THE USE OF BLENDED LEARNING FOR IMPROVING TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

A significant restriction of social interaction among people and dissemination of distance learning educational models contribute to developing of blended learning as form, which combines the growth potential of formal and non-formal education. It is defined, that blended learning is a convenient method to facilitate the educational process, improvement of professional competence, skills, initiative, responsibility and learning capability. The benefits of blended learning make it particularly usable both students and teachers. Blended learning need to be investigated because it is modern organization form of education process, which is more flexible, mobile, efficient, integrated and adapted to the requirements of the daily routine of society, in particular, teachers. Accordingly, blended learning is a necessity in the context to upgrade the standard of teachers and to provide more teachers, since it is qualifications of teachers play a role in the formation of socially oriented and multifunctional education system. Moreover, one of the characteristics of modern formal education is the absence of appropriate and innovative methodology and current teaching techniques. The article is devoted to the analysis of blended learning, which has priorities with respect to traditional full-time education, allows the streamlining of learning processes and helps to create the best possible conditions for professional development of teachers. Comparison, methods of abstraction, analysis and generalization, graphic and tabular modeling are the research methods which were used in the article. It is defined, that to modernize education to face constraints social interaction, new challenges and needs of the society, to improvement of educational methods, to create a more balanced between formal and non-formal education are a necessity. The key variables and characteristics of blended learning, features of practical use non-formal, informal and blended learning by teachers in process of professional development, improvement of pedagogical competence were determined by authors. So, based on established theoretical and methodological research, the blended learning has a lot of advantages over traditional full-time education, accordingly, the blended learning of teachers needs to be developed.