Development of creativity of a future teacher as a condition for their effective work with gifted students

Abstract

Work with gifted students requires a teacher to have special personal and professionally important qualities and creativity occupies a special place among them. A creative teacher can understand the peculiarities of behavior and worldview of a gifted child and possesses the competencies of organizing further development of the creative activity of special children, as well as their relationships with peers. The study is based on the concepts of axiological, humanistic, systemic, and activity approaches, the theory of convergent and divergent thinking, the teachings of an individual as a person and subject, of creativity as a process and a result, the creative nature of a teacher’s work, and theories addressing the creative essence of personality. The stage of university training is deliberately chosen for the study of the problem of development of a teacher’s creativity as a foundation for work with gifted students since the student age is the most sensitive period of this process. In the process of higher education, the development of a future teacher’s creativity in conjunction with their professional and personal qualities is essential as a condition for effective work with gifted students. The identified key psychological and pedagogical conditions for the development of creativity in professional activity focused on work with gifted students include the professional activity orientation of future teachers to work with gifted children, professional knowledge, skills, and competencies focusing on gifted children, and psychological qualities of professional importance for work with gifted students. The article provides a specified definition of creativity, characterizes the signs of a teacher’s creativity, and describes the patterns, conditions, and stages of development of a future teacher’s creativity in the educational process in a higher education institution. The directions for further scientific theoretical and practical activities in the process of development of a future teacher’s creativity in parallel with training to work with gifted children are proposed. A promising direction of work is determining the ways to combine the operational and substantive sides of a teacher’s activity in work with gifted children.