INTERACTIVE METHODS OF CONSTRUCTING ON THE PLANE: THE LOCUS OF POINTS

The article focuses on the problem of how to systematize secondary school students’ knowledge in Geometry while assimilating a concept “Locus of Points”. The scientific concept acts as an integrated didactic unit that combines a wide range of problems which students face fulfilling geometrical tasks on construction. In such kind of problems, the locus of points method can act both as a goal and as a means of finding the solution. The integrated didactic unit, according to the definition given by its author, academician P.M. Erdniev, is a didactic unit which corresponds to a large-block construction of the content of the subject and is built on the multi-component principle. It presents a set of portions of information that consists of logically heterogeneous but having informatically common groups of related concepts. The article also discusses the instructional learning techniques and strategies that promote systemic study of the geometrical concept while school students fulfil tasks on the school planimetry course. The methods and strategies under consideration have as their basis the concept by L.Ya. Zorina which claims that any system of knowledge consists of two parts – theoretical (bases) and practical (consequences) ones. The bases consist of initial assumptions and empirical basis, while the consequences contain explanations and interpretations of known facts, as well as conclusions and generalizations grounded on initial assumptions and known facts. A few examples of how to visualize the process of searching for a locus of points performed in the interactive creative environment “1C: MathKit 6.0”are given. As a result of the research carried out it is established that the interactive creative environments, which possess a dynamic visualization function, allow students to improve the efficiency in mastering generalized concepts. The article is addressed to methodologists, secondary school and extra education teachers and other interested experts of educational field to update the content lines of the subject area “Mathematics and Computer Studies” and to create a programme for a specialized course “Mathematics for Engineering Specialties”. It can also support teachers in choosing strategies to systematize students’ knowledge in various subject areas