Project activities in mathematics as a tool for early professionalization of schoolchildren in the engineering sphere

Statement of the problem. In the context of digitalization of economy and education and transformation of labor market, there is a growing need for early professionalization of school students, particularly in the engineering and technical fields. Traditional methods of teaching mathematics, focused on reproductive knowledge acquisition, do not ensure the development of research and project competencies, and this leads to a gap between the requirements of professional environment and the level of school preparation. The purpose of the article is to develop an approach to organizing project-based learning in mathematics that ensures the early professionalization of school students in the engineering field. Methodology and methods. The study is based on systemic, activity-based, and competence-based approaches, integrated with the theories of project-based learning. Methods of theoretical analysis of scientific literature, expert evaluations, and a pedagogical experiment were used. For project implementation, digital tools (COMPASS-3D, REMPLANNER, Garden Planner) and online services (Yandex Disk, Yandex Telemost, Yandex Tables, Yandex Tracker, Yandex Forms, etc.) were applied. Research results. An approach to organizing project-based learning in mathematics has been developed and tested, ensuring the early professionalization of school students in the engineering field. The approach includes a set of interrelated and mutually determined stages of activity, from topic selection to evaluation of results. Using the example of a project on creating a glamping site, the integration of mathematical methods, engineering tasks, and modern digital technologies into the process of students’ professional self-determination is demonstrated. It is shown how project-based learning in mathematics contributes to the acquisition of skills in spatial modeling, economic calculations, and teamwork, which has been confirmed by the results of the pedagogical experiment. Conclusion. The proposed approach to organizing project-based learning in mathematics contributes to the early professionalization of school students through the development of mathematical competencies and the formation of an informed choice of a future profession. The research results prove the importance of introducing such practices into the educational process. In the future, it is planned to expand the testing of the results to different levels of education and specializations, integrate the approach into interdisciplinary programs, further develop the digital component for modeling and data analysis, and conduct longitudinal studies to assess the impact of the proposed approach on the success of professional self-determination and the quality of students’ mathematical training.