“Creative thinking” and “creative abilities”: features, diagnostic methods, technologies and methods of their development. Kindergarten teachers, school teachers and educators

Good day! Today we are again diving into the depths of the human psyche, with you I am Lyudmila Redkina. Have you ever had to act strictly according to instructions in your life, even when your brain “screamed” to do it differently? You understood how to do the right thing, rationally and effectively, but INSTRUCTIONS, PATTERNS, BOUNDARIES! It’s not for nothing that I highlighted these words. For people who think creatively, these words are like death! Today we’ll talk about how to develop creative thinking, what kind of skill it is and what its benefits are for a person.

COMPLETE LIST OF HUMAN SKILLS

Types of thinking

To understand what we are talking about, I will introduce you a little to the course of “General Psychology” and explain what thinking is and what types of this process exist.

Thinking is a mental process that helps a person perceive and reflect reality in his own way. It contributes to the fact that this reflection occurs in a generalized and indirect manner.

In simple words, when a person sees a picture, he does not describe all the shades and small details in the picture, he describes it in general terms. Mediation is a description due to other mental processes: memory (he remembered the picture), attention (he concentrated), and so on.

There are several types of thinking:

Visual-effectiveness is the first stage of development, observed in children and animals. The situation changes only with physical impact. For example, a child was given a car, but he needs to break it down to understand whether it has a seat for the driver. He operates only with what he sees, he cannot think out anything.
Visual-figurative - a person can imagine a situation, mentally “scroll through” different options for changing it. It is associated with imagination, since new combinations of properties and objects are established in thinking. For example, a pillow is used not only for sleeping, but also for throwing and sitting on it. The child is already thinking about where it can be used.
Verbal-logical. This is the highest mental function, since a person knows how to use verbal concepts, logic, and uses logical structures to solve various problems. A person can analyze, generalize, structure and draw conclusions.

These are the main types identified by science, but there are also varieties that determine the individual nature of thinking.

Theoretical. A person can analyze a phenomenon, its characteristics, change them in the process of analysis and find new ways of action, and this helps solve many problems. It is used mainly in science, when scientists invent something new.
Practical. Very similar to the previous one - the same processes: analysis, goal setting, plans. But due to a lack of time (which often happens), problem solving occurs faster, which makes this type more difficult.
Creative. A person in thinking creates his own, new product, new neural connections conditionally mature, which leads to the development of personality: motivation for activity appears, setting goals, assessments and meanings. A person does not think in stereotypes; he has productive thinking.
Prological. Awareness of various phenomena from the point of view of belief in invisible forces. These are the usual superstitions, jealousy, etc.
Reproductive. A person acts and thinks according to given patterns, and does not bring anything of his own into the thinking process.
Critical thinking. A person builds logical connections and learns new things based on his own conclusions. He does not take everything “on faith,” but tests his beliefs on his own.

Definition and features of creative thinking

Creative thinking allows you to create something new. This is a new product, a new quality, some original solution to a problem, a new path for the team, new tasks.

Creative thinking is a type of thought process that occurs in those who are able to see what others cannot see. Creative people have this ability to see everything in “their own color”; they perceive the world differently, grasp opportunities, new paths and perspectives.
Creative thinking is based on imagination. It is easy for a creative person to invent, imagine, fantasize. He can make a beautiful thing out of nothing, and in the sky, instead of ordinary clouds, he can see a “dog”, “grandfather Mazai and hares”, “an animal of unprecedented beauty”.

The creative nature of thinking gives a person a mile away. It will always stand out from the gray mass due to its features:

spontaneous flexibility - a creative person can rearrange from one thought to another, accumulate incoming information, a flow of ideas constantly emanates from her outside the situation in which she finds herself;
semantic flexibility - a person always tries to apply a different point of view to a well-known fact, it takes into account all aspects of one object, opens up potential that has been hidden until now;
figurative flexibility - a person adapts a situation or object to his perception, in his imagination he sees this object in a new, more unique way;
originality - creates something that did not exist before, this is a unique new creation of the creative mind, such a person does not act according to templates, creating his own, distinctive from what has already been invented before him.

