On diagnosing the level of students’ knowledge in special (conventional) disciplines

Abstract

One of the most important tasks of professional training of cadets at maritime universities is to prepare them for competent actions in any accident and emergency. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) reiterates the importance of naval professional training. IMO normative acts like conventions, codes and resolutions indicate that each crew member should be able to maintain the required safety, objectively assess current conditions, navigate in a difficult situation, prevent an accident from developing into an emergency, correctly apply fire extinguishing equipment, quickly close holes, remove accumulated water that threatens ship stability, etc. Implementation of IMO requirements is the main direction in studying special and conventional academic disciplines. For quality assurance of cadets’ learning achievements in the overall academic discipline, it is advisable to use diagnostic assessments. The paper is geared to investigate the way students develop their professional competency when they master special (conventional) disciplines through education diagnostic assessments. The paper aims to develop a toolkit for providing a reliable assessment of the level of mastery of the academic discipline on Basic Security Training by cadets. The authors creatively applied the method of theoretical analysis of scientific literature; testing method; forecasting method; methods of mathematical verification of the reliability and validity of the developed test. In the end, a new test to assess the level of cadets’ performance in a special (conventional) discipline is a correct and timely action. The developed test will replenish a critical pool of diagnostic education resources and will be in demand for education diagnostic assessments in modern maritime education institutions.