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Gifted children: signs and types of giftedness. Conventionally, three categories of gifted children can be distinguished

Opinions about giftedness vary. One half of the experts believe that all children are gifted, and the other half are confident that it is a rarity to meet such a child.
Factors affecting giftedness:

  • heredity;
  • child's activities;
  • sociocultural environment.

Features of giftedness

In children, each age stage has certain conditions for the development of abilities, but growing up, the child loses giftedness if he has not begun to develop it. Therefore, if you do not notice a special child in time, you may not have time to help him develop what nature has given him.
Some people confuse two fundamentally different concepts: giftedness and learning. This is a gross mistake. Since a gifted child, if he begins to develop his abilities in time, will achieve much more than a child who is simply well trained.

How to identify a gifted child or signs of giftedness?

So, you are in luck, and you met a gifted child in your teaching or educational activities, or if this is your baby, then he definitely fits a child with the following signs:

  • his curiosity knows no bounds. There are no restrictions for him in his activities.
  • he easily concentrates his attention on one thing;
  • he can skip stages of development;
  • he has a large and rich vocabulary;
  • equitable;
  • reads scientific literature easily and with pleasure;
  • he usually refuses daytime sleep and sleeps less than his peers;
  • tries to guide others into action;
  • most of his friends are older than him. He rarely tries to communicate with peers. He is more interested in people who can teach him something.

Types of giftedness

There are different types of giftedness to look out for as your child grows up. Your child can become a famous athlete or artist if you guide him in time.
Views:

  • psychomotor giftedness (characterized by unusual body capabilities, what children dream of will learn to do for years, gifted children master in a couple of classes);
  • the intellectual sphere of giftedness (if your child has a high IQ, help him in development, perhaps you will educate a future scientist);
  • academic talent (at school everything is easy for him - it's time to think);
  • creative giftedness (the baby has been singing or dancing since the age of three, it's time to enroll him in school, let him learn from professionals and develop forward);
  • practical (ingenuity, you need to give the child the opportunity to prove himself);
  • artistic (pay attention suddenly all the theaters of the country will be waiting for your child in the future);
  • communicative (and this is about those who can speak to you like a famous speaker);
  • social (your child may be a born leader).

Your child is the future of our world. Bring up worthy citizens.

We have come to a very interesting group of non-standard children. These are gifted children.

As soon as they are not called: nerds, bespectacled, indigo, hyperactive. Yes, some consider hyperactive as not mediocre. There are different myths about these children. Most common: very smart, obedient, good at school. There is no hassle with them - a solid object of parental and teacher pride. In fact, everything is far from so rosy. What qualities do the representatives of this group possess, and how we often make mistakes in identifying them, read

Types of talents by area of ​​manifestation

So who are they - gifted children, these strange owners of Eldorado? What is giftedness?

1. Intellectual - innate cognitive ability, which is based mainly on the talent for learning (assimilate, analyze information). It has the following well-developed basic components:

  • Memory,
  • speed of perception,
  • retention time of information in memory.

2. Creative. Its author P. Torrens believed: the main thing is not how a student or a preschooler learns. The main thing is the degree of originality, non-standard thinking, non-standard perception. Creative giftedness manifests itself very early. Toddlers begin to "go out of step" as early as 3-5 years old. More about the phenomenon

3. Academic. The most prosperous in our society. Most of the excellent students have it. Easy assimilation of the program is achieved by a decent development of attention, memory, hard work. Colossal hard work is their characteristic feature.

4. Artistic. Musical and artistic talents. It is believed that they do not exist with mental retardation. But here's what's interesting. Many autistic people, most of those enrolled in programs for the mentally retarded, have these abilities. It can only be explained by the fact that in fact these are not mentally retarded schoolchildren, but the specialists who determined their level of development are not sufficiently qualified, or the testing methods are weak.

5. Leadership - the ability to communicate, organize and lead. Leadership can be nurtured from early childhood. There are educational systems that allow any child to experience the role of a leader. And understand: for me or not

6. And, finally, psychomotor - the basis of sports achievements.

Giftedness by the nature of manifestation

  1. wide (for example, Leonardo da Vinci) and narrow;
  2. different in level: from simply increased development of abilities to genius (this is where the lack of mother's love is significantly affected);
  3. different in time of the beginning of development: a child prodigy - an anti-prodigy.

Prodigies are students and preschoolers with early and rapid development. They are usually the first or last in the family (according to the biographies of historical figures), or single children. They have tremendous self-confidence that goes down to self-confidence. Anti-prodigies should be discussed separately.

The attitude towards gifted children is manifested in learning. Different countries have their own approaches. In the Scandinavian countries, France, gifted children are not taught separately, so as not to violate the principle of equality. In the educational system, everyone is equal.