Features of the development of creative thinking

Methods for developing creative abilities in psychology are quite numerous. Note concepts:

lateral thinking (non-standard, with multiple approaches);
inventions (for example, the TRIZ system, as a method for developing creative thinking, is a theory for solving inventive problems);
synectics (collective research method or improved brainstorming);
other.

The first variety of E. De Bono has the greatest versatility. Lateral thinking is a theory of logic and understanding involved in developing new ideas.

Speaking about the features of creativity, we mean the activity of creating new values using original ideas. The development of a non-standard train of thought requires non-triviality (originality), a desire for novelty, and flexibility.

Examples of creative thinking

Every person is born a genius, but throughout his life he is driven into patterns. But history knows outstanding individuals with creative thinking who went beyond the templates. They didn’t stop at the phrase “Why is that? So that’s how it should be.” Isaac Newton was the first to think about why objects fall to the ground. Before him, everyone perceived this phenomenon as “that means this is how it should be.”

Also a striking example of this type of thinking is P. Pavlov, when he was not lazy, but investigated the cause and process of the formation of conditional thinking in a dog.

How might this kind of thinking manifest itself today? Yes Easy! Why are there now so many cafes with different designs, many design styles, different companies performing a large list of functions? Because creative people develop their thinking.

Creative imagination in a child

Features that hinder creative thinking

Investigating the reasons that prevent a person from demonstrating creative abilities, researchers (K. Hull, R. Thompson, G. Lindsay) identify not only underdeveloped abilities, but also other reasons, including the following:

Conformism (the tendency not to be different from others, not to stand out in actions and judgments), dominating creativity.
Lack of self-confidence, fear of seeming funny or stupid, not like everyone else. Both can come from childhood, if the first attempts at independent thinking or the first creative experience evoked a negative response from adults - ridicule or condemnation, the imposition of a generally accepted, “only true” alternative, or even punishment.
Inability, fear to express one’s opinion openly, to defend it. Fear of a negative reaction following criticism. Increased anxiety, which manifests itself as self-doubt and self-doubt, fear of openly expressing one’s creative ideas. This also includes dependence on conventions, fear of appearing aggressive when expressing criticism of someone else’s opinion.
Overestimating the significance of one’s own creative idea is another feature that hinders creative thinking.
Inability to balance creative and critical thinking. If the first is aimed at discovering new ideas and knowledge, then the second is aimed at evaluating, identifying shortcomings in the judgments of others. At the same time, if one of these ways of thinking dominates, a person either creates, but is not able to critically perceive and evaluate his own ideas, or focuses on criticism, to the detriment of the manifestation of his creative abilities. What to do? First, reflect on your ideas and look at them critically. And secondly, try not only to criticize someone else’s new and original idea, but also to offer your own alternative.
Focusing on failures. Practice shows that in cases where for a long time a person is forced to solve problems beyond the control of his mind, then solving simple ones immediately after a protracted streak of failures can be difficult. What to do? Try to avoid the “period of frequent failures.”

A creative person is distinguished by an amazing combination of intellectual maturity, developed abilities and deep knowledge with a childlike openness to the world. One of the essential qualities of an intellectual personality is developed memory and attention, thinking and perception. Thus, attention allows us to assimilate everything interesting, new and unexpected; it underlies the knowledge of the world. It is from this that both curiosity and creative experimentation subsequently grow. The development of memory is no less important: its readiness (the ability to provide the necessary information at the right moment) determines the possibility or impossibility of solving a problem. You can develop your cognitive abilities regularly and with pleasure using online brain simulators.

We sincerely wish you success in self-development!

Creative thinking tests

Of course, once you've realized the benefits of being a creative person, you'll want to know how creative you are. Therefore, below I give you a list of tests that will help diagnose your level of creativity.

