Gifted children of Russia. Features of work with gifted children. Gifted children in kindergarten. A gifted child is ...

In the modern educational system, a special place is taken by the person-oriented approach to the child. Today it is not enough simply to transfer the standard amount of knowledge to the younger generation. It is important to contribute to the development of a harmonious personality of the child. To realize this task, it is necessary to carefully study the desires and possibilities, the abilities of each baby. In connection with the development of such trends in the world society, there has been an increased attention of psychologists and teachers to the issue of the giftedness of children. If still literally a few years ago, this concept denoted that a person has any superpowers, today it is formulated differently.

In this article we will find out how the abilities of gifted children manifest themselves, what diagnostic methods can be used to identify them, and what are the specific features of pedagogical work with such babies.

The history of the notion of "giftedness"

Despite the fact that today a gifted child is a popular and promising personality, not so long ago, psychologists and scientists did not engage in the identification and development of abilities in children.

The history of the emergence of the concept of "giftedness" (characterizing an adult) is several centuries old. So, back in ancient times, people who differed in any abilities, non-standard skills, possessing a high level of intellectual ability, stood out from the general mass: they were chosen by the leaders of the tribe, they became shamans or healers.

Terms such as "genius" and "talent" originated in the times of the ancient world. It is known that this era has become famous for a large number of outstanding creative people, thinkers. Exploring the works of various authors of this period, one can single out the main idea that genius and talent are nothing but the gift of the gods. Hence the term "genius", which from the Latin language is translated as "spirit". Ancient thinkers believed that people with non-standard abilities in any industry were sent by the gods in order to improve the existing world. This idea is described in the treatises of G. Hegel, I. Kant and others.

Who is such a "genius" in the understanding of ancient thinkers? It is rather a mythological figure that seemed to people of that time to be an immortal demigod in human form. First of all, the genius was attributed to poets and artists and only later talented people began to be regarded as outstanding researchers and public figures.

Only in the middle of the XIX century, the scientist F. Galton (cousin Charles Darwin) was put forward a theory about the "terrestrial" origin of man's giftedness. In his book "Heredity of talent: its laws and consequences," the researcher asserts that giftedness is inherited. Such conclusions the scientist has received by an experimental way, having analyzed a family history of 300 families.

But at the same time there are other views on the origin of the talent. Namely, the researchers suggested that a gifted child is not a gift of nature or divine powers. The authors of the idea of a "clean sheet" ("tabula race") argue that children are born without hereditary abilities, any predisposition to an extraordinary mental activity. And the formation of genius is influenced by the social environment and upbringing. Such views are also present in modern society. And in them there is a certain amount of truth - indeed, the environment has a great influence on the development of the abilities of children, but exclude the natural dispositions of man, genetic predisposition is impossible.

Intellectual giftedness

With the development of medical and psychological science, the possibilities of analyzing and investigating the factors that determine the concept of giftedness have significantly expanded. During this period, the most important criterion for assessing abilities was the so-called level of intelligence (IQ). Scientists such as A. Binet, V. Stern, G. Müller, G. Wiesenk, D. Hebb, have developed special tests to determine this characteristic. But this approach has been criticized.

Opponents of this theory argued that even people with a low level of mental development can be gifted. There are examples when children with congenital genetic diseases possessed extraordinary abilities in such spheres as, for example, art, music, arts and crafts and others.

The concept of giftedness in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century

This period is characterized by increased interest in the problem of gifted children. Many scientists, psychologists and teachers are trying to give the most accurate formulation of this phenomenon. Also, various methods for diagnosing the abilities of children are being developed. So, the GI system was compiled. Rossolimo, which assumed the measurement of such qualities of personality as:

• will;
• Attention;
• Associativity;
• Memorization.

Thus, as proved experimentally, a gifted child is not only one that has a high level of intelligence. Capable children are characterized by strong-willed qualities, perseverance of attention and memory, non-standard thinking.

During this period, the idea was first formulated and scientifically proven that a child's giftedness develops on the basis of congenital genetic predispositions in the process of social, educational and upbringing activities.

Sototin's ideas are interesting: this author claims that every person can become gifted as a result of regular exercises. Conversely, innate abilities can disappear without a trace if they are not developed.

A great contribution to the psychology of giftedness was made by N.S. Leites, B.M. Teplov, A.G. Petrovsky and others.

Also note that at the beginning of the XIX century, in addition to exclusively academic interest, the social need to develop, study this phenomenon is added to the problem of giftedness. Modern society needs talented people: innovative ideas, scientific discoveries, high achievements in any field of knowledge contribute to the development of each individual and the country as a whole.

