Chapter one - Theoretical aspects of giftedness.

1.1 Introduction.

All over the world, the issue of giftedness is gaining more and more interest after being either hushed up or heavily attacked for many years. The attitude in domestic psychology was ambiguous. On the one hand, there were schools for gifted children, numerous competitions were held (intellectual, musical, sports, etc.), which made it possible to identify children with outstanding abilities. On the other hand, the ideas of equality unjustifiably extended to the sphere of abilities. Elitism in education, tests for the identification of giftedness have often been sharply criticized. In recent years, interest in this problem has increased markedly. New schools were opened for children with a high level of development of abilities.

The concept of “giftedness” has gained wide significance in our country and in the West. There are many meanings for this term. But we are in this term paper we will adhere to the following interpretation of this concept: children, and, as appropriate, young people who, in preschool institutions, primary or secondary school, have been recognized as having actual or potential abilities that indicate a high potential in such areas as intellectual, creative, specific teaching or organizing/leadership, as well as the visual arts and acting, and who therefore require services and activities not normally provided by the school. In this case, what is important for us is the fact that some children and, accordingly, adults have a level of ability that differs significantly from the average. We call them gifted.

A person endowed with developed abilities is different both in character and in perception of the world. He builds relationships with others differently, works differently. Another important point. Most often, we talk about gifted children as peers ahead of their development. But there is another side of giftedness that is much more difficult for both teachers and parents. This is a giftedness with an unconventional vision, unconventional thinking. At the same time, the ability to assimilate may not be so outstanding, which prevents others from guessing this gift in time.

In this work, we will adhere to age restrictions: children of primary school age.

The manual discusses the views on the concept of "giftedness" of such famous scientists as B. M. Teplov, L. S. Vygotsky, J. Gilford and others. Crises of child giftedness are considered and useful tips are given on how to avoid these crises. The topic of school education, which is relevant today, is also analyzed (what obstacles may arise when a gifted child enters school and how to deal with it). And in the final chapter, data from an experimental study of giftedness are presented.

^ 1.2. Analysis of the state of the problem of giftedness

in psychological and pedagogical theory and practice.

Observations indicating that people's opportunities are unequal are as old as time. This was not a secret either for science or for everyday consciousness, which accumulated, in the apt expression of Hegel, not only scientific theories, but also all the prejudices of its time. Both the outstanding people of antiquity and their contemporaries, who were less knowledgeable in the sciences, well understood how significant the difference is between an outstanding creator (genius) and a mere mortal person. It has also long been noticed that their differences often appear already in childhood.

Naturally, both the researchers themselves and society as a whole have long been concerned about the origin and nature of these differences. But the human psyche of all the phenomena of reality is the most difficult object to know. Probably, therefore, genetically the first explanation of the nature of individual differences and the existence of outstanding abilities in individual people was the conclusion about their "unearthly", divine origin. An outstanding person (genius), according to the ancients, is a happy chosen one of the gods. He was sent to earth in order to overcome ordinary ideas and by the power of the spirit to illuminate the path to perfection and greatness for humanity.

Bypassing the concept of "divine gift" to explain the achievements of outstanding artists, poets (and later scientists and public figures) at that time was not possible. So, a very characteristic statement on this occasion belongs to Plato: the poet creates "not from art and knowledge, but from divine predestination and obsession." It is noteworthy that his ideological opponent Democritus held a similar opinion.

Treatises on genius contain many interesting facts, observations, and patterns identified on their basis. However, everything was developed that is autonomous from educational activities. Social production at that time did not require narrow specialization, and, consequently, social and pedagogical practice was not interested in the problems of differentiation and early diagnosis of abilities. To a large extent, therefore, to the study of the nature of genius, researchers up to the beginning of the 19th century. addressed only insofar as it was necessary to clarify the general problems of creativity.

These ideas have also given rise to the corresponding terminology. From ancient times, up to the 19th century. (A. Baumgarten, G. Hegel, I. Kant and others) the term “genius” (from Latin genius – spirit) has firmly established itself in scientific treatises. They denoted phenomena that in later times began to be called much more modestly - "the subject of creative activity."

Initially, in ancient culture, a "genius" is a mythological figure that combines an immortal deity and a mortal person. It was these ideas about the combination of the divine spirit with man that were the basis of ideas about genius in ordinary consciousness, until the end of the 19th century.

As interpreted in BES, the term "talent" began to be used almost simultaneously with the term "genius". But, unlike the "genius" "talent" is not so noble origin. Initially, the word talent (from the Greek talaton) referred to a large measure of gold.

We can assume that the appearance of the term "talent" in scientific use was associated with ideas about the possibility of measuring the degree of genius, and, on this basis, ranking geniuses. Gradually, an idea was formed of talent as simply a high degree of development of abilities for a certain type of activity, while “genius” began to be understood as the highest, maximum level of their manifestation, located, figuratively speaking, above talent.

An important feature of the concept of genius, from ancient times until the 19th century, is that both science and ordinary consciousness firmly adhered to the belief that genius can only manifest itself in art. One such example is the understanding of genius set forth in the writings of Aristotle. Emphasizing the connection of artistic creativity with intellectual, cognitive activity, he introduces the term "contemplative activity of the mind", which encompasses the concepts of scientific and artistic creativity. Of particular interest are Aristotle's differentiation and ranking of human activities that require genius. The "contemplative activity of the mind" (scientific and artistic) stands, in his opinion, above any other, for it is akin to the divine.

One of the first attempts at a deep psychological understanding of the problem of giftedness was the study of a Spanish physician who lived in the Renaissance, Juan Huarte. He associated the prospect of the revival of the power of the Spanish Empire with the maximum use of public service especially gifted people. His work was one of the first works in the history of psychology, where it was considered as the main task - the study of individual differences in abilities with the aim of further professional selection.

H. Huarte poses in his work four questions, the main ones, in his opinion, in this problem: what qualities does the nature have that makes a person capable of one science and incapable of another; what kinds of gifts are there in the human race; what arts and sciences correspond to each talent in particular; by what signs can one recognize the corresponding talent.

The Renaissance was replaced by a period of classicism. At this time, the question of the origin of genius was increasingly discussed. Disagreements arose over whether any artistic talent (pictorial, poetic, etc.) was a divine gift or whether it had an earthly origin. The Russian philosopher, poet V. Trediakovsky noted that wise people "reduce the beginning of poetry from heaven", arguing that it is poured into the human mind from God, "and this is certainly righteous."

It is hardly possible to find such an idea in science that would not raise doubts in anyone and would last for a long time. The idea of ​​divine predestination of outstanding abilities (genius) was no exception. True, if its history spans millennia, then the opposite point of view theoretically took shape and spread in the minds of Europeans only a few years ago - in the Age of Enlightenment.

One of the prominent representatives of this era was the English philosopher and educator John Locke. He put forward a number of theoretical provisions that formed the foundation of the ideology of the Enlightenment. The main ones are: there are no innate ideas, the process of cognition arises in experience and on the basis of experience; the human mind is from the very beginning a "blank slate" (tabula rasa); there is nothing in the mind that was not previously in the senses.

The term “blank slate” used by Locke was proposed by Aristotle, but at that time it acquired a modern meaning. J. Locke, and after him many of his contemporaries and followers, believed that before contact with the material world, the human soul is “white paper, without any signs or ideas.”

More interesting in this regard is the position of D. Diderot. The concept of talent is developed in the work of D. Diderot "The Paradox of the Actor". The paradox, in his opinion, lies in the fact that the best impression is made by an actor with a "cold head", and not one who plays with a "gut". Playing "gut" plays unevenly, aimlessly. The real actor plays with reason, with the study of human nature. Such an actor is always perfect.

The Enlightenment idea that there is no gift, either divine or innate, does not exist at all. The only subject of reason (understanding) are ideas that are “inside us”, and not external objects, G. Leibniz and R. Descartes argued. The “blank slate” theory developed by the Enlightenment, on the other hand, emphasized the idea that there are no “innate ideas” or even assumptions in the soul, thanks to which non-experiential truths can be extracted from it in the future.

The enlightenment doctrine of the social nature of man was also developed by the Russian rationalists of the late 18th century. (A.F. Bestuzhev, I.A. Krylov, A.I. Klushin, etc.). So, A.F. Bestuzhev wrote that the inequality that exists between one person and another arises not so much from the initial inequality between the abilities to feel, think, want, but "from the difference in reasons that connect to discover them." Russian "rationalists" also assign a special role to aesthetic education and art education in the development of not only artistic talent, but also the mind as a whole.

The next step in the development of ideas about genius was the period of development of the idea of ​​intellectual giftedness. With all the ambiguity of scientific and everyday interpretations of the concept of "intelligence", the term "intellectual giftedness" in psychology acquired a very definite meaning as a result of the development at the beginning of the 20th century. psychodiagnostics and psychometry, and, above all, "testology", associated with the name of the famous French psychologist A. Binet. The developed methods were supposed to be used not to identify giftedness, but, on the contrary, to screen out incapacity. But unexpectedly for the authors, these methods have become widespread in Europe and America precisely as a means of determining giftedness and identifying gifted children. A. Binet proposed a concept that assumed a biologically determined development of intelligence in ontogeny. But he emphasized at the same time the high importance of environmental factors. Development seemed to him as a maturation occurring according to general principles biological change of the organism in different phases of its existence.

However, at the same time, almost all the tasks included in his test "batteries" were, as it was later determined, of the "convergent" type. In other words, they were focused on identifying one and, moreover, not the most important characteristic - mental abilities. Despite this, the indicator identified by these methods was called the “intelligence quotient” (IQ) and claimed to be a universal characteristic of mental development.

The followers of A. Binet, who developed theoretical models of intelligence and methods of its diagnostics (L. Termen, 1916; R. Meili, 1928; J. Raven and L. Perlouz, 1936; R. Amthauer, 1953, etc.) , but almost all test tasks, aimed at determining the "intelligence quotient", have remained convergent.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the problem of understanding the sources, the structure of the development of enhanced abilities became more active in Russia. The solution to this problem was of its own specific nature, had a certain national flavor. Russian teachers defended their positions, entering into polemics with Western colleagues about the specifics of the individual development of children. For example, some Russian teachers were adherents of the "German ideal of all-round harmonious development."

Gradually in the Russian pedagogy of the early twentieth century. the following main issues for acute scientific discussions were identified: the social need to identify and develop giftedness; definitions of the concept of giftedness; origin and structure of giftedness.

The Russian teacher V. Ekzemplyarsky wrote: “The path that pedagogy takes in matters of school organization, considered from the point of view of the interests of childhood and the tasks of culture, can be outlined as follows. For many centuries - only the interests of the so-called middle child, the majority of the undifferentiated mass of children, the maximum achievements only in schools of higher levels, access to which was for the most part one of the social class privileges - such is the first stage of the path. The last few decades - the attention to the retarded child and the strong movement towards the organization of the so-called auxiliary schools for the mentally retarded and special schools or hospital schools for the so-called morally defective - the second part of the path. Finally, in the last few years, the idea of ​​schools for the gifted and the promotion of a culture of talent have been put forward more as a task for the time being.”

This path, which was briefly characterized by V. Ekzemplyarsky, was a phased one. Each stage corresponded to the social needs of society and the level of development of psychological and pedagogical science. Scientific research has covered the entire system of problems and tasks that are being developed today: theoretical problems psychology of giftedness, problems of diagnostics, development of principles and methods for the development and education of gifted and talented children.

Special instructions were drawn up for experimenters to carry out diagnostics, quantification and interpretation of psychological profiles.

Using the methodology of psychological profiles, the first graphical comparisons of giftedness levels were proposed.

Thus, based on the diagnosis cognitive processes and assessment of their level already at the beginning of our century, attempts were made to assess the levels of giftedness. More fundamental research giftedness in theoretical aspect out of the industry psychological science under the name of differential psychology. This term was introduced by the German psychologist W. Stern in his work “On the Psychology of Individual Differences” (1990).

K. Sotonin in the article "Exercise and giftedness" indicates that the actual state of determining the abilities of a given person does not yet characterize his giftedness in this area; the weak development of the ability may be the result of especially unfavorable conditions for its natural exercise in a given person in the previous period of time.

So, according to K. Sotonin, “the giftedness of a person is precisely his exercise capacity, the plasticity of the body. Theoretically, the degree of giftedness is characterized by the limit of exercise available to each person.

Thus, in our domestic pedagogy at a relatively early stage of research, personal orientation is visible in the study and diagnosis of giftedness. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, productive steps were taken in our country on the problems of giftedness. To a greater extent, diagnostic methods were developed and implemented, comparative work was carried out on the types of diagnostic tests, and a deep analysis of the principles of step-by-step improvements in tests was made. All this took place in the spirit of cooperation with American and European researchers. During this period, the system for diagnosing the intellectual potential of children, already mentioned by us above, developed by Alfred Binet in collaboration with T. Simon, gained especially great popularity. Two important principles determined the practical significance and novelty of this diagnostic school. The first was to find an integral equivalent to all cognitive processes that were measured using diagnostic tasks. The second principle was based on the question - how do the individual potential abilities of the child correlate with his intellectual development, including the success of education

A. Binet essentially embodied the principle of development in a compact characteristic - the magnitude of the intellectual potential. This is how the now well-known IQ or intelligence quotient appeared. It reflected advances or lags (deceleration) in the intellectual development of children and suggested measuring intelligence and intellectual differences by the intensity and rate of intellectual development of children. The main feature of the appearance of the IQ is that the diagnosis was filled with age meaning and began to measure not only the individual level of the child's mental abilities, but also their implementation in relation to his chronological age (biological).

As a result of such diagnostic procedures, it became easier and clearer to trace age-related giftedness, since the magnitude of intellectual potential began to be measured by the ratio of intellectual capabilities determined by both natural and social factors (here, education) with the age of the child; not only did the differential differences between children become more visible, but, above all, the differences in the rates of their intellectual development.

The school of A. Binet-Simon was not perfect, but at that time it was a significant step in the transition from diagnosing individual differences to measuring the processes of age development.

By the beginning of the 1930s, the measuring school modified by Stanford University (under the editorship of L. Termen) was translated and initialized to measure the IQ of Russian children. The Binet-Theremin school was approved after diagnostic examinations children of different ages (Moscow, Kursk, Voronezh provinces).

Russian scientists have presented evidence that the Binet-Theremin school can be used in our practice with some changes made to it. However, the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On Pedagogical Perversions in the System of the People’s Commissar of Millet” dated July 4, 1936 stopped further research in the field of giftedness and abilities, and froze the development of specific methods for diagnosing the intellectual potential of gifted and talented children.

