Faculty of International Economics and Management

Methodological work

 

The main objective of the educational and methodological activity of the Department is to improve the quality of language teaching due to introduction of innovative methods and technologies; implementation of the results of scientific research into classroom practice; development of effective system of assessment of еру students’ learning achievements.

These tasks are still a priority, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the conditions of the martial law imposed in 2022.

The teachers of the Department make efforts to fulfil these tasks by combining their academic activity with digital technologies, mastering the skills of using electronic learning systems, enhancing their pedagogical expertise. Currently, the staff of the Department is a mobilized and responsible community, which has adequately adapted to the new conditions.

Therefore, the key directions of the Department's educational and methodological activity are:

•  digital transformation of the educational process;

•   methodological support and application of innovative approaches and technologies;

•   diversification of educational services and the portfolio of educational disciplines and courses;

•   improvement of programs and syllabi; bringing them into line with the University's standards; creation of modern educational and methodological complexes;

•   optimization of the scope and content of the students’ independent work and individualization of the academic process;

•   improvement of the system of current and final control of students' learning achievements and adapting it to the present-day conditions;

•  improvement of teaching methods and pedagogical skills;

•  ensuring the convergence of the educational process and scientific research;

•  conducting own scientific and methodological research on the issues of higher school;

•  organization of scientific and practical conferences;

•  study and dissemination of positive experience of the best practices and advanced techniques of teaching foreign languages.

The educators of the Department teach students of full-time, correspondence and distance forms of study at the first, second and third levels of higher education. Thus, at the bachelor's level, the students take up the following disciplines: "A Foreign Language (English, French, Spanish)", "A Foreign Language for Business ", "A Foreign Language for Special Purposes" (with the component of translation theory and practice), "A Second Foreign Language (English, French, Spanish)". In 2017, the educators of the Department designed the course of "Intercultural Communication" for masters’. Within the "A Foreign Language for Academic Purposes", the teachers instruct graduate students about how to conduct their own scientific research and process foreign scientific sources, write articles, abstracts, rationales and present them in a foreign language. In recent years, some optional disciplines, such as "A Second Foreign Language for Beginners (French)" and "A Second Foreign Language for Beginners (Spanish)" have been added to the Department's teaching portfolio. All our disciplines are highly rated by the students, as they facilitate the students’ academic mobility, help them become efficient participants in intercultural communication; provide the in-demand Soft Skills for business and situational communication.

The diversity of educational and methodological work of the Department ensures the convergence of learning technologies and forms of the organization of the academic activities. In particular, the Department's Program of Innovative Development envisages the implementation of the concept of teaching foreign languages through the content of specialized disciplines (Content and Language Integrated Learning) and the practice of so-called Blended Learning. Due to the use of these approaches, the teachers of the Department have created a number of educational and methodological complexes, which include a plethora of materials: manuals, methodological recommendations, distance courses, and other electronic teaching tools, etc.

Almost every member of the Department is the author or the co-author, the designer or the co-designer of these educational products.

Distance education allowed not only to continue the academic process, but also significantly expanded the horizons of academic cooperation between the teachers and students in both synchronous (using the Zoom network platform) and asynchronous (the Moodle platform) modes. Innovative teaching and assessment tools, such as Google forms and Google tools (Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, Any Meeting, and WebEx Meet) have become indispensable tools for our educators. They administer their own pages on the Department's website, electronic individual plans and electronic journals of evaluations.

In order to improve the quality of training, the teaching staffs of the Department constantly update educational programs and diagnostic tools. One of the main principles of the programs of the disciplines taught by the Department is a person-oriented approach, which involves taking into account individual characteristics and interests of the students. It encourages cooperation between those who teach and those who study; involves the students in the management of their own educational process; informs them about the details of the curricula; initiates feedback through the use questionnaires; helps to promote the best students’ achievements, etc. A significant step forward in promoting learners’ vaster autonomy has become the development of numerous online tests for module control, online exams for the final control and entrance exams for masters’ and postgraduate studies.

Digital transformation of organizing classes and exams requires systemic training of the Department's teaching staff. The most effective measures to improve the efficiency and quality of the teaching activities are: mutual attendance of classes, peer surveys, discussions of modern educational technologies, attendance of scientific and practical conferences, methodological seminars, forums, webinars, internships in Ukraine and international internships. All members of the Department can boast their own achievements supported by numerous publications, certificates and diplomas.

Last redaction: 14.11.23