The article is devoted to the study of the effectiveness of Academic staff development programme to promote the development of research competence. Mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) was used to explore the problem: the analysis of scholarly literature searching for the term «research competence» as well as modelling structural components of research competence. Research competence is seen in our article as an integrated personal and professional quality of a higher education teacher, which reflects the motivation for scientific research, the level of teaching research methodology, the personal qualities of a researcher, such as innovative thinking, the capacity for creativity and innovation. We have identified the following key components of the Research competence of a higher education teacher: motivational and valuable, cognitive, procedural and active, information, communicative, personal and creative, reflexive; components of research competence form a holistic unity of the results of academic staff professional and personal development. The article presents the experience and results of the implementation of the research module of Academic staff development programme at the Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University. The results showed that participation in the Research modules had influenced much to develop some components (the motivational and valuable, communicative, the personal and creative) of research competence in Academic staff. While learning Research modules university teachers can assess the current level of their research knowledge and skills and take responsibility for their continued professional development.

The problem of using e-textbooks in educational institutions is becoming especially relevant today, due to the rapid pace of digitalization of education. The article analyses the current legislation on the introduction of e-textbooks in the educational process of modern schools, identifies requirements for their content, structural components and capabilities. Proposals of electronic teaching aids for general secondary education institutions have been analysed. It has been noted that the active development of the market of electronic publications is due to educational needs and the reform of the New Ukrainian School. An analysis of e-textbooks for primary school, recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for use in educational institutions within the All-Ukrainian experiment «Electronic textbook for general secondary education», has been conducted, their compliance with national standards has been determined taking into account the requirements set out in «The Regulations on electronic textbooks». It has been found out that the state educational policy in Ukraine contributes to the digital transformation of education, determines the priorities of electronic educational resources, and outlines the mechanisms of transition from static scanned versions of paper textbooks to interactive multimedia tools that would meet modern challenges and tasks of providing qualitative educational service. The emphasis is placed on the need to take into account and borrow the best international experience in creating and implementing electronic textbooks in educational institutions, which is dictated by the need to form a competitive and competent person capable of responding quickly to today’s challenges of informatization of all spheres of public life.

The article is devoted to the use of scribing and sketching technologies in the educational process as visualization technologies. It is proved that in the conditions of total environment with modern information technologies and large information flows and formation of clip thinking in students, visualization that takes into account these cognitive features promotes understanding, mastering and memorization of educational material, improves learning and communication skills, increases motivation, learning, and promotes critical thinking; keeps the attention of the individual on key points, makes him an active participant in the educational process. The advantages and disadvantages of using scribing technologies in the educational process are summarized. The types of scribing and possible variants of their use are researched and analyzed. Among them are painted, application, magnetic, flannel, which involves the use of flannel (carpet linograph). technologies for using special programs or online services to create online scribing (computer, animation, video scribing) is emphasised. Scribbing facilitation is singled out, which involves the translation of information from verbal to visual form. Attention is paid to the study of the positive impact of visualization on the assimilation and comprehension of material through sketching technologies: they increase student involvement in learning, encourage more effective strategies and promote key skills, including creative thinking, communication and skills to build and present knowledge. The main models of sketchouting and their variants of use are investigated: linear, vertical, radial, modular, trajectory, skyscrapers or columnar, popcorn.

The article pays attention that usage of a definite theory in educational researches that gives distinct and reproducible explanation of professional experience, becomes the basis of the layout of a practical models of educational practices. It is suggested to classify theoretical approaches and concepts to continuing professional development at philosophical, pedagogical and psychological levels. It was proved that generalization of interconnected systematic synergetic, anthropological, axiological, acmeological, andragogical, and personality-based and activity-based approaches substantiate the aim, tasks, content, forms and methods of continuing professional development of academic staff, take into account self-direction and self-control of individual professional development, and at the same time making it possible to coordinate actions of teachers, make all the adjustments on time, to act on the basis of democracy. It was found out that practical models designed according to these approaches make it possible for the teachers to develop their own educational trajectory, to choose concrete forms, types, tendencies and subjects of educational services individually. But still there is unsolved problem of absence of regulated ways and informal education assessment criteria which is defined as individually controlled professional development, self-organized acquisition of professional competences by the teachers which is not documented. That is what limits possibilities of self-education and its importance for modernization of the system of higher education in Ukraine and for improving of professional practices of each teacher. Every institution of higher education was offered to create their own inter-institutional ways of academic workers’ informal education assessment in the system of their professional development.

