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Why it was not possible, as is done in British and American textbooks on literature, through pre-text, intra-text and post-text questions and tasks, as well as historical, cultural and linguistic comments that facilitate understanding of the text, to bring students to their own analysis of the work and topics to achieve the goal laid down in the educational standards?

The same can be said for history books. A presentation of the material is given (not always in a language understandable to the student), followed by questions requiring a retelling of this material. With this approach, it is impossible to achieve many of the goals laid down in the educational standards .

To understand the historical and geographical space, it is important to be able to work with historical maps. In the textbook, maps should be not only for illustration - there should be tasks focused on working with them. Example. In the topic "USSR at 1918-1939 years ”(“ World History ”, a textbook for the 10th grade, authors Sh. Ergashev, B. Khodzhaev, J. Abdullaev. Tashkent, 2017) could be given for comparison maps of the USSR in 1922 and 1939 (after the accession of the Baltic countries) and give the task to think about why it was important for the USSR to annex these territories.

To develop the competence “can express an attitude to the historical period under study and draw conclusions”, incorporated in the standards, it was possible to offer work with historical artifacts (excerpts from documents, speeches, images of posters, posters, cultural and household items). For example, in the topic "USSR at 1946-1991”, instead of giving their own assessment of Khrushchev’s speech at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the authors could cite extracts from this speech and ask students to give their assessment of this document.

Language for show

The main goal in teaching a second and foreign language is communication, i.e. to teach the student to use the language for personal, academic and professional purposes. This goal cannot be achieved without an understanding of a foreign language culture. That is why in the preparation of textbooks and educational materials in the second and foreign languages, one of the important requirements is the use of authentic language material, i.e. material taken directly from the environment of the language being studied (of course, while taking into account the level of students and, if necessary, adapting the material used to this level).

This requirement was violated when compiling English language textbooks for lyceums and colleges, criticized by Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and nevertheless republished as textbooks for 10-11th grades of secondary school.

Imagine a student who learned “Uzbek English” using the example of dialogues between Sevara and Laylo, who for some reason decided to talk about abstract topics in too literary English. Will he be able to understand native speakers in a real language environment in real life situations? Probably not.

Open any English language textbook from leading publications, such as Oxford, Cambridge or Macmillan, and used as a base in most educational centers offering English courses (by the way, these textbooks are clandestinely used as basic and in many lyceums.) In these tutorials, you will see and hear dialogues taken from real life situations, allowing you to feel how native speakers use it.

Without the right to choose

Speaking at a meeting of the International Press Club, Minister of Public Education Sherzod Shermatov suggested that problems are observed where market mechanisms are violated. The root of the problem with textbooks, in my opinion, lies precisely in this.

There are certain groups of authors by subject who, due to various circumstances, get the right to write textbooks. Judging by the methodological quality of textbooks, in the list of these circumstances, knowledge of material design - the science of developing educational materials - if present, does not take the first place. This group knows that no matter how good the textbook is, it will be published with public money in the quantity necessary for schools and distributed through the textbook rental system. And that means that the fees are guaranteed.

Will you put in effort and do quality work if you know in advance that you will get the same money regardless of quality? The question is rhetorical.

If you look at the experience of the UK, the USA, Russia and many other countries, then in these countries there is multiplicity and the right to choose. Textbooks that meet educational standards are published and released for free sale, and teachers themselves choose which textbook they will use. For example, a search query for the subject "Literature" in the Federal List of Russian textbooks recommended for use in the educational process returned 7 different textbooks from different authors and different publishers for only 9th class.

This gives rise to healthy competition and encourages publishers to release quality products: the same topic can be presented in different ways, and any sane teacher who has to work with this textbook for a year will try to choose the best quality textbook.

If we want high-quality textbooks, it is necessary to develop reasonable methodological and printing requirements for textbooks and recommend for use all textbooks that meet these requirements and contribute to the implementation of state educational standards.

There must be choice, and there must be healthy market competition. Then there will be no cases, as the minister himself admitted, when schools actually use other textbooks, and state-approved textbooks are only available for the commission.

Learn and dare

The teacher should have the right to choose not only in choosing a textbook, but also in general in planning the educational process. When you get into a taxi, you tell the taxi driver the end point, and give him the choice of route. When ordering a cake from a confectioner, you state your requirements for the final product and do not provide him with step-by-step instructions on how to bake this cake. So why is the teacher not trusted and provided with a detailed plan of what, how and for how long to teach?

