have become known to society. He mentally restores (reconstructs) the conditions of their life and development, seeks the driving forces for the formation of outstanding personal abilities. This method is difficult. which requires long, sometimes lasting years, painstaking work of the researcher. In this case, it is almost impossible to resort to the help of statistics and computer technology. But the results of research work are rewarded handsomely by the obtained facts, primarily of pedagogical content, but not only: the researcher deals with facts relating to a wide range of the history of science, culture, sociology, etc.
Pedagogical experiment(from lat. experiment - test, experience). Although this is complex and time-consuming, it is perhaps the most productive method of pedagogical research. The fact is that pedagogical processes taking place in familiar conditions do not always contain ready-made material on a topic of interest to the researcher. And therefore, it is difficult to accumulate factual material using the method of ordinary observation. Then the researcher artificially creates conditions under which the phenomena he is studying would manifest themselves. In other words, he resorts to a pedagogical experiment that uses a set of methods: observations, conversations, statistical research, etc. The experiment is carried out in specially created (in this sense, unusual, artificial) and at the same time controlled conditions and situations. An experiment is a staging of a kind of “pedagogical experiment” to test the degree of effectiveness of methods, techniques of teaching and education. The experiment makes it possible to isolate certain pedagogical phenomena, change the situation in the course of pedagogical processes and, if necessary, repeat them.
Depending on the specifics of the conduct, various types of experiments are used in pedagogical research.
Ascertaining experiment involves experimental work under slightly modified, controlled conditions. For example, when studying the degree of effectiveness of using technical means in teaching in a regular (traditional) lesson, classes are conducted using devices and equipment, moreover, at different stages of the lesson, and also without technical means. The results of students’ mastery of the material are compared and conclusions are drawn: is there a difference in the effectiveness of learning using TS or not; if so, then what, and which one?
Transformative experiment(it is also called creative) means a significant and even significant change in the conditions, sometimes the environment, of the pedagogical process. For example, the same topic of literature in the same class is studied in lessons with a traditional structure: questioning, presentation of new material, consolidation, testing of what has been learned. In another class it is studied in a different organization - in the form of a business game, a “holiday”, etc. In this case, both the situation and the environment for conducting classes change and transform. The results of mastering the material are also analyzed and conclusions are drawn about the effectiveness of a particular organization of the lesson.
Laboratory experiment Unlike natural, which is carried out in ordinary and familiar conditions, it is organized in a special laboratory. Here, special devices and equipment are used to reproduce the pedagogical situation and record the corresponding reactions of the subjects being studied. For example, when studying the behavioral reaction of a 2nd grade schoolgirl in a special room, she alone is shown scenes acted out with dolls (a kind of puppet theater). The plot includes scenes that cause delight, as well as scenes of conflicting relationships, etc. behavior options. The devices record the girl’s reaction to these scenes: sympathetic, joyful, eager to help the victim; regret, indifference, etc. The recorded data is compared with the corresponding scenes that caused certain experiences. Conclusions are drawn.
A laboratory experiment more accurately records facts (albeit indirect, but objective), but it can only be carried out in a special room equipped with special instruments. The difficulty also lies in deciphering records of the behavior of subjects, in decoding indicators characterizing the behavior of the subject.
Control experiment is organized to check the degree of reliability of those results that were previously obtained during ascertaining, transformative or laboratory experiments. It is organized in the form of repeated or cross-section. A repeat experiment is carried out as a duplication of an experiment that has already taken place. Crossover refers to the reversal of the experimental group (EG) with the control group (CG): the former experimental group in the crossover experiment becomes the control group, and the former control group becomes the experimental group.
By comparing the results of repeated and cross-over experiments, we can judge how reliable the obtained facts and materials are, and to what extent they can be used for subsequent analysis.
