PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL FUNDAMENTALS OF THE DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH TO LEARNING IN THE NEW UKRAINIAN SCHOOL

Abstract

In the multicultural society of the 21st century, the diversity of pupils is an indisputable fact, and no one can deny that there are differences between pupils in terms of their academic (school) performance and learning outcomes in general. Teachers have to deal with different pupils in ordinary classes, so a differentiated approach to learning is necessary to offer the best learning opportunities for all, depending on the range of characteristics of the pupil. Implementing differentiated approaches to teaching in practice (rather than declaratively) to meet students’ needs is currently a pressing issue that requires many teachers to modify and adapt their perceptions, values, and reformat teaching and learning practices. The transformation of the pedagogical worldview with the advent of New Ukrainian School (NUS) was especially relevant for the older generation, for whom the new principles of personality education in partnership pedagogy, taking into account the value of each pupil, using grades for diagnosis rather than punishment, etc. were partly unexpected. In light of this, the article analyzes the necessary psychological and pedagogical foundations of a differentiated approach with an emphasis on teaching computer science within the initial stage of NUS. According to the subject-subject system of teacher-pupil interaction, the opinion is expressed that a differentiated approach is always at the intersection of the pupils’ desire to learn and the teacher’s intention to learn in the context of diversity. This actualizes the pedagogy of partnership, which is the basis of differentiation. It is also important to distinguish between a differentiated approach to learning and individual learning, which in no way can come close to identity. The main intention of differentiation is to bring all students closer to an equally high level of mastery of the discipline, taking into account the possibility of taking into account its cognitive features and interests. Opportunities for differentiation are exhaustive, and therefore a differentiated approach cannot be an end in itself and should be applied only to the extent that it can be realized by the teacher in terms of classroom and extracurricular activities with pupils. When it comes to computer science (informatics), this subject has specific features of teaching on the principle of differentiation, which was focused on in the study.