In one of the classes during my studies at the Master's program at the Institute of Education, University College London, when we discussed approaches to teaching, my teacher and classmates - practicing teachers from different cities in England and other countries - were extremely surprised to learn that our ministry is lowering a plan that outlines the sequence of topics for each subject and the number of hours for each topic.

A teacher who knows his subject and his students better than the curriculum designer should be able to see how much time a particular class will need to master the topic and develop the competencies required in the standards. The teacher knows better in what sequence to organize the educational material and by what methods to achieve its development.

To achieve the goal, it may be necessary that in different parallel classes the sequence and hourly distribution of topics, as well as teaching methods, be different. If it is necessary to achieve quality, then so be it. After all, everyone learns differently.

Yes, perhaps the level of many teachers does not allow us to hope for their methodological savvy and ability to independently plan the educational process. A survey conducted recently by my colleague showed that teachers do not understand what “competence” is, not to mention the stages and methods of developing competencies. Therefore, in social networks and groups in Telegram, there is a brisk trade in lesson plans based on a competency-based approach — the commission requires just such plans.

However, if you want to teach someone how to swim, you need to gradually let them go free swimming. It is necessary to conduct trainings and teach teachers what they should have been taught at the university, - and gradually release them into free swimming.

And for those who are still studying in pedagogical universities, it is necessary to radically revise the curricula, paying more attention to pedagogy, methodology, educational psychology, planning and evaluation of the educational process.

Answering the question: “Is methodology a science?” - voiced by the vice-rector of one of the pedagogical universities, who objected to the inclusion of such subjects in the curriculum, the author says: "Yes, methodology is also a science, a serious science that is necessary for a teacher."

The Ministry should voice the requirements for the final product: what knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies students should master by the end of the 7th grade in the subject "History", and the right to choose the route to achieve this goal should be given to the teacher.

An independent review should determine whether the instructor has achieved the required goal. And for this, the third component of the educational process must work correctly - the assessment system.

What the wrong grading system leads to

If for the teacher, the assessment is the end point, for the student it is the starting point. Many studies conducted in various countries show that when educational standards declare one thing, and the assessment system tests another, students are guided by what will be tested.

For example, we say that we want to achieve understanding of a literary work, but we ourselves test students with questions such as, for example, “In which work did the young man see his beloved in a dream?” or “In what story did a drunken qaziy fall from his horse and die?” (such questions test memory, not understanding - according to all the principles of testology, questions starting with "who", "what", "where", "when", i. e. questions that require an unambiguous answer, do not reveal understanding in any way) , such an assessment system will hinder rather than help the educational process.

In the context of our education system, intermediate assessment (exams between classes and even state final certification at the end of the 9th and 11th grades) are carried out for the sake of a tick (everyone knows that everyone passes anyway) and is also in no way aimed at verification competencies laid down in the standards (for example, in history, you need to pull a ticket and answer 3 or 4 questions that require retelling information from the corresponding topic in the textbook).

Therefore, the vast majority of high school students are guided by the tests of the State Testing Center - they are significant for the student, since on the basis of these tests a fateful decision is made for the student - admission to a university or refusal. And the tests used by the State Testing Center, unfortunately, are not aimed at testing the competencies laid down in the state educational standards.

A study I conducted as part of my master's thesis showed that most students mostly memorize the grammar rules of the English language, instead of learning to understand, write, speak the language, as required by educational standards. Because the tests evaluate knowledge of grammar, and not those competencies that are laid down in educational standards.

The teachers with whom I interviewed said that even tests to determine the level of foreign language proficiency, which give benefits when entering universities, according to the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers, do not save the situation, although it would seem that these tests were introduced just in for the implementation of educational standards. Because the credibility of the system drops when students see that the material used for the B1 level required for admission to a university exceeds the declared level and "when students who have a certificate with 7 points in the international IELTS system (which is equal to C1 level), with they fail the B1 level miserably” (quote from one of the teachers with whom I spoke).

An analysis of one student's written work that recently became the subject of discussion on social networks (this student scored very low on the "writing" section and therefore did not pass the test at level B1, despite quite good scores on other sections of the test), shows that Experts who check written work do not always have a clear idea of ​​the difference between the requirements for foreign language proficiency levels described in educational standards. When standards require a B1 level from a graduate of a school or lyceum, and tests and examiners set requirements that obviously exceed this level, the student has no choice but to return to cramming grammatical rules.

