A STARTUP-ORIENTED APPROACH TO MANAGING RESEARCH ACTIVITIES OF FUTURE TEACHERS

Abstract

The article substantiates the need for and explains the essence of a startup-oriented approach as an innovative methodology for managing research activities (R&A) of students majoring in pedagogy. The author argues that the traditional R&A model, focused on replicating academic formats (coursework/thesis, article), in the context of a TACI world and the “digital divide” in education, no longer meets the need to develop innovative teachers capable of designing and implementing educational solutions. To develop and test a startup-oriented model for managing scientific research, we used a set of methods implemented within the framework of a quasi-experiment lasting two academic years (2022-2024): pedagogical testing, expert evaluation, document content analysis, statistical data anamnesis, etc. The startup-oriented approach proposes rethinking scientific research management through the prism of the logic of creating an educational startup, where scientific research becomes not an end in itself, but a tool for validating a pedagogical hypothesis, and the result is a minimum viable educational product (MVP). The article presents a structural and functional model for implementing this approach, including the following key phases: 1) Problem-Search (search for and analysis of the “pain” of the target audience – students, teachers, administration); 2) Hypothesis & Solution Design (formulation of a pedagogical hypothesis and design of a solution prototype – a methodology, a digital tool, an educational event); 3) Lean R&D (rapid experiments, A/B testing, feedback collection). 4) MVP & Pitch (creation and presentation of the MVP to the expert community). The paper describes the management mechanisms: the NID project office as an accelerator, a mentoring system involving practicing teachers and edtech entrepreneurs, and evaluation criteria (potential educational impact, scalability, research validity). It concludes that a startup-oriented approach transforms the culture of NID, developing key 21st-century competencies in future teachers: proactivity, customer focus, iterative thinking, entrepreneurship literacy, and the ability to conduct research in uncertain environments. This ultimately increases their competitiveness and readiness to transform the educational landscape. A startup-oriented approach to managing NIDs for future teachers represents more than just a trendy metaphor, but a systemic innovation in pedagogical education. It helps overcome the artificial barrier between science and practice, foster in students a research-oriented approach – a willingness to fail and iterate – and build a portfolio of real, not hypothetical, professional achievements.