Formation of technological literacy in primary school students based on the STEAM approach to technological education.

Konstantinova Natal'ya Viktorovna ORCID: 0009-0003-7218-8276 Postgraduate student; Department of Pedagogy, Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology of Education, Moscow City Pedagogical University 16 Stolyarny Lane, Moscow, 123022, Russia. konstantinovanv316@mgpu.ru

Karpova Svetlana Ivanovna ORCID: 0000-0001-9663-1592 Doctor of Pedagogy Professor; Department of Pedagogy; Moscow City Pedagogical University 16 Stolyarny Lane, building 1, Moscow, 123022, Russia. karpovasi@mgpu.ru

Introduction

Currently, the strategic direction of the state policy of socio-economic, scientific and technological development of Russia is the achievement of technological sovereignty, ensuring national security and competitiveness of the country in the global manufacturing market. The federal documents emphasize the need to reform the system of engineering and technological education, search for new approaches and technologies, and, first of all, in the technological and engineering sector, which actualizes the problem of updating the content and methods of technological training of schoolchildren in the subject area of Technology, taking into account the international experience of technological education.

One of the leading approaches to technological education of schoolchildren in foreign schools is the STEAM approach, which combines science (S), technology (T), engineering (E), art (A) and mathematics (M) into a single system; the engineering design process acts as a link between all components. In international pedagogical practice, a separate direction has been formed – children's (elementary) engineering, which involves the implementation of technological education in primary schools through the search for problems that require children to learn facts from various scientific fields and engineering "in the space of the children's world" (B. Meeteren, 2018) ^[13].

The modern domestic general education system is focused on the formation of functional literacy among students, and in this regard, it is necessary to consider technological education of younger schoolchildren from the perspective of technological literacy as an integral component of functional literacy, including taking into account foreign experience in using the STEAM approach to technological education.

The purpose of the study is to develop a structural and substantive model for the formation of technological literacy in younger schoolchildren based on a STEAM approach to technological learning.

Research methods

It should be noted that there is no consensus among scientists in scientific sources on the essence of the concept of functional literacy and its structural and substantive components. Thus, in many foreign works (D. Hurd, 1998 ^[10]; B. Guzzetti, 2007 ^[11]; C. Cocchiarella, 2018 ^[7]; Z., Cencelj et ol., 2019 ^[6]; J. Rudolph, 2023 ^[14]; D. Mbandje et ol., 2024 [12 For a long time, the point of view on functional literacy proposed by UNESCO has been dominant, according to which various types of functional literacy (mathematical, reading, natural science, financial, information, digital, media literacy, etc.) are distinguished in the structure of this concept [15]. In Russian education, based on the PISA model of international monitoring, similar components of functional literacy of schoolchildren have been identified: reading, mathematical, natural science, financial, global competencies and creative thinking ^[3].

In the aspect of the problem of the formation of functional literacy of younger schoolchildren, teachers rely on the results of a study by a team of Russian scientists led by academician N.F. Vinogradova, during which two types of structural components of functional literacy were identified: subject (linguistic, literary, mathematical, natural science) and integrative (reading, communicative, informational, social), developed methods, content and forms of educational organization aimed at developing functional literacy of younger schoolchildren in the lessons of the Russian language, mathematics, the world around them, literary reading, the basics of religious cultures and secular ethics, fine arts and music ^[5].The research of scientists from Perm State Humanitarian and Pedagogical University is also of theoretical and practical importance, reflecting the methodological, general pedagogical, and technological aspects of the formation of functional literacy in younger schoolchildren, substantiating the interrelationships between the processes of functional literacy formation and students' achievement of metasubject and subject results in regular and extracurricular activities; extracurricular courses have been developed, including a set of tasks for the formation of younger students. students of various types of functional literacy (natural science - in the process of studying the educational subject "The world around us"; reading literacy – in the study of the educational subject "Literary reading", etc.) ^[4].

At the same time, it should be noted that the formation of functional literacy of younger schoolchildren in the process of studying the academic discipline "Technology" has not yet been the subject of scientific research, therefore it needs special study, especially in connection with changes in the orientation of modern domestic technological education of students, including at all levels of general education.