On the way to a new school

Returning to the fable that was discussed at the beginning of the article. If we want to "shift the cart" - to achieve the quality of school education, we need to understand what we want to achieve (educational standards) and know how we will understand that we are moving towards the goal (assessment system). And to give the right to the chief driver of the convoy - the teacher - to decide for himself what materials and methods will lead him and his students to the stated goal. In the meantime, our standards are pulling the teacher and students in one direction, textbooks and methods in another, and tests in general in the third.

If the three main components of the educational process - curricula, methods and assessments - are not achieved, the new standards developed together with UNICEF will suffer the fate of the current ones - no matter how ideal they are, they will remain a piece of paper, only needed for decoration in in the form of quotes on banners in the corridors of schools and for compiling questions for certification of teachers.

Komil Jalilov is a teacher at the Tashkent State University of the Uzbek Language and Literature named after A. Navoi. Passed advanced training at Columbia University (New York, USA) in the direction of "Pedagogical psychology and methods of teaching languages" and Westminster International University in Tashkent in the direction of "Theory and practice of teaching and learning". He worked at the Academic Lyceum at the UWED, the Academic Lyceum at the Moscow Higher Technical School, the Tashkent branch of the Moscow State University named after M. Lomonosov. Master's degree in Curriculum Development, Pedagogy and Educational Assessment from the Chevening program from the Institute of Education, University College London.

The opinion of the author may not coincide with the opinion of the editors.

Leave or stay. Where the children of Russian entrepreneurs study

Forbes Woman studied how modern business women choose education for their children

According to UNESCO, from 2016 to 2019, approximately 1.5% of Russians about 3% of schoolchildren who went abroad to receive secondary education. According to the same data, 57,000 Russians entered foreign universities in 2018, while in 2000 there were only 25,000. The founder of the online school for admission to top US universities Study America and the winner of the international award Successful Ladies Awards in the nomination "The Best Expert on Education Abroad" Maria Guryeva tells which countries women from Russian top management choose for their children's education and what needs to be considered when choosing.

Why and how much is abroad for schoolchildren?

If we talk about schoolchildren, then first of all, parents want their child to adapt to life abroad as early as possible, learn the language well, and then enter a foreign university. The prestige of studying in the West, as well as the general safety of life, play a role. However, there is also a small category of parents who want to get rid of communication with their "difficult" teenagers, so they send them to live in another country.

The most popular destinations for schoolchildren are the UK, Switzerland and the USA. The cost of education in most foreign hostels varies from $35 to $120 thousand per year, this includes accommodation and meals. Medical insurance, school uniform, extra-curricular activities, etc. are paid separately. At the same time, the fact of studying abroad does not guarantee admission to a university: all graduates will need to pass exams to enter the university. Usually this is a language proficiency test (TOEFL, IELTS or the local language of the country), for undergraduate studies in the United States it is also SAT or ACT, and for admission to graduate programs GMAT / GRE may be required (depending on the country, program of study and specialty).

The choice of country and hostel is greatly influenced by the political and economic situation. So, after the aggravation of relations between Russia and the UK in connection with the Skripal case, the flow of schoolchildren to England decreased. Also in the UK there are a number of closed boarding houses, where only hereditary Britons are accepted, which also reduces the number of people who want to study in this country.

The depreciation of the ruble in recent years has led Russian businesswomen to consider countries such as Italy, Ireland and Cyprus to educate their children. There, the cost of studying can be in the range of $ 30 thousand per year.

Most often, children are sent at the age of 13-14, when they already want to get more independence, and studying abroad looks like an adventure for them. At the same time, the first months usually become the most difficult, when you have to immerse yourself in the language environment and communicate with peers from other countries, and then adaptation occurs. Many parents are more likely to worry more about how their children will adjust to life abroad than the students themselves. Therefore, some people postpone moving their children until they are 15 or 16 years old. But from an educational point of view, this is not entirely true. As a rule, many children get worse grades in the first year or two, as it takes time to adapt and overcome the language barrier. And if the average score in the senior classes in the diploma is low, then it will be more difficult to enter the university. Still, it is better to move in the middle classes of the school or immediately enter a foreign university from Russia.

The most expensive universities and grants for Russians

As for higher education, in 2016, according to ICEF, more than 5 million students study abroad in the world, and in 2020 their number should reach 8 million. According to the Internationality Index , developed by Hotcourses Ltd., has the highest number of foreign students in the UK, US and Australia, with students from over 130 nationalities. In America, for example, more than 1 million foreign students are educated, and 5,500 of them are Russians.

For higher education, Russians mainly choose the following countries: China, Czech Republic, Germany, USA, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Canada. The most expensive places to study in the UK, USA and Canada are from $12,000 to $80,000 per year. However, in these countries there are scholarships and grants that can fully or partially cover the costs.