This decision also had a methodological significance, which determined a special direction for domestic research on giftedness and abilities for the next fifty years. Moreover, these studies already differed from the system of studies conducted in world science.

The problem of giftedness in our country after the decision was developed as a psychology of needs. This was most vividly reflected in the works of a talented researcher of abilities Teplov B.M. He noted: “When establishing the basic concepts of the doctrine of giftedness, it is most convenient to proceed from the concept of ability ... Three signs ... are always contained in the concept of ability. Firstly. Abilities are understood as individual psychological characteristics that distinguish one person from another ... Secondly, not all individual characteristics are called abilities, but only those that are related to the success of performing any activity or many activities ... Thirdly, the concept of ability does not come down to the knowledge, skills and abilities that a given person has already developed.

The central task of the psychology of giftedness is to establish methods for scientific analysis of the qualitative abilities of giftedness and abilities. The main question should be what is the giftedness and what are the abilities of this person.

BM Teplov pointed out two misconceptions associated with a quantitative approach to the problem of giftedness. First, it is widely believed that the frequency of distribution of various degrees of giftedness is inversely proportional to these degrees themselves. In other words, the higher the given degree of giftedness, the less often there are people who possess it.

Another misconception associated with a quantitative approach to giftedness is the idea that giftedness and abilities indicate the possible limits of the development of one or another function ...

This idea is fundamentally wrong. Firstly, no one can predict to what extent this or that ability can develop, fundamentally speaking, it can develop indefinitely ...

Secondly, the "limits" in question are usually characterized by the degree of success in the implementation of a particular activity. But the degree of this success is never determined by any one ability: it should always be about these or other combinations of abilities. Teplov B.M. understood giftedness as “a qualitatively peculiar combination of abilities on which the possibility of achieving greater or lesser success in the performance of a particular activity depends.

He believed that "one cannot talk about giftedness in general, but one can talk about giftedness for some kind of activity."

After 1936, in our country it was customary to consider as the most significant environmental and, above all, social factors; and as less significant - genetic. The subsequent development of the problem of giftedness was realized for the most part in the psychological and pedagogical studies of creativity, creative thinking, the mechanisms of the creative act, as well as in the development of various systems problem learning.

In our psychological and pedagogical literature, the study of the problems of giftedness is associated with the name of N.S. Leites, who noted that favorable conditions for the formation of certain aspects of mental abilities are closely intertwined with age characteristics. He defines abilities as "separate mental properties that determine a person's capabilities in certain types of activity." He is a believer that abilities cannot "ripen" on their own regardless of external influences. The development of abilities requires the assimilation, and then the application of knowledge and skills developed in the course of socio-historical practice. An important point in the study of giftedness Leites N.S. considered the question of the correlation of abilities and inclinations, highlighting the following inclinations for mental stress in gifted children: constant readiness to concentrate attention and emotional capture by the process of cognition; increased susceptibility: the spontaneous nature of acquired knowledge, etc.

The pace of development of each child is individual, there may be jumps and slowdowns in this process, however, each age period has its own advantages and originality. It follows from this that there is an "age giftedness". Vivid manifestations of age-related giftedness are the basis on which outstanding abilities can grow. A.G. Petrovsky considers the structure of giftedness, consisting of "essential important abilities." He notes: “The first personality trait that can be distinguished is attentiveness, composure, constant readiness for hard work. The second feature of the personality of a highly gifted child is inextricably linked with the first, is that his readiness to work develops into a propensity for work, into industriousness, into an indefatigable need to work. The third group of features is directly related to intellectual activity: these are the features of thinking, the speed of thought processes, the systematic nature of the mind, increased possibilities for analysis and generalization, and high productivity of mental activity.

L.S. Vygotsky, when considering an increased level of abilities, proceeded from the position that learning is ahead of development and is carried out only insofar as the child is being taught. Developing is only such training, which is based on the zone of proximal development. Development should also be carried out taking into account subsequent prerequisites. Therefore, L.S. Vygotsky considers giftedness as a genetically determined component of abilities that develops in the corresponding activity or degrades in its absence.

In the above description, the activity orientation of giftedness is visible. In activities, students noticeably differ from each other in the pace of progress, in the significance and originality of the results achieved. These differences are primarily related to their individual characteristics. In the course of life, in activity, both his activity itself and the possibilities of its self-regulation develop, which plays a very important role in the development of creative principles. In the late 1980s, the problem of giftedness became actual in our country. From the point of view of the creative potential of the individual, A.M. Matyushkin approaches the problem of giftedness. The formulation of the concept of creative giftedness is based, first of all, on his own work on the development of children's creative thinking using problem-based learning methods; works devoted to group forms of creative thinking, diagnostic teaching methods that contribute to the personal creative growth of gifted students. Creativity is understood by him as a mechanism, a condition for development, as a fundamental property of the psyche. Structural components of giftedness, he considers the dominant role of cognitive motivation and consistent, creative activity, expressed in the discovery of the new, in the formulation and solution of problems. A.M. Matyushkin considers the main signs of creative need to be its stability, the measure of research activity, selflessness. Research activity is stimulated by the novelty that a gifted child himself sees and finds in the world around him. He emphasizes that the basis of giftedness is not intellect, but creativity, believing that the mental is a superstructure.

Matyushkin's concept clearly expresses an integrative approach to the study of giftedness, designated and declared in our country in the longitudinal studies of N.S. Leites. The importance of this direction was noted by V.D. Madrikov. This direction of the integral sense is to understand the nature of giftedness as a common prerequisite for the development creative person.

Among the most interesting and mysterious phenomena of nature, children's talent traditionally occupies one of the leading places. The problems of its diagnosis and development have been of concern to educators for many centuries. Interest in it is currently very high, which can easily be explained by social needs.

Traditionally, the goals of social progress have been given a very significant place. For example, in our country, the confrontation between the capitalist and socialist systems required a significant effort and the maximum use of intellectual resources, especially in the field of physics and mathematics.

In this regard, a fairly effective system for identifying and teaching highly gifted children functioned. The modern personality-oriented trend is associated with the coming to the fore of value personal development and self-realization. Thus, high individual achievements usually contribute to the self-realization of the individual and move society forward.

In a dynamic, rapidly changing world, society is much more likely to rethink the social order of the school, correct or radically change the goals and objectives of school education.

The main goal, which was previously defined as the formation of the foundations of a comprehensively and harmoniously developed personality, the education of people who know the basics of science, is now seen in focusing on the education of an active, creative personality, aware of the global problems of mankind, ready to participate in their solution to the extent possible.

Now we need people who think outside the box, who are able to look for new ways to solve the proposed problems, to find a way out of a problem situation.

Not so long ago it was believed that all children are equal both intellectually and emotionally. You just need to teach them to think, empathize, solve complex logical problems.

However, experience modern education shows that there are differences between children. Children stand out with a more developed intellect than their peers, with the ability to be creative, with the ability to classify, generalize, and find relationships. They are constantly in search of an answer to their questions, they are inquisitive, show independence, and are active.

The expression "gifted children" is used very broadly. If a child shows unusual success in learning or creative pursuits, significantly outperforms peers, he may be called gifted. Numerous works (L.A. Venger, Yu.Z. Gilbukh, N.S. Leites, G.V. Burmenskaya) are devoted to the consideration of the concept of a gifted child, the identification of such children, the peculiarities of working with them, and their psychological problems. In recent years, the problem of differences between children in giftedness has "come out of the shadows" and is now of great interest. The reality and significance of this problem are undeniable.

^ What kind of children are called gifted? How are they further developed? What can be done to support them?

Considerable experience has been accumulated on such issues. Since 1975, there has been the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, which coordinates the study, education and upbringing of such children, and organizes international conferences.

Early identification, training and education of gifted and talented children is one of the main problems of improving the education system. There is an opinion that gifted children do not need the help of adults, special attention and guidance. However, due to personality characteristics, such children are most sensitive to the assessment of their activities, behavior and thinking, they are more receptive to sensory stimuli and better understand relationships and connections.

Working with gifted children is one of the options for the concrete implementation of the individual's right to individuality.

All this causes relevance the problem we are investigating.

^ Purpose of the study : to study the manifestations of giftedness in children of preschool and school age and consider the features of educational interaction with them.

Tasks:

To study the literature of foreign and domestic authors on the problems of the development of giftedness from ancient times to the present;

Expand the concept of giftedness

Show the developmental features of gifted children

Consider methods for diagnosing giftedness

To identify the pedagogical foundations and effective methods for the development of gifted children

Drafting a program for working with gifted children.

Subject of our research are the pedagogical foundations and methods of working with gifted children.

^ Object research – giftedness as a phenomenon..

Hypothesis: Research:

The development of the giftedness of children, especially of preschool age, will be effective if the psychological and pedagogical features of the development of gifted children are taken into account.

If in work with preschoolers, and then with schoolchildren, to implement effective methods and techniques for the development of giftedness.

Develop and implement a program of work with gifted children that promotes the development of intelligence and creativity

^ Research methods : in the process of research, methods such as conversation, observation, testing can be used.

Theoretical and practical significance : results this study can be used by the educator of the HSE and teachers of the HSE to work with gifted children.

Chapter two - General ideas about giftedness and forms of its manifestation.

^ 2.1. Definition of the concepts of "gifted" and "gifted child".

giftedness- this is a systemic quality of the psyche that develops throughout life, which determines the possibility of a person achieving higher (unusual, outstanding) results in one or more types of activity compared to other people 1 .

giftedness- this is a qualitative peculiar combination of abilities that ensure the successful implementation of activities. The joint action of abilities representing a certain structure makes it possible to compensate for the insufficiency of individual abilities due to the predominant development of others.

- general abilities or general moments of abilities, which determine the breadth of a person’s capabilities, the level and originality of his activity;

The totality of inclinations, natural data, characteristics of the degree of severity and originality natural background abilities;

Talent, availability of internal conditions for outstanding achievements in activities 2 .

^ gifted child - this is a child who stands out for bright, obvious, sometimes outstanding achievements (or has internal prerequisites for such achievements) in one or another type of activity.

Today, most psychologists recognize that the level, qualitative originality and nature of the development of giftedness is always the result of a complex interaction. heredity(natural inclinations) and social environment, mediated by the activity of the child (playing, educational, labor). At the same time, the role of psychological mechanisms self-development of the individual, underlying the formation and implementation of individual talent.

Most psychologists consider creativity (creativity) of a person as one of the most important and, to a certain extent, independent factor of giftedness. The American psychologist P. Torrens defined creativity as a process that is generated by a person's strong need to relieve tension that arises in a situation of uncertainty and lack of information. This process includes the search for and definition of the problem, the promotion and testing of hypotheses about ways to solve it, the search for and justification of solutions. The main role is played by divergent (going in different directions) thinking, which can lead to unexpected conclusions, in contrast to convergent, sequential thinking, and creativity necessarily involves intellectual development a person above the average level, since only such a level can provide a basis for creative productivity. In addition, numerous studies have demonstrated the important role of motivational and personal characteristics and conditions of the social environment of gifted children in realizing their potential. According to the concept of J. Renzulli, the development of giftedness is based on the relationship of three constructs: intelligence above the average level, creativity and commitment to the task.

One of the most controversial issues regarding the problem of gifted children is the question of the frequency of manifestation of children's giftedness. There are two extreme points of view: "all children are gifted" - "gifted children are extremely rare." This alternative is removed within the framework of the following position: potential giftedness in relation to different types activity is inherent in many children, while actual giftedness is demonstrated by an insignificant part of children.

This or that child can show particular success in a fairly wide range of activities. Moreover, even in the same type of activity, different children can discover the originality of their talent in relation to its different aspects. There are many types and forms of giftedness, since the mental capabilities of a child are extremely plastic at different stages of his age development.

The giftedness of a child is often manifested in the success of activities that have a spontaneous, amateur character. For example, a child who is passionate about technology builds his models at home, but his occupation has nothing to do with school or socially organized extracurricular activities (in a circle, section, studio). Another child enthusiastically composes poems or stories, but does not want to show them to the teacher. The giftedness of a child should be judged not only by his school activities, but also by his extracurricular activities, as well as by the forms of activity initiated by him.

As one of the reasons for the lack of manifestations of one or another type of giftedness, there may be a lack (due to living conditions) of relevant knowledge, skills and abilities. As soon as such a child learns them, his giftedness becomes clear and obvious to the teacher.

In some cases, the reason for the disguise of manifestations of giftedness are certain difficulties in the development of the child. For example, stuttering, increased anxiety, the conflict nature of communication, etc. can lead to a decrease in the child's success rates (despite the potentially high level of his ability).

Thus, giftedness in different children can be expressed in a more or less obvious way. Analyzing the characteristics of the child's behavior, the teacher, psychologist and parents should make a kind of "tolerance" for insufficient knowledge about the real capabilities of the child, while understanding that there are gifted children whose giftedness they have not yet been able to see.

On the other hand, giftedness can not always be distinguished from learning (or, more broadly, the degree of socialization), which is the result of more favorable living conditions. this child. It is quite clear that, with equal abilities, a child from a family with a high socioeconomic status will show higher achievements in certain types of activities compared to a child for whom such conditions were not created.

Since giftedness in childhood can be considered as a potential for mental development in relation to the subsequent stages of a person's life path, one should take into account the complexity of the “gifted child” problem itself. To a large extent, it is connected with the specifics of children's giftedness. The giftedness of a particular child is largely a conditional characteristic. The most remarkable abilities of a child are not a direct and sufficient indicator of his achievements in the future. We cannot close our eyes to the fact that the signs of giftedness manifested in childhood, even under the most seemingly favorable conditions, can either gradually or very quickly disappear. Accounting for this circumstance is especially important when organizing practical work with gifted children. You should not use the phrase “gifted child” in terms of stating (hard fixing) the status of this child. For the psychological drama of the situation is obvious when a child, accustomed to the fact that he is “gifted”, at the next stages of development suddenly objectively loses the signs of his giftedness. A painful question may arise as to what to do next with a child who began training in a specialized educational institution, but then ceased to be considered gifted.

The characteristics inherent in the gifted enrich our life in all its manifestations and make their contribution to it extremely significant 3 . Firstly, the gifted are distinguished by high sensitivity in everything, many have a highly developed sense of justice; they are capable of sensitively capturing changes in social relations, new trends of the times in science, culture, technology, quickly and adequately assess the nature of these trends in society.

The second feature - the ongoing cognitive activity and highly developed intellect make it possible to gain new knowledge about the world around. Creativity attracts them to the creation of new concepts, theories, approaches. The optimal combination of intuitive and discursive thinking in gifted children (in the vast majority of cases with the dominance of the first over the second) makes the process of obtaining new knowledge very productive and significant.