The article presents the results of a study of individual strategies for choosing training courses by teachers of general secondary education institutions. The article substantiates the choice of research methods and means for processing the results; describes the methodology for preparing an in-depth interview guide, its conduct, and analysis. The experiment results confirmed the interconnection between the level of demonstration of the extrinsic negative element of motivation for professional development and the Yanis coefficient calculated from the data of the content analysis of the in-depth interview. In the process of research, the educational request of teachers, which is mainly focused on updating methods of action, is specified, which indicates (whether conscious or not) the insufficient effectiveness of traditional professional technologies. The identified selection strategies (focusing on the opinion of significant individuals and accounting for characteristics of professional activity) should be considered not only when developing new training courses, but also when promoting them at the educational services market. The research team prepared relevant recommendations for the developers. Based on the results of the study, the methodological recommendations were developed for the system of postgraduate teacher education. The experiment, which is conducted in 22 educational institutions in Kyiv (Ukraine) and covers more than 1,750 teachers, requires verification in other conditions (small schools in remote regions, regional and district centres) since in the program it is not highlighted the impact of the megalopolis on the activity of teachers, and other local factors that may be significant.

In modern conditions of reforming the system of higher education, the introduction of time-based blended and distance learning, the mission of higher education is to ensure the efficiency and quality of university education. Therefore, the problem of using blended and distance learning technologies becomes relevant, which, taking into account the peculiarities of the conduct, should ensure the quality of educational services for students. Blended learning is defined as a hybrid of traditional face-to-face and online learning so that instruction occurs both in the classroom and online, and where the online component becomes a natural extension of traditional classroom learning. The article highlights the peculiarities of the introduction of mixed and distance learning at the university, analyzes and clarifies the essence and content of the concepts of « blended learning», «distance learning», identifies the main approaches, methodical principles underlying the organization of the educational process, the priority tasks and advantages of the introduced forms of education are singled out, the tendencies of their development are outlined, in particular in modern conditions. The methods, organizational forms and means used during blended and distance learning are described, specific examples of their introduction at Kyiv International University are given, as well as the schematic structure of the methodical system of the proposed forms of education that ensure the quality of university education. It is proved that blended and distance learning solves the problems of individualization, intensification and optimization of education, is the most effective evolution of the traditional model of learning.

This research work is dedicated to a topical theme from the science’s point of view. The main goals are to study the role of competitions in history tournaments for students in the development of scientific communication in the process of studying at university. The experimental part of the study included 130 respondents: 100 students as participants of tournament competitions and 30 jury members who evaluated the tournament games and participated in the study of this innovative phenomenon. To determine the effectiveness of tournament competitions and their role in the development of scientific communication, an observation method was used to identify the feelings and behaviour of tournament participants at different stages of the game. The comparative method was used to identify the peculiarities of tournament competitions in the system of competitions, contests held in Ukraine. The survey method was used to identify the level of achievement of participants during the tournament and the impact of tournament competitions on further study and research activities of students. The results of the study proved to be an important factor in the development of scientific communication among students. This fact caused the ability of student’s youth to work in a team and to carry out scientific research and protect own ideas. As a result of the study, it was discovered that students who studied the science themes prior to the tournament and participated in tournament competitions (public defence and opposition) had significantly higher levels of academic achievement than their classmates. A good deal of students noted that during the tournament competitions they communicated with jury members (scholars from all over Ukraine) and got much historical information according to important achievements in historical science, new ideas and concepts, little-known historians so far. According to the results of the study, it was recommended to create a scientific discussion colloquium among students who are interested in investigating science of domestic and foreign scholars.