In the USA, top universities provide the most scholarships and grants. However, to qualify for full funding, a family's income must be no more than $60,000 per year. With an income of up to $ 120 thousand per year, they can offer payment only for the course (without accommodation and meals) or a discount on tuition. In less prestigious universities, as a rule, you should not count on a scholarship. However, there are exceptions here too. For example, if a student is very talented and it is beneficial for the university to study with them, then they can help him financially. At the same time, the income of the family is not important, the most important thing is the success and achievements of the applicant.

As for the most prestigious universities, such as Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, for admission to them you need not only to pass the SAT (similar to the Unified State Examination) and TOEFL, but also impress the admissions committee with your essay. Unlike other education systems in the US, selection is not only based on academic characteristics, such as scores for exams and grades, but also on personal characteristics (making sure that the student fits into the culture and value system of the university). In top universities, most applicants are suitable for academic characteristics, and with a shortage of places, the final selection is based on an essay. This system is not immediately clear and obvious to foreign students. For example, at Stanford in 2016, of all the applicants who passed the SAT with the highest score, they took only 38% in the end. The decision was made on the basis of the personal qualities of the applicants, which were reflected in the essay. Stories about how a student faced some kind of problem, but was able to get out of a difficult situation are best suited. It is also necessary to find out in advance what qualities universities want to see candidates with among their students. As a rule, this information can be found on the websites of universities and be sure to “weave” it into your essays. Most often, it is necessary to demonstrate that the applicant is purposeful, responsible, brings the matter to the end, knows how to cope with difficulties and work in a team.

Old and New World

You can consider countries where education costs less. For example, in Holland and Switzerland you can find a program in English that costs from €8 to €25 thousand per year, and in Germany, France and the Czech Republic you can even study for free in the local language. The cheapest options for bachelor's and master's programs in English can be found in Italy and Portugal, where prices start from €2-3 thousand per year.

However, Russian entrepreneurs usually do not save on the education of their children. For example, the most prestigious universities in the United States graduated from the children of Russian billionaires - Alexander and Irina Vekselberg, Laura and Ekaterina Fridman, Denis and Daria Aven, Victoria Mikhelson. European universities are also popular: the son of entrepreneur Ksenia Ryasova (Finn Flare) studied in the UK, the daughter of Oksana Lavrentieva (Rusmoda group) is studying in France.

When choosing a country for study, attention is paid not only to the cost of the program, the status of the educational institution, but also to the style of teaching. In American universities, teachers and students are in close interaction during lectures, seminars, extra classes. Thanks to this, it is often possible to establish strong ties, and teachers can subsequently help students in finding a job, give them recommendations. Greater autonomy has been adopted in Europe. To gain knowledge is the task of the student himself.

In addition, an American university usually offers a major and a minor. For example, you can be seriously interested in chemistry, while still studying music and, for example, biology. And for the first two years, students can generally take subjects on any topic. This is ideal for those who have not yet decided on their future profession by the end of school and want to try different areas of activity.

European universities have a more traditional approach to curriculum development. Students study disciplines within the framework of the initially chosen specialty. As for knowledge control, in Europe they usually take exams only at the end of the semester, and in the USA you need to pass a lot of intermediate tests, participate in each seminar, prepare a lot of papers and presentations during the entire period of study, and marks for all these activities are given separately, and then summed up.

If we talk about the quality of education in general, then the United States leads in all world rankings. This is understandable, since the investment in education in the United States is more than $809 billion a year. In this way, universities can attract the best teachers and provide a good technical and scientific base. For example, 303 Nobel laureates teach at American universities. For comparison: in the UK - 104, in Germany - 89, in France - 53, Switzerland - 22, and in Russia only 7.

Education as a way to emigration or higher salary in Russia

What does higher education give abroad? First of all, the opportunity to gain a foothold in the chosen country, education is considered as one of the options for emigration. In many countries, graduates are given a special visa for a year, which allows them to stay in the country, look for a job or open their own company. And then after a few years of residence, you can get permanent residence and citizenship. At the same time, the fastest way to get a passport is in France, Belgium (in 5 years) and Portugal (in 6 years). And countries such as Australia and Canada give additional points for studying in their country when applying for professional immigration.

In addition, Western education is considered to be of very high quality and prestigious, and therefore offers excellent career prospects for graduates. For example, the starting salary of an Ivy League graduate is from $52,000 to $85,000 per year, depending on the faculty.

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