The concept of giftedness

To date, there is no single specific formulation of such a concept as "giftedness." Each researcher finds his approach to this problem. Nevertheless, if you analyze psycho-pedagogical literature, you can define "giftedness" as the quality of the human psyche that develops throughout life and affects the ability of an individual to achieve results that differ from standard ones. Also, psychologists point out that such a phenomenon is the result of the interaction of the inborn data of a person, the surrounding society and the psychological mechanisms of self-development.

Why did psychologists come to the conclusion that it is in childhood that special attention should be given to diagnosis and development of abilities? The fact is that it is during the period of maturation that the formation of various individual psychological qualities takes place. The education of gifted children is an important part of the subsequent development of abilities. Therefore, teachers should pay special attention to such students. Children's age is characterized by increased activity of various mental processes, the formation of personality. Such soil is fertile for the development of the child's innate inclinations.

Who is such a gifted child? This is a question for which there is no unambiguous answer. So, for today there are such directly opposite opinions, as:

• Gifted children are a rarity, non-standard abilities develop in the process of education;
• All children are born gifted, the further manifestation of their abilities depends on the conditions of society.

Either way, a gifted child is an individual who shows any abilities above the average established level. How should these abilities manifest themselves - in one or another area of knowledge or in several, how to diagnose them at an early age, which is a "standard", and that all the questions continue to be searched for by psychologists around the world.

Nevertheless, a certain structuring, systematization of the obtained data from various observations, studies, experiments are noted in the special literature. We will share this information below.

Characteristic features of giftedness

What qualities of a person can testify to the child's extraordinary abilities?

It is accepted to distinguish two aspects of the child's behavior:

1. Instrumental is how the kid performs an action.
2. Motivational - determines the child's attitude to activity.

In turn, these aspects of behavior can be analyzed by the following criteria. Thus, the instrumental is characterized by:

• Rapid (which is called "not in terms of age") mastery of any activity, its successful implementation;
• The invention of new ways to solve the current problem situation;
• The formation of creative ideas, discoveries (innovation).

Also, a talented child often creates his own style of performing some kind of activity, he knows the skills of structuring, generalization, analysis, and also has a special type of learning ability. Therefore, working with gifted children at the lesson requires an individual-personal approach.

The motivational aspect is manifested in the following:

• The child has an increased interest in any type of activity;
• The kid has cognitive activity, a tendency to explore, analyze phenomena;
• Aspiration to self-improvement, rejection of ready standard answers to the task;
• Increased selectivity (for example, prejudiced treatment of art, music, etc.).

Often gifted children of preschool age are identified by the teacher on motivational grounds - such kids are distinguished by a high desire to know the world around them, are ready for experimentation, and search for non-standard ways of solving the problem situation.

But having noticed in the child's behavior the described signs, one can only assume the presence of certain abilities and inclinations.

Types of giftedness

Based on observations of children with certain abilities, the researchers came to the conclusion that it is possible to classify giftedness according to the following criteria:

• The type of activity in which the child is doing well;
• Form of external manifestation of abilities;
• Degree of formation;
• The breadth of manifestation in the child's various activities;
• By age features.

According to the criterion "type of activity", the classification of giftedness is carried out on the basis of five known types of activity: theoretical, practical, communicative, spiritual-value and artistic-aesthetic; And three mental spheres: emotional, strong-willed, intellectual. Often gifted children in the garden have abilities in a certain field of activity: singing, drawing, designing, etc.

In the form of external manifestation talented and gifted children can have obvious and hidden extraordinary abilities. If in the first case the results of the activity of the baby clearly indicate his genius, then diagnose the pupil with a hidden form of talent - the task of psychologists, teachers and parents of the child. Often such abilities of children remain unnoticed, which leads to the fact that a talented person from birth simply does not use his potential during his life.

By degree of formation distinguish giftedness:

1. Actual, which is characterized by visual results of the talented child. The work of a teacher with gifted children who demonstrate their talent is to further develop their abilities, help them overcome obstacles to the result, and motivate them to work.
2. On the potential speak when the baby has natural talents and abilities, which at the moment remain unmanifest. In the diagnosis of this type of abilities, the child should not only take part in teaching, but also the parents of gifted children, because close relatives have the opportunity to observe the behavior of the baby for a long time, to identify patterns.

In latitude, the manifestations are:

1. General giftedness, which is characterized by the fact that the child shows non-standard abilities in different types of activities and areas of knowledge. It is about these people who say: "A talented person is talented in everything."
2. Special talent manifests itself only in a narrow sphere, for example, in music or drawing.

