Developing teacher professional competence in functional literacy education through didactic games

The research problem and the rationale for its relevance. Recently, the issue of developing students' functional literacy has received significant attention. Addressing this issue requires that the teacher themselves is functionally literate and knows how to influence the level of students' functional literacy. Consequently, the system of advanced training for teachers must create conditions conducive to the development of professional competence in the field of fostering functional literacy among students. The goal of research is to provide a theoretical justification for the use of didactic games as a means of developing teachers' professional competence in fostering students' functional literacy, as well as to develop a didactic game itself. This game is intended for use as a tool for developing teachers' professional competence in this field within advanced training courses and corporate training programs. Methodology (Materials and Methods). The research direction is informed by the ideas of S. L. Rubinstein, who posited that play is a meaningful activity whose essence lies in the ability to transform reality. According to the scholar, in adults, play stems from needs and interests and serves to develop certain abilities and aspects of their personality. A central tenet of this research is the focus on personal development through the process of play. As a result of play as a conscious activity, the individual is enriched: previously formed skills are developed and new ones are acquired, and a need arises both to apply existing knowledge and to gain new knowledge. Thus, play can positively influence the level of professional competence of a teacher who has gained experience participating in a game. In this case, the focus is on a didactic game conducted for educational purposes. The research results consist of a scientific justification for using a didactic game in advanced training courses as a tool for enhancing teachers' professional competence. A description is provided of the didactic game “The Playing Teacher or Play as a Practice for Developing Teacher Professional Competence”, designed for use in advanced training programs for teaching staff. The structure of the game is outlined, its content is characterized, the active learning methods used during the didactic game are presented, and the information resources serving as the content basis for one of the game stages are identified. The research outcome has practical significance: the developed didactic game can be conducted in advanced training courses for teachers of various subjects and can be used by educational organizations as a form of in-house advanced training. The scientific novelty of the research lies in defining the approaches to developing a didactic game that should engage participating teachers in activities aimed at solving the task of fostering students' functional literacy. The theoretical significance of the study is the advancement of understanding regarding the potential of didactic games as a tool with educational value, capable of influencing the level of a teacher's professional competence. The practical significance is represented by the developed resource — a didactic game that can be used as a tool for developing teachers' professional competence in the field of fostering students' functional literacy. The article describes the game's structure and presents its content.