International PhD Seminar in Education | Cognitive Structures, Teaching Humanities, and Pre-service Teacher Development

The May session of the International PhD Seminar in Education brought together researchers from different countries to conduct a discussion based on three studies carried out by researchers from Indonesia and Russia, focusing on how knowledge is structured, how humanities should be taught in schools, and how cognitive and emotional factors influence the development of future teachers.

The following researchers addressed key issues of the seminar:

Yeni Rakhmawati
Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Yeni Rakhmawati presented her grounded theory study "Interaction Patterns of Numeracy, Computational Thinking, and Resilience in Pre-service Elementary School Teachers". Drawing on interviews with 18 teacher candidates, the research identified eight interaction patterns that reflect the complex ways gender and resilience shape the acquisition and application of numeracy and computational thinking (CT) skills.
The study revealed that computational thinking processes are non-linear and often guided by reflective thinking - a newly identified CT indicator. Male participants displayed more consistent performance, whereas female participants showed deeper evaluative insight, particularly in integrating CT into pedagogical strategies. The study suggests that teacher training programs should account for individual differences and resilience profiles to foster effective teaching competencies.

Elizaveta Lysova-Golomzina
HSE University, Institute of Education

In her presentation "On the Pathway to New Teaching of Humanitarian Disciplines at School", Elizaveta Lysova-Golomzina addressed the growing complexity of teaching humanities in contemporary curricula. Her research examined students’ difficulties in navigating non-linear and multidisciplinary knowledge structures and emphasized the central role of teachers in helping students synthesize factual content into meaningful frameworks.
The study underscored the need for pedagogical strategies that go beyond transmission of facts, focusing instead on cognitive mapping, thematic linking, and interdisciplinary reasoning. Her conclusions pointed to an emerging need for curricular reform and teacher development to support these new educational demands.

Kate Andronova
HSE University, Department of Psychology

In her study, "Network Analysis Method as a Tool for Identifying Basic Concepts in Learners’ Conceptual Structures", Kate Andronova applied graph theory to educational research, proposing a novel definition of basic concepts as those that are highly abstract, structurally central, and relevant to the subject domain.
Using network analysis of students’ conceptual maps, she demonstrated that these basic concepts function as structural anchors, supporting cognitive coherence in the learning process. Her findings confirm network analysis as a valuable tool not only for theoretical exploration but also for enhancing instructional design by pinpointing key concepts that promote knowledge retention and integration.

Discussants:

Insightful commentary was provided by Dr. Anastasia Kapuza (HSE University, Russia) and Dr. Qing Zhang (Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China), who noted the interdisciplinary potential of the methods employed and encouraged the researchers to explore the broader implications of their findings in both pre-service and formal education contexts.