Using Learning Management Systems in the Context of Interactive Education
Silvia Parusheva, Boris Bankov,
Gergana Kasabova, Petya Strashimirova
University of Economics – Varna
https://doi.org/10.53656/ped2025-4.01
Abstract. The paper examines the university teachers’ use of interactive tools in the Learning Management System (LMS) Moodle in relation to the students’ training in a distance form of learning. The analysis covers data from online teacher opinion surveys in a university setting over four academic years. The results show that the interactive tools can be divided into two main groups. The first group includes tools with high usage and positive trends, such as URLs, assignments and electronic tests. These tools have been found to be used steadily and with an increasing trend, underscoring their importance for the digital learning environment. The second group includes tools with declining use or limited data availability, such as forums, surveys and chat. The forum tool shows a decline in usage, suggesting the need to explore the reasons and opportunities for integration with social media to increase engagement. Some tools such as H5P and the gamification module Game, despite the lack of sufficient data, have potential for development. Future research should focus on the impact of these tools on student learning outcomes and engagement.
Keywords: LMS; Moodle; interactive tools; gamification; H5P; Wiki; gamification module Game; forums
Military and Social Threats as Determinants of the Development of Contemporary Ukrainian Higher Education
Mykola Pantiuk,
Tetiana Pantiuk
Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University of Drohobych (Ukraine)
Nataliia Bakhmat
Kamianets-Podilskyi Ivan Ohiienko National University (Ukraine)
Olena Nevmerzhytska,
Svitlana Ivakh
Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University of Drohobych (Ukraine)
https://doi.org/10.53656/ped2025-4.02
Abstract. The article presents the results of an empirical study aimed at identifying the problems of higher education in Ukraine amid the current realities of military aggression by the Russian Federation and outlining prospects for its development in crisis conditions. It was found that the war has become a challenging ordeal for the student youth, negatively affecting their psychological, moral, and mental health, disrupting personal plans, and hindering professional development. The study identified the most significant military and social threats to the development of domestic higher education, according to the students. These include the decline in the level of education and quality of life for Ukrainians, the reduction in the intellectual level of students – attributed to the disruption of systematic learning and the predominance of online learning formats – as well as daily stress situations caused by military actions. The article emphasizes the optimistic outlook of the student youth regarding the future of Ukrainian higher education. This optimism is reflected in their clear awareness of the necessary changes, understanding of their essence, appropriate determination of educational development priorities, and aspiration for personal and professional fulfillment. Ultimately, this is expected to lead to the improvement of the educational space, European integration, and a successful exit from the crisis, despite military and social threats.
Keywords: higher education in Ukraine; teacher training; military and social threats; student youth
Lyubomir Rusev – the Great Unknown Educator and Psychoanalyst of the First Half of the 20th century
Stoil Mavrodiev
South-West University „Neofit Rilski“ Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
https://doi.org/10.53656/ped2025-4.03
Abstract. This article presents the pedagogical and a small part of the psychoanalytical work of the great Bulgarian pedagogue, psychologist and psychoanalytically oriented author of the first half of the twentieth century, Lyubomir Rusev Minchev (1902 – 1987), who is unknown to today‘s specialists and the wider community. Lyubomir Rusev was one of the most prominent intellectuals until the 1940s and contributed immensely to the modernization and development of Bulgarian education, as well as to the development and spread of psychoanalysis in Bulgaria, with original contributions in these fields. The main works on education and personality formation, heredity, psychohygiene and psychoprophylaxis, abnormal development, instincts and drives in adolescents are examined. L. Rusev in these areas.
Keywords: Lyubomir Rusev; pedagogy; psychoanalysis; upbringing and drives
Pedagogical Technology for Training Students in the Elementary Grades to Work with Diagrams Represented Data
Valentina Chileva
South-West University “Neofit Rilski”
https://doi.org/10.53656/ped2025-4.04
Abstract. Modern mathematical education of students in primary grades is related to continuous operation with a certain volume of data. In the course's content, this volume is presented using illustrations, tables, graphs and charts. Students develop their skills for working with various information sources in the course of their cognitive activity in mathematics classes. By their very nature, the diagrams and diagram models that are present in mathematics textbooks in elementary grades require the acquisition of specific knowledge and skills. The students‘ effectiveness in working with diagrammatically represented data in individual mathematical tasks is related to the level of assimilation of the skills for working with diagrams.
Keywords: mathematical knowledge; data; diagrammatic representation
Authentic Transdisciplinary Project-Based STEM Education of University Students Learning for Teachers
Lyuben Vitanov, Nikolay Tsanev,
Lyudmila Zafirova, Gergana Hristova,
Katerina Dinkova, Kalina Georgieva,
Georges Kyushev, Zdravka Savcheva
Sofia University
https://doi.org/10.53656/ped2025-4.05
Abstract. The article examines the effectiveness of authentic STEM projects in increasing the motivation, academic achievements and important transferable skills of students learning for teachers such as critical thinking, initiative and entrepreneurship and teamwork skills. Essential characteristics of STEM learning, such as integrity and authenticity, are examined, as is project-based learning. Structured and approved authentic STEM integral projects and results of their application in student learning. The analysis of the effectiveness of the applied experimental approach is carried out according to five indicators and includes test tasks, authentic assessment with structured observation. The data show the effectiveness of the used authentic transdisciplinary STEM projects in the education of student learning for teachers. It translates into higher results in academic STEM achievements, motivation, initiative and entrepreneurship, as well as teamwork skills. There was no increase in students‘ critical thinking after the experimental work.