Thirdly, the majority of the gifted are characterized by great energy, purposefulness and perseverance, which, combined with vast knowledge and creative abilities, make it possible to implement a lot of interesting and significant projects.

Based on this, in practical work with gifted children, instead of the concept of “gifted child”, the concept of “signs of a gifted child” (or the concept of “a child with signs of giftedness”) should be used.
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2.2. Signs of giftedness.

Signs of giftedness are those features of a gifted child that are manifested in his real activities and can be assessed at the level of observation of the nature of his actions. Signs of explicit (manifested) giftedness are fixed in its definition and are associated with a high level of performance. At the same time, the giftedness of a child should be judged in the unity of the categories “I want” and “I can”. Therefore, the signs of giftedness cover two aspects of the behavior of a gifted child: instrumental and motivational. Instrumental - characterizes the ways of his activity. Motivational - characterizes the child's attitude to one or another side of reality, as well as to his activities.

Instrumental

1. Presence of specific activity strategies. The methods of activity of a gifted child ensure its special, qualitatively unique productivity. At the same time, three main levels of success of activities are distinguished, each of which is associated with its own specific strategy for its implementation:

Rapid development of activities and high success of its implementation;

The use and invention of new ways of activity in the conditions of finding a solution in a given situation;

Putting forward new goals of activity due to a deeper mastery of the subject, leading to a new vision of the situation and explaining the appearance of, at first glance, unexpected ideas and solutions.

The behavior of a gifted child is mainly characterized by the third level of success: innovation, as going beyond the requirements of the activity being performed.

2. The formation of a qualitatively original individual style of activity, expressed in the tendency to “do everything in one's own way” and associated with the self-sufficient system of self-regulation inherent in a gifted child. The individualization of methods of activity is expressed in the elements of the uniqueness of its product.

3. Highly structured knowledge, the ability to see the subject being studied in the system, the curtailment of methods of action in the relevant subject area, which is manifested in the ability of a gifted child, on the one hand, to almost instantly grasp the most significant detail (fact) among many other subject information (impressions, images) , concepts, etc.) and, on the other hand, it is surprisingly easy to move from a single detail (fact) to its generalization and the expanded context of its interpretation. In other words, the originality of the ways of a gifted child's activity is manifested in his ability to see the simple in the complex, and the complex in the simple.

4. A special type of learning. It can manifest itself both in high speed and ease of learning, and in a slow pace of learning, but with a subsequent sharp change in the structure of knowledge, ideas and skills.

Motivational An aspect of the behavior of a gifted child can be described by the following features:

1. Increased, selective sensitivity to certain aspects of objective reality (signs, sounds, flowers, plants, etc.) or certain forms of one's own activity (physical, artistic, etc.), accompanied, as a rule, by the experience of a sense of pleasure.

2. A pronounced interest in certain occupations or areas of activity, an extremely high enthusiasm for any subject, immersion in a particular business.

3. Increased cognitive need, curiosity.

4. Preference for paradoxical, contradictory and uncertain information, rejection of standard, typical tasks and ready-made answers.

5. High criticality to the results of one's own work, a tendency to set super-difficult goals, striving for perfection.

The psychological characteristics of children who demonstrate giftedness can only be considered as signs that accompany giftedness, but not necessarily as generating it. Therefore, the presence of these psychological characteristics can only serve as a basis for the assumption of giftedness, and not for the conclusion about its unconditional presence.

It should be emphasized that the behavior of a gifted child does not necessarily have to correspond simultaneously to all of the above characteristics. Behavioral signs of giftedness are variable and often contradictory in their manifestations, since they are highly dependent on the social context. Nevertheless, even the presence of one of these signs should attract the attention of a specialist and motivate him to a thorough and time-consuming analysis of each specific individual case.
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2.3. Types of giftedness.

Differentiation of types of giftedness is determined by the criterion underlying the classification.

Modern concepts of giftedness distinguish different aspects and even types of intelligence, respectively distinguishing between types of giftedness. For example, G. Gardner described the features of manifestations and examples of kinesthetic, spatial, logical-mathematical, musical, linguistic and social giftedness, and the Munich study demonstrated the independence of cognitive factors of giftedness: intelligence, creativity, social competence, musical and sensorimotor abilities 4 .

In giftedness, one can single out both a qualitative and a quantitative aspect.

Analysis of the qualitative characteristics of giftedness involves the allocation of various qualitatively unique types of giftedness in connection with the specifics of a person's mental capabilities and the peculiarities of their manifestation in certain types of activity. An analysis of the quantitative characteristics of giftedness makes it possible to describe the degree of manifestation of a person's mental capabilities.

Among the criteria for distinguishing types of giftedness the following can be distinguished:

1. The type of activity and the spheres of the psyche that provide it.

2. The degree of formation.

3. The form of manifestations.

4. The breadth of manifestations in various activities.

5. Features of age development.

By criterion type of activity and the spheres of the psyche that provide it the allocation of types of giftedness is carried out within the framework of five types of activity, taking into account the inclusion of three mental spheres and, accordingly, the degree of participation of different levels of mental organization. The main activities include practical, theoretical (cognitive), artistic and aesthetic, communicative and spiritual value. The spheres of the psyche are represented by intellectual, emotional and motivational-volitional.

Accordingly, the following types of giftedness can be distinguished.

AT practical activities In particular, talent in crafts, sports and organizational talent can be distinguished. AT cognitive activity finds the realization of intellectual endowments of various kinds. In artistic and aesthetic activity, for example, choreographic, stage, literary and poetic, visual and musical talents stand out. In communicative activity, first of all, one should single out leadership and attractive giftedness. And, finally, in spiritual value activity, we note talent in creating new spiritual values ​​and meanings, serving people.

Each type of giftedness implies the simultaneous inclusion of all levels of mental organization with the predominance of the level that is most significant for this particular type of activity.

Identification of the types of giftedness by the criterion of types of activity allows us to move away from the everyday idea of ​​giftedness as a quantitative degree of manifestation of abilities and move on to understanding giftedness as system quality. At the same time, activity, its psychological structure acts as an objective basis for the integration of individual abilities, serves as a matrix that forms the composition of the abilities that are necessary for its successful implementation. Consequently, giftedness acts as an integral manifestation of various abilities for the purposes of a specific activity. One and the same type of giftedness can have a unique, unique character, since different components of giftedness in different individuals can be expressed to different degrees. Giftedness can take place only if the reserves of the most diverse abilities of a person make it possible to compensate for the missing or insufficiently expressed components necessary for the successful implementation of activities. Particularly bright giftedness or talent indicates the presence of high abilities for the entire set of components required by the structure of activity, as well as the intensity of integration processes “within” the subject, involving his personal sphere.

Activity is always carried out by a person. Its goals and motives influence the level of performance. If the goals of the individual lie outside the activity itself, then the activity is carried out in good faith at best and its result, even with brilliant performance, does not exceed the normatively required product. If a child does something with love, he constantly improves, realizing all the new ideas born in the process of the work itself. As a result, the new product of his activity significantly exceeds the original plan. In this case, we can say that there was a “development of activity”.

According to the criterion degree of giftedness” can be differentiated: actual and potential giftedness.

^ Actual giftedness - this is a psychological characteristic of a child with such cash (already achieved) indicators of mental development, which are manifested in a higher level of performance in a specific subject area compared to the age and social norm. In this case, of course, we are talking not only about educational, but about a wide range of different activities.

Talented children constitute a special category of actually gifted children. A talented child is a child with such performance results that meet the requirement of objective novelty and social significance. As a rule, a specific product of a talented child's activity is assessed by an expert (a highly qualified specialist in the relevant field of activity) as meeting, to one degree or another, the criteria of professional skill and creativity.

^ Potential Giftedness - this is a psychological characteristic of a child who has only certain mental capabilities (potential) for high achievements in a particular type of activity, but cannot realize his capabilities at a given time due to their functional insufficiency. The development of this potential can be hindered by a number of unfavorable reasons (difficult family circumstances, lack of motivation, low level of self-regulation, lack of the necessary educational environment, etc.).

The identification of potential giftedness requires high predictiveness of the diagnostic methods used, since we are talking about an unformed system of abilities, the further development of which can only be judged on the basis of individual signs and prerequisites. The integration of abilities necessary for high achievement is still lacking. Potential giftedness manifests itself under favorable conditions that provide a certain developmental influence on the initial mental capabilities of the child.

By criterion "form of manifestation" we can talk about: explicit and hidden giftedness.

^ Explicit giftedness manifests itself in the child's activity quite clearly and distinctly (as if "by itself"), including under unfavorable conditions. The achievements of the child are so obvious that his giftedness is not in doubt. Therefore, a specialist in the field of child giftedness with a high degree of probability manages to make a conclusion about the presence of giftedness or about the high potential of the child. He can adequately assess the “zone of proximal development” and correctly outline a program for further work with such a “promising child”. However, talent does not always reveal itself so clearly.

^ Hidden talent manifests itself in the activity of the child in a less pronounced, in a disguised form. As a result, there is a danger of erroneous conclusions about the lack of giftedness of such a child. He can be classified as “unpromising” and deprived of the help and support necessary for the development of his abilities. Often, in the "ugly duckling" no one sees the future beautiful swan. At the same time, numerous examples are known when it is precisely such “unpromising children” who achieve the highest results.

The reasons for hidden giftedness are largely related to the presence of special psychological barriers. They arise on the path of development and integration of abilities and significantly distort the forms of manifestation of giftedness. Hidden forms of giftedness are mental phenomena that are complex in nature and often unpredictable in nature. The scale of the talents of a child with hidden gifts is very difficult (and sometimes impossible) to assess using traditional methods (psychometric tests, the results of various intellectual competitions, etc.). The identification of children with hidden gifts can by no means be reduced to a single-stage psychodiagnostic examination of large groups of preschoolers and schoolchildren. Identification of children with this type of giftedness is a long process based on the use of a multi-level set of methods for analyzing the child's behavior, including him in various types of real activities, organizing his communication with gifted adults, enriching his individual living environment, involving him in innovative forms of education, etc. .d.

By criterion “breadth of manifestations in various activities” can be distinguished: general (or mental) and special giftedness.

^ General giftedness manifests itself in relation to various types of activities and acts as the basis of their productivity. The psychological core of general giftedness is mental abilities (or general cognitive abilities), around which the emotional, motivational and volitional qualities of the individual are built. General giftedness determines, accordingly, the level of understanding of what is happening, the depth of emotional and motivational involvement in activities, the effectiveness of goal setting and self-regulation.

^ Special talent reveals itself in specific activities and can only be determined in relation to certain areas of activity (music, painting, sports, etc.).

General giftedness is associated with special types of giftedness. In particular, under the influence of general giftedness (indicators of the effectiveness of cognitive processes, self-regulation, etc.), manifestations of special giftedness reach a qualitatively higher level of mastering a specific activity (in the field of music, poetry, sports, etc.). In turn, special giftedness has an impact on the selective specialization of the general psychological resources of the individual, thereby enhancing the individual originality and originality of a gifted person.

By criterion “peculiarities of age development” can be differentiated: early and late giftedness. The decisive indicators here are the rate of the child's mental development, as well as those age stages at which giftedness manifests itself explicitly. It must be borne in mind that accelerated mental development, early detection of talents (the phenomenon of “age giftedness”) is by no means always associated with high achievements at an older age. In turn, the absence of bright manifestations of giftedness in childhood does not mean a negative conclusion regarding the prospects for further mental development of the individual. An example of early giftedness are children who are called "wunderkinds". A child prodigy (literally, a “wonderful child”) is a child, usually of preschool or primary school age, with extraordinary, brilliant success in any particular type of activity - in music, drawing, singing, etc. A special place among such children is occupied by intellectual geeks. These are precocious children, whose abilities are manifested in an extremely high outstripping rate of mental development. They are characterized by an extremely early, from 2-3 years old, mastering of reading, writing and counting; mastery of the three-year study program by the end of the first grade; choosing a difficult activity of your own free will. They are distinguished by an unusually high development of individual cognitive processes (brilliant memory, rare observation, unusual intelligence, etc.).

There is a certain relationship between the age at which giftedness is manifested and the field of activity. The earliest talents are manifested in art, especially in music. Somewhat later, talent manifests itself in the sphere visual arts. In science, the achievement of significant results in the form of outstanding discoveries, the creation of new areas and methods of research, etc. occurs usually later than in art. This is due, in particular, to the need to acquire deep and extensive knowledge, without which scientific discoveries are impossible. At the same time, mathematical talents appear earlier than others (Leibniz, Galois, Gauss). This pattern is confirmed by the facts of the biographies of great people.

So, any individual case of child giftedness can be evaluated from the point of view of all the above criteria for classifying types of giftedness. Giftedness is thus multidimensional phenomenon in nature. For a practitioner, this is an opportunity and, at the same time, a need for a broader view of the uniqueness of the giftedness of a particular child.

^ 2.4. Once again about giftedness.

For the first time, Guilford began to engage in giftedness. After the 2nd World War, he worked at the Pentagon, developing commissioned programs for identifying gifted children (mental giftedness). Since then, in the United States, the fact of the need to work with gifted children has meant recognition of the national importance of this problem. Purpose: to identify children who could become engines of progress and give them development. in the USSR in 1975. the All-Union Council for Gifted and Talented Children was organized, which began to coordinate work on the study, education and upbringing of gifted children.

In Soviet psychology - B. M. Teplov, A. N. Leontiev and S. L. Rubinshtein - there was an understanding that giftedness is something more than the sum of abilities, namely, it includes not only a quantitative, but also a qualitative component. But this approach was neither developed conceptually nor provided methodically.

So B. M. Teplov offers the following definition: "... Giftedness is understood as that qualitatively peculiar combination of abilities, on which the possibility of achieving greater or lesser success in the performance of a particular activity depends." At the same time, the author believes: “... one cannot talk about giftedness in general. You can talk about giftedness for something, for some kind of activity.

Psychologists and educators who deal with issues of child giftedness generally adhere to the definition of giftedness, which was proposed by the US Committee on Education. . Its essence is that a child's giftedness can be ascertained by professionally trained people who consider the following parameters: outstanding ability, potential for high achievement, and already demonstrated achievement in one or more areas (intellectual ability, specific learning ability, creative or productive thinking, visual and performing arts).

GIFTED - a significant advance in mental development compared to age norms or exceptional development of special abilities (musical, artistic, etc.).