"Torrens test". This is one of the best tests that measure creative thinking. You need to answer the questions without thinking too much about the answers, then you will get truthful results. This is a verbal test, but this technique also has a figurative part, where you should complete the lines at your discretion. This technique is carried out by a specialist.
“Creativity Test.” By answering 20 questions, you will understand whether you can think creatively and creatively. The test is not scientific, but it can help you understand yourself.
“Diagnostics of creativity E. Tunik.” You should answer 50 questions to help you understand yourself. After taking the test, your results will be divided into 4 subcategories: risk taking, imagination, curiosity, complexity.
“Test of Divergent (Creative) Thinking” by Williams. This is a very revealing test by which you can determine the level of creativity of both a child and an adult. According to the instructions, you need to complete 12 images, and the results are assessed according to several criteria. It is better to take this test with a specialist.

How to develop creative thinking and creativity

Various neurophysiological studies have confirmed that creative thinking involves different areas of the brain that were not previously involved. Give your brain freedom and see how it will work towards creativity. You can develop creative thinking in different ways, some of which we will consider in more detail.

Methods of activation and development

Here we will talk about methods of activating creativity, and about development a little lower. It's no secret that sometimes tasks come in too quickly, and the time to develop creativity is very limited. How to quickly activate creativity?

Psychological method

Look at the objects around you with the thought of solving a specific problem. The right solution will appear in your thinking. This is exactly how V.I. Surikov “found” the image for the noblewoman Morozova in the silhouette of a crow in the snow. This method is applicable even for preschool children. See how their imagination will seethe and spill out!

Instrumental method

Ask yourself difficult problems, such as how to bake a cake if you are running out of flour and there are no eggs. By training every day, you will be able to quickly find different ways out of difficult situations. Working using the “brainstorming” method. This stimulates brain function and improves memory.

“Binomial of fantasy”

Play with words. For example, you are a teacher, and you urgently need to come up with material on topic “B” for first-graders. The word “Vanya” (the indicated letter) and, say, “store” are spinning in your head. Spin these words in your brain with prepositions and adverbs. Get materials to give to children. Vanya saw a Bucket, a Vase on the counter in the store, drank some Water, etc.

Creative imagination is the basis of thinking. Therefore, fantasize and imagine, then the solution will come even without effort and awareness. These are the main methods for activating creativity. Such methods not only activate thinking, but also develop a person. In addition, psychology claims that they increase emotional intelligence and self-esteem.

Exercises to develop creative thinking

There are many exercises for developing creativity, often the same ones are applicable for both children and adults.

Brainstorm. This exercise always shows positive results because among many ideas the best ones are found. To develop creative thinking, brainstorming is indispensable in any field. For example, if you need to make a craft for your child for school, sit down with him and give him ideas on the topic of the craft. Take advantage of the realest and best.
Know how to relax. Although it's not an exercise, relaxation does stimulate creative thinking! Psychological studies have proven that while relaxing in the bathroom, a person is more able to invent something and create. When resting, in a state of rest, creativity is activated.
Go back to your childhood! You're in luck with this requirement if you have children. Returning to childhood is a kind of relaxation, liberation from clichés and stereotypes. What else is needed for creativity? This is exactly what you need! Play. Enjoy the gameplay. Switching attention is the best basis for creativity and charisma development!
Create a collage of ideas. Connect visualization: imagine that you are creating the title page of a magazine, and in your imagination “draw” your important thoughts: those that just came to mind or those that you consider absurd. You will get an original idea that will push you to create something new. This is precisely what creativity consists of, to connect the “unconnected.”
Travel, open yourself to everything new. New experiences, acquaintances, places to visit, trips and people will bring new ideas into your life. The development of creativity is stimulated by emotions, impressions and imagination. As new experiences are gained, imagination also develops, which is the basis of creative thinking.
Get enough sleep! Much has been said on the topic of the influence of sleep on brain function, but in this article I will repeat myself. Try to sleep 8 hours a day from 22.00 to 6.00 - this is the most optimal time for the restoration of the brain and all organs. It has been proven that from 22.00 to 24.00 the biological clock “perceives” an hour as two, so at this time the body rests for 10 hours. Average sleep time is 6–8 hours.

