Kazakh National Pedagogical University named after Abai

Turalbaeva A.T. PhD doctorantura

SOME PROBLEMS OF TEACHER’S WORK WITH GIFTED CHILDREN

President N. Nazarbayev in his Appeal to the people of Kazakhstan pointed out that «the education system should supply the youth with not only certain amount of knowledge but also teach them to use their knowledge in the process of social adaptation”. Therefore the main goal of education system is to train and to form an educated and intellectually developed individual who has fully mastered culture and literature, history and traditions of his/her own country.

The Law about Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan says that the education system must provide intellectual development of each child depending on his/her abilities. The problem of teaching and education of the gifted children is being discussed all over the world.

The society experiencing structural changes presents new requirements to educational sphere due to changes in a state and social order for educational facilities. Amongst them the problem of gifted children occupies one of the leading places. The problems of their development have been the subject to the teacher’s and psychologist’s attention for many centuries.

One can note that it is typical for gifted children to demonstrate high velocity development of the intellectual creative sphere, deep and non-traditional thinking, however, due to a number of reasons not all the signs of the gifted can be shown at a certain stage.

We should bear in mind that we can speak about three categories of gifted children:

1) those with unusual high general level of the mental development while other things being equal (such children more often can be met in preschool and younger school ages);

2) those with sign of the special mental gifts, i.e. in a certain field of the science (they are usually teen-agers);

3) those who are not very successful in their studies due to some reasons but possessing bright cognitive activity, originality of the psychic storehouse and outstanding mental reserve.

We offer some ways of development of mental abilities of gifted children such as: - At a group method of the solution of problems to exclude criticism, to give the chance to come up with any idea without fear that he/she will receive condemnation. To give the chance to alter, combine somehow the ideas which have been put forward by other members of the group.

- To use receptions of identification of him/her with any element or process of a problem situation, for example, with a mobile part of the mechanism, the car detail, flying electronic and so on.

- To apply fantastic analogies at which the problem can mentally be solved as in “magic fairy tale”, by ignoring of fundamental laws of the nature. For example, it is admissible to switch off terrestrial gravitation, a velocity of light and so on.

- It is necessary to expect essential correlation between sense of humor and creative potential. The life experience proves that undoubtedly there is dependence here though to show it strictly experimentally is not easy because of the difficulties of development of reliable tests on sense of humor.

- To practise communication with highly intellectual people whose professions are close to you, but also with those who are very far. It is especially significant if the exchange of thoughts with them is rather interesting, not trivial and demands intellectual tension, then it quite often stimulates intellectual activity and thanks to analogies it appears useful to the solution of purely professional problems which contents has no direct relation to conversation subject. In particular, heads of some American firms willingly invite historians and philosophers to the staff: specific features of their "humanitarian" thinking help the solution of the specific technical and administrative tasks.

- Writing of reports, articles and books quite often promotes the solution of complex problems as the process of a statement helps ordering of the saved-up material and problem explanation for oneself.

- Quite often necessary analogy comes not from adjacent analogy, but from a very far area, which seems to have no common ground with a problem to be solved. Therefore the broad outlook, acquaintance with many fields of knowledge is necessary for intellectual activity and culture.

On the basis of the analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature we can allocate the following as the main directions of work with gifted children:

а) the system of preschool educational institutions, first of all kindergartens of an all-developing type. The centers of development of the child in which optimum conditions for formation of abilities of preschool children, and also training centers for children of preschool and younger school age providing continuity of the environment and methods of development of children upon transition to school are created;

b) the system of comprehensive schools within which conditions for individualization of training of gifted children are created;

c) the system of additional education intended for satisfaction of constantly changing individual social, cultural and educational needs of gifted children, and allowing to provide identification, support and development of their abilities within out-of-school activity;

d) the system of schools focused on work with gifted children (including lyceums, gymnasiums of non-standard educational institutions of the highest category, etc.) both urged to provide support and development of possibilities of such children in the course of receiving the general secondary education.

One of the main directions of work of modern school is creation of conditions for optimum development of gifted children, including children, whose endowments currently are not shown yet, and also simply capable children concerning whom there is a serious hope of a further quantum leap in development of their abilities.

The care about the gifted children today is the care about developments of science, culture and social life tomorrow. There are already ways of identification of such children, the programs aimed at assistance in their abilities’ realization are being developed.

In our opinion, a Russian psychologist E.L.Melnikova's classification of the gifted is of interest:

ІІІ - “wants to study” (active at lessons, sense of duty, integrity, high educational motivation);

ІІ - “can study” (excellent memory and attention, developed thinking, competent speech, high intelligence, good processing of information, ability to training)

І - “creates his own” (interesting questions, unusual hypotheses and ideas, own opinions and decisions, original products, non-standard in thinking and in general in everything)

The success in work with the gifted is often defined by professional and personal qualification of the teacher. The basic components of professional qualification of the teacher include:

- general vocational pedagogical training

- subject, psychological and pedagogical competence;

- main professionally significant personal qualities of the teacher.

Working at modernization of approaches and methods of the work with the gifted we have prepared a special course for teachers entitled "Education of gifted children in collaboration of a family and a school”

The aim of the special course:

-formation of professional competence of future teachers who can work with the gifted in condition of family and school collaboration

The course objectives:

-to show future teachers the necessity of setting partnership relations with the family of a gifted child;

-to develop future primary school teachers’ abilities to assist gifted children in different circumstances using pedagogical and psychological possibilities ;

-to introduce future primary school teachers with the peculiarities of the work with gifted children and their families taking into account specific features of such children.

The documents of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan must serve as the legislative basis of the course. Some questions of general teaching process are to be adapted and updated to modern demands. The development of motivative and cognitive peculiarities of the gifted child can be considered as the factor of scientific-technical and social-economic processes of a modern society.

References:

1. The Law on Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan., - Almaty: Lawyer, 2002.

2. Appeal to the People of Kazakhstan by President N.A. Nazarbayev, Аstana, 2012.

3. N.A. Nazarbayev, Order of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan “About State support and development of schools for gifted children”, №2002 from 24.05.1996, p.8.

4. L.M. Narikbayeva The teacher’s work with gifted children. Аlmaty.-2003.

5. Y.L. Melnikova “The work with the gifted - here and now!” Primary school, М:2000,№3.