Aerobatic experiment can also be called preliminary. Any research methodology, and especially a pedagogical experiment, must be carefully prepared. The initial version of the experiment may be successful, but it may not be the best. Therefore, it is necessary to check in practice the level of sophistication and quality of the experimental methodology. Such a preliminary experiment is first carried out not in full, but in an abbreviated version. This is a pilot experiment designed to test and bring the experimental methodology to a high level. After this, individual parts of the experiment or its fragments are corrected. And only then can a pedagogical experiment be organized in full.
Stages and procedures experiment. The experiment is planned: the pedagogical problem being studied determines its topic. Its purpose and objectives are formulated, a working hypothesis is put forward; an object is selected, experimental material is developed, the timing and stages of the experiment, and its participants are determined. Then the actual experiment is carried out, which can be relatively short in time, for example, a series of lessons over one week, or long-term, for example, career guidance work with students at school according to a special system for a year, two or three years. In this case, there must be experimental groups and control. In experimental groups, the educational process is organized under changed conditions. In control groups, the educational process takes place under normal, familiar conditions. At each stage and after completion of the experiment, the results of the studied fragment of educational work in the experimental and control groups are compared. In fact, the experiment is carried out to compare the results of work in these groups and, based on the facts obtained, to draw reasoned conclusions and generalizations.
Test (from the English test - testing, research, verification) is objective and standardized behavioral sampling measurement individual. Figuratively speaking, we snatch a “drop” from the “sea”, analyze its features and judge the entire “sea” by it. Similarly, from the entire endless series of behavioral decisions, actions and deeds of a person, the researcher selects a fragment of his behavior; this is actually a sample. Sampling refers to the execution of a short-term task, the result of which is analyzed. Based on the data obtained, they judge this person in general, extending these same characteristics to other times of behavior of the person being studied. The test is intended to establish certain, including psychological and pedagogical characteristics of a person. It is distinguished by its short duration, relative simplicity of the procedure, availability of equipment, and direct recording of results. The tests are standard and strictly formulated, so that the correct answers to questions and tasks do not allow for variability. They can be used as a research tool for both individuals and entire groups at the same time. The results obtained are amenable to statistical processing.
Depending on the purpose, there are tests of achievement, intelligence, creativity (ability), personality, etc.
Tests achievements are intended to reveal level knowledge, skills and abilities achieved by an individual (pupil, student) in some area, in particular in academic subjects. The quality of the student’s mastery of knowledge is judged by the indicators of the completed task. In foreign countries (and now in Belarus), tests have long been successfully used to monitor students’ knowledge; in fact, that’s what achievement tests are designed for. If knowledge is tested not of some fragment of an academic subject, but of the entire course or large section, then use battery tests, i.e. a whole series.
Achievement tests are discussed in detail in the topic on monitoring and assessing learning success.
The weakness of achievement tests is that the researcher (diagnostician, teacher) cannot identify a number of factors of interest to him. For example, it is possible to identify the breadth, depth and meaningfulness (understanding) of a student’s knowledge, but it is impossible to determine the strength (duration of retention of what has been learned). The test also does not establish what determines or explains this or that level of the student’s identified knowledge, i.e. it most often does not allow establishing causal relationships in the results of knowledge acquisition. It also does not determine the general education and training of an individual during the entire period of study at school or university.
Intelligence tests- psychodiagnostic techniques for research and qualitative assessment of the level of human intellectual development. The procedures for the intelligence test are quite common and the formula is well known. It must be said that among scientific teachers and psychologists there are both supporters and opponents of establishing an intellectual quotient.
Creative tests(from Latin creatio - creation) are designed to reveal the creative abilities, talent, and giftedness of an individual. When performing tests of this kind, the subject finds (or does not find) an unexpected, unusual, extraordinary solution to the tasks, showing (or not showing) a creative, unconventional approach. Based on the test results, the level of giftedness of a particular individual is judged.
Personality tests are aimed at assessing the emotional and volitional components of a person’s mental activity and behavior.