The giftedness of children can be established and studied only in the process of education and upbringing, in the course of the child's performance of one or another meaningful activity. Manifestations of mental giftedness in a child are associated with the extraordinary possibilities of childhood years of life. It must be borne in mind that in the early preschool years, rapid mental development occurs in all children, making a decisive contribution of childhood to the formation of intelligence. giftedness mental creative

The main difficulty in identifying the signs of giftedness at the time of childhood lies in the fact that it is not easy to single out in them the actual individual, relatively independent of age. So, the high mental activity observed in the child, a special readiness for tension is an internal condition for mental growth. And it is not known whether it will turn out to be a stable feature in subsequent age stages. The creative aspirations of the child, the production of new trains of thought by him can also be attributed to the forerunners of giftedness, but it is not yet a fact that they will receive further development. At the same time, early manifestations of giftedness do not yet predetermine the future capabilities of a person: it is extremely difficult to foresee the course of the further development of giftedness.

The subject of heated discussions remains the question of the nature and prerequisites of giftedness. Modern research in this area is aimed at using electrophysiological, psychogenetic and other methods to reveal the relationship between biological and social in the nature of giftedness.

Gifted children who excel in one area are sometimes no different from their peers in all other respects. However, as a rule, giftedness covers a wide range of individual psychological characteristics. Most gifted children have special features that distinguish them from most of their peers.

Gifted children, as a rule, are distinguished by high curiosity and research activity. Psychophysiological studies have shown that such children have increased biochemical and electrical activity of the brain.

Gifted children perceive the lack of information that can be learned and processed painfully. Therefore, limiting their activity is fraught with negative reactions of a neurotic nature. Gifted children at an early age are distinguished by the ability to trace causal relationships and draw appropriate conclusions; they are especially keen on building alternative models and systems. They are characterized by a faster transmission of neural information, their intracerebral system is more branched, with a large number of nerve connections. Gifted children usually have excellent memory, which is based on the early acquisition of speech and abstract thinking. They are distinguished by the ability to classify and categorize information and experience, the ability to widely use the accumulated knowledge.

Most often, attention to gifted children is attracted by their large vocabulary, accompanied by complex syntactic constructions, as well as the ability to ask questions. Many gifted children enjoy reading dictionaries and encyclopedias, coming up with words that, in their opinion, should express their own concepts and imaginary events, prefer games that require the activation of mental abilities.

Gifted children are also distinguished by an increased concentration of attention on something, persistence in achieving results in the area that interests them. However, the diversity of interests characteristic of many of them sometimes leads to the fact that they start several cases at the same time, and also take on too complex tasks. They also have a disposition towards clear schemes and classifications. For example, they can be captured by compiling some tables historical facts, dates, writing out in a different sequence the information that attracted their attention.

It is very important to catch in time, not to miss the features of the relative constancy of individuality in children who are mentally ahead of their age. The giftedness of a child is a rather stable feature of precisely the individual manifestations of an outstanding intelligence that grows with age.

Types of giftedness.

Gifted children are extremely different from each other in terms of types of giftedness. The distinguished types of giftedness include the following.

Artistic talent.

This type of giftedness is supported and developed in special schools, circles, studios. It implies high achievements in the field of artistic creativity and performing skills in music, painting, sculpture, acting skills. One of the major problems is to general education school these abilities were recognized and respected. These children devote a lot of time, energy to exercises, to the achievement of mastery in their field. They have few opportunities for successful study, they often need individual programs in school subjects, understanding from teachers and peers.

General intellectual and academic endowment.

The main thing is that children with this type of giftedness quickly master the fundamental concepts, easily remember and retain information. Highly developed information processing abilities allow them to excel in many areas of knowledge.

Academic talent has a somewhat different character, which is manifested in the success of teaching individual students. academic subjects and is more frequent and selective.

These children may show high results in ease and speed of progress in mathematics or foreign language, physics or biology and sometimes have poor performance in other subjects that are not perceived so easily by them. The pronounced selectivity of aspirations in a relatively narrow area creates its own problems at school and in the family. Parents and teachers are sometimes dissatisfied with the fact that the child does not study equally well in all subjects, refuse to recognize his giftedness and do not try to find opportunities to support and develop a special talent.

Creative talent.

First of all, disputes continue about the very need to single out this type of giftedness. The essence of the disagreement is as follows. Some experts believe that creativity, creativity is an integral element of all types of giftedness, which cannot be presented separately from the creative component. Yes, A.M. Matyushkin insists that there is only one type of giftedness - creative: if there is no creativity, it makes no sense to talk about giftedness. Other researchers defend the legitimacy of the existence of creative talent as a separate, independent species. One of the points of view is that giftedness is generated either by the ability to produce, put forward new ideas, invent, or by the ability to brilliantly perform, use what has already been created.

At the same time, researchers show that children with a creative orientation often have a number of behavioral characteristics that distinguish them and which cause by no means positive emotions in teachers and people around them:

Greater independence in judgment;

Subtle sense of humor;

Lack of attention to the order and organization of work;

Bright temperament;

social giftedness.

The definition of social giftedness says that it is an exceptional ability to establish mature, constructive relationships with other people. There are such structural elements of social giftedness as social perception, prosocial behavior, moral judgments, organizational skills, etc. .

Social talent acts as a prerequisite for high success in several areas. It involves the ability to understand, love, empathize, get along with others, which allows you to be a good teacher, psychologist, social worker. Thus, the concept of social giftedness covers a wide range of manifestations associated with the ease of establishment and the high quality of interpersonal relationships. These features allow you to be a leader, that is, to show leadership talent, which can be considered as one of the manifestations of social talent. There are many definitions of leadership talent, in which, nevertheless, one can single out common features:

Intelligence is above average;

Ability to make a decision;

The ability to deal with abstract concepts, with planning for the future, with time constraints;

Sense of purpose, direction of movement;

Flexibility; adaptability;

Sense of responsibility;

Self-confidence and self-knowledge;

persistence;

Enthusiasm;

Ability to clearly express thoughts;

The listed types of giftedness manifest themselves in different ways and meet specific barriers in the way of their development, depending on the individual characteristics and originality of the child's environment.

In the real activity of the child, both groups of abilities are represented: the ability for visual modeling (for example, building a sequence of actions in accordance with the game role, i.e. creating and maintaining a model of role-playing behavior) and the ability to symbolize (transfer through the role in playing a certain life position, i.e. using a role to symbolically display the meanings and values ​​of human interaction).

It should be noted that the use of abilities for sign and symbolic mediation can be included in the solution of two main types of tasks, which are pointed out by almost all authors of models for the development of children's abilities and giftedness. The first type of tasks are tasks that are actually intellectual (of a closed type), in a certain sense, reproductive, requiring the use of a familiar method of solving, albeit on new material.

The second type of tasks are creative tasks, of an open type, in which the child is required to use a new method of solving. In preschool children, the level of solving such problems is characterized, first of all, by the level of development of the imagination. Imagination allows the child, starting from the individual features of the object, to build a new holistic image. . (cm.applications)

However, the level of cognitive activity and the level of development of mental abilities, which are a system of indirect orienting actions, cannot fully characterize a mentally gifted preschooler. The most important component of mental giftedness at this age is the ability to realize one's abilities in specific preschool activities (play, construction, literary and artistic creativity, etc.). Such implementation is characterized, first of all, by the presence of preliminary plans.

Mentally gifted children are characterized by preliminary planning of their activities: games, drawing, applications. The ideas are distinguished by the development and thoughtfulness of the sequence of future actions, richness and originality, the manifestation of one's own individuality. At the same time, they are quite realistic, that is, they correspond to the capabilities of children and the availability of the necessary materials.

At the same time, a mentally gifted child easily masters the necessary actions for the realization of his ideas and turns out to be quite successful either in different types of activities, or at least in one of them.

Model of children's giftedness.

If we return to the concretization of the model of giftedness proposed by us in relation to preschool age, then we can present it in the form of three blocks.

The first block is the motivation for the corresponding type of activity. In the case of mental giftedness, this is cognitive activity, understood as a manifestation of the child's need to expand their ability to act in new situations. This activity is productive and based on the child's holistic experience.

The second block is operational, which is characterized by almost all authors through the concept of abilities. AT preschool age the child's mental abilities are determined, first of all, by the level of development of visual modeling, which allows the child to analyze the objective properties of reality, and the level of development of symbolization, which makes it possible to express one's attitude to reality.

And, finally, the third block is the implementation block, which implies the possibility of translating one's achievements into reality, formalizing the results of the decision, etc. In preschool children, the implementation block is characterized by the possibilities of manifestations of one's own subjectivity in various types of children's activities.

L.S. Vygotsky’s position on the universality of developmental patterns for “normal” and “gifted” children gives reason to believe that the general patterns of development of abilities and their age characteristics in preschool children can also be applied to the definition of children’s giftedness . Then the specificity of mental giftedness in preschool childhood does not consist in accelerating the development of the child's intellect, but in the ever more complete mastery of those forms of effective mediation that characterize the mental abilities of a preschooler. That is, age-related changes in the block of abilities do not simply represent some kind of continuous growth curve of the child's intellect, but have their own qualitative age-related characteristics of the mechanism that ensures this growth.

It should be noted that any reliable identification of mentally gifted children is possible starting from the end of the fifth, beginning of the sixth year of life. Prior to this, children, of course, also differ in their level of mental development, but its manifestations are so ambiguous and changeable that it is extremely difficult to draw definite conclusions on their basis. At the same time, there are no methods and indicators that unambiguously fix the mental giftedness of any child and cannot exist.

3. Children's giftedness as a pedagogical problem.

Today, the problem of gifted children, their education and upbringing is one of the most urgent. Giftedness, talent, genius - this is a high level of development of human abilities. A gifted child strives for self-affirmation, wishes to succeed in the development of his talent. It is important that the teacher pays attention to such a child, since the demands that he makes, as a rule, are aimed at the strengths and abilities of the average student. The teacher must take into account that gifted children are characterized by a need for knowledge.

A very important problem is the identification of gifted children. Firstly, because in the family at the early stages of development such children in most cases remain at least misunderstood, and often the reaction of parents to the active cognitive abilities of the child is negative. The attitude characteristic of everyday consciousness is to see your child like everyone else. Secondly, active creative abilities are combined in children with increased neuropsychic excitability, which manifests itself in restlessness, disturbances in appetite, sleep, easily occurring headaches, etc. Untimely medical and psychological correction of these manifestations leads to the development of neurosis and a number of psychosomatic diseases. Thirdly, gifted children, when they find themselves in school groups where most of their peers have average abilities, feel obvious or hidden hostility and distrust on the part of others. As a result, gifted children develop a desire not to stand out, not to look like a “black sheep” and their creative abilities are leveled over time. “Averaging” of a gifted child, a decrease in the general intellectual and creative potential is accompanied by the presence of pronounced neurotic phenomena, the so-called “former child prodigy syndrome”. Feelings of creative failure, "obsession" with the past and often painful ambitions are part of this syndrome, which, in turn, is the cause of neurotic and even psychopathic development of the personality.

Research by P. Torrens showed that gifted children quickly pass the initial levels of intelligence development and resist all types of non-creative work. This creates a lot of problems, is assessed by teachers as stubbornness, laziness or stupidity. The low psychological level of teacher training for working with children who show non-standard behavior and thinking leads to the fact that, when evaluating their wards, teachers note demonstrativeness in them, a desire to do everything their own way, hysteria, inability to follow accepted patterns. There is an opinion among teachers that a gifted child does not need help. The difficulty lies in the low level of training of teachers who are not able to work with a gifted child, and in the shortcomings of programs and psychological knowledge of teachers.

In addition, the originality of creative thinking is often assessed by others as a deviation. Gifted children have to spend about 2/3 of their time at school in vain, showing “intellectual sabotage”. Gifted children go through the initial levels of social adaptation much faster than their peers (obedience and exemplary behavior, focused on obtaining a positive assessment from adults); in adolescence, they often seem to bypass the phase of childish conformism and resist standard rules, group norms, and intragroup orientations towards authoritarian leaders. Researchers show a higher sensitivity of gifted children to new situations, which leads to particular difficulties. It should be remembered that no matter how gifted a child is, he must be taught. It is important to accustom to perseverance, to accustom to work, to make decisions independently. A gifted child does not tolerate pressure, harassment, shouting, which can result in a problem. It is difficult for such a child to cultivate patience, perseverance and unobtrusiveness. A huge load of the child is needed, from preschool age he should be attached to creativity, to create an environment for creativity. To develop their talents, gifted children must freely manage time and space, learn from an expanded curriculum, and feel individual care and attention from their teacher. A broad time frame contributes to the development of the problem-search aspect. The emphasis is not on what to study, but on how to study. If the gifted child is given the opportunity not to rush to complete the task and not to jump from one to another, he will best comprehend the secret of the connection between phenomena and learn to apply his discoveries in practice. Unlimited opportunities to analyze the ideas and proposals expressed, to delve deeply into the essence of the problems contribute to the manifestation of natural curiosity and inquisitiveness, the development of analytical and critical thinking.

Today, special programs are being created to work with gifted children, schools in many countries are being rebuilt in the direction of differentiated education. Special comprehensive training programs are being developed, within which the student can move more freely than in the usual program. One of the problems is that the contradiction between the need for the development and education of gifted children and the insufficient theoretical and practical training of teachers to work with gifted children is becoming more and more real. Based on this contradiction, a problem arises, which consists in determining the psychological and pedagogical conditions for the development and education of gifted children in a general education school. So, the preservation and development of giftedness is a problem of the progress of society, the realization of its creative potential and individual destinies. Working with gifted children is one of the options for the specific implementation of the individual's right to individuality and giftedness.

4. Features of educational work with gifted children.

When studying especially gifted children, the following tasks are set: 1. to promote the development of each personality; 2. bring individual achievements as early as possible to the maximum level; 3. contribute to social progress by putting talent resources at its service. The main approach in the search for young talents should be recognized as a set of measures (medical-psychological, pedagogical), aimed not only at children, but also at parents and teachers. It is important to use a variety of methods for selecting children and then continuously monitor their progress. At the first stage of identifying gifted children, information about high successes in any activity of the child from parents and teachers is taken into account. The results of group tests, sociological questionnaires can also be used. This will allow you to outline the circle of children for more in-depth individual research.

The second stage can be designated as diagnostic. At this stage, an individual assessment of the creative possibilities and characteristics of the neuropsychic status of the child is carried out by a psychologist and psychotherapist. Depending on the results of the first stage, the child is examined by a set of psychological tests, depending on the preference for one or another variant of potential opportunities. With the preference for the development of the intellectual sphere, the child is distinguished by sharpness of thinking, curiosity and learns easily, reveals practical ingenuity. In these cases, methods are used that are primarily aimed at determining the basic cognitive and speech parameters in gifted children.

