PROJECT-BASED RESEARCH ACTIVITY INTEGRATION IN THE ERA OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS A MECHANISM FOR DEVELOPING 21ST-CENTURY SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES AMONG FUTURE SPECIALISTS

Abstract

At present, the issue of training specialists who possess project-based approaches to professional activity is becoming increasingly relevant in the country. Education has entered an era in which the key factor of a specialist’s professional viability is not only the acquisition of knowledge, but also the ability to design educational processes based on data, technologies, and artificial intelligence. This article considers the psychological and pedagogical conditions for forming project competence among students of pedagogical higher education institutions in the context of integrating the project-research activities of future specialists using artificial intelligence. The mechanisms for integrating artificial intelligence tools into the educational process are revealed in order to develop students’ skills in analyzing, modeling, and implementing pedagogical projects. The study substantiates the need to address this problem due to the following factors: first, all spheres of modern society, under conditions of a high level of project-organizational culture, presuppose the development and implementation of projects—in the production of material values, culture, science, and others. Special attention is paid to the formation of a research and reflective culture in the future teacher, as well as the ability to use artificial intelligence as a means to increase the effectiveness of creative and project activities.

The article substantiates the need to revise traditional teaching methods and transition from knowledge transmission to creating an environment for self-design and intellectual interaction between humans and machines. Since the article is devoted to one of the significant problems of forming cognitive competence, it provides justification for the research activity of future specialists and also describes the experience of organizing students’ project activities based on artificial intelligence.

The article analyzes the potential possibilities of applying neural network–based artificial intelligence as a means of forming universal and general professional competencies among students of pedagogical higher education institutions in the course of educational-research and project activities. The relevance of introducing artificial intelligence into the professional training of future teachers is justified, and its influence on the development of competencies stipulated by the State Educational Standard of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of artificial intelligence is analyzed. Based on differentiating the stages of project-research activity, the functions of artificial intelligence that are expedient for use are identified, and the degree of their application is established from the perspective of competency formation. The results of an expert assessment are presented, demonstrating that artificial intelligence is capable of efficiently performing routine everyday tasks, freeing up time for creative and analytical work.