Predictive tests(from the Greek prognosis - foresight, prediction) are intended to predict the development of the individual under study in the future, the prospects and possible outcome of this development. This is kind of one of the difficult tests; the forecast probability does not exceed 50%.
Thus, trusts perform in practice the functions of knowledge control, diagnosis and prognosis of individual development. In the last two functions they are also a researcher's tool. (Tests of achievement, intelligence, and personality are more common in educational institutions.)
Projective methods- This is a type of test. The subject speaks out about his possible actions, actions, behavior in a conditionally proposed situation. For example, how would he act in a specific situation if he became a school director. Let's say, in all classes he would introduce a five-day school week, abolish school grades and all sorts of exams, introduce free attendance for schoolchildren, give students the right to choose their teacher and class teacher, etc. Analysis of such judgments provides good material for the researcher.
Rating scales(from Latin scala - ladder) as self-esteem and rating. Self-esteem involves an individual’s assessment of his achievements, personal qualities, actions, deeds, etc., according to certain parameters. Moreover, a rating scale is established in points, percentages or other quantitative indicators, which are then subjected to statistical analysis and qualitative interpretation. The weakness of this method lies in the significant subjectivity of the individual’s assessments of his own personal qualities, actions, deeds and behavior.
Rating(from the English rating - assessment, order, classification, class, rank) is a method of subjective assessment of a phenomenon on a given scale. Such assessments are given by experts (competent judges). Their roles are played, in particular, by experienced methodologists, school directors, innovative teachers, psychologists, university teachers, employees of research centers, institutes for advanced training, etc. For example, when studying the professional qualifications of a teacher and establishing the level of his pedagogical skills, experts, in accordance with the proposed scale, evaluate the individual qualities and actions of the teacher. The data is analyzed: quantitative analysis is carried out using a special formula, and, in addition, a qualitative assessment is given.
Pedagogical council(Latin consilium - meeting, discussion) as a method of pedagogical research was first developed and proposed by Yu.K. Babansky in the 70s. Now the consultation is used most often in pedagogical diagnostics.
A council is assembled consisting of a subject teacher, a class teacher, a school psychologist, a doctor, a social worker, a representative of the school administration, a lawyer or other specialists whose opinion on the issue under discussion may be important and useful.
The consultation procedure consists of a discussion and comprehensive analysis of some pedagogical fact and phenomenon that is of interest to researchers and diagnosticians. Participants in the consultation outline their ideas about the object and subject of diagnostics and research, provide facts and arguments confirming their opinion, look for effective ways (methods and means) of educational work in relation to a specific student or group in the current situation, and sometimes make a decision on to radically change the environment of the educational process. Such a diverse collective discussion and in-depth analysis of the situation provide a detailed picture of the pedagogical phenomenon and allow us to draw reasonable and objective conclusions about the object and subject being studied. The progress of the consultation is usually recorded. It will contain material of a psychological and pedagogical, sometimes legal and medical nature.
A pedagogical consultation involves relying in the educational process not so much on the teacher’s intuition, but on careful and balanced data - without haste! - analysis of pedagogical facts and phenomena.
Mathematical statistics and probability theory are used in research when the material of pedagogical content contains quantitative facts, but not all pedagogical phenomena can be expressed in abstract concepts of statistics. For example, it is difficult to express in quantitative data the measure of humanity, mercy, and intelligence, because there are no corresponding meters and standards. But they lend themselves to qualitative characteristics.
A number of authors of textbooks on pedagogy include the study and generalization of the practical experience of teachers and educators as research methods. But this is hardly legal. This is not a method, but rather an idea. Experience itself is a source that is studied and generalized using the methods that have already been mentioned: observation, survey, etc.
Concluding the conversation about methods of pedagogical research, we emphasize that they are not used separately, but in combination, complementing each other. For example, pedagogical facts accumulated by observation are supplemented by facts obtained by survey, experimental and other methods. Each method has strengths, preferences, and weaknesses that overlap when combined.