There is another explanation for this approach. Gifted children can stop being gifted. And there are indeed many examples of this, sometimes tragic (example of Nika Turbina). However, this is not reflected in the students. Classes are small, training is carried out according to individual programs. In the summer, talented students gather in camps.

Do I need to work with them on purpose? In many countries, including ours, it is considered that it is necessary. However, in our country, schools and classes for advanced students often turn into those for wealthy students (= students from "good families"). Sad because they are not the same thing. In recent years, centers for talented people have appeared in the Russian educational system. Really gifted children are going there.

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Who are gifted children?

What kind of children are called gifted?
In general, how is giftedness defined in children?

Gifted are children who, according to experts, by virtue of their outstanding abilities, demonstrate high achievements in one or several areas: intellectual, creative or productive thinking, organizational, artistic, sports, etc.

No clear criteria for giftedness have yet been developed, although most experts agree that advanced development is characteristic of gifted children, that is, being ahead of their peers in a number of mental parameters. In the cognitive sphere, this manifests itself in extreme curiosity, the ability to follow several processes at the same time, actively explore the environment, perceive connections between phenomena and draw appropriate conclusions, creating alternative systems in the imagination, etc. with excellent memory and early language development, contributing to the accumulation and intensive use of a large amount of information. In addition, gifted children are often distinguished by concentration and great perseverance in solving tasks, inventiveness and rich imagination. As a rule, they have a developed sense of humor, they like funny inconsistencies, play on words, jokes.
At the same time, they, as a rule, lack emotional balance, they are impatient, impetuous, hyperdynamic, they are often characterized by exaggerated fears and increased vulnerability. As distinctive features of gifted children, an increased energy level is sometimes noted (the duration of sleep, for example, they have less than their peers) or a relatively relative uneven development of various mental functions (for example, the development of coordination of movements may lag behind the development of cognitive abilities), etc.

The problem of the heritability of abilities and giftedness (their inclinations) is very complex, and the hereditary potential does not always serve as a guarantee of future creative productivity. The extent to which creative impulses turn into a creative individuality largely depends on the influence of the adults around gifted children. Sometimes gifted children do not show high achievements due to the lack of intensive and constant pedagogical support.

Where and in what way is the giftedness of children manifested (types of giftedness)?
Usually pay attention and refer to the gifted: children who study well at school; children who have shown themselves vividly in any kind of activity (for example, in music or in drawing) and inquisitive children with original thinking. But in reality there are much more gifted children.

There are different types of giftedness. For example, by type of activity:
- intellectual - the child has increased curiosity, exceptional intelligence, complete immersion in mental activity, etc.;
- creative - ease of generating ideas, the ability to offer qualitatively different, non-repeating solutions, originality of thinking, etc. (note: this is not an artistic and aesthetic endowment and not an intellectual endowment, and there are different points of view on the relationship between intellectual and creative endowments);
- academic, manifested in the successful teaching of individual academic subjects, in the pronounced selectivity of the interests of the child (very often to the detriment of other academic subjects, for which he "gets scolded" from parents and teachers, is this correct?);
- artistic and aesthetic: visual, musical, literary, acting;
- social or leadership (the most late recognized type of giftedness and still causing controversy) associated with the ease of establishing contacts and high quality of interpersonal relationships;
- psychomotor (i.e. sports) - characterized by a person's ability to have objective information about his movements, precisely control his movements and control them (motor, sensory and cognitive abilities).

Determination of abilities.

If your child does not show any special giftedness, this is not at all a reason to call him incapable of anything. Most often, adults pay attention to the child's inclinations and abilities for mathematics or for mastering a foreign language, for literary and visual creativity.

Much less often, the child's tendency to experiment, his organizational and leadership abilities are noted ... Often, children's creativity in these areas is not encouraged at all by parents and teachers.

Most schoolchildren have individual preferences in school subjects or extracurricular activities by the time they finish primary school. Let us today try to determine the child's abilities and inclinations using a special questionnaire.

You will definitely find that he has stronger points that need to be supported and developed. So you can increase his self-confidence, correct self-esteem, overcome seeming indifference to academic subjects, organize his leisure time.

Questionnaire to determine the abilities of your child.
With the help of this questionnaire, which includes research on various special abilities, you can find out which of them your child possesses. Below are eight areas in which a child can show their talents, and their characteristics are given.

How to use the questionnaire.
1. Read the questions carefully.
2. Rate each of the qualities in points (on a 5-point system):
5 points - this quality is strongly expressed in your child;
4 points - expressed above average;
3 points - moderately expressed;
2 points - poorly expressed;
1 point - not expressed at all.

3. Sum the scores for all qualities within each of the areas. Divide the total score within each area by the number of questions in that area.
This questionnaire is a kind of reference scheme for observing the child. The proposed characteristics of abilities will help you when analyzing his behavior, mental and physical development. Of course, the questionnaire does not exhaust all the characteristics of a child's behavior. If you find it necessary, add your own characteristics of his abilities.