This describes the principles under which you will develop, and now a little practice for adults and tips on how to train creativity in pedagogy for children even of primary school age:

Read backwards - wherever you are, train your imagination and thinking by reading backwards: “word” - “ovols”, “singer” - “atsivep”, etc. This is necessary for developing an “outside view” in any problem.
Ask yourself the question “what if...?”, after answering, explain to yourself why that answer. This will help develop solving problem situations, searching for new ideas, that is, lateral thinking.
Love puzzles, anagrams and crosswords. Make words from jumbled letters and look for complex puzzles. This will help you develop the skill of quickly finding an answer to incomprehensible situations, finding meaning, hidden meaning.
Write yourself a letter! This is a wonderful method to re-evaluate something, highlight the main thing, and, oddly enough, develop creativity. This task turns out to be quite difficult for some. But it allows you to look at some things differently.
Write down 5 completely unrelated words. Create a bright, adventure-filled story with them.

Exercise to develop creative thinking

Books on creative thinking

The main condition for the development of creativity is the sooner the better. In preschool age, children have such flexible mental processes that the formation of various skills occurs easily and naturally. But creativity can be developed at any age. The following books will help you with this:

Ponomarev Ya. A. “Psychology of creativity.”
Gatanov Yu. B. “Course in the development of creative thinking for children 6–8 years old.”
Simanovsky A. E. “Development of creative thinking in children.”
Mikalko M. “Rice assault.”
Kleon O. “Steal like an artist.”
Mikalko M. “Hacking creativity.”
Chernyshov D. “How people think.”

Training

Non-standard thinking can and should be developed. Training certain skills gives a huge result: you learn to see more than others, pay attention to little things and notice the unusual in the familiar.

Where can you properly practice new skills? Of course, during the training! I present to your attention a wonderful course “Development of Creative Thinking”, after completing which you will feel a new breath in your life.
The course helps develop thinking, attention, imagination, you will learn to find innovative solutions to problems, create and implement new ideas, and be able to create. 16 unforgettable lessons await you with an experienced creativity development coach Sofia Kosyak.

Formation and training of creative thinking

Formation and training of creative thinking

Introduction

Understanding the nature of creative thinking allows us to gain a deeper understanding of development processes, makes it possible to identify objective patterns of creative thinking and create a system for the development of creative abilities in education. The problem of abilities is, first of all, a complex psychological problem that requires the attention of all branches of this science (from physiological to cognitive).

Only in creative activity does the development of creative abilities occur - mastery of methods (methods) of cognition and transformation of the characteristics of objects. Hence the need arises to intensify the creative, cognitive and practical activities of children. A creative climate is created not only by nurturing curiosity and a taste for non-standard solutions. It is necessary to cultivate a readiness to perceive new things, a desire to use and implement the creative achievements of other people. To learn creative thinking, you need to have knowledge about it. So, the purpose of this work is to study such a phenomenon as “creative thinking”. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were set:

consider the nature of creative thinking

get acquainted with creative thinking methods

consider the conditions, factors and forms of teaching creative thinking.

1. Formation of creative thinking

Creative thinking

Creativity is the processes of objective development of the world, occurring in the system of human (or other rational-subjective) activity and determined by the material and spiritual needs and socio-cultural values of its subjects; carried out through the purposeful resolution of dialectical contradictions in its process and the implementation of optimal opportunities for the individual and society (in accordance with their goals) for the development of the object of creativity.

In the process of creative activity, a person develops and develops creative thinking. What is creative thinking? In psychology, it has been proven that a person has creative thinking if he is able to perform the following groups of logical operations: combine systems and their elements, determine cause-and-effect relationships, and perform research operations. The development of creative thinking should be carried out in the process of teaching methods for solving creative problems, with the help of which students form and develop logical skills in each group. A creative task is a task that requires changing the learned rules or independently drawing up new rules and as a result of which, subjectively or objectively new systems are created - information, structures, substances, phenomena, works of art. In the theory of creativity, along with the concept of a creative task, there is also the concept of a research task. A research problem is a creative task for which it is necessary to perform one or more research operations.