In accordance with the logic of scientific research, a research methodology is being developed. It is a complex of theoretical and empirical methods, the combination of which makes it possible to most reliably study such a complex and multifunctional object as the educational process. The use of a number of methods allows for a comprehensive study of the problem under study, all its aspects and parameters.

Methods of pedagogical research, in contrast to methodology, are the very methods of studying pedagogical phenomena, obtaining scientific information about them in order to establish natural connections, relationships and construct scientific theories. All their diversity can be divided into three groups: methods of studying teaching experience, methods of theoretical research and mathematical and statistical methods.

Methods for studying pedagogical experience are ways of studying the actual experience of organizing the educational process. Studied as best practice, i.e. the experience of the best teachers and the experience of ordinary teachers. Their difficulties often reflect real contradictions in the pedagogical process, existing or emerging problems. When studying teaching experience, methods such as observation, conversation, interviews, questionnaires, study of written, graphic and creative works of students, and pedagogical documentation are used.

Observation is a purposeful perception of any pedagogical phenomenon, during which the researcher receives specific factual material. At the same time, records (protocols) of observations are kept. Observation is usually carried out according to a pre-planned plan, highlighting specific objects of observation.

Observation stages:

Definition of tasks and goals (why, for what purpose is the observation being carried out);

Selection of object, subject and situation (what to observe);

Choosing an observation method that has the least impact on the object under study and most ensures the collection of the necessary information (how to observe);

Selecting methods for recording what is observed (how to keep records);

Processing and interpretation of the information received (what is the result).

A distinction is made between included observation, when the researcher becomes a member of the group in which the observation is being conducted, and non-involved observation - “from the outside”; open and hidden (incognito); continuous and selective.

Observation is a very accessible method, but it has its drawbacks due to the fact that the results of observation are influenced by the personal characteristics (attitudes, interests, mental states) of the researcher.

Survey methods - conversation, interview, questionnaire. A conversation is an independent or additional research method used to obtain the necessary information or clarify what was not clear enough during observation. The conversation is conducted according to a pre-planned plan, highlighting issues that require clarification. The conversation is conducted in a free form without recording the interlocutor’s answers. A type of conversation is interviewing, introduced into pedagogy from sociology. When interviewing, the researcher adheres to pre-planned questions asked in a certain sequence. During the interview, responses are recorded openly.

Questioning is a method of mass collection of material using a questionnaire. Those to whom the questionnaires are addressed provide written answers to the questions. Conversations and interviews are called face-to-face surveys, while questionnaires are called correspondence surveys.

The effectiveness of conversations, interviews and questionnaires largely depends on the content and structure of the questions asked. The conversation plan, interview and questionnaire are a list of questions (questionnaire). Stages of compiling a questionnaire:

Determining the nature of the information that needs to be obtained;

Drawing up an approximate series of questions that should be asked;

Drawing up the first plan of the questionnaire;

Its preliminary verification through a trial study;

Correction of the questionnaire and its final editing.

Valuable material can be provided by studying the products of students' activities: written, graphic, creative and test works, drawings, blueprints, details, notebooks in individual disciplines, etc. These works can provide the necessary information about the student’s personality, his attitude to work and the achieved level of skills in a particular area.

The study of school documentation (personal files of students, medical records, class registers, student diaries, minutes of meetings, sessions) equips the researcher with some objective data characterizing the actual practice of organizing the educational process.

Experimentation plays a special role in pedagogical research - a specially organized test of a particular method or method of work to identify its pedagogical effectiveness. A pedagogical experiment is a research activity with the aim of studying cause-and-effect relationships in pedagogical phenomena, which involves experimental modeling of a pedagogical phenomenon and the conditions for its occurrence; active influence of the researcher on the pedagogical phenomenon; measuring response, results of pedagogical influence and interaction; repeated reproducibility of pedagogical phenomena and processes.

The following stages of the experiment are distinguished:

Theoretical (statement of the problem, definition of the goal, object and subject of research, its tasks and hypotheses);

Methodological (development of research methodology and its plan, program, methods for processing the results obtained);

The experiment itself is conducting a series of experiments (creating experimental situations, observing, managing the experience and measuring the reactions of the subjects);

Analytical - quantitative and qualitative analysis, interpretation of the obtained facts, formulation of conclusions and practical recommendations.