An analysis of federal documents has shown that the Concept of teaching the subject area "Technology" presented by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation (2018) notes the special status of technology as an academic discipline in the educational systems of foreign countries: Great Britain, France, Germany, the USA, Israel, South Korea, China, etc. (the importance of the subject, the volume of its content, the number of hours in the curriculum), which contributes to the formation of powerful human resources for vocational education and competitive production in the global market ^[2]. It emphasizes the need to change the attitude towards the subject area of "Technology" in the Russian school system, to raise its status as an academic discipline, modernize the content, teaching methods and technologies, material and technical equipment, ensure continuity between all levels of general education, etc.

Due to the amendments to Federal Law No. 618-FZ "On Education in the Russian Federation" dated December 19, 2023, the subject "Technology" was renamed "Labor (Technology)", and from September 1, 2024, Federal Work Programs (hereinafter FRP) of primary general, basic general and secondary General Education were put into effect. in the academic subject "Labor (technology)".

An analysis of the content of the FRP on the academic subject "Labor (technology)" at all levels of general education indicates that the formation of technological literacy of schoolchildren as the main goal of mastering the program is presented only in the FRP "Labor (technology)" at the level of basic general education (hereinafter FRP LLC), in the FRP of primary general education (hereinafter FRP NOO The main goal is "the successful socialization of students, the formation of their functional literacy based on the development of cultural, design and technological knowledge (about the man-made world and the general rules for its creation within the framework of historically changing technologies) and their corresponding practical skills." The differences in the formulations of the goal show that there is no continuity between the two levels of general education. The content of the FRP NOO is quite traditional, almost the same as the content of the approximate work program of the subject "Technology" (2021), there are no changes (modernization), including new approaches to technological education of primary school students FRP NOO does not contain

At the same time, in foreign countries (USA, Israel, New Zealand, etc.), the concept of technological literacy is fixed as one of the main goals of universal technological education, standards of technological education have been developed for all levels, starting from elementary school ^[8].

Thus, the analysis of the research problem in scientific and regulatory sources revealed a number of contradictions between:

- the order of the state and society to create conditions for the formation of technological literacy of the younger generation, taking into account the international experience of technological education and its insufficient use in the domestic system of general education in the process of technological training of schoolchildren;

- the targeted orientation of the federal state standard of primary general education (hereinafter FGOS NOO) and the federal educational program of primary general education (hereinafter FOP NOO) towards the formation of functional literacy in younger schoolchildren and the lack of a technological component in its structure, the lack of elaboration of its substantive characteristics, including criteria and diagnostic tools for determining the levels of education among students;

- the scientifically based developing potential of the STEAM approach for the formation of technological literacy of students and more than thirty years of international experience in its successful practical application in technological education of primary school students and the insufficient development of the structure and content of the educational process, ensuring the effectiveness of the formation of technological literacy of primary school students based on the STEAM approach to technological education.

We believe that the following actions will help resolve these contradictions: the inclusion of the "technological literacy" component in the structure of functional literacy and the definition of its essential characteristics; embedding the STEAM approach in the technological education of younger students, taking into account national cultural traditions and values; the development of an additional general educational program of technological orientation for younger students based on the STEAM approach; organization of methodological, informational and logistical support for the process of technological education of primary school students.

The results of the study

The results of the theoretical analysis of the problem of the formation of technological literacy in younger schoolchildren made it possible to define this phenomenon as a component of functional literacy, which is a complex, integral, dynamic personal education characterized by the willingness of students aged 7-11 to interact with the world of technology at an accessible level, understand elementary technological processes, create simple technologies, apply the acquired technological knowledge to solve educational and life tasks, plan and evaluate the results of their activities, possess teamwork skills. Technological literacy should be distinguished as an independent component in the structure of functional literacy and its main structural and substantive components should be determined.

The following integrative components can be distinguished in the structure of functional literacy: motivational-targeted (motivation for technological activities, awareness of the importance of technology in human life and one's own), cognitive-activity (knowledge, understanding of technology, technological skills), team-communicative (communication skills, teamwork skills).

The STEAM approach is a special case of the STEM approach, which is a convergent approach to learning that combines the fields of science (S), technology (T), engineering (E), and mathematics (E). At its core, STEAM is a specific type of STEM, thereby characterizing the fact that the approach is included in creative activity in general or certain of its varieties. Following this logic, the STEM variant appearedM – with an emphasis on musical creativity, STREAM – literature and reading, etc. Sometimes one abbreviation can be divided into several subject areas at once.: so the additional letter M is also claimed by doctors and mathematicians. But the main, officially widespread, modifications today remain STEM (STEM) and STEAM (STEAM).