The article shows that mathematical disciplines are the foundation for the formation of research competence of students of agricultural universities. It was found that the willingness to use knowledge in mathematics is a prerequisite for obtaining a high-quality professional education, carrying out research activities. The definition of research competence of a specialist in the agricultural industry is given and the purpose of its formation among students-agrarians is indicated. It is proved that the formed research knowledge, abilities, skills, the acquired initial research experience in the mathematical plane should become the basis for the effective professional activity of a modern agrarian. It is shown that the content of the mathematical training of future agricultural specialists should be adjusted, and the knowledge of agricultural students in mathematical disciplines and the ability to use them in practice should be integral. The necessity of using the method of mathematical modeling in the process of forming research competence is substantiated, which provides for a balanced use of methods and teaching aids, forms of organizing students’ educational activities. The essence of mathematical modeling is considered, which is a set of all possible mathematical relationships that describe the main patterns, properties of the process, object or system under study, as well as tasks of mathematical modeling that appear when solving professional problems arising in the agricultural sector. The prerequisites for the use of mathematical models in the management of agricultural production are determined. The principles and requirements for mathematical models are generalized. The stages and methods of constructing mathematical models are highlighted. An example of applying the method of mathematical modeling in the course «Higher Mathematics» when studying the topic «Differential Equations of the 1st Order» is given. Conclusions are made on the application of the method of mathematical modeling to the formation of research competence of students-agrarians.

The article considers the peculiarities of the use of electronic learning tools in the process of training future specialists in physical education and sports. An analysis of the scientific literature on the use of electronic tools in the educational process in higher education is conducted. The experience of using e-learning tools in the process of training specialists in physical education and sports at Zaporizhia National University is generalized. A classification has been formed and four groups of e-learning tools have been substantiated for the training of future specialists in physical education and sports. The first group includes an electronic textbook. It is established that its educational functionality is higher than that of paper. The second group included quasi-professional learning tools using Google Wave, Google Groups, Zoom, FreeConferenceCall, Google Meet, Kahoot and QUIZIZZ, as well as LearningApps tools, which gave students the opportunity to create their own interactive exercises and learning games. The third group included multimedia teaching tools for creating presentations using Prezi, online application for animated video presentations PowToon, video editors Windows Movie Maker and VSDC Free Video Editor, visualization tools using online graphics services Google Developers, Easel.ly, Piktochart, Infogr.am, graphic editors Adobe Photoshop, The GIMP, Paint.net, PhotoInstrument, as well as tools for reproducing educational virtual reality using mobile VR-helmets OCULUS GO, MIRAGE SOLO, GEAR VR. The fourth group of e-learning tools in the training of future specialists in physical culture and sports included e-learning tools and its components, in particular, software and hardware Moodle, which allows you to develop exercises and tests to consolidate theoretical material and generalize knowledge of specialists in physical culture and sports. Scientific and methodological substantiation and recommendations on the use of electronic learning tools in the process of training specialists in physical culture and sports are provided.

The article highlights the features of the use of visualization technologies during distance learning of the Ukrainian language in general secondary education. Scientific works on the coverage of the outlined problem in them are analyzed. It is proved that an effective learning tool, a productive methodological tool for intellectual development of students is the visualization of educational material. The peculiarities of the preparation of educational information are determined, which in a visually accessible for perception and understanding form can provide students with basic or necessary information. It is emphasized that the principle of cognitive visualization is based on psychological laws, according to which the effectiveness of learning increases through the connection to the process of perception of the «figurative» right hemisphere. The peculiarities of using the technology of visualization of educational material, in particular in distance learning, are substantiated. Techniques of structuring and visualization of educational material are described. Emphasis is placed on compliance with certain recommendations to achieve the goals set in the implementation of visualization technologies. It is emphasized that when working on the visualization of educational material, it is necessary to take into account certain patterns of perception of visual aids by students. The typical mistakes that are most often made in the process of visualization of educational material are analyzed, recommendations are given to eliminate them. It was found that the use of distance and blended learning and the significant potential of multimedia learning tools encourage teachers to use visualization in the educational process, which contributes to the intensification of the process of learning. Examples of realization of various pedagogical technologies of visualization in the process of teaching the Ukrainian language in general secondary education institutions in a distance format are given.