Children who are gifted in the field of academic achievement may have the most developed individual inclinations - for language and literature, mathematics or natural science. Therefore, the task of a psychologist is not only to determine the level of general intellectual development, but also to evaluate the preferred side of thinking.

Children with creative and productive thinking are distinguished by independence, non-conformity of behavior, the ability to produce original ideas, find non-standard solutions, and ingenuity. Their identification provides an assessment, first of all, of their creative inclinations.

Children with a predominance of contact, communication and leadership needs are distinguished by initiative, high organizational skills, they are usually easily chosen for the main roles in games and activities, they feel confident among peers and adults. In this case, personal methods and sociometry will help you.

If the child is dominated by artistic abilities, from an early age he shows a penchant for drawing or music, psychological testing here should be aimed at assessing the degree of emotional stability and the level of neuroticism, since these children are usually highly vulnerable and require an individual psychological approach from teachers and often psychotherapeutic correction by a specialist doctor.

Giftedness in the motor sphere is manifested by a high degree of psychomotor reactions, dexterity, development of motor skills (running, climbing, jumping), physical strength. Diagnosis of giftedness in this area is carried out by methods for determining hand-eye coordination.

Many children show a high degree of giftedness not in one area, but in several. The task of teachers and psychologists is not only to identify this, but also to improve and develop them.

At the third stage of work with gifted children, the main role is assigned to teachers, whose task is to form and deepen their abilities. These requirements are met with a wide range of pedagogical techniques and methods (author's programs, individual lessons - consultations, etc., as well as versatile programs in lyceums, gymnasiums, colleges).

The teacher, working with gifted children, must:

To study the individual characteristics, characteristics of the behavior of a gifted child.

To overcome the prevailing everyday notion of inflated self-esteem: not only to destroy such self-esteem, but in cases of despair, just to instill in the child the consciousness of his outstanding capabilities.
-respect and discuss any of his ideas. To believe that this child is sometimes given to understand and do what seems incomprehensible to you.
-preparing for classes with gifted children, remember the need for a serious mental load of a gifted child. Independence of thinking, questions to the teacher, and then to oneself - are essential components of the success of the lessons.
-think about teaching methods. Gifted students require a fundamentally different preparation, since they are distinguished by an extraordinary desire for double-checking, for "clarification for oneself," for experimentation.
- the central task of a teacher in working with a gifted child is to instill a taste for serious creative work.

Conclusion.

Children's giftedness is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. There are many approaches to the definition of giftedness, points of view on the problem of giftedness. There is an urgent need for special, scientifically based methods of working with children of various types of giftedness.
In real practice with gifted children, the focus is often on already manifested types of giftedness to one degree or another. The inadequacy of a simplified approach to the analysis of the phenomenon of giftedness, limited only by the scope of the child's abilities, is revealed. Adequate consideration of the phenomenon of child giftedness, which is unique in its nature, requires an approach that takes into account both the abilities and personality traits of a gifted child, his moral, spiritual character. Analysis of the entire complex interweaving of family, school, personal problems of gifted children can serve as a scientific and practical basis for psychological counseling of teachers and parents.
Identification of gifted children should be carried out within the framework of a comprehensive and individualized program for identifying gifted children. This kind of program involves the use of many different sources of information, the analysis of the developmental processes of the child over a sufficiently long period of time. In particular, the diagnosis of giftedness should not serve as a selection goal, but as a means for the most effective training and development of a gifted child.

In conclusion, it should be recalled that the work of a teacher with gifted children is a complex and never-ending process. It requires personal growth from teachers and educators, good, constantly updated knowledge in the field of the psychology of the gifted and their education, as well as close cooperation with psychologists, other teachers, the administration, and always with the parents of the gifted. He demands

constant growth of skill, pedagogical flexibility, the ability to abandon what even today seemed to be a creative find and strength.

Working with gifted children is one of the options for the specific implementation of the individual's right to individuality.

Literature:

1. Vygotsky L. S. Imagination and creativity in childhood. - St. Petersburg: SOYUZ, 1997. -96p.

2.Leites N.S. "Age giftedness and individual differences", Moscow - Voronezh; 1997

3.Leites N.S. Ability and giftedness in childhood. - M.: 1994

4. Matyushkin A.M. The concept of creative talent. // Question. psychology. - 1989. - No. 6. - pp. 29-33.

5. Psychology of giftedness in children and adolescents: Uchebn. manual for students of higher and secondary pedagogical educational institutions 8. Savenkov A.I. "Gifted children in kindergarten and school" - M; 2000

Games that promote the development of creativity in children.

Game "Continue drawing" . Target: to develop a child's thinking, imagination, creativity.

For the game you will need: piece of paper and pencil .

Description: the host draws geometric shapes on paper - a figure eight, two parallel lines, a square, triangles standing on top of each other, and then passes it on to the participants in the game. They should turn geometric shapes into interesting designs. For example, a circle - in the wheel of a car or a person's face. The participant who drew the most interesting drawing wins.

Game "Guess". Target: develop the child's creativity, imagination and fantasy.

Description: write on pieces of paper the names of objects or any actions, for example, “airplane”, “eat fruit, etc. Put these papers in a bag. Each child, approaching the bag, must take a piece of paper from there with a task and depict an object or action, and the rest of the participants must guess what he shows.

The game "Little storyteller". Target: develop the child's creative abilities, his thinking and imagination.

Description: remind or tell the child the beginning of a fairy tale. His job is to come up with a sequel. If several children participate in the game, you need to listen to each storyteller and choose the best fairy tale.

Game "Think of an animal" Target: to develop the child's thinking, fantasy and imagination.

Description: the child must come up with a name and describe a non-existent animal. You can give him a pen and a piece of paper so that he draws an imaginary animal. The winner is the participant who will get the most interesting, most fantastic animal. Giftedness theory and methods of its development Coursework >> Psychology

Social pedagogical. Social pedagogical Problems and, above all, the impossibility of constructing a reliable forecast of the development children's giftedness on the...

Federal Agency for Education

Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University

Faculty of Psychology and Education

Chair preschool pedagogy

COURSE WORK

The problem of children's giftedness

st-ki IV course, 504 gr.

Matveytseva O.

Scientific adviser:

Dmitrieva E.E.

Nizhny Novgorod, 2008

Introduction

I. The problem of studying children's giftedness

1.1 The essence of the basic concepts of giftedness

1.2Theoretical models of giftedness

1.3 Types and manifestations of giftedness in childhood

1.4 Factors influencing the development of children's giftedness

II. Analysis of psychological research on the problem of child giftedness

2.1 Diagnosis of child giftedness

2.2Education and upbringing of gifted children

2.3 Modern approaches to the study of child giftedness

III. Assessment of the degree of study of the problem of children's giftedness

Bibliography

Introduction

The most interesting for students of pedagogical universities, in my opinion, is the problem of children's giftedness. The very concept of giftedness is very multifaceted, it requires a broad understanding and a versatile approach.

The manifestation of individual differences in abilities is essential in preschool childhood, which determines the development of the personality as a whole, its further formation and manifestations at subsequent age stages. It is the specialists of preschool pedagogy and psychology, parents who are faced with the decisive task of developing the natural abilities of children and identifying their special potential as early as possible, indicating the presence of an invaluable gift of nature - giftedness.

Evidence of the inequality of mental abilities of people took place as early as ancient times. Genetically, the first explanation of the nature of individual differences and the existence of outstanding abilities in individuals was the conclusion about their "unearthly", divine origin (from the Latin "genius" - spirit). The meaning close to modern, the term "genius" acquired only in the Renaissance. Epoch after epoch, the views of ancient scientists were modernized, but they were not in demand by the education system. That is why, right up to the creation of the first specialized educational institutions, the impetus for studying the nature of giftedness was the spontaneously arisen interest in the problem, characteristic of any researcher.

The first objective judgments about gifted children appeared at the beginning of the last century. The need to search for reserves to solve the most significant tasks facing modern society, makes the problem of the development of gifted children of particular relevance. Increased attention to the problem of giftedness is mainly associated with the economic breakthrough in many developed countries, namely with the increased level of general education of the population and significant achievements in the field of psychological and pedagogical sciences.

The problem of giftedness is being intensively developed in foreign psychology. Such researchers as K. Tekeks, S. Merland, M. Carnes and many other scientists proceed from naturalistic ideas about children's giftedness and encourage the creation of conditions that reveal the existing potential of a gifted child, without limiting the possibilities of its development. In domestic psychology, based on the works of L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, B.M. Teplova, A.R. Luria, A.V. Zaporozhets and other authors emphasize the decisive role of culture in the development of the child.

Interest in this problem has not dried up at the present time. The study of children's giftedness from year to year attracts an increasing number of scientific intelligentsia. Some modern researchers, the Americans Nancy Ann Tapp, Lee Carroll and Jan Tober, argue that especially gifted children have unusual psychological characteristics and behavior, proclaiming them as messengers of the new world. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the concept of giftedness in our country has not been accepted for a long time. A contradictory slogan was proclaimed about the non-existence of incapable children, about the omnipotence of education, shaping public opinion about the natural giftedness of everyone without exception.

In fact, every normal child has the makings of almost any activity. But this by no means means that we can expect the same high development of the same abilities in all children. Thus, the interest and the need to study the problem of children's giftedness will never lose its significance and relevance.

I. The problem of studying children's giftedness

1.1 The essence of the basic concepts of giftedness

Thus, individual differences come out most clearly in the different susceptibility to learning and in the creative manifestations of children. At the same time, it is important to take into account not only the characteristics of the child, but their advantages for the growth of abilities. When such differences appear with a relatively equal stock of knowledge, skills and the same attitude towards activity, they indicate those features of the human psyche, which are called it. ability or talent.

Origins children's giftedness and its development at preschool age were most consistently studied by a team of employees of the laboratory of abilities of the Research Institute of Preschool Education under the direction of L.A. Wenger. As a starting point, a model of the child's psyche was used, according to which the concept of giftedness is revealed through the concept of ability.

So under giftedness is understood as a high level of development of the child's abilities, which is steadily manifested over a long period of his life, in combination with a pronounced cognitive motivation. According to this concept, a mentally gifted child of preschool age is one who has the most developed abilities and interest in cognitive activity characteristic of preschool children. Under abilities understood universal actions orientation in the surrounding world with the help of means specific to the preschooler. A high level of development of abilities allows a gifted child to quickly navigate almost any new task, clearly see its conditions, find ways to solve it, creating ideas for new creative products. Thus, if the word “abilities” is used to refer to individual mental properties, then giftedness is called a peculiar combination of abilities in a person, the unity that they make up.

Based on personality data, many psychologists correlate concepts developing personality and developing giftedness and see a clear relationship between these concepts. Awakening giftedness can exist, influencing the formation of personality, developing personal qualities. Personality formation enters into a complex and sometimes contradictory relationship with manifestations of giftedness.

It is worth emphasizing that its own internal activity is important for the formation of a person. Thus, the belittling of the subject in a person, the spread of one-thinking, obedient diligence are detrimental to the development of his abilities. And, conversely, in the manifestation of activity, a person is revealed as a subject in all his individual originality.

So, abilities and talents are formed in the course of life, thanks to the assimilation of social experience, and this process is inseparable from the own activity of a growing person. In the course of life, the child develops both his activity itself and the possibilities of its self-regulation, which plays an important role in the development of abilities.

All mental properties, which, of course, include both abilities and giftedness, have their own nervous basis. According to human physiology, the properties of the nervous system are part of makings- predetermined prerequisites for development, which can be included in activity, in the formation of abilities only in interaction with other conditions. There is reason to believe that a healthy normal person from birth has the inclinations for any human activity, but their initial level is not the same and determines the individual rate of development of abilities.

Individual internal conditions of development, which have their own innate prerequisites, are formed under the influence of external conditions - in the process of interaction of a growing person with the world, under the influence of training and education in the broad sense of these words. And the individual-natural data themselves develop, change along with age maturation, being included in the processes of mental development.

B.S. Alyakrinsky, I. Akimov and many other scientists in their works define such a component of giftedness as "talent" - exceptional abilities. Talent- the ability of a person to solve banal problems in an original way, which manifests itself when a person is in the normal range. If abilities and talent are manifested in several areas, they speak of giftedness. Giftedness and talent are often used as synonyms for genus and species. Every talented child is also gifted, but not every gifted child can be called talented.

One more concept should be introduced from the very beginning - "inclination". By using this word, psychologists mean a steady desire for some kind of activity. Propensity, i.e. disposition, attraction to some kind of occupation - something more than an interest in these occupations, although often the development of a propensity begins with an interest in a particular field of activity. But interest may not turn into inclination, since inclination is a disposition only towards personal direct activity in a given area.

Inclinations in many cases coincide with abilities. Inclinations - aspirations, abilities - opportunities, but between both - a deep relationship. On the one hand, an activity that disposes a person cannot but contribute to the development of the corresponding abilities. At the same time, those activities that are more successful, for which a person is more capable, are more fascinated. Thus, inclinations and abilities reinforce each other, develop together.

Thus, the researchers of this problem N.S. Leites, B.M. Teplov, V.S. Yurkevich, B.S. Alyakrinsky and others agree that "giftedness" means a high level of development of abilities and includes a number of interrelated concepts. However, when studying the phenomenon of giftedness, one should not lose sight of socio-historical changes, both in the types of activities themselves and in assessing their success.

1.2 Theoretical models of giftedness

The most important feature of the modern understanding of giftedness is that it is considered not as a static, but as a dynamic characteristic of a person. According to the not unfounded statements of Yu.D. Babaeva, A.I. Savenkova, V. Shebeko giftedness exists only in motor development. This understanding led to the creation theoretical models of giftedness, in which, along with such a factor as the potential of the individual, environmental factors are included.

These may include the model of F. Monks - "multifactorial model of giftedness", in which the author pays the main place to the factors of the microenvironment (family, school, peers).

A. Tampenbaum emphasizes that the presence of outstanding creative and intellectual abilities in itself cannot guarantee the realization of a person in creative activity. This requires the interaction of five conditions, including internal and external factors: the “g” factor or general abilities; special abilities in a particular area; non-intellectual characteristics (personal, volitional qualities); random factors.

"The structure of the intellect" by J. Gilford formed the basis of many concepts of diagnostics, training and development of gifted children in foreign pedagogical theory and practice. It is regarded as one of the most famous models of intelligence ever proposed.

Guilford classifies the manifestations (factors) of intelligence, based on which he sees the allocation of the main types, intellectual processes and operations performed. This approach allows you to combine five large groups of intellectual abilities: cognition, memory, convergent thinking, divergent thinking, evaluation.

The second method of this classification proposed by the scientist corresponds to the type of material: figurative, symbolic, semantic, behavioral.

