To become a good electrician you need to constantly engage in self-education

Away site i.electricianexp.com one of the best teachers Gomel State Polytechnic College Nikulin Sergey Alexandrovich, which the kindly agreed to cover some of my questions.

1. Sergey, you have been working at a college (technical school) for about 10 years now. Has anything changed during this time? How has the educational process and student attitudes changed?

A college (technical school) is the next stage of education after school or a vocational school and, unfortunately, in recent years, applicants who come to us have a low general level of knowledge, learning ability and desire to study.

The capabilities of many of them do not allow them to master the specialty "electrician", in my opinion, quite complicated. But we have no other contingent, and therefore, we are teaching “untrained”. Earlier in the average group there were several lagging behind, but now there are a few who are doing well.

On the other hand, over the past ten years more than one discipline program has not undergone any significant changes in its content, which was formed during the Soviet Union. Since then, much has changed and a new one has appeared. So it turns out that the upper classes do not want, but the lower classes cannot.

Recently, conducting a survey of the material passed and not receiving more than one answer from the student, I asked, “Why did you come here at all?”; The answer was "I could not enter the university." Higher education institutions increase enrollment every year, and this is against the backdrop of a decline in the prestige of education.

2. What do you think, how much in demand and prestigious is the profession “electrician” in our time? What are his prospects for the future?

Every year, our college graduates from two or three groups of students, and everyone who wants to work in their specialty finds a place. This indicates the high demand for the profession “electrician”, which, in fact, is due to its versatility: an electrician is needed at any enterprise, organization, institution. In most cases, wages in this specialty are high enough.

If we talk about the future prospects of the profession, then it is stable enough. The amount of electricity consumed is constantly growing, and until humanity switches to a different type of energy, which is unlikely in the near future, there will be less work for electricians.

3. Sergey, you are distinguished by a non-standard approach to training in your subjects. In your classes, students do not write notes, and the whole couple passes in communication with the teacher. How much do you think the methods you use allow you to influence the learning outcome?

As far as I know, many are of the opinion that if students have ready-made notes at the beginning, they will cease to do anything at all, i.e. constant work on notes during a couple is something like a means of something to keep people busy during class so that they are not distracted by extraneous things. How do you manage to find motivation for students to actively work in the classroom and not be distracted?

Motivation is an essential component of the learning process, which must be present at every stage. The level of internal motivation of the student is most often not sufficient and should be compensated by external motivation on the part of the teacher. And if the teacher constantly supports the student’s high activity during the lesson, it means that he does his work professionally and conscientiously. And all the methods, methods and techniques, in my opinion, should be applied depending on the situation.

As for the finished lecture notes, their use has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, they free the student from mechanical work and give the teacher extra time that can be used to control knowledge, explain new material, perform exercises, etc.

On the other hand, writing an abstract to students is a creative individual process, which also helps to memorize, teaching to depict diagrams explaining drawings, introduce abbreviations, etc. Today, when the keyboard replaces a pen, you should not give up lecture notes.

4. In your opinion, can a student who has never been interested in electrical engineering and electronics, once in college, eventually become a good specialist? Do some innate talents and abilities, or all these acquired things, are necessary in order to be an electrician?

Very few students had knowledge and experience in electrical engineering prior to admission. And all are issued with the same entries in the diploma. Therefore, the task of the teaching staff to form the qualities of a future specialist. The formation of the so-called “technical” thinking at the student’s initial stage allows him to go on to study special subjects and engage in active self-education. Well, the concept of “good specialist” is formulated, probably, already in the process of labor activity.

Graduates of our college are more often praised than scolded, which means that most of them have mastered the necessary qualities.

5. Your main disciplines are the basics of electronics, automation and microprocessor technology. How much knowledge is needed in these areas by modern electricians. How can students further use the acquired knowledge in their work, real life?

The rapid development of electronics leads to the fact that less and less electric receivers, electrical apparatus and devices that do not contain electronic components and circuits. Therefore, for the correct installation and operation of electrical equipment, an electrician must have basic knowledge in the field of electronics and automation. In addition, the knowledge gained can be useful when working with alarm systems, automation, etc.

6. In your opinion, how much is college education useful for further practical activities? After all, if you look objectively, students get a lot more theoretical knowledge, the practical ones. Are curricula relevant to modern realities in general?

Studying in college does not have the sole purpose of training a specific specialist. To do this, it is enough to undergo, for example, training with a master at the enterprise. Yes, the disadvantage of such an educational structure as a technical school is its weak technical base. Therefore, students receive a working profession while practicing in enterprises.

On the one hand, they fulfill the duties that will be their work in the event of employment in this enterprise. On the other hand, practice leaders often approach formally their duties. In any case, this structure is quite effective and requires only fundamental control by the educational institution.

I have already said about the relevance of programs; it leaves much to be desired.

7. What do you think about the education of students in the correspondence department? Is this form of education to some extent imperfect in nature and content?

Correspondence studies arose as the need to study on the job. Today, with the existing education system, the correspondence form is not a necessity, therefore, it should not be of such a massive nature.

8. Now we have a certain bias towards training specialists for industrial enterprises and it often turns out that even experienced electricians who have worked at their enterprises for decades are lost when they need to do something with the wiring in their apartment.Could it be more seriously involved in the learning process and household electrical appliances?

This question again brings us back to the relevance of training programs. Over the past decades, much has changed, including the standard approaches to household electrical appliances. And this area of ​​knowledge and activities are quite worthy of isolation in a separate discipline. But as I said, we use products created in the Soviet Union.

9. Now it’s fashionable to use various so-called multimedia methods in training, when films and presentations spin during classes. How much better does this allow students to understand the material being studied?

Multimedia methods are important for the field of electrical engineering, as many electrical processes cannot be observed and have to be modeled for a better understanding. They used to show filmstrips, now films are made using projectors. This does not change the essence; the visualization process itself is important. So far, there are few such films. This industry is not developed yet.

10. How do you think the development of computer technology affects learning? One side ANDThe Internet is a gigantic library with a huge amount of information, but on the other hand it is also a big distraction. Do you think the Internet has a more positive effect on the learning process or negatively?

In my opinion, computer technology does not have the impact on the learning process that was expected of them. They are only a means, and their effectiveness depends on who uses them. And nobody teaches us the culture and rules of using computer technologies, such as the rules of working with literature.

The Internet is a bank of information, but an ordinary person spends more time in communications - the so-called social networks, than in drawing scientific knowledge. Talk about ANDI want to end the Internet with the words of the authors of the book “Children of the processor” “The Internet is a huge cesspool where you can find everything, including what you are not looking for.”

Sergey, withThank you for the interesting interview! Good luck and success in practical activities in training young specialists in such an important and sought-after specialty as an electrical technician.