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Nemchinova L.S., Bateneva E.V. Methodological specifics of preparing future educators for organizing cognitive and exploratory activities of preschoolers: research and reflective aspects. Pedagogical Review. 2026. Issue 4 (68). P. 60-71

The article substantiates the methodological specifics of teaching pedagogical disciplines at a university, the content of which addresses the implementation of regulatory documents in the field of preschool education concerning children's cognitive development by organizing children's activities, particularly cognitive and exploratory ones. The relevance of the study stems from the contradiction between the need for professional training of future teachers to meet these requirements and the insufficient development of methodological materials on the specifics of organizing preschoolers' cognitive and exploratory activities within the relevant university courses. The authors propose to resolve this contradiction by introducing two additional vectors into the teaching methodology of the disciplines under consideration: 1) mastering the specifics of organizing children's cognitive and exploratory activities through a student research project; 2) forming students' readiness to reflect on the activity-related and personal aspects of organizing the said children's activity. An analysis of the disciplines' syllabi revealed a fragmented coverage of methodological materials on organizing preschoolers' cognitive and exploratory activities and a lack of tasks aimed at their personal appropriation by students. The initial provisions of the vectors under consideration are formulated for designing educational and methodological support for pedagogical university disciplines related to the area of children's cognitive development. The integration of these provisions into the teaching methodology of a specific discipline is presented using the example of the educational and methodological manual "Cognitive Development of Early and Preschool Children: Organization of Preschoolers' Cognitive and Exploratory Activities". The content of this manual includes preparing students for organizing the specified children's activity (transformation of the theoretical and practical content of in-class work with students and their step-by-step implementation of a student research project) and forming readiness for professional reflection (a set of reflective tasks, including blocks of reflection, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, as well as a portfolio). The theoretical significance of the article lies in expanding scientific understanding of the potential for integrating research and reflective components in the teaching methodology of the disciplines under consideration. It is concluded that improving the quality of students' professional training for organizing preschoolers' cognitive and exploratory activities involves not so much expanding the thematic content of the discipline, but rather revising the methodological specifics of its implementation, emphasizing the research and reflective activity of future teachers.

Keywords: preschool teacher training, cognitive development of preschoolers, cognitive and exploratory activities of preschoolers, students' research activity, readiness to implement reflection