INTEGRATION OF ENGINEER AND PEDAGOGICAL TRAINING AMONG MENG STUDENTS BASED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF KEY SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Abstract

Statement of the problem. In the process of systemic developments in engineering education, the role of a technical university teacher increases. Changes in the requirements imposed by international and Russian communities to the quality of engineering education in the context of digital transformation of the economy and higher education mainstream the problem of continuous professional development of an engineering university teacher. Currently, a teacher of professional education should acquire new methods and digital tools, develop new competencies among students, i.e. “skills of the 21st century” and digital literacy. Training engineering personnel pressure the need for a professional education teacher to learn new pedagogical technologies and digital tools directly in the context of their professional activities. The pedagogical, technological and organizational conditions of such integration have not yet been sufficiently studied in educational practice and pedagogical science. The purpose of the article is to present the author’s approaches to and developments of modeling programs and digital educational environment for pedagogical training of a Master’s degree student in engineering education in the context of modern pedagogical technologies aimed at developing skills of the 21st century. The research methodology and methods are based on a transprofessional approach to the system of professional education; on the analysis of international and Russian studies to identify the structure of basic skills of the 21st century, the means and methods of their formation in Master’s education. Research results. The interrelations are grounded and expanded of the 21st century skills and universal competencies acquired by a graduate of higher professional education at the level of a Master’s degree in Engineering. The basic principles of designing the digital educational environment as a condition for integrating pedagogical and engineering training are revealed. The authors’ programs have been developed for the system of specialized courses in Master’s engineering training aimed at learning the technologies of soft skills formation and ways of their implementation in traditional training sessions. An open information resource (an online course) “Pedagogical Soft-Skills Navigator” has been developed to guide teachers and undergraduates through the soft skills formation technologies. Conclusion. Implementation of the developed programs in the digital educational environment of an open online course makes it possible to acquire the technologies of soft skills formation in personalized learning models, aimed at the needs of professional teaching and the focus of a Master’s program. The developed materials can be used in professional development programs for teachers of professional higher education.