Group Activity as the Psychological Factor of the Developing of Learners’ Creativity

Abstract

The aim of research is: to investigate the level of the development of creative potential of students – future foreign language teachers, to apply the program of group activity developed by us in order to develop the creativity of respondents, to analyze its effectiveness.

The following theoretical methods of the research were used to solve the tasks formulated in the article: a categorical method, structural and functional methods, the methods of the analysis, systematization, modeling, generalization. Also we used experimental methods, such as statement research. For the last one we used such methodology, as: The Methodology «Motivation of the professional activity» by K. Zamfir in the modification of A. Rean, «The Methodology of determining the orientation of the individual» (by V. Smekalo and M. Kucher). Also we used the ranking technique, the main task of which was to identify the most important criteria of pedagogical skills, which, according to respondents, will mostly influence the formation of creative potential.

The results of the research. Thus, the analysis of our results has shown that the creative potential of the person is manifested and acquired in the process of such activities, which gives this activity a problem-creative, exploratory nature. Our own experience of creative activity should be the basic element, given of which may be the formation of other elements (knowledge, skills, human attitude to the world, etc.). In this case, the education and upbringing of students from the early beginning will have the aim of the development of their personality, and, consequently, the development of students’ creative potential.

The results having been obtained by us allow us to use the psychological mechanisms of the development of creative personal traits (the activity, reflexive mechanisms of the person, the formation of self-estimation, self-regulation) in the process of professional training of students at higher educational institutions. Thus, in the basis of empirical and theoretical (semantic) abstraction and generalization there are mental actions that are controlled by reflexive mechanisms. The learner in the process of his/her activity takes the position of a researcher, a creator, who is capable of reflexive analysis of his/her own actions. In such a way the procedure of reflection is closely related to self-esteem and self-regulation, these processes in the course of learning, according to the theory of group learning, which are also given considerable importance.

Conclusions. It was proved, that the developmental nature of group learning largely depends on the means and methods of obtaining theoretical knowledge by individuals. The content of developmental group learning is didactically built on the logic of theoretical thinking (the leading role belongs to the theoretical semantic generalization, deduction, semantic reflection, etc.).

The procedural characteristics of the theory of developmental group learning include:

– the concept of purposeful educational activity, which differs from those positions that it has the aim at obtaining by the subjects of learning not only knowledge, skills and abilities, but also to achieve a theoretical level of thinking of the individual. These characteristics are: the presence of the learner, internal cognitive motives derived from cognitive needs; the presence of a clear goal of conscious self-change, understanding and acceptance by individuals of all information without the choice of educational tasks; the occupation by the learner of the position of a full-fledged subject of the activity, which is capable of independent implementation of all stages of this activity: goal formulation, activity planning, goal realization and the analysis (the evaluation of the results of the activity); active mastering of theoretical knowledge, skills, ways of carrying out mental actions, purposeful planning and providing actions, mastering of the general principles of the decision of problems and solving creative tasks (the student takes a position of the researcher-creator); the reflexive nature of the analysis of the person’s own actions, the experience of creative reflection, which are the basic elements in the formation and the development of the personal traits;

– the problematization of the activity – the problematic explanation by the teacher the educational material, which causes for students a remarkable creative effort to present their own opinions creatively, to formulate conclusions, hypotheses and test them in constructive dialogues with opponents;

– the use of the method of educational tasks, which consists of the fact that the solution of the problem is not in finding a certain conclusion, but in finding general methods of actions, the principles of solving similar problems by a whole class.