According to J. Gilford, the application of one or another operation gives at least six types of final mental product: elements, classes, relations, systems, transformations, foresight.

The division of thinking into convergent and divergent proposed by the scientist was a significant step in the differentiation of the components of mental abilities, contributed to their greater understanding. This marked the beginning of the separation of the concepts of "intellectual giftedness" and "creative giftedness".

The American scientist L. Theremin, the author of the most ambitious long-term study of giftedness, came to the conclusion that the presence of high intelligence is not the only condition for success in creative activity. In the concept of giftedness developed by him, there is a triad: creative abilities, creative skills, creative motivation. The diagnostics of creativity developed by him are widely used all over the world in the identification of gifted children.

Within the framework of pedology founded by S. Hall, F. Galton, G. Doman, V.V. Klimenko, E. Thomas and other scientists developed the direction of "physical intelligence", according to which giftedness was determined by the characteristics of sensory processes. Doman's concept focuses on six vital functions: motor skills, language skills, manual, visual, auditory and tactile skills.

“It is the implementation of these six functions that serves as a life test for underdevelopment, normality, giftedness,” the researcher writes, while excluding the influence of environmental factors. This approach and the methods proposed by the author give a good practical effect.

The most popular over the past decade is the concept of giftedness by J. Renzulli, where giftedness is a combination of three characteristics: intellectual abilities, creativity and perseverance, taking into account erudition and favorable environment. This model is democratic, which makes it possible to classify individuals who are successful in at least one of the parameters as gifted.

It was Renzulli who replaced the term "giftedness" with the concept of "potential". Therefore, this concept can be designated as a universal scheme for developing a system for educating and educating not only gifted, but all children.

This concept in a modified form is present in most modern foreign concepts of giftedness.

The German scientist K. Heller considers the multifactorial model of giftedness to be the most pedagogically effective. The so-called "Munich model" includes: giftedness factors (intelligence, creativity, social competence, etc.); environmental factors, achievements (sports, languages, sciences, etc.) and non-cognitive personality traits (overcoming stress, achievement motivation, work and study strategy).

As part of the implementation of the presidential program "Gifted Child" in our country, a "Working concept of giftedness" was developed, the purpose of which was to absorb all the best achievements of domestic and foreign psychology. A large group of reputable scientists D.B. Bogoyavlenskaya, V.D. Shadrikov and many others, whose work should be considered as subject to further development.

Within the framework of the “Working concept of giftedness”, it is of particular interest to present the “core of giftedness” in the form of two components - instrumental and motivational.

Motivation is differentiated into five main features: 1) increased selective sensitivity to certain aspects of objective activity; 2) a pronounced interest in certain activities; 3) increased cognitive need; 4) preference for paradoxical, contradictory information; 5) high criticality to the results of their own work.

Thus, these and many other concepts of giftedness served as the basis for further study of the problem.

1.3 Types and manifestations of giftedness in childhood

The problem of the essence of types of giftedness was studied in the works of N.S. Leites, E. Meiman, V. Stern, P. Torrens, I. Thorndike and other scientists.

According to Leites, general (mental) giftedness depending on the type of tasks, it was conditionally divided into two types - cognitive (intellectual), shown by children when solving mental problems, and creative - when solving problems for the imagination. Studies have shown that a high level of general mental giftedness is characterized by the presence of both intellectual and creative giftedness, each of which can be expressed in a child to a different degree.

Along with general giftedness, a set of abilities universal for any kind of activity, there is special talent, when a person is gifted in any one field of activity (musical, artistic, motor, etc.) and practically unsuitable for another. This type of giftedness in nature is extremely rare, but practitioners pay close attention to it, since it is special abilities that have leading value in the overall development of man.

The authors of the "Working concept of giftedness" propose to consider children's giftedness in another aspect - how much it is currently manifested by the child. Giftedness, manifested in the activity of the child clearly and distinctly, is called explicit, and, on the contrary, in a disguised form, hidden talent.

Another gradation - actual and potential talent. Manifested, obvious giftedness, i.e. noticed by psychologists, teachers, parents, is called relevant, and children with this type are called talented. Giftedness, which represents only certain mental capabilities (potential) for high achievements, but cannot be realized at the moment due to its functional insufficiency, is called potential.

According to the time of their manifestation, they distinguish early and late giftedness. There are numerous examples of famous personalities who showed their outstanding abilities in early childhood: A. Mozart, G.W. Leibniz, V. Hugo, I.I. Mechnikov and others. Just as often, people who did not prove themselves in childhood achieved success in adulthood. This is N. Copernicus, I.A. Krylov, Aksakov, etc.

So, the facts of the existence of actual and potential, explicit and hidden, early and late giftedness show the complexity and importance of the problem of predicting development.

“It is not the mind of a person that is gifted in itself,” Chudnovsky V.E. and Yurkevich V.S. emphasize, “his personality is gifted.” Only an understanding of the personal dissimilarity of a gifted child makes it possible to understand his creative and intellectual abilities. The concept of "children's giftedness", according to A.M. Matyushkin, J. Renzelli and other scientists, is an analogue of the "personal potential". And we can talk about determining the level of giftedness, the degree of development of this potential, in relation to each child.

A well-known specialist in the field of children's giftedness N.S. Leites singled out 3 categories of children who are usually called gifted in pedagogical practice: children with a high level of intelligence (IQ); children who have achieved outstanding success in any kind of activity (with early mental specialization) and children with high creativity.

A.I. Savenkov in his work replaces the category of high creativity with a group of children who study well at school, calling this type of giftedness "academic giftedness".

According to the results of studies of the psychology of intelligence M.A. Kholodnaya, there are 6 categories of gifted children: smart, brilliant students, creative, competent, talented and wise.

Yu.E. Gilbuch, based on early studies of giftedness, identifies traits of general mental endowment: an unusually early manifestation of high cognitive activity and curiosity, the speed and accuracy of mental operations, due to the stability of attention and operational memory, the formation of logical thinking skills, the richness of the active vocabulary, originality.

A gifted preschooler reads signs, headlines and even books, solves mathematical problems, makes connections between various phenomena, remembers facts and events well, and is interested in social and moral problems. A feature of intellectually gifted children is the two-sidedness of their consciousness, its focus either on the task being solved, or on oneself - on how one's own psyche copes with the task being solved.

Studies have shown that the development of speech-cogitative activity of a baby in the first years of life is inextricably linked with motor activity. If a child begins to walk early, familiarization with the environment is more active and prerequisites are created for early mastery of speech and the rapid development of the intellectual sphere. However, it has been noted that many gifted children do not speak early, but as they grow older, demonstrate outstanding speech ability.

No less significant sign is the presence of creativity in the intellect of a gifted child. External manifestations of creativity are diverse.

Psychological studies show that the cognitive motivation prevailing in a creatively gifted child is expressed in the form of research, search activity and manifests itself in greater sensitivity to the new, to the novelty of the situation, discovering the new in the ordinary, as well as early enthusiasm for any activity (music, drawing, reading). , account, etc.).

A number of similar characteristics have been noted and described in the works of many foreign and domestic scientists. Analyzing the studies of L.I. Bozhovich, L.A. Wenger, D.B. Bogoyavlenskaya, A.M. Matyushkin, V. Vundra and many others A.I. Savenkov revealed the features of the mental development of gifted children, dividing them into cognitive and psychosocial.

Thus, to features of the development of the cognitive sphere relate:

Curiosity - curiosity - cognitive need. Gifted children, to a greater extent than their normal peers, are characterized by the desire for knowledge. A gifted child does not tolerate the limitations of his research, and this property, having manifested itself quite early, at all age stages continues to be his most important. distinctive feature.

Hypersensitivity to problems - the ability to see a problem where others do not see any difficulties. Even Plato noted that knowledge begins with surprise at ordinary things.

A propensity for divergent-type tasks, that is, the ability to understand the most diverse problematic, creative tasks in terms of subject orientation, the main feature of which is the presence of many correct answers.

Originality of thinking - the ability to put forward new, unexpected ideas that differ from the generally accepted ones, as well as to creatively develop existing ones. Originality is manifested not only in thinking, but also in communication, behavior of a gifted child, as well as in all types of his activities.

Flexibility of thinking is the ability to quickly and easily find new strategies for solving, establish associative links and move from phenomena of one class to others, often distant in content. A high level of flexibility of thinking is a rare phenomenon, so its presence indicates the exclusivity of gifted children.

The ease of generating ideas (“productivity of thinking”) is very close to the flexibility of thinking, but characterizes a slightly different facet of giftedness.

Ease of association - the ability to develop generalized strategies based on the identification of hidden connections and relationships. A gifted child is able to perceive connections and relationships between phenomena, objects, events, and even concepts that may be non-traditional in a much more productive way than his normal peers.

In addition, scientists noted such characteristics of the cognitive sphere as the ability to predict, evaluate, high concentration of attention, excellent memory, stability, breadth of interests and inclinations.

To features of psychosocial development include: egocentrism, increased vulnerability of the emotional system, a tendency to leadership, competitiveness, the desire for self-actualization, perfectionism, social autonomy, a pronounced sense of humor.

Self-actualization - the desire to reveal one's inner potential, according to K. Holstein and K. Rogers, is the main motive for creativity. The sprouts of this aspiration appear already in childhood and must be supported and formed. Such a personality trait as egocentrism is most realistically manifested in the cognitive sphere. It should not be counted among negative qualities, since in this case this feature is mostly overcome with time.

So, the well-known researcher of the manifestations of children's giftedness N.S. Leites defines the signs of giftedness - the characteristics of the child that distinguish him, in some way raise him above the general level. These are, first of all, an increased disposition to assimilation, creative manifestations, unusual achievements in some types of activity, which was discussed in this section. At the heart of such manifestations are not only more favorable internal prerequisites for development, but also external factors that determine the development of certain abilities of the child. The next section of the work is devoted to this problem.

1.4 Factors influencing the development of children's giftedness

Childhood is of the greatest importance for the development of abilities and giftedness.

There is a qualitative originality of children's features. This is due to their different mental organization: extraordinary sensitivity to figurative impressions, richness of imagination, curiosity, ease and strength of the formation of certain properties.

It is very important to keep in mind the psychological data on age sensitivity, that is, a special responsiveness to the environment, or selective activity, which in its own way characterizes each stage of development. A.V. Zaporozhets wrote: “At every age, a child turns out to be especially sensitive, sensitized to certain kinds of influences, and therefore, at a given genetic level, in the presence of appropriate socio-pedagogical conditions, certain mental processes and quality...

Leites emphasized that “it was during the years of childhood on each age stage“temporary states” appear, expressing a kind of readiness for development. According to modern data, there are sensitive periods of age development, each of which has especially favorable opportunities for the development of one or another direction of the psyche, and then the effect of such internal conditions weakens. According to L.S. Vygotsky, "the incompleteness of certain developmental processes is a necessary condition for a given period to be sensitive to certain conditions."

So, the formation of individual abilities occurs in the course of age development, and much depends on what will be developed from those properties that appear in different periods of childhood, the traits of what particular age and to what extent will affect the traits of the intellect. It is in the course of age development that the formation of individual differences in abilities takes place, and age features become at the same time the properties of the developing mind.

It should be emphasized that the internal activity of a person, inherent in the most diverse types of his inclinations, is at the same time the first condition for the development of abilities. One of the first researchers of children's giftedness, N.S. Leites, studied in detail the characteristics of the life and activities of gifted children and came to the conclusion that children's giftedness is manifested in inclinations to work, in the urgent need of such children to engage in a certain type of activity. “The upbringing of industriousness is the most important factor in the formation of any abilities,” B. Alyakrinsky rightly summed up in the book “On Talent and Abilities”.

With a wide variety of models of giftedness that currently exist, most psychologists consider such internal factors as intelligence, creativity, motivational and personal characteristics, along with factors of the social environment, as fundamental for the development of giftedness in children. Learning conditions, features of family education, cultural environment, etc. are the most important components of the social factor of development. The statistics of studies of different years (20-30, 80s of the 20th century) show the dominant role of the genotype over the environment in the development of children's giftedness. This problem was dealt with by N. Newman, A. Johnson, D. Shields, R. Wilson, D. Gorn and others.

Over the past decades, a lot of research has appeared on the impact of various learning environments on the developmental success of gifted children. These studies made it possible to significantly expand the category of gifted children and prove the expediency of their education in special programs.

Successes in the development of this area of ​​research allow us to raise the question of the role of the family in the development of giftedness in children at a new level. Experimental studies of the influence of parents on the characteristics of their children's development mainly concern the study of the relationship between self-esteem, children's success in one area or another, their ideas about abilities and parents' social expectations. The facts obtained as a result of research testify to the role of family ideas about the "ideal" model of education on the development of the motivational and personal attitudes of the child, which contribute to or hinder the development of giftedness in children.

From the point of view of pedagogy, the environmental variability of intelligence indicators is associated mainly with the variability of the intra-family environment. In relation to it, the external, cultural environment acts as a general background for development. Thus, the “intra-family environment” has the greatest influence of all social factors: the home environment in general, the object-spatial environment, the nature of relations with family members.

O.M. Dyachenko suggested taking into account, as an additional factor that ensures the development of giftedness, the realization of abilities in specific children's activities. The model of development of giftedness was presented by her in the form of three blocks.

The first block is the motivation for the corresponding type of activity. In the case of mental giftedness, this is a cognitive activity that is productive in nature and is connected to the holistic experience of the child. The second block is operational, characterized through the concept of abilities, which in preschool age are determined by the level of visual modeling (cognitive abilities) and the level of development of productive imagination (creative abilities). The third is the implementation block, which assumes the possibility of making your achievements a reality, formalizing the results of the decision, etc. In preschoolers, this block is characterized by the possibility of manifesting their own subjectivity in various types of children's activities.

As you know, preschool age is the age of play. Research data show that the enrichment of the content of children's games has a decisive influence on the observations of life around them, organized and carefully thought out by adults. game form activities in accordance with the aspirations of a preschooler, for example, in introducing the world of music, helps to develop the child's talent, and a skillful combination of game management methods contributes to the maximum development of the child's creative talent. At present, a close relationship has been proven between the development of abilities and the position of emotions that cause a child's interest in activities. In no other child's activity is emotional experience accumulated so successfully as in play. In addition, the game can be an effective means of preventing and correcting such personal problems of a gifted child as anxiety and aggression, as well as being the main factor in the development of children's creativity (creativity).

So, the developing personality is influenced by both external and internal factors. Smoothing out their negative and strengthening positive influences, it is possible to achieve the maximum development of natural inclinations, revealing the potential of a developing personality. For each child, such an area of ​​activity, such methods of education and training, such an approach to interaction should be found in which positive sides his individual abilities.