Keywords: STEM; authentic learning; transdisciplinary STEM; project-based learning
Research and Analysis of Student Attitudes towards Using a Generative AI Tool
Nikolay Yanev, Iglika Getova
University of Library Studies and Information Technologies – Sofia, Bulgaria
Teodora Hristova
University of Mining and Geology “St. Ivan Rilski” – Sofia, Bulgariа
Iva Kostadinova, Georgi Petrov Dimitrov
University of Library Studies and Information Technologies – Sofia, Bulgaria
https://doi.org/10.53656/ped2025-4.06
Abstract. In the rapidly evolving landscape of educational technology, Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) tools are emerging as an innovative solution that could lead to a rethinking of the learning process. This paper explores and analyzes student attitudes towards integrating generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in educational settings, examining the opportunities and challenges associated with this cutting-edge technology. Practical results based on a survey are presented and trends in three Bulgarian universities – University of Library Science and Information Technologies (ULSIT), University of Mining and Geology “St. Ivan Rilski”, and University of National and World Economy (UNWE) on the need, willingness and motivation of students to use them in the process of their studies. The aim is to find out what are the attitudes of the trained students towards Gen AI tools, currently entering more and more into the educational sphere. An exploratory approach has been used and a survey has been developed. Participation in the survey was voluntary and anonymous. The questionnaire was distributed in different educational institutions covering relevant academic levels and fields of study according to the distribution of student types according to global statistics. The survey aims to reveal not only the perceptions but also the expectations, concerns and preferences of learners regarding the inclusion of generative AI in their learning environment. The analysis done would help educational institutions to develop ethical and constructive approaches in the learning process. A cross-analysis between individual questions of the survey was implemented, based on which an insight into the learners’ desires regarding the use of the mentioned tools was formed. Recommendations are made to prepare future professionals to keep up with new business requirements, despite the high rate of development of this technology. The analyses presented in the paper are based on the results obtained from the survey, processed using the IBM SPSS software product.
Keywords: generative artificial intelligence; pedagogical experiment, survey; data analysis
The STRONG Model – an Opportunity to Use and Develop the Potential of Talented Students from Vocational High Schools
Iliyan Vasilev
Sofia University
https://doi.org/10.53656/ped2025-4.07
Abstract. The proposed model is aimed at one group of students, who are mentioned only when they achieve consecutive successes at international competitions and the state is proud of these achievements, namely – the talented students. The article describes in detail the essence and implementation technology of the STRONG model. A concrete example of its substantive implementation is given through the example of five vocational high schools in Sofia, which prepare personnel in the field of technical education in scientific fields 523: “Natural sciences, Mathematics and Informatics, Technical Sciences”. The advantages of the proposed model are that through modified forms and restructuring of the curriculum, through modular training in selected groups, it is possible to use and develop the potential and capabilities of talented students. Technologically, the model is implemented in two stages: STRONG-α and STRONG-β and includes the dual system of training, which in current educational practice is a priority. An important positive effect of the application of the STRONG model is the earlier completion of vocational secondary education and the confident inclusion of the young person in the educational process at the higher school, by shortening the period of study in it. This will lead to a time reduction in the years of study in OKS Bachelor and the possibility of more intensive supply of the industry with engineering specialists.
Keywords: talented students; modular training; TVET
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.
Marcel Proust
Study of the Application of Curing Procedures in the Kindergarten Aimed at the Formation of a Healthy Culture in Children
Penka Borisova
Trakia University - Stara Zagora (Bulgaria)
https://doi.org/10.53656/ped2025-4.08
Abstract. Building endurance in the child's organism from birth and throughout human life is a guarantee, apart from getting sick less frequently, for the correct development and functioning of all systems and organs in the human body, and also for longevity, because a healthy and strong spirit is stored in a healthy and adamant body. Children's teachers are the first to believe and research scientific literature, articles and shared experience about the healing powers of natural resources: air, sun, water, snow and earth, and implement a variety of physical activities in the daily regimen of the institution in which they work. At the next stage, the commitment of the pedagogical specialists in the kindergarten, as the first educational institution for children, is related to seeking support from parents, like-minded people in the idea of applying healing mechanisms in raising healthy and able-bodied children. As a result of pedagogical consistency and belief in the importance of endurance-building, during this early stage of children's education, a health culture, a healthy lifestyle and skills to maintain a healthy body will be formed.
Keywords: building endurance; thermoregulation; healing procedures; interaction with parents; health education; longevity
"The bath is where one heals."
Roman proverb
