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DIDACTIC SPECIFIC FEATURES OF COOPERATION STRATEGY
F. Muzaffarova
This article deals with the issues of pedagogical cooperation, strategies and modalities of how the coordinated interactions of educational process actors are defined. The need for cooperation strategies in problem situations caused by pedagogical contradictions is strongly emphasized, and the ways of overcoming them and establishing relations of cooperation and mutual support are recommended.
Key words: pedagogical cooperation, contradictions, conflict situation, "behavioral" strategy, compliance, interaction, humanistic principles, personal approach.
The teacher’s activities and functional tasks are implemented in the conditions of huge emotional loads. Most teachers assess their work as actions performed under constant high intellectual and emotional stress. Besides, the teacher’s professional activities also involve physical loads. Special tension emerges in the case of conflict relations between the teacher and the student (or students). In such situations, one should look for any ways to overcome the contradictions. Unless the contradictions are resolved, it will be very hard to “build” interpersonal relations, and the communication between the actors of the educational process becomes limited and strained. Therefore, to establish mutual understanding and concord, and to manage this process, it is necessary to work out a behavioral strategy both for the teacher and the student. First and foremost, the teacher is to gain experience in the comprehensive analysis of the emergence of a conflict situation, and the search for ways to reach the parties’ compliance and to resolve the problem.
From the pedagogical point of view, the strategy of cooperation is understood as the art of effective management of the teaching and learning process. According to humanistic pedagogy, the teacher always acts as the author of his own strategy. However, this authorship should not be episodic or incidental, but should be based on the professional skill and ability to choose the ways to solve problematic situations. To do that, the teacher needs pedagogical knowledge and a certain pedagogical experience, the study of the creative experience and existing thoughts and research on this issue, their assimilation and application in own practice, and study of the technologies of learner-centered teaching. The strategy of pedagogical cooperation is a promising form of improving pedagogical activities. It reveals itself in professional skills, deep understanding of real phenomena and their true essence, the apprehension of obvious and hidden reasons, and the choice of specific conditions and means of pedagogical cooperation.
Task-oriented application of the strategies of pedagogical cooperation creates the conditions for establishing direct relationships with learners. The strategies of pedagogical cooperation help the teacher to avoid unjustified actions, and thus prevent undesirable tensions in relations with students. Owing to the strategy of cooperation, the teacher succeeds in influencing the students’ consciousness, applying simple, accessible and at the same time effective
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techniques and methods. One of the conditions of the teacher’s professional development is enriching his activities with strategies of pedagogical cooperation, such as development of the teacher’s critical, creative, and theoretical-analytical thinking. Formation of professional awareness starts with the process of pedagogical creative activities. It includes: (a) identification of the significance of pedagogical influence; (b) comprehension of one’s status and role in relations with students; (c) understanding of the role of a dialogue; (d) perception of students’ personal specific features.
The availability of all the components in the teacher’s consciousness creates the possibility of organizing the teaching-educational process correctly and effectively, and getting all students involved in it. A specific feature of the process of pedagogical cooperation is the creation of the conditions for students’ independent activities by the teacher. The essence of the educational strategy is its humanistic focus as the teacher’s activities are directly related with formation of the learner’s personality. This factor is the determinant one in the teacher’s profession. The contradictions arising in the process of pedagogical cooperation can be resolved by using the following techniques: (a) mutual understanding (the parties come to understand each other when they see mutual benefit from the development of positive relations between them and in support of each other); (b) mutual cooperation (colleagues or partners provide for gaining personal benefits resulting from their interaction); (c) separating from others or stepping aside (attention is drawn to the lost advantage of the parties, to the considerably smaller benefit for oneself and one’s friends or partners); (d) mutual assistance (partners can go against one’s interests and fully accept the opponent’s point of view and implement it for the sake of the common cause).
To resolve a pedagogical conflict, it is quite important to invite the participants to listen to the explanation of the reasons for discontent, to try to understand them and to receive grace. All these aspects are to be embedded in the strategy of resolving contradictions. Compliance and interactions primarily rely on the wish to cooperate, the main goal being to get complete or partial satisfaction from the problem’s resolution. To achieve that, the parties must fully consider each other’s requirements and interests.
Cooperation of the parties is based both on their interaction and responsibility. The main goal of the strategy is to find the way to joint discussion of the problem, during which the participants will be fully satisfied. The value of this technique is the emergence of mutual respect between the participants based on common interests. A similar strategy may be applied in conflict situations as well. It should be noted, however, that such discussion takes a long time. In the course of resolving a conflict situation, it is necessary to forecast the possible behavioural breakdowns, and to apply the necessary pedagogical techniques while analyzing the external and internal causes of the conflict. Compliance and mutual cooperation may be already achieved at the first stage of the emerging differences by involving all students into the discussion of the situation and breaking them into groups to search for a solution. In some cases, the emerging problem is of no great significance for the participants. In these conditions, the strategy of accommodation or retreat (withdrawal from the problem) is used. This strategy is aimed at finding a positive way out of the situation.
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The strategy of “retreat” or “withdrawal” from the situation can be used to involve those, formerly unwilling to participate in the process, in cooperation. The major goal of “retreat” is to revise one’s positions and to forget about the conflict. Both parties agree not to speak about the quarrel or differences. This strategy makes it possible to calm down and reconcile. Analysis of a dispute situation results in the prevention of future mutual clashes. However, when choosing this strategy, one should take into account that there will be no major changes in the interpersonal relations and the pedagogical conflict will stay unresolved. However, compliance or agreement may defuse the dispute situation. The major task of the teacher is to maintain balance and to prevent escalation. Therefore, the teacher should take a reasonable position: support one of the parties for the sake of the common cause, and invite the parties to self-analyse, whether they should consider themselves wrong or right. This strategy must be certainly applied very carefully, taking into account the participants’ individual features, to ensure that both parties should be satisfied to a certain extent. On the whole, the strategy of overcoming pedagogical differences takes into account the learners’ interests and needs. It creates the conditions or organization of effective pedagogical cooperation.
Thus, the strategies of pedagogical cooperation described above, primarily rely on humanistic principles and therefore, their principal specific features are pedagogical support of the learners’ interests and needs, and recognition of every student as an individual of value.
References
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Ксензова Г.Ю. На пути к развивающему обучению // Открытая школа. - 2003. - № 4. -С. 54-56. __
Сафарова Р.Г. ва бошк. Укувчиларда узаро дустона муносабатларга асосланиб ^амкорликда фаолият курсатиш куникмаларини шакллантириш стратегияси: моногр. - Т.: “Fan va texnologiya”, 2014. 12 б.т.
Сериков В.В. Личностный подход в образовании: концепция и технологии: моногр. -Волгоград: Перемена, 1994. - 152 с.
Translated from Russian by Znanije Central Translastions Bureas
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