II . Analysis of psychological research on the problem of child giftedness

2.1 Diagnosis of child giftedness

Current state The education system is characterized by great attention to supporting the development of the internal potential of a gifted child. According to N.S. Leites, the concept of "gifted" in relation to a child has two different meanings: gifted precisely as a child, and gifted in a fuller sense - as a bearer of a long-term, lifelong gift. This is a very important distinction, which emphasizes the special responsibility in judging the signs of children's giftedness. After all, there is such a phenomenon as age-related giftedness, in which there can be no confidence in the constancy of this gift. That is why the question arose of replacing the expression "gifted child" with "a child with signs of giftedness" in the "Working Concept of Giftedness".

The problem of diagnosing children's giftedness in psychology and pedagogy is considered at two levels: theoretical and methodological. The first, theoretical level involves the clarification of the theoretical issues of giftedness (concepts, features, etc.), which was discussed in the previous sections. At the second level, the development of the concept of the diagnostic procedures themselves and the selection of methods for identifying the gifted are carried out.

One of the variants of the organizational and pedagogical approach is one-time examinations, or express diagnostics. Since Binet's time, for a long time, high intelligence was determined using standardized tests (IQ). In the future, psychological research acquired a multidimensional nature of assessment (intelligence, creativity, level of personal development). However, the need for special organizational and pedagogical solutions to the problem on a reliable basis led to the creation of diagnostic models for the level of giftedness of a long-term nature.

For example, the RAPYHT comprehensive assessment project developed by M. Carne, A. Schwedel and other scientists. The primary assessment of the general and special giftedness of children is carried out using special questionnaires for teachers and parents. If the assessment of adults exceeds a certain level on one of the questionnaires, the child is included in the number of candidates. Further, in order to verify the data obtained, all children are involved in special classes in small groups in accordance with the nature of their giftedness. In the case of an adequate level in one of the activities based on the results of the classes, the child is included in the additional program.

No less interesting is the Illinois model, in which a group of 22 children from 3-5 years of age who are ahead of the development of their abilities is recruited. The identification process is divided into three stages: search, evaluation, selection.

Approximately one month before individual examinations, parents are widely notified about the possibility of potentially gifted children to attend groups for training under a special program.

While parents are filling out questionnaires about the development of the child, psychologists are testing him (information about the results is not reported to parents).

The final stage has a dual purpose: to select the most suitable for training in this program; to ensure the participation in this program of children from different socio-economic backgrounds and racial groups. The final decision on admission is made by the council of teachers.

Thus, thanks to many well-known concepts of diagnostic procedures, experience has been gained in identifying the gifted in the conditions of an ordinary kindergarten.

A relatively young direction is diagnostics of the development of children's giftedness by a teacher. Indeed, in the end, it is the teacher who bears the main work of teaching, educating and developing the child, and it is he who is primarily responsible for its results.

Among domestic and foreign psychologists and teachers, many paid attention to the personal and professional qualities of a teacher dealing with children's giftedness (A.M. Matyushkin, Yu.Z. Gilbukh, N.S. Leites, and others). Among these qualities stands out the ability to track the level of development of intellectual and creativity children. In order to be able to monitor the development of the internal potential of their pupils in the most qualitative and effective way, the teacher must master specially developed methods that are quite informative and relatively easy to use. To this end, within the framework of the conceptual model of Professor A.I. Savenkov, a group of researchers led by S. Ledneva developed and tested in a kindergarten a set of diagnostic methods to assess the level of development of children's giftedness by teachers.

In their work, the teachers relied on the principle of minimum sufficiency of the content of the methods for the most effective and adequate tracking of the development of the internal potential of the pupils' personality. Therefore, the methods cover the cognitive and personal spheres of development, as well as the behavioral characteristics of the child, which makes it possible to determine the priority area of ​​his interests.

Scientists offer a set of methods that enable the teacher to independently identify and regularly monitor the development of intellectual and creative abilities of pupils.

The first method is aimed at assessing the teacher's qualities according to the following system: low level (this quality does not appear at all), below average level (this quality appears, but quite rarely), average level (this quality is equally manifested and not manifested) , the level is above average (this quality is often manifested, but not always), high level (the quality is always manifested). These qualities include memory, attention, the ability to analyze and synthesize, productivity, flexibility, originality of thinking, perfectionism (diligence).

A detailed description is given for each of the qualities. For example, memory . The ability of a child to quickly memorize and retain various information in memory for a long time (either auditory, or visual, or motor). For example: "Does this bird look like the one we saw here last winter?" (“Little computer.” Here and below, in parentheses, the figurative name of a child with a high level of development of one or another quality is indicated).

Psychologists also use games-exercises for the development of verbal-logical and volume-spatial thinking, various competitions to identify certain signs of giftedness. For example, these:

"Unusual Carousel"

On the board or on a piece of paper, a carousel model is drawn with a word in the center, for example, the word "sun". The teacher invites the children to “ride” their words on the carousel, but stipulates the following condition: “Only the one who comes up with a story that connects his word with the word “sun” can ride.”

At the end of the game, the stories are discussed again, and the child who comes up with the most interesting story receives an incentive prize.

"I am a draftsman"

Equipment. Demonstration model of a prism or other geometric figure and handout models of small volumetric figures of three or four types.

A conversation is held with the children, in which the need for an accurate drawing is explained before the turner turns the part, the builder builds the house, etc. After that, the children are invited to try themselves as a draftsman and make a drawing of the existing demonstration figures.

In the subsequent conversation and a little experimentation (comparison of a prism and a rectangle), the children and the teacher find out that the drawing should have three parts: top (bottom), front, profile, and draw a drawing of this figure.

Then the children are given small simple figures or models of geometric figures for independent execution of the drawing.

Complication 1. Three figures are placed in front of the children, indicated by numbers, and each child has a piece of paper on the table with the number of the figure, the drawing of which he is to make.

After finishing work, the children change their drawings. They are invited to determine the number of the figure, the drawing of which was made by their friend.

Complication 2. A. The teacher has several figures on the table, and on the table each child has drawings of these figures. Children have to determine which of the shapes corresponds to the drawing of each one.

B. "Find the parts of the whole." A poster with the image of parts of a figure is hung out in front of the children. Below is one of the parts. The children are given the task: "Find a figure that, when combined with this figure, forms a circle (square, etc.)".

The culmination of developing work with children, according to psychologists, can be the so-called intellectual competitions. They give children the opportunity to compete and demonstrate to parents the methods and techniques for developing their intellectual and creative abilities.

Competition of intellectuals.

Tasks for children:

1. "Girdles of great warriors"

It is necessary to guess which patterns can continue the patterns drawn on the ribbons.

2. "Mysterious writings of the ancestors" You must guess which figures the water has erased and draw them on your cards in place of the question marks.

3… "Unfinished figurines". Before you are unfinished figures, your task is to finish them.

This, of course, is far from all the methods and techniques that a teacher can use in the work to identify and develop the giftedness of their students.

The problem of early detection of giftedness is very acute, because not all children with signs of giftedness can show unusual potential. In this regard, the problem of its diagnostics and development acquires the greatest urgency.

2.2 The problem of education and training of gifted children

For a long time it was a common statement about the omnipotence of education. Physiologist I.P. Pavlov, characterizing the extraordinary plasticity of the higher nervous activity of a person, its enormous possibilities, wrote: "... nothing remains motionless, unyielding, but changes for the better can always be achieved, if only the appropriate conditions are implemented." Later studies have shown that the development of the child has its own laws, its own internal logic, and is not just a passive reflection of objective conditions.

The fate of miracle children is not always happy. Life practice shows that many of them do not achieve noticeable success on their chosen path. The outstanding inclinations inherent in them do not always provide, it would seem, already the predestination of talent. However, as mentioned earlier, abilities are not given from birth. They are the result of the development of the initial level of inclinations.

Most often, the reason for the failure of initially gifted children is insufficient education and training. Relying on exceptional natural talent with a large number of inclinations, parents and teachers lose sight of the main condition for the formation of abilities - the education of diligence. After all, easy teaching does not bring benefits, but harm, because it is not able to develop perseverance, perseverance, will, and the natural sources of abilities - inclinations - do not get the opportunity to develop.

Thus, the belief that the inclinations are abilities in themselves is the most common basic pedagogical mistake in relation to the "wunderkinds".

To avoid the problems of further education and socialization in the society of peers, special attention should be paid to the initial upbringing of a gifted child in the family. After all, parents, like no one else, are able to discern the first signs of a manifestation of giftedness in a child. It is from the correct attitude of parents to the characteristics of their baby that recognition in society will come from. However, their opinion can turn out to be very subjective, because the idea of ​​the uniqueness of their own child is initially familiar to all parents. This implies the problem of early diagnosis, assessment from the outside, receiving recommendations for education and training.

At the moment, there are various methods for identifying giftedness in children. M Parrot has developed questions for parents that will help to understand in which area the child's abilities are clearly manifested:

1. If we compare physical activity your child with the activity of his peers, in whose favor will this comparison be?

2. At what age did your child learn:

· cut out pictures with scissors, color the drawings inside the contours,

· tie shoelaces,

· write in block letters of the alphabet, your name and other words,

· rewrite or copy poems, stories,

· name the letters of the alphabet (in books, on signs, etc.),

3. Does the child understand some things that are too complicated? For example, what?

4. Does he use complex words in his speech, speaks in long sentences?

5. Can you say that your child has an unusually good memory?

Parents usually emphasize the lack of special efforts in children on the way to quick memorization and assimilation of various information. For preschoolers with a good memory, the transition to conceptual thinking may begin earlier, so you should pay attention to the systematic knowledge of the child. No need to strive for the child to remember as many facts, events, names as possible.

Undoubtedly, an important point in the development of the abilities of a preschooler is to establish contact with him, show interest in his activities, support and help from adults. According to the theory of amplification of child development, it is necessary to create conditions that enrich the development of the child, allowing maximum manifestation of his inclinations, abilities, which is especially important in the case of gifted children.

Another important issue in the upbringing of a gifted child is the problem of his education before school, integration among peers. Parents' fears about the still not eradicated trend of "trimming to the average" in the modern system of preschool education and school education are not unfounded.

Numerous facts of life and evidence of science show that many gifted children do not achieve the desired success in their chosen path. This is due to the fact that a highly gifted child, studying with less gifted children, often expends little effort due to the lack of competent guidance from the teacher. As a result, the original giftedness not only interferes with the development of volitional qualities, but also involuntarily delays the development of the abilities themselves - the brilliant inclinations of such a child do not turn into equally brilliant abilities, they are not used. Criticizing the theory of innate abilities, T.V. Leibniz: "Bare possibilities are nothing."

The position of gifted children is often exacerbated even during the transition to a new level of education. They are incapable of systematic hard work and, as a result, lose self-confidence, are disappointed in their abilities. The recognition of their chosenness is replaced, in their opinion, by the injustice of the demands of others - conditions for conflict are created.

Based on the foregoing, the most important rule for the integration of gifted children is learning on the verge of overcoming difficulties. “An individual approach to the formation of abilities means providing additional work for those students who easily and quickly master the material in order to bring their strengths to the required tension, develop their abilities, including their ability to work,” Soviet scientists A.G. Kovalev and V.N. Myasishchev.

Often, parents of gifted children, in order to avoid difficulties, try to deal with them themselves: they read books, answer questions, help in creative self-expression, which is important in the upbringing of any child. But in order to grow a truly creative person, it is necessary, first of all, to turn your attention to yourself, to your relationship with the child from the outside.

The very first and most important thing is to love your child and accept him as he is: to rejoice in his successes, to be attentive to his deeds and deeds, to follow the child in the development of his interests, to give him the opportunity to choose, carefully opening up new areas of knowledge, guiding his attention. An atmosphere of kindness, sensitivity, attentiveness is necessary in the development of a gifted child. Otherwise, the child's abilities may subside, fade away due to lack of interest, ridicule and even criticism from adults.

As studies have shown, for the development of a child’s creative potential, not only an adequate assessment of his strengths and capabilities is necessary, but even a little overestimated, thanks to which he will have a reserve of strength and confidence when meeting with failures. After all, there are many difficulties on the life path of a gifted person, for which you need to gradually prepare the baby, strengthening his faith in himself.

A parent needs to be an example for a child, to use their knowledge, skills and abilities more widely, without abusing the help of specialists. Nevertheless, one should not forget about one wise pedagogical rule - “do no harm”. Gifted children are very sensitive and vulnerable. Numerous study loads can be too tiring for them. Specialists of the Creative Giftedness Center believe that a gifted child needs free time when he could retire and be alone with himself.

It is generally accepted that the upbringing and education of gifted children should be non-traditional. Most of the programs and techniques are aimed at including research, experiments, hypotheses, which should be included in all the usual activities of children. In the best way, the manifestation of the individuality of each child is facilitated by play-type activities. At the same time, one should not forget about the role of the family, the warm atmosphere of which is also necessary in the development of the giftedness of the child.

So, the strategy of adults in interacting with a gifted child, first of all, is as follows: resort to analogies, ask leading questions, create conditions for independent search activity, show tolerance and intuition.

2.3 Modern approaches to the study of child giftedness

Among the scientific developments of recent years, the most interesting is the study of a group of psychologists led by N.E. Verax. The origins of this study lie in domestic psychology in the works of L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, B.M. Teplova, A.R. Luria, A.V. Zaporozhets and other authors, where the emphasis is on the decisive role of culture in the development of the child.

Studying the development of mental giftedness in preschool age, scientists introduce the concept of "normative situation", which is understood as a combination of facts, conditions and circumstances in relation to which society prescribes certain actions to the subject. A normative situation is a space of individual activity, acting as a set of typical situations with a set of standard methods of activity or culture prescribed by norms. Researchers have proved the dependence of the normative situations that arise in the educational process on the education system itself, which can have a different impact on the development of children's giftedness, supporting or inhibiting children's activity and initiative.

The introduction of this concept allows us to consider in a new way the concept of the development of giftedness, i.e. the activity of a gifted child in a normative situation. Research has identified several types of activity. In one case, the child's actions are aimed at identifying the possibilities that exist in the given circumstances, which indicates creative giftedness. When activity takes place in a space of possibilities, where the child himself is looking for a cultural norm as a special opportunity, it is reflected in the concept of intellectual giftedness.

The analysis of educational work in preschool educational institutions leads to two fundamentally different approaches. In one, children are given maximum freedom of action, in the other, on the contrary, rigid determination and the need to follow the instructions of adults. In the first case, the child moves in the space of possibilities and develops creativity, but this freedom does not guarantee the general level of child development necessary for schooling. In another case, acquiring skills that are useless for preschool age, the child is deprived of the opportunity for self-realization and personal growth. Researchers see the solution to this situation in giving the child the opportunity to express their individuality in a cultural form. To do this, the child must not only move in the space of possibilities, but also be able to formalize the results of this movement, creating their own cultural products, i.e. show mental activity both creatively and intellectually.

