THE MODERNISED TECHNICAL COMPONENT OF THE PHYSICS LABORATORY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AS A TOOL FOR INFLUENCING THE COGNITIVE PROCESSES OF STUDENTS (LATE 20TH CENTURY – EARLY 21ST CENTURY)

Abstract

This article analyses one of the key means of overcoming the crisis in technical education in Ukraine. The focus of the study is on the strategy for modernising the technical component of the learning environment, specifically physics classrooms in general education institutions. The modernisation process is examined retrospectively and in the present day, in accordance with state regulatory and legal acts on the reform of the classroom system from the late 20th century to the challenges of the 21st century.
Attention is drawn to the fact that the systematic integration of high-tech equipment radically changes the nature of learners’ cognitive activity, transforming it from reproductive to active-research-based. It stimulates the development of logical, analytical and critical thinking, and optimises spatial imagination and mnemonic processes. This significantly facilitates the cognitive transition from the perception of complex abstract physical models to the understanding of concrete images of phenomena in the micro- and macro-worlds.
The results of a questionnaire are presented, confirming how a multifunctional environment contributes to the sustained attention of students. It effectively reduces the level of cognitive overload during routine mathematical calculations, focusing attention on understanding physical laws.
It has been concluded that the updated technical facilities in the physics laboratory serve not merely as a means of passive visualisation or demonstration, but as a powerful, innovative toolkit for purposefully influencing the cognitive processes of students. Such an environment provides a qualitatively new level of scientific training, facilitates career guidance and a rapid increase in students’ interest in engineering, and represents a strategic step that directly contributes to addressing the challenge faced by higher technical education institutions regarding the number of applicants for the future economic reconstruction of Ukraine.

Received: November 19, 2025
Accepted: December 15, 2025
Published: January 16, 2026