On the basis of age characteristics, giftedness is classified into the following types:

• Early;
• Late.

So, often pedagogues reveal gifted children in kindergarten. Such children are called child prodigies ("wonderful children"). Literally a few years ago in psychology appeared such a term as "intellectual child prodigy". This designation is given to children who are not developed in the mental sphere for years, for example, at two or three years of age they master the work of electronic gadgets, computers, household appliances. With the development of technology and the introduction of information and computer technologies in the education of such kids is becoming more and more, it is possible that soon described knowledge and skills will be considered the norm of development.

Methods of diagnostics of giftedness

Despite the fact that psychologists have developed various questionnaires and tests, the main methods of diagnosing giftedness are observation and a natural experiment. A great contribution to science on this problem was made by A.F. Lazursky. He suggested watching the child for a long time (several years). Such a study of the personality of a toddler who has shown certain abilities can be carried out continuously (every day), and maybe - sporadically.

Another way to track the child's predisposition to any ability is the biographical method. Most often in practice, it is conducted in the form of a questionnaire.

Thus, in order to discover a gifted personality in a group of children, a whole range of diagnostic measures will be required, including:

• Observation of the child's behavior in the conditions of the educational institution, at home, for additional classes and leisure;
• Professional evaluation of the child's performance;
• Conducting various psychodiagnostic activities (interviews, tests, experimental work and others);
• The organization of intellectual, physical and creative competitions.

Problems of gifted children

Unfortunately, psychologists noted that a gifted child often faces a number of specific problems. We describe the most common of them.

• Lack of interest in learning in the general education school.
• Often, for courageous judgments, resourcefulness, activity, originality, such children are blamed, since usually the teachers and educators value such qualities of children as obedience, strict implementation of the rules.
• For a gifted child, adult parents and teachers sometimes place too high hopes. The kid, trying not to upset the adults, often performs the tasks set, although in fact he would like to express himself differently.
• Often such children become outcasts in the circle of their peers.
• Usually able-bodied children choose friends older than themselves, but in such a situation, babies can not realize their opportunities to the full extent due to significant differences in physical development.

Thus, working with gifted children in the DOW and the school requires knowledge of psychology, individual approach, attention and responsiveness.

Features of pedagogical work with gifted children

Of course, there are special features of working with gifted children. In society there is an opinion that such babies do not need guidance and control of an adult. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Children with talent need the constant help of senior mentors. Thus, gifted children in the kindergarten still do not understand their "status", which adults appropriated to them. Only under the direct supervision of the teacher can we develop, reveal new horizons of the preschool talent. In addition to individual work with such children within the precincts of the DOW, the development of the abilities of gifted preschool children is carried out in various centers of early development.

Working with gifted children in the classroom is to find the right approach to the student, to become a senior companion, an assistant in the implementation of the conceived projects.

Features of working with gifted children are also to continue to develop their abilities in the context of additional education. So, this system to date has become not an auxiliary method of educating schoolchildren, but a full-fledged independent direction engaged in identifying and developing the abilities of children.

In the psychological and pedagogical literature, the following strategies for teaching gifted children are singled out:

1. Deepening knowledge.
2. Study of the training material at an accelerated pace.
3. Creation of problem situations for independent decision by their children.
4. Enrichment of the material.

State support of gifted children

The state is interested in the education of gifted talented children. Therefore, taking into account the psychological and pedagogical features of working with gifted children, the target program of the Russian Federation "Children of Russia" was developed. Its content includes the subprogram "Gifted Children", whose goal is to create conditions for the identification and development of talented children at the state level. The following activities are carried out under this subprogramme:

1. All-Russian Olympiads on individual subjects.
2. Olympics, competitions, competitions in the framework of additional education.
3. Creative shifts in health camps, summer schools for talented children.

Gifted children of the country

We can proudly say that Russia is rich in talents. Children defend the country's honor at music and art international competitions, participate in sports competitions of a global scale, speak at symposiums and scientific conferences.

Within the framework of the state program, the project of creating an encyclopedia "Gifted Children of Russia" was implemented. In this book are listed the names of the guys who distinguished themselves in a certain field of activity. In addition, the educational institutions that created the most favorable conditions for the development of students' abilities were also noted. Also listed in the book "Gifted Children of Russia" the names of honored teachers and even patrons of art.

Thus, the identification and development of gifted children is an important task for the world community. After all, the future development of civilized modern society is in the hands of talented, creative people capable of flexible non-standard thinking.