SELF-DIRECTED CROSS-CURRICULUM TEACHING/LEARNING PROCESS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PARADIGM SHIFT

Abstract

The strategy of a sustainable development of Latvia until year 2030 marks a significant trend – creativity and talents as competitiveness. The key words of the progress of education policy can be characterized as learning together – pupil and pupil, pupil and teacher, teacher and teacher, building a supportive and creative environment in teaching/learning process.

On the basis of the above mentioned, a paradigm shift clearly emerges in school pedagogical process. It can be characterized as learning by doing – changing the achievement evaluation system, providing  pupils’ understanding to influence and guide the study process themselves according to their interests and needs for personality development.

The essence of the research reveals the correlations between a self-directed cross-curriculum teaching/learning process of early school age pupils and the implementation of the paradigm focused on a pupil’s learning activity.

The sources of self-development and a self-directed teaching/learning process lie in action itself. An action has its direction and the meeting of learning needs emerges in this direction.

The research reveals that a successful, self-directed teaching/learning process, based on theoretical conclusions, provides the implementation of the paradigm focused on a pupil’s learning activity and meeting the pupil’s learning needs. In its turn, the necessity for a further advance of the research emerges in order to discover pedagogical means for the motivation of teachers- practitioners to change their conventional style of work and see the advantages of the paradigm focused on a pupil’s learning activity for the progress of personality development.