On March 19, a webinar titled "Formation of Professional Competencies of Special Education Teachers (Defectologists) in the Context of Modern Higher Education" was held on the discussion platform "Science in Publications: From Idea to Practice," with support from the MSUPE "Boiling Point" (Tochka Kipeniya).
Speakers:
- Eva Eduardovna Artemova, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Clinical and Special Psychology, Professor at the Department of Special (Defectological) Education, MSUPE.
- Lyudmila Alexandrovna Tishina, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Special (Defectological) Education, Faculty of Clinical and Special Psychology, MSUPE.
The webinar focused on a new form of assessing knowledge and skills: the Professional Demonstration Exam (PDE). In this exam, students in the "Special (Defectological) Education" program conduct a correctional session in conditions that closely simulate reality. The exam is evaluated by a commission that includes both university instructors and future employers of the students.
From their second year, students become familiar with the procedure of this exam. Thanks to this new format, both students and instructors can identify areas for improvement, and the program can be adjusted accordingly within its modules. A common bank of cases is created for each module. Approximately 100 cases have been developed for each specialization: speech therapy, deaf education, and support for children with learning difficulties.
Eight components of the case assignment were identified:
- Focus of the session
- Educational level
- Topic of the session (determined by the student)
- Format
- Category of the client population
- Age
- Individual characteristics
- Learning situation
A library of video cases has also been created, featuring situations working with children with various conditions; individual, subgroup, and frontal formats of work; and work in inclusive education settings. Thanks to these video cases, students are not afraid of real working conditions.
The creation of the Professional Demonstration Exam involved a team of qualified specialists, developers of federal textbooks and teaching aids, and instructors from the Faculty of Clinical and Special Psychology at MSUPE. The speakers expressed their readiness to assist colleagues from other universities in organizing the exam. In addition to text and video cases, the department's instructors have developed assessment criteria for evaluating students' knowledge and professional skills.
Publications by the Speakers:
- Artemova, E.E., Tishina, L.A. Analysis of the results of self-assessment of readiness to solve professional tasks of defectology students in the modern higher education system. Bulletin of Practical Psychology of Education, 2025, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 55–71.
- Artemova, E.E., Tishina, L.A. Specifics of preparing defectology graduates for solving professional tasks in the modern higher education system. Bulletin of Practical Psychology of Education, 2025, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 258–279.