A strategy of the Volgograd state medical university aims to transform the university into a modern innovative center and it is realized in accordance with the Program of innovative development for 2013–2017 [2]. The progress along this path means involvement of each employee and a university student into the process of continuous education – «lifelong learning». It implies the relevance of educational and research competence development in students of medical university in the initial stage of vocational training.
Educational and research competence focuses the key trends of modern pedagogy – lifelong learning and competence-based approach as the basis of professionalism. At the same time this kind of competence is not emphasized in the Federal State educational standards for the specialties of a higher medical educational establishment. Thus educational and research competence will be formed not on the basis of the mastered educational and research competence, and while mastering of its elements presented in other competences.
Traditionally, higher education establishments focus upon the development of research competence, assuming that students have mastered the universal educational and cognitive skills at high school. However, as our studies have shown, this statement is true not for all the students. The analysis of the factors which impair the learning process, from the perspective of a student and an instructor, showed that a weak link in the initial stage of vocational training is reflexive and evaluation activity of students [1]. At the same time the development of educational and research competence of students is often not the aim of the educational process of a specific department, and it is carried out in a background mode and is not reflected in the regulations and guidance documents. While designing the technology of educational and research competence development in students, along with developing methodological regulations, theoretical and process models, we paid special attention to motivation of conscious development of this competence in students by means of reflexive evaluation. The algorithm of reflexive evaluation fulfillment is tested at the Departments of Physics, Chemistry, Biochemistry with a course of Clinical Biochemistry, Department of Social Work with a course of Pedagogy and Educational Technologies of the Volgograd state medical university. The proposed approach of reflexive evaluation skills development in students was integrated into the system of educational activities of the department and therefore was perceived by medical students not as artificially created additional difficulties, and as a natural channel of feedback. An essential component of the technology is the use of the principle of a double goal-setting developed by us. It means that in the classes the educational goal is presented to a student in the guidelines, and the purpose of improving the academic skills is defined by the student independently, as well as the self-assessment of the achieved result which is carried out further. Already in the first years of study students have to pass consistently from educational and research activity (performing educational projects), and research laboratory works to research activity in scientific societies of the Departments integrated into the Scientific Community of Students and Young Scientists. And also the technology of educational and research competence development involves personality-oriented approach and assistance to every student in improvement of poorly mastered educational skills.
We believe that the involvement of students in conscious development of educational and research competence and the systematic use of reflexive evaluation for this purpose is a resource which enhances the quality of learning process (and, therefore, the quality of education), promotes professional and personal development of a future specialist and becomes the basis for lifelong learning.
The work is submitted to the International Scientific Conference «Higher professional education. Modern aspects of the international cooperation», Spain, August, 16–23, 2013, came to the editorial office оn 21.12.2013.