The problem of evaluating the university faculty research performance in the European Higher Education Area and in the European Research Area is enlightened in the paper. It is emphasized that under the transition to open science and open access and increasing digitalization, that has emerged in the higher education system due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the problem of academic staff research performance evaluation and their career attractiveness needs to be reconsidered. The article analyses the key principles of evaluating researchers and their professional development; they are enlightened in the basic regulations of the European Commission, European University Association and European Research Area, and in the Hong Kong Principles as a part of the Open Science and Open Access Initiative. The issue of using almetrics in evaluating research outputs is actualized; it provides the «visibility» of the researcher not only for the scientific or educational community, but also for society as a whole. This expands the scope of usual indicators of research performance and provides a comprehensive and more objective measurement of researchers’ excellence. The structure of research performance evaluation is given; it should be based on an integrated approach, taking into account the peer-review, quantitative and qualitative measurements, and include all the components of university staff research activity, i.e. the scientific creativity potential and its research outputs, research supervision, young scientists’ mentoring, national and international cooperation, performing administrative duties, research dissemination, and mobility.

Media literacy is recognized as a basic, vital skill for European citizens. It must be formed during life, at all stages of personality development. That is why we have chosen the leading European countries such as Finland, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain to analyze the current state of media education. Europe should be at the forefront of media literacy, as historically this region of the world has become the cradle of media civilization, a center for coordinating discussions of philosophical, cultural and technical development of the media. The article deals with the analysis of educational and methodical support of the European system of educators’ media education. The importance of media education of educators as the greatest agents of direct educational influence on the younger generation, whose media education is a requirement of the time, is revealed. The need for the development of non-formal and informal media education of educators is identified, as the media component can take place in any lesson and in extracurricular activities. Common components of the organization system of this process (participants, content, forms, methods, tools) are identified and educational and methodological resources are described, which are publicly available and can be useful to educators regardless of country of residence, citizenship or language. As a result of the research, we made the following conclusions: specialized centers offer a wide range of short-term training courses for teachers of various topics; forms of professional development in media education of teachers are different (distance courses, trainings, seminars, workshops, conferences, educational films, etc.); modern scientific, educational, methodical literature for teachers is available (monographs, professional journals, lesson plans, information packages); non-formal and informal preparation of teachers for media education activities is diverse in content, forms, means and methods, but remains fragmentary, not systematic, which does not allow to solve our issue comprehensively, and therefore it needs further development and critical analysis.

The article considers analysis the content component of professional training for the selection of priority sectors for the introduction of the circular economy in the Republic of Poland. It is emphasized that the study of the experience of the Republic of Poland, which has taken an active position in the development of the circular economy and professional training for its implementation, is important for Ukraine given its proximity territorially, historically and cultural heritage. It is emphasized that in the process of accelerating the transition to a circular economy, education and training of specialists to implement the goals and objectives of the circular economy, which are fully consistent with the goals of global sustainable development, are quite important factors. It is proved that the training of specialists in circular economics for forecasting, for the ability to see in which sector of economic activity can get the most effective results not only in terms of economic effect, but also the preservation of the environment and public health is important. It is concluded that the professional training of specialists in circular economy should be aimed at the formation of knowledge about: factors taking into account the priority of the industry for the introduction of circular economy; application of business models of circular economies; methodologies of evolutionary nature of activity; evaluation methods by means of expert evaluation; opportunities to implement specific models of the circular economy in Polish realities; adaptation of business models to certain industries taking into account the context of the Polish market; adaptation of circular business models to priority industries from the point of view of the circular economy in Poland.