Ability to engage in scientific activities.
1. Expresses thoughts clearly and accurately (orally or in writing).
2. Reads books, popular science publications ahead of their peers for a year or two.
3. Has a good ability to understand abstract concepts, establish generalizations.
4. Possesses good sensorimotor coordination (perfectly captures what he sees and clearly records what he hears).
5. After school, he likes to read popular science magazines and books.
6. Don't be discouraged if a project or new idea is not supported by teachers, parents, or if his experiment fails.
7. Tries to find out the reasons and meaning of events.
8. Spends a lot of time creating his own "projects": designing, building, assembling.
9. Likes to discuss scientific events, inventions, often thinks about it.
10. Plastic and open to everything new, does not dwell on the old. He likes to try new ways of solving life problems, does not use already tested options, is not afraid of new attempts, always tests new ideas and only after experimental testing can he abandon them.
Total _____

Musical ability.
1. Very quickly and easily responds to the rhythm and melodies, always listens to them.
2. Sings well.
3. He puts a lot of energy and feelings into playing an instrument, song or dance.
4. Loves music recordings. Aspires to go to a concert or where you can listen to music.
5. In singing or music, expresses feelings, his state.
6. Composes original, his own melodies.
7. Plays an instrument well.
Total _____

Technical ability.
1. Performs well tasks for manual labor.
2. Interested in mechanisms and machines.
3. The world of his hobbies includes the design of machines, devices, aircraft models, trains, radios.
4. Can easily repair damaged appliances, use old parts to create new crafts, toys, appliances.
5. Understands the whims of mechanisms, loves mysterious breakdowns and "search" questions.
6. Likes to draw drawings and sketches of mechanisms.
7. Reads magazines and articles about the creation of new machines and mechanisms.
Total _____

Literary talent.
1. Can easily build a story, starting from the beginning and ending with the resolution of any conflict.
2. Introduces something new and unusual when he talks about something familiar and known to everyone.
3. Adheres only to the necessary details in stories about events, discards everything inessential, leaving the main and most characteristic.
4. Talking about something, he knows how to adhere to the chosen plot, does not lose the main idea.
5. Chooses in his stories such words that well convey the emotional state of the characters, their feelings.
6. Knows how to convey such details that are important for understanding the event, and at the same time does not miss the main line of events that he likes to talk about.
7. Likes to write stories and poetry.
8. Depicts in the stories of his characters very lively, conveys their feelings, mood, character.
Total _____

Artistic ability.
1. Easily enters the role of another character, person, etc.
2. Understands and portrays conflict well when able to act out a dramatic situation.
3. Conveys feelings through facial expressions, gestures, movements.
4. Seeks to provoke emotional reactions in other people when talking about something with enthusiasm.
5. With great ease conveys feelings and emotional experiences.
6. Changes the tone and expression of the voice when portraying another person.
7. Interested in acting.
Total _____

Sports ability.
1. Energetic and gives the impression of a child who needs a lot of physical movement to feel happy.
2. Likes to participate in sports or competition.
3. Permanently excels at some form of sports play.
4. Runs the fastest in class.
5. Coordinated in movements better than others, moves easily and gracefully.
6. Likes to go hiking, play in outdoor sports grounds.
7. He prefers to spend his free time playing hockey, basketball, tennis, football.
Total _____

Intellectual ability.
1. In the classroom, everything is easy and quick to grasp.
2. Has a sense of common sense and uses knowledge in practical everyday situations.
3. Good and clear reasoning, not confused in thoughts.
4. Captures the connection between one event and another, between cause and effect.
5. He understands the unsaid well, realizes what is often not directly expressed to an adult, but is meant.
6. Establishes the reasons for the actions of other people, the motives of their behavior.
7. Quickly remembers what he heard or read without special memorization, does not spend a lot of time repeating what needs to be remembered.
8. Knows a lot about such problems and events that his peers do not even know about.
9. The child has a rich vocabulary, he easily uses new words, accurately expresses his thought.
10. Loves books that are usually read not by peers, but by children a year or two older.
11. Solves complex problems that require mental effort.
12. Asks a lot of questions. He is interested in many things and often asks adults about it.
13. He is ahead of his peers in studies for a year or two, that is, he really should be studying in an older class than he is studying now. He often gets bored in the classroom due to the fact that the educational material is already well known to him from books, magazines, stories of adults.
14. Thinks in an original way and offers unexpected answers, solutions.
15. Very receptive, observant, reacts quickly to new and unexpected.
Total _____

