A competency-bazed approach in the environmental education of the students - future biology teachers

Abstract The contemporary trends of globalization and enhanced international cooperation, as well as the aim at building a knowledge-based society, have put higher education institutions in an ever-increasing public interest. The fast-developing digitalization, the implementation of artificial intelligence and especially the generational characteristics of the learners determine the need for new approaches in teaching and learning tailored to individual needs. One of them is the competence approach, which represents one of the leading pedagogical concepts of the 21st century and is the basis for the formation of ecological competence. Its application in pedagogical practice is a serious challenge for both teachers and students – future Biology teachers. The article analyses on a structural and functional basis the components of environmental competence. A theoretical model for the formation of ecological competence in the discipline “Forms and methods of ecological education and upbringing in Biology education”, included in the curriculum of Master degree students is presented. The model is aimed at updating the vision of the learning process in the relevant discipline, the main part of which is environmental education.