STEM or STEAM-based disciplines are included in elementary school curricula in at least England, Cyprus, India, China, Denmark and Estonia, Australia and New Zealand, some provinces of Canada, and a number of American states.

Considering that the object of our research is the technological literacy of younger schoolchildren and the psychophysiological features of this age period, we consider it advisable to use the STEAM approach to form the technological literacy of younger schoolchildren ^[1].

In Russian technological education of schoolchildren, the potential of the STEAM approach lies in its conformity with the practice-oriented nature of learning, the possibility of implementing the principle of interdisciplinary learning relationships (solving practical problems and achieving results is impossible without students using knowledge from various educational fields), enhancing search and research activities, ensuring the success of the formation of communicative and research competencies, intellectual abilities, development of critical and creative thinking of primary school students, etc.

It is necessary to note some key points, without which the application of the STEAM approach to technological training loses its potential effectiveness. In domestic education at the primary school level, the essence of technological education is not clearly defined in any of the regulatory documents related to primary education and is reduced to mastering the methods of manufacturing various objects, where technology is a sequence of technological operations for manufacturing products; while the STEAM approach considers technology in a broad sense as "any process, an object or system that people create and use to solve problems or fulfill desires" ^{[14, p.11]}. This is the fundamental semantic difference between approaches to understanding technology in the Russian and international contexts, and a transition to another semantic category is taking place.: The method of activity is the result of activity, which expands the concept and makes it more appropriate for educational purposes.

The second significant point is to use the engineering design process as a link between all components of the STEAM approach to technological learning. It is he who determines their application in the learning process as a necessary condition for the implementation of each of the stages. So, to study a problem and translate it into educational tasks, as a rule, it is necessary to apply knowledge from natural science fields, and modeling and designing an idea will require knowledge of mathematical rules and patterns, drawing, etc.

Since the focus of our research is on the technological education of younger schoolchildren, it is advisable to talk about a simplified engineering design process, usually consisting of the following basic steps:

1) problem definition and statement (which problem needs to be solved?);

2) studying the problem and formulating learning objectives (how does it work, what actions should be taken, what resources should be used?);

3) activity planning (building an algorithm for creating a product, a sketch, an assumption about possible difficulties);

4) product creation activities (plan implementation, observation, activity reflection);

5) testing and experiment (approbation of the created design: does everything work as planned, what didn't work out, how can I fix it?);

6) improvement or reproduction (how can it be improved, what should be completed, with what technology?).

The third important component of the success of the STEAM approach to technology education in elementary school is the attractiveness to the child of the problems that need to be solved in the course of technological activities. As a rule, objects of the game environment, toy prototypes, gifts for loved ones, objects for decorating personal space, etc. become such attractive objects.

Thus, when an educational task is based on the interests of students and a simplified engineering design process, engineering becomes visible, meaningful and understandable to a younger student. A connection is being built: I can change the world – for this I need knowledge from various fields, and I know how to plan and implement what I want.

To implement technological education for younger students based on the STEAM approach, teachers provide: a rich and accessible subject-spatial educational environment, sufficient time for students to solve a common problem in the process of active interaction, the possibility of repeated experiments, including making mistakes and finding ways to correct them. In this case, the engineering process is not strictly linked to the technical sphere and can be applied in any sphere of human life; using the algorithm of the engineering design process is equally relevant when creating a special drawing tool, a method for making a greeting card for mom and for designing your own birthday celebration. Technology becomes the product of such transformative activity (as a tool, a way to create a postcard, or a birthday celebration process), and the skills and competencies acquired during the implementation of the process form technological literacy.

Based on the results of the analysis and the application of the pedagogical modeling method, a structural and substantive model of the formation of technological literacy of younger schoolchildren based on a STEAM approach to technological learning was developed. The structure of the model is formed by four blocks: target (purpose, objectives, values, principles), content-technological (presented by the author's additional general development program for technological education of younger schoolchildren), organizational and methodological (a system of methodological, informational, logistical support for the program implementation process), evaluative and effective (diagnostics of the level of technological literacy of younger students students and monitoring the process of its formation).