A distinction is made between a natural experiment (under the conditions of the normal educational process) and a laboratory experiment - the creation of artificial conditions for testing, for example, a particular teaching method, when individual students are isolated from others. The most commonly used experiment is a natural experiment. It can be long-term or short-term.

A pedagogical experiment can be ascertaining, establishing only the real state of affairs in the process, or transformative (developing), when it is purposefully organized to determine the conditions (methods, forms and content of education) for the development of the personality of a schoolchild or children's group. A transformative experiment requires control groups for comparison. The difficulties of the experimental method are that it is necessary to have excellent command of the technique of its implementation; special delicacy, tact, and scrupulousness on the part of the researcher are required, and the ability to establish contact with the subject.

The listed methods are also called methods of empirical knowledge of pedagogical phenomena. They serve as a means of collecting scientific and pedagogical facts that are subject to theoretical analysis. Therefore, a special group of theoretical research methods is distinguished.

Theoretical analysis is the identification and consideration of individual aspects, signs, features, and properties of pedagogical phenomena. By analyzing individual facts, grouping, systematizing them, we identify the general and special in them, and establish a general principle or rule. Analysis is accompanied by synthesis; it helps to penetrate into the essence of the pedagogical phenomena being studied.

Inductive and deductive methods are logical methods for summarizing empirically obtained data. The inductive method involves the movement of thought from particular judgments to a general conclusion, the deductive method - from a general judgment to a particular conclusion.

Theoretical methods are necessary to define problems, formulate hypotheses, and evaluate collected facts. Theoretical methods are associated with the study of literature: the works of classics on issues of human science in general and pedagogy in particular; general and special works on pedagogy; historical and pedagogical works and documents; periodical pedagogical press; fiction about school, education, teachers; reference pedagogical literature, textbooks and teaching aids on pedagogy and related sciences.

Studying the literature makes it possible to find out which aspects and problems have already been sufficiently well studied, which scientific discussions are ongoing, what is outdated, and which issues have not yet been resolved. Working with literature involves the use of methods such as compiling a bibliography - a list of sources selected for work in connection with the problem under study; abstracting - a condensed summary of the main content of one or more works on a general topic; note-taking - keeping more detailed records, the basis of which is highlighting the main ideas and provisions of the work; annotation - a brief record of the general content of a book or article; citation - a verbatim recording of expressions, factual or numerical data contained in a literary source.

Mathematical methods in pedagogy are used to process data obtained by survey and experimental methods, as well as to establish quantitative relationships between the phenomena being studied. They help evaluate the results of an experiment, increase the reliability of conclusions, and provide grounds for theoretical generalizations. The most common mathematical methods used in pedagogy are registration, ranking, and scaling.

Registration is a method of identifying the presence of a certain quality in each group member and a general count of the number of those who have or do not have this quality (for example, the number of those actively working in class and those who are passive).

Ranking (or the rank assessment method) requires arranging the collected data in a certain sequence (usually in descending or increasing order of some indicators) and, accordingly, determining the place in this series of each of the subjects (for example, compiling a list of the most preferred classmates).

Scaling is the introduction of digital indicators in the assessment of individual aspects of pedagogical phenomena. For this purpose, subjects are asked questions, answering which they must choose one of the specified assessments. For example, in the question about engaging in any activity in your free time, you need to choose one of the evaluative answers: I am interested, I do it regularly, I do it irregularly, I don’t do anything.

Comparing the results obtained with the norm (for given indicators) involves determining the deviation from it and correlating the results with acceptable intervals. For example, normal self-esteem of a person is coefficient values ​​from 0.3 to 0.5. If it is less than 0.3, then self-esteem is underestimated; if it is more than 0.5, then self-esteem is overestimated).

Statistical methods are used when processing mass material - determining the average values ​​of the obtained indicators: arithmetic average (for example, determining the number of errors in test work of the control and experimental groups); median - an indicator of the middle of the series (for example, if there are twelve students in a group, the median will be the score of the sixth student in the list, in which all students are distributed according to the rank of their scores); calculating the degree of dispersion around these values ​​- dispersion, i.e. standard deviation, coefficient of variation, etc.

