Problems of development of professional competence in natural sciences among prospective elementary school teachers

The article is concerned with theoretical and practical aspects of development of pedagogical college students’ professional competence in teaching natural sciences disciplines. The author examines the essence of an elementary school teacher’s competence in teaching natural sciences. Basic features of integrative and competence-based approaches that are methodological basis for forming the contents of the natural science education in a pedagogical college are examined. Novelty of the research is in the developed methodology of evolvement of natural thinking among pedagogical college students which employs the key ideas of integrative competence-based approach and ensures the process of effective development of professional competence among prospective teachers of natural sciences. The methodology engages types of activity that provide for the evolvement of students’ natural thinking: study of theoretical principles of development of natural science notions, use of a generalised approach to the development of academic cognitive activity methods, teaching theoretical principles of how to solve tasks in natural sciences, use of information technologies to summarise the teaching experience in natural sciences in elementary school.