Let's focus on the content and technology block of the model, which is represented by the author's additional general educational general development program for younger schoolchildren "Grow Up", which includes 6 (six sections): "Paper transformations", "Bionics", "Mechanical toy", "Adventures of electronics", "Trinkets for toys", "Culinary paradoxes".

Section 1. "Paper transformations" includes the creation of paper and cardboard prototypes of toys, puzzles and other objects of interest to the child, during the creation of which familiarization with the surrounding world, mathematics, elementary physical laws takes place.

Section 2. "Bionics" is aimed at studying nature as a source of ideas for the man-made world, the properties of plants through creative activity with them (burdock thorn and Velcro fastener) or materials with unusual characteristics (for example, changing the shape of pine cone scales when humidity changes), etc.

Section 3. "Mechanical toy" provides for the creation by primary school students of prototypes of industrial toys that can be reproduced by improvised means and from available materials, the section includes an introduction to the basics of physical science and robotics.

Section 4. "Adventures of Electronics" is focused on understanding by younger schoolchildren the principle of operation of a simple electrical circuit, forming ideas about the operation of simple electronic components, creating the simplest electronic devices, as well as familiarization with the basics of robotics and physics.

Section 5. "Trinkets for toys" is aimed at the formation of an ecological culture and a culture of consumption, creative thinking, and provides for the creation of products from recyclable materials.

Section 6. "Culinary paradoxes", this section allows you to get acquainted with the simplest chemical experiments and physical transformations of products in the cooking process in an accessible and attractive way for children.

The structure and content of the model for the formation of technological literacy in younger schoolchildren based on the STEAM approach to technological learning are shown in Figure 1.

Fig. 1 A structural and substantive model of the formation of technological literacy of younger schoolchildren based on a STEAM approach to technological learning.

The program is designed for two years of study and acts as an additional educational resource to the Labor (Technology) program for grades 1-4, which is reflected in the expansion of the content of technological education through the convergence of various educational fields, the variety of materials, tools and technologies used that are not included in the program.

All sections of the program are implemented simultaneously in the first and second years of study, taking into account the main curriculum and the area of actual student development. The specifics of using the STEAM approach presuppose the simultaneous formation of all structural components of technological literacy in the process of creative activity. An innovative aspect of the author's additional general development program "Grow Up!" is the formation of technological literacy of younger schoolchildren based on a STEAM approach to technological learning through the integration of knowledge from other subject areas in technological education: mathematics, the world around us, fine arts, as well as at the propaedeutic level from physics, chemistry, biology, etc., implementation in technological education. teaching elementary school students the simplified process of engineering design, design and research activities, edutainment (technology based on the integration of educational and gaming activities), the creation of prototypes of a gaming environment.

Conclusions

The model of formation of technological literacy of younger schoolchildren based on the STEAM approach to technological education was developed taking into account the social order for the formation of technological literacy of students of educational organizations of all levels of education, domestic and foreign experience of technological education of schoolchildren.

The model reflects the theoretical and methodological, substantive and technological, evaluative and effective, and organizational and methodological foundations of the process of forming technological literacy in younger schoolchildren. The leading idea of the model is a STEAM approach to technology education for younger schoolchildren, which includes a simplified engineering design process and an understanding of technology as "any process, object or system that people create and use to solve problems or fulfill desires" and is implemented based on the needs and interests of the child.

The key pedagogical phenomenon of the model, "technological literacy of younger schoolchildren," is a complex dynamic personal education, the structure of which is formed by coordinated interrelated integrative components: motivational-targeted, cognitive-activity, and team-communicative. The content of the educational process for the formation of technological literacy of younger schoolchildren is reflected in the author's additional general development program "Grow Up", based on the use of a STEAM approach to technological education for younger schoolchildren and allowing children to apply in practice the theoretical knowledge of school courses of subjects studied (mathematics, the surrounding world, etc.), and at the propaedeutic level - of the courses in physics, chemistry, biology, drawing, robotics, etc., which will be fully studied in secondary school.

The program acts as an additional educational resource to the Labor (Technology) program for grades 1-4, which is reflected in the expansion of the content of technological education through the convergence of various educational fields, the variety of materials, tools, and technologies used that are not included in the program.