To carry out these calculations, there are appropriate formulas and reference tables are used. The results processed using these methods make it possible to show a quantitative relationship in the form of graphs, diagrams, and tables.

As already noted, it is necessary to distinguish between theoretical pedagogical research, carried out with a special scientific purpose, and applied (scientific-practical) research, which not only can, but should be able to be carried out by a creatively working teacher-practitioner. Such a study involves a number of stages: preparatory, practical solution of the problem, quantitative processing of the data obtained, their interpretation, formulation of conclusions and proposals.

At the preparatory stage, practical activities are analyzed in order to determine the most pressing pedagogical problem, the solution of which will lead to tangible positive results in the development, training and education of students. Next, preliminary materials are collected (anamnesis) to specify the possible causes of the selected pedagogical problem (observation, oral and written surveys, collection, analysis and synthesis of statistical materials and other methods). This ends with the development of a hypothesis, i.e. assumptions about the most likely possibility of solving this problem. And finally, a research methodology is drawn up, the necessary methods and technical means are selected, the conditions for their use and methods for generalizing the data obtained are determined. The practical solution to the problem is associated with the implementation of research methods in the form of a series of observations, surveys, and experiments.

Quantitative processing of the obtained data is carried out using mathematical research methods. The interpretation of the obtained data is carried out on the basis of pedagogical theory in order to determine the reliability or fallacy of the hypothesis. This allows you to formulate conclusions and proposals. The volume and duration of scientific and practical research are determined by the nature of the problem. The final and main stage of scientific and practical research is the implementation of its results in the educational process.

1 See: Grabar M.I., Krasnyanskaya K.A. Application of mathematical statistics in pedagogical research. - M., 1977.

New pedagogical knowledge is disseminated through oral presentations by researchers at conferences, through the publication of scientific articles, brochures, books, guidelines and program documents, through textbooks and teaching aids on pedagogy.

There are still many unidentified connections and dependencies in pedagogical science, where there is an opportunity for young researchers to apply their efforts. V. A. Sukhomlinsky wrote that pedagogy “...will become an exact science, a true science only when it explores and explains the subtlest, most complex dependencies and interdependence of pedagogical phenomena.”

2 Sukhomlinsky V. A. I give my heart to children. - Kyiv, 1969. - P. 214.

The most important condition for the successful development of pedagogy is the close cooperation of scientists and practicing teachers who, knowing the basic methods of pedagogical research, can more purposefully study and analyze their experience and the experience of other teachers, as well as scientifically test their own pedagogical findings and discoveries.

Questions and tasks

1. What is the essence of pedagogical methodology?
2. How is the teacher’s methodological culture manifested?
3. Name the levels of methodological knowledge and show their specificity in pedagogy.
4. Give a description of the main modern teachings that serve as the philosophical level of pedagogy methodology.
5. Reveal the essence of the systems approach as a general scientific methodology of pedagogy.
6. Name the specific methodological principles of pedagogical research and illustrate them with specific examples.
7. What is the logic of organizing research in pedagogy? Give a description of its stages.
8. Expand the content of the pedagogical research program.
9. What is the essence of the pedagogical research methodology?
10. Describe and illustrate methods of pedagogical research with examples.

Literature for independent work

Babansky Yu.K. Problems of increasing the effectiveness of pedagogical research. - M., 1982.
Blauberg I.V., Yudin E.G. Formation and essence of the systems approach. - M., 1973.
Grabar M.I., Krasnyanskaya K.A. Application of mathematical statistics in pedagogical research. - M., 1977.
Zagvyazinsky V.I. Methodology and methods of didactic research. - M., 1982.
Ilyin V.V., Kalinkin A.G. The nature of science. - M., 1985.
Kraevsky V.V. Methodology of pedagogical research. - Samara, 1994.
Sadovsky V. Ya. Justification of the general theory of systems. - M., 1974.

CHAPTER 7
AXIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF PEDAGOGY