"Many students think they already know everything, quickly forgetting what they were taught before." A computer science teacher who also works at SoftServe on students' short-term memory, AI and digitalization at school, and life hacks for studying exact sciences

Taras is a graduate of Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University with a degree in Economic Cybernetics. He works as a computer science teacher at Dnipro Lyceum No. 100 «LEADER» of the Dnipro City Council and is the author of tasks and a member of the jury of the All-Ukrainian Student Olympiad in Information Technologies.

As a child, the man did not have any specific preferences regarding his future profession. «Perhaps the final choice of path after university was partly determined by the fact that my grandfather once taught at a school and was even the principal for a certain period,» he says.

Next is Taras' direct speech.

Part-time job at school

After graduating from university, I started teaching at the department. The following year, a friend from university offered me a part-time job at the school where I had worked since my student days. I decided to give it a try and for some time combined work at school and university, until I ended up at SoftServe.

I had no desire to leave pedagogy, because I was really interested in passing on my experience to others. Upbringing also played an important role — I did not believe that it was necessary to change jobs only because of financial motivation. There was enough for basic needs, and that was enough.

IT login via hike

I ended up at SoftServe, you could say, by accident — I wasn’t specifically looking for a place to go. It all started with an unexpected call: the girl introduced herself, reminded me that we had supposedly gone hiking together, and then told me that she was a recruiter and the company was looking for a mentor for the academy. It turned out that she was a friend of my former student, whom I had once taken hiking as a supervisor. That’s how a hobby unexpectedly helped me change my field of activity.

At first I hesitated because I wasn’t confident in my abilities. But a colleague said: «What do you have to lose?» and that encouraged me to try. I passed all the selection stages and became part of the academy team. Additional confidence was given by participation in the «Dnipro IT School» project, where I was able to improve my knowledge and skills.

School is for the soul, the company is an impetus for development

Of course, after that I had to make a choice — and I decided to leave school «for my own good.» I was very lucky with the principal here — she understands the situation perfectly, and we easily find a common language. For example, I can ask to have lessons at the lyceum in the morning so that I have free time to work at the company.
Another plus is that the SoftServe office is located next to the lyceum, visible from the window. However, I feel that I have less time for additional activities at school now.

During my work, I communicate with specialists from different fields: developers, testers, business analysts, project managers, etc. This allows me to better understand what tools they use and how this knowledge can be integrated into the school computer science course. After all, IT is not just about programming.

Of course, the salary level in the company is much higher than that of a teacher. This has given me financial freedom: now I don’t have to constantly think about earning money, I can focus more on personal development and my own interests.

«Many students think they already know everything»

I teach computer science from grades 5 to 11. There is not much paperwork, especially compared to university. I have gotten used to filling out journals over the years. Moreover, now in grades 5-8 we use electronic journals.
Curriculums also do not take much time, because we use model computer science programs as a basis.

Children are constantly changing — their interests and ways of perceiving information change with them. When I started teaching, not everyone had a computer at home. Now this will not surprise anyone. But this creates a new problem — many students believe that they already «know everything». And indeed, on the one hand, they have a certain awareness, on the other — this knowledge is often fragmented and unstructured. Because of this, sometimes you have to start from the basics.

In my opinion, this is one of the reasons for the problems with the NMT. To pass the test with a passing score, it is not necessary to have deep knowledge — it is enough to carefully read and analyze the tasks. But this is also a problem. Modern students often «run» through the text, not studying the content. Therefore, from the 5th grade I teach them not only computer science, but also to read carefully, thoughtfully.

I also try to instill in my students the courage to ask questions. Not to be afraid to appear as those who «don’t know.» I always repeat: the worst question is the one that wasn’t asked.

A separate topic is teamwork. Where appropriate, I give tasks in pairs or groups. Children learn to distribute roles, interact, and help each other. I often ask a student who has already completed the task to explain it to others. But I emphasize: you need to help with words, not do it for someone. This helps develop communication skills.

Another challenge is artificial intelligence. I do not prohibit its use, but instead try to teach students to use it correctly. I explain that AI does not always give reliable answers, it cannot be trusted 100%. The main thing is to teach them to think critically and not copy thoughtlessly even when the answer is correct. After all, the next time the task may change slightly — and without understanding the topic, it will not be possible to cope.

School digitalization

It is quite possible to build effective processes in a school, but for this you need to take into account several key factors.

First, there must be an initiative — digitalization does not happen by itself. It can be initiated by the administration or a willing teacher, but in any case, it is important to have the support of the leadership. Without this, no system will take root.

Secondly, technical support is needed. Online solutions do not work without stable access to the Internet and basic equipment — laptops or PCs for both teachers and students.

In our lyceum, digitalization began even before the pandemic — first as an initiative of individual teachers. We connected Microsoft 365 for educational institutions and started working in Teams, Word, Excel, Outlook. These tools allowed us to configure both the educational process and internal communication. With the beginning of the pandemic and the full-scale invasion, we scaled this system to the entire lyceum — at that time it was already a necessity. It still remains so, since students in grades 6–11 study in a hybrid format: a week offline, a week online. However, over these 5 years, online solutions have taken root well, most have become accustomed to using them.

Why doesn’t digitalization always work? It doesn’t always simplify work. For example, previously, teachers had to fill out both paper and electronic journals. This is duplication that takes time. Therefore, as soon as they were allowed to keep only electronic ones, the problem disappeared. There are those who are not ready to learn new things and master online solutions, and for this, the support of the administration is needed.

It is important to consider that not everything can be digitized at your level — some documents may be submitted in paper form due to legal requirements.

Computer science for 12th grade or IT courses?

In my opinion, computer science is still relevant today. But my task is to show students that knowledge needs to be applied practically. That is why I try to choose examples that will be familiar and interesting to the students themselves. Another key goal is to teach children to think comprehensively, see tasks in a broader context, be able to work with information, and most importantly, learn how to learn. After all, the amount of information is growing every year, and it is physically impossible to remember everything.

Digital skills are becoming increasingly important as IT permeates every aspect of our lives. They can save you time and effort in both your daily life and your professional life, even if you don’t work in IT.

Therefore, mathematics and computer science remain important not only for those planning to go into IT. These disciplines form logic, systems thinking, and analysis skills — something that will definitely come in handy anywhere.

7 life hacks for effective study of mathematics and computer science

• Start with practical tasks. It’s best if they are related to your interests or real-world needs. Try to avoid overly abstract examples.
• Focus on one direction. At the start, you shouldn’t grab onto everything — choose one technology or tool and deepen your knowledge in it.
• Learn constantly and from different sources. Read, watch videos, take courses — combine formats.
• Attend different events. Don’t be afraid to register for events even if most of the words in the title are unfamiliar to you. This is a great way to broaden your horizons.
• Communicate with like-minded people. Discuss topics, share experiences, ask questions.
• Participate in competitions. I prefer team formats — tournaments, hackathons, but Olympiads are also useful: they train the ability to think in a limited time and systematize knowledge during preparation.
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and ask for help. Mistakes are part of learning, and advice from more experienced people will help you move faster.

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