The Use of Smart Technologies in the Professional Training of Students of the Law Departments for the Development of their Critical Thinking

Abstract

The objective of this study was to find out how effective the use of smart technologies is in the professional training of students of the law departments, in particular for the formation and development of their critical thinking. According to the author, the combination of the potential of smart technologies in learning and the development of critical thinking in students allows the most optimal solution of the contradictions between the needs of a modern society and the current practice of professional training of students, in particular, students of the law departments. The experimental model with the use of smart technologies was tested in the academic courses “Intellectual Property and Copyright” and “Fundamentals of Administrative Law”, which are part of the special subjects of the educational and professional training program for students of the Speciality 081: Law. In order to analyze the results obtained and the efficiency ratio of the experimental model against the traditional model and STATA Software was applied. The study showed the efficiency of the use of smart technologies in the formation and development of critical thinking in future lawyers. The author concluded that the use of smart technologies in the professional training of students of the law departments also facilitates feedback, which increases students’ learning motivation and allows monitoring of changes in student development. This model can be applied to teaching other subjects in both full-time and distance learning.