As a result of testing this hypothesis in practice, the following conclusions were drawn:

1. The development of children's mental gifts can be considered in the context of the analysis of normative situations that arise in educational work with children of preschool age.

2. The normative situation makes it possible to selectively influence the components of mental giftedness of preschoolers: cognitive abilities, creative and cognitive activity.

3. Depending on the nature of normative situations, the education system can have a different influence on the development of children's giftedness, supporting or inhibiting the activity and initiative of the child.

4. Support for children's initiative can be carried out in two forms: in a productive project activities, and in the form of productive interaction - rule-making.

The phenomenon of the extraordinary giftedness of modern children remains one of the most actively discussed topics by scientists in recent decades. Especially gifted children by American scientists were called Indigo children, the first judgments about which date back to the 80s of the last century. In 1982, Nancy Ann Tapp, an American who had the ability to see the aura of people, wrote a book called How Color Helps You Better Understand Your Life. Nancy classified certain types of human behavior by aura color and argued that indigo people can be recognized by their deep blue aura color. But the authors of subsequent publications proved that the color of the aura is a variable criterion, it can change depending on the state of health, mood. Therefore, in order to decide whether a child belongs to the indigo category or not, one must take into account a wide range of indicators, primarily the level of intelligence development, creativity, area of ​​interest, and behavioral characteristics. Indeed, according to the ideas available in foreign sources, indigo is a person who, from childhood, is guided through life by his destiny, his desire to contribute to improving the life of mankind.

In the mid-80s, the book "Indigo Children" by psychologists Lee Carroll and Jan Tober was published in the United States. To this day, this book is printed in large numbers, sells well and is widely discussed. The authors of the book claim that the Indigo child has unusual psychological characteristics and behavior. Such children they proclaimed as messengers of the new world. Now, according to some researchers, there are about 30 million such children, and there are even judgments that out of every ten children, nine are Indigo!

There are child prodigies who show good abilities in mastering the basics of science. They tend to do well in school and college. As for Indigo children, their performance is not always on top, because they are not interested in the process of standard education. The Indigo Child is gifted, not just capable; has innate gifts and talents, and not just a good student. In foreign literature, the idea persistently sounds: Indigo children are geniuses in what they are intended for, they are able to make discoveries intuitively, not on the basis of existing knowledge, thereby ensuring the evolution of mankind, introducing new views and ideas into society. Here are just a few of the hallmarks of Indigo children:

special sensitivity to the need of all living things for respect, independence, love and sympathy.

• prohibition to limit oneself to obsolete ideals or dogmas.

Exacerbation of all the senses, which often causes irritation and overload, and there is a feeling of ill health.

Difficulty to part with some objects, because they value too highly in things not the material, but the “soul” of these things.

Not distinguishing boundaries between play, study, relationships and work. All these aspects are combined for them into a single life experience.

· excellent sense of correctness, they do not need discipline as a limitation.

extreme high energy.

lack of communication skills, especially if there are no others like them nearby,

early computerization.

a philosophical approach to life, characterized by depth and originality.

Also, many "indigo" have well-developed healing and psychic abilities from birth.

Purposefulness characteristic of children of the new millennium, freedom-loving disposition, an increased sense of their own importance and value, rejection of dogmas, refusal to obey authorities - all this very often confuses parents and teachers. If we take into account the mass of energy inherent in Indigo children, their unwillingness to focus on boring things, as well as the philosophical, not childishly adult view of the world, it becomes clear that these children need special approaches in development and education, new ways of interacting with them.

Nancy Ann Tapp proposes the following classification of the types of indigo children: humanist; conceptualist; painter; a person living in all dimensions. This classification was adopted by many modern foreign doctors and psychologists.

At humanist pronounced social orientation. His mission is to serve the masses, to work with people: he is a future doctor, lawyer, teacher, businessman, politician. He loves people, animals, plants, the earth and the stars. He wants everyone to feel good, he wants to love everyone, always and everywhere. He fits in perfectly with society. He loves people, happy to talk to any person in an extremely friendly manner. At the same time, he has his own clearly expressed opinion. He is ready to communicate always and everywhere, and at the same time, sometimes he completely forgets about the time, about what he was going to do. Often he feels misunderstood and unrecognized. Due to his special emotionality, he quickly develops overexcitation and overstrain. He needs rest to balance his inner world. When he gets bored, he takes refuge in his own world.

Unlike the indigo humanist, who embodies the idea of ​​human brotherhood, peacefulness, indigo conceptualist busy not so much with people as with projects. This is a future architect, designer, astronaut or pilot. He likes to develop ideas, create plans, but he wants to do it at his own pace, immersing himself in the business and implementing it. At the same time, he does not allow anyone and in any form to distract him from the chosen occupation. It is characteristic that he is not focused on achieving success.

He is inclined to manage the father or mother, give valuable practical advice on housekeeping, which most often creates serious problems in the family.

He wants to understand everything. For example, he disassembles devices into parts in order to understand how they are arranged. As a child, he usually goes in for sports, he is very dexterous. Has a tendency to secrecy, does not like to talk about his affairs. He loves technology, devices, most of all he loves a computer.

Features of the personality of an indigo artist in that:

He can draw for hours and loves when others draw for him.

He is able to feel a lot and wants to be believed when he talks about his feelings.

In life, he prefers to be realized through creativity. Likes singing, dancing, ballet, theater, circus, painting, drawing, playing music, etc.

He wants to be aware of family affairs, to feel his involvement.

This is a hidden healer (usually he heals with music, painting or dance and sees this as his life purpose and your calling).

An indigo artist is able to become intensely involved in the creative process. He likes to be close to his parents, he is able to concentrate on the game only when he feels the support of the family. At the same time, no one and nothing can distract him from his occupation. Two-three-year-old children can already do a lot on their own. They easily communicate with other children and seem older than their age. When they later come into contact with the "big" world, their behavior may change under pressure from outside.

Features of the personality of "living in all dimensions":

He is full of new ideas, philosophical reflections, new ideas, which causes dissatisfaction with others.

He is a born leader, and he wants to blaze new trails.

He is not ready to limit himself to outdated ideals or someone else's expectations.

In our society, in various age categories, there are individuals who have the properties and characteristic qualities of an indigo personality. It was they who prepared the way for the current wave of new children. They, the forerunners of these new children, have been living on Earth for many years. In their youth, such people often had to face difficulties both in society and in their own families, as they were treated with methods that did harm to them. Today's Indigo children also face many challenges, and it is up to us as adults to protect them from abuse, to help them achieve the success they deserve.

To love everyone without any conditions, so that unconditional love will again triumph on Earth.

With its high-frequency energy, help humanity and the world to increase the frequency of their vibrations.

Cultivate tolerance on earth.

Revitalize your mediumistic abilities so that humanity again perceives enlightenment as the "norm".

To teach that everything should be done for the highest good of one and all.

In the foreign press, a test is given to determine whether a particular child belongs to the indigo category. It is convenient for parents, educators preschool institutions, school teachers. At the same time, this test not only reveals all the controversial issues regarding the characteristics of indigo children, but also allows you to take a fresh look at the individual characteristics of children. The test is divided into 3 age categories 0-5, 6-10 and 11 to adulthood. Consider the first part of the questions concerning preschool age.

Age 0-5 years

1. Waking up in the morning, he complains of various pains, because he does not want to leave "his world."

2. He needs surprisingly little time to sleep, while he is full of strength and energy.

3. He is clearly different from other children.

4. He does not allow himself to be drawn into the situation emotionally.

5. He treats things as if they are alive and he can hurt them.

6. He has an increased need for attention and security, he always wants to stay in the same space.

7. He is incredibly sensitive, he has a very strong intuition. Often he already knows what you are going to say.

8. His very first word may be “no”, and he uses this “no” much more often than all other words.

9. He often plays with invisible friends whom he perceives as real.

10. He wants to be close to his parents for a long time and get a lot of attention from them.

11. He can be really bored.

12. He is a typical individualist.

13. He knows exactly what he wants, and it can be difficult to make him give up his intention.

14. When he starts talking, he stutters because he can't find words fast enough.

15. He speaks very convincingly about such things that he cannot possibly know about at all.

16. He communicates with animals, plants and stones.

17. He has mediumistic abilities and feels what is "real" and what is not.

18. With his inner eye he sees images, colors and forms that he cannot properly describe.

19. Sometimes he recalls situations from his past lives.

When answering questions, use the following scores:

O = never

1 = sometimes (behavior bordering on unusual)

2 = often (occurs so often that it draws the attention of others)

3 = very common (occurs so frequently that it permanently affects the child's life).

If most of the ratings are "0" or "1", then we can assume that the child does not belong to the category of indigo children. It's just that his behavior sometimes resembles the behavior of these children.

If the main part of the ratings is “2”, you can conclude that the child has many of the properties and qualities of an indigo personality, is a true representative of the children of the new time, and his task is to help humanity in the implementation of the transformations of the new millennium. But he is not a 100% indigo child.

If the score “3” prevails noticeably, then you can consider that you have a real indigo in front of you.

The above test shows how much is still unknown in the indigo phenomenon. Who are they, these kids with the look of a wise adult?

Some Russian doctors see psychiatric symptoms in indigo children. Some articles even suggest that these are children “possessed by an evil spirit”, “devils”, that the clever words that can be heard from such children are not pronounced by them, but by the demon that has inhabited them. However, such sharp assessments are probably due to the incompleteness of knowledge about indigo children, about the diversity of their types, and the desire to get more information.

In this way, modern research on the problem of studying children's giftedness testify to the unquenchable interest in this problem, its ambiguity, controversy, and the need to understand it to the end. After all, every child is born with huge inclinations and there is virtually no limit to the development of human abilities.

III . Assessment of the degree of knowledge of the problem

The problem of children's giftedness has been widely studied both in domestic and foreign psychology in the works of L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, B.M. Teplova, N.S. Leitas, J. Gilford and many others. Scientists have developed theoretical approaches to giftedness, clearly defined its varieties and external manifestations, identified factors influencing the development of abilities, and proposed options for educating and educating a gifted child.

The most acute problem is the diagnosis of gifted children. Thanks to the research of A.M. Matyushkina, Yu.Z. Gilbukha, A.I. Savenkova, S. Ledneva gained experience in identifying gifted children.

The subject of frequent discussion of science children's giftedness remains at the present time. In recent decades, American scientists have raised the question of the existence of extremely gifted children with special psychological characteristics. This movement gave a huge impetus to a more versatile study of this problem. New scientific research will undoubtedly benefit education and upbringing, draw attention to the study of all children without exception, and encourage a more respectful and careful attitude towards gifted children, young representatives of humanity who are coming to replace us.

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The analysis of the problem of the development of abilities and giftedness will be largely determined by the content that we will invest in these concepts.

Significant difficulties in defining the concepts of ability and giftedness are associated with the generally accepted, everyday understanding of these terms. If we turn to explanatory dictionaries, we will see that very often the terms "capable", "gifted", "talented" are used as synonyms and reflect the degree of manifestation of abilities. But it is even more important to emphasize that the concept of "talented" emphasizes the natural data of a person. Yes, in explanatory dictionary V. Dahl "capable" is defined as "fit for something or prone, dexterous, suitable, convenient." Along with "capable" the concepts "capable" and "capable" are used. A capable person is characterized as resourceful, quirky, able to manage, and ability, in turn, is understood as the ability to manage, manage, arrange things. Capable here is actually understood as skillful, and the concept of "skill" is not in the dictionary. Thus, the concept of "capable" is defined through the ratio of success in activity.

When defining the concept of "talent", its innate nature is emphasized. Talent is defined as a gift for something, and gift as an ability given by God. In other words, talent is an innate ability given by God, which ensures high success in activity. The dictionary of foreign words also emphasizes that talent (gr. talanton) is an outstanding innate quality, special natural abilities. Giftedness is considered as a state of talent, as a degree of manifestation of talent. Not without reason, as an independent concept, giftedness is absent in Dahl's dictionary and in S.I. Ozhegov's dictionary and in the Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary, and in the explanatory dictionary of foreign words.

From the foregoing, we can conclude that abilities, on the one hand, giftedness and talent, on the other, stand out, as it were, for different reasons. Speaking of ability, they emphasize the ability of a person to do something, and speaking of talent (giftedness), the innate nature of this quality (ability) of a person is emphasized. At the same time, both abilities and giftedness are manifested in the success of the activity.

In Soviet psychology, primarily through the works of S. L. Rubinshtein and B. M. Teplov, an attempt was made to classify the concepts of "ability", "giftedness" and "talent" on a single basis - the success of activity. Abilities are considered as individual psychological characteristics that distinguish one person from another, on which the possibility of success in activity depends, and giftedness is considered as a qualitatively unique combination of abilities (individual psychological characteristics), on which the possibility of success in activity also depends.

Sometimes abilities are considered innate, "given by nature." However, scientific analysis shows that only inclinations can be innate, and abilities are the result of the development of inclinations.

Makings - congenital anatomical and physiological features of the body. These include, first of all, the features of the structure of the brain, the sense organs and movement, the properties of the nervous system, which the body is endowed with from birth. The inclinations are only opportunities and prerequisites for the development of abilities, but do not yet guarantee, do not predetermine the emergence and development of certain abilities. Arising on the basis of inclinations, abilities develop in the process and under the influence of activities that require certain abilities from a person. Outside of activity, no abilities can develop. Not a single person, no matter what inclinations he possesses, can become a talented mathematician, musician or artist without doing a lot and persistently in the corresponding activity. To this it must be added that the inclinations are ambiguous. On the basis of the same inclinations, unequal abilities can develop, again depending on the nature and requirements of the activity in which a person is engaged, as well as on living conditions and especially education.

The inclinations themselves develop, acquire new qualities. Therefore, strictly speaking, the anatomical and physiological basis of a person’s abilities is not just inclinations, but the development of inclinations, that is, not just the natural features of his body (unconditioned reflexes), but also what he acquired in the process of life - systems conditioned reflexes.

The development of abilities is influenced by the features of higher nervous activity. So, the speed and strength of mastering knowledge and skills depend on the speed of formation and strength of conditioned reflexes; from the speed of developing differentiated inhibition to similar stimuli - the ability to subtly capture the similarity and difference between objects or their properties; from the speed and ease of formation and alteration of a dynamic stereotype - adaptability to new conditions and readiness to quickly move from one way of performing activities to another.