Технології підготовки майбутніх природничих спеціальностей до академічної комунікації в університетах США

Abstract

Дисертаційне дослідження присвячене комплексному аналізу організаційно-змістових особливостей підготовки майбутніх фахівців природничих спеціальностей до академічної комунікації в університетах США. У роботі розглянуто теоретико-методологічні аспекти академічної комунікативної підготовки майбутніх фахівців природничих спеціальностей у ВНЗ США; розкрито сутність ключових понять дослідження: «академічна комунікація», «академічна комунікативна компетентність», «технології академічної комунікативної підготовки»; проаналізовано структуру академічної комунікативної компетентності фахівця природничої галузі. На основі аналізу науково-педагогічних джерел виявлено та охарактеризовано американську університетську педагогічну систему інтегрованої дисциплінарно-академічної комунікативної підготовки, розроблено та обґрунтовано її модель; виокремлено прогресивні ідеї академічної комунікативної підготовки студентів природничих спеціальностей в університетах США, запропоновано шляхи їх творчої реалізації на ґрунті вищої освіти України.

Диссертационное исследование посвящено комплексному анализу организационно-содержательных особенностей подготовки будущих специалистов естественных специальностей к академической коммуникации в университетах США. В работе рассмотрены теоретико-методологические аспекты академической коммуникативной подготовки будущих специалистов естественных специальностей в вузах США; раскрыта сущность ключевых категорий исследования: «академическая коммуникация», «академическая коммуникативная компетентность», «технологии академической коммуникативной подготовки»; проанализирована структура академической коммуникативной компетентности специалиста естественной отрасли. На основе анализа научно-педагогических источников определена и охарактеризована американская университетская педагогическая система интегрированной дисциплинарно-академической коммуникативной подготовки, разработана и обоснована ее модель; выделены прогрессивные идеи академической коммуникативной подготовки студентов естественных специальностей в университетах США, предложены пути их творческой реализации на почве высшего образования Украины.

In the research a comprehensive analysis of the content and organization of academic writing and oral communication programs offered to students majoring in sciences in the United States universities has been conducted. The theoretical and methodological foundations of academic communication teaching have been thoroughly studied, and the key concepts of the research, namely the notions of academic communication, academic communicative competence and educational technology of academic communication teaching have been defined. From the perspective of the Constructivist theory, that underlies modern pedagogical approaches to communication teaching in academic and disciplinary contexts, a twofold approach to academic communication is assumed: cognitive and rhetorical. The former regards communication as one of the most powerful tools for helping students build and change their knowledge structures, whereas the latter emphasizes teaching communication (especially writing) as a form of social behavior in the academic environment and a way of socializing students into various disciplinary discourse communities. Academic language socialization, which is closely associated with academic communicative competency development, is defined as a process by which individuals are introduced into specific domains of disciplinary knowledge, beliefs, roles and identities by means of mastering academic and disciplinary genres through their active use and meaningful interactions with experienced members of the respective communities. Thus, present day communication teaching methodology heavily relies on interdisciplinary, activity-based, genre-based and competency-based approaches. On the basis of the analysis of sources the structure of academic communicative competency comprising three major groups of competencies (cognitive, communicative and adaptive) has been determined. Educational technology of academic communication teaching is defined as a complex of teaching methods and tools applied in a logical series of steps leading to a gradual development of general academic and disciplinary specific communicative competencies in students. A thorough study of the existing contemporary models of academic communication teaching in the US universities has enabled us to identify the dominant system of integrated general and disciplinary-specific academic communication teaching typically implemented in American colleges and universities through Communication/ Writing across the Curriculum Programs (CAC/ WAC). The constituent components of the system (conceptual, administrative, organizational, content, control, evaluative and corrective) have been singled out and described. It has been found that academic communication education of the US university science majors spans their whole undergraduate programs extending into graduate and post-graduate levels. The first stage of communicative education takes place within the scope of the general education core program in the 1st and 2nd undergraduate years of study and is realized through various FYC (First Year Communication) courses as well as links with HASS (Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences) courses. During their junior and senior years of study US science students can develop disciplinary specific academic communication skills through numerous CIM / WIM (Communication-in-the-Major/ Writing-in-the-Major) course offerings. At graduate and post-graduate levels communication education is provided via workshops, seminars, summer institutes, etc. The system also provides tutor/ peer tutor development programs. A great part in the provision of academic communication education is played by various support structures, especially writing and oral communication centers. The WAC / CAC model relies on the principles of active, inquiry-based, collaborative, learner-centered learning and implements “Teaching writing-as-a-process”, “Genre analysis” and “Ethnographic” approaches to teaching academic communication. The prevailing methods and techniques of academic communication teaching include: cognitive apprenticeship, text analysis, project method, portfolio, brainstorming, mind-mapping, free-writing, collaborative writing, journaling, etc. Feedback in the form of tutor or peer response is a highly valued means of ensuring quality teaching, hence formative assessment methods tend to dominate over summative. As a result of an in-depth study of the dominant American models and educational technologies of academic communication teaching to science majors we have been able to formulate the following recommendations concerning the implementation of the best American educational practices into Ukrainian higher education system: 1) to introduce a flexible, differentiated system of communicatively oriented course offerings designed according to the principle of increasing integration of the linguistic and disciplinary specific content; 2) to promote interdisciplinary cooperation through partial delegation of the responsibility for student academic language socialization to faculty in the disciplines; 3) to initiate curricular changes by introducing innovative forms of academic communication teaching such as linked courses or interdisciplinary team teaching; 4) to emphasize up-to-date active, interactive and collaborative learning methods in communicatively-oriented courses; 5) to engage students in academic communication teaching through initiation of peer tutoring programs; 6) to develop support structures such as writing and oral communication centers which could coordinate joint interdisciplinary efforts directed at student academic literacy improvement.