Artistic ability.
1. In his drawings - a wide variety of objects, situations, people (there is no uniformity in the subjects).
2. Takes art seriously. He becomes thoughtful and very serious when he sees a good painting, unusual sculpture, beautifully and artistically executed thing.
3. He is original in the choice of the subject, makes original compositions of flowers, drawings, stones, etc.
4. I am always ready to use any new material for the manufacture of toys, paintings, drawings, compositions, in construction on the playground, in working with scissors, glue.
5. When he has free time, he willingly draws, sculpts, creates things of artistic value (home decorations, clothes, etc.).
6. Resorts to drawing and sculpting in order to express his feelings and mood.
7. Is interested in works of art created by other people. He can express his own assessment trying to reproduce what he liked, in his drawing or in a toy or sculpture made with his own hands.
8. Likes to work with plasticine, clay, making it possible to depict what he saw in three dimensions.
Total _____

A gifted child at school.
Specialists in working with gifted children have long noticed that most often they grow up in intelligent families. And the point here is not at all in the special genes of genius - their nature divided them equally among all children. The point is in the family atmosphere, in the system of family values.
What is the reason for the giftedness of the child?

In general, all parents encourage and wish to develop cognitive needs and various abilities in their child. But they only do it, of course, in different ways.

1. Parents constantly offer their children some kind of developmental games, activities, interests: let's do something, play this game, read this book, go to this museum ... With a certain persistence and consistency, such a strategy brings results. But often a child develops an internal protest, even with external obedience. Sometimes this is expressed in the child's increased fatigue from any intellectual activities.
2. Parents entrust the definition of abilities and their development in a child to specially trained people. There are a lot of services of this kind now being offered. These are development groups for preschoolers, and preparation for school groups, and all kinds of specialized classes in schools. Of course, with a good level of such services, the benefits for the child are undeniable. But on condition that the parents are not going to completely shift the worries about its development onto the shoulders of specialists.
3. Parents do not seek to totally control the development of the child's abilities, but instead provide him with opportunities for choice and try to find a good school. The most important thing in such families is the atmosphere of bright cognitive interests of the parents themselves. They themselves are constantly passionate about something, read a lot, choose educational programs in television programs, try to visit a new exhibition, not imposing all this on the child, but giving him the opportunity to find a suitable occupation himself. As it turned out, this self-development strategy is the most effective.

Is it good to be gifted?
Of course, a child's development cannot be limited to the family alone. Sooner or later, the gifted child will go to school. Not every kind of giftedness is related to school and finds conditions for development there. For example, the so-called social (leadership) giftedness, for obvious reasons, is not always encouraged by teachers, and even by parents. They just don't know what to do with such children.

The talent that manifested itself early in the field of arts (musical, artistic, acting) or in sports, perhaps, has no direct relation to school either. Often such a child does not feel very comfortable at school: due to constant employment, he communicates less with classmates, often skips classes in connection with concerts or competitions. These children often have emotional problems due to the high competition with other children in their "specialty".

Other types of giftedness are important to success in mainstream school.

There are children with a pronounced ability to learn, to assimilate the educational material offered to them. Moreover, they show this ability regardless of the difficulty of the subject and their own interests. This is the so-called academic giftedness. For children with this type of giftedness, school life is much easier, their parents are pleased with their successes. And later it is easier for them to get a good specialty and achieve success in their work. It is generally accepted that such children usually do not reach any special heights.

Other schoolchildren are distinguished by special intellectual talent, the ability to think, compare, highlight the main thing, draw independent conclusions, predict, etc. But, unfortunately, the success of such children most often depends on their attitude, interest in the subject and its teacher. They can study unevenly (now "five", then "two"): brilliantly in one subject and so-so in another.

A special kind of giftedness is creative giftedness. This refers not only to the ability to visual, musical or literary activity. Creative giftedness is, first of all, a non-standard perception of the world, originality of thinking, a rich emotional life.

How do gifted children live at school?

No easier than any other child. At the same time, children with a specific type of giftedness may have different adaptation problems. Perhaps the easiest to adapt in school are the "academically gifted". They delight parents and teachers with their success. They do not have any special problems in communicating with their peers - they are always ready to explain something, help, even "let them write off". And their extracurricular interests usually do not differ from those of their classmates.

The "intellectuals" in schools are treated with condescension. They admire their abilities in one area (for example, physics or mathematics) and forgive sometimes complete failure in something else (for example, illiteracy in writing). Often they delight the school with their brilliant success at Olympiads of various levels. These children are often so absorbed in their intellectual hobbies that they do not feel a special need for attention from classmates. Although they may have rather persistent selective affections (for example, among fans of their "talent").

Sports and musical abilities in children are detected early enough. If such schoolchildren achieve very high results in their field, they almost stop attending an ordinary mass school due to their employment. Classmates and teachers can admire their achievements from afar. Such children often experience emotional distress because of the high competition in their "professional" environment.

Some psychologists believe that creatively gifted children in a regular school do not receive proper understanding from adults and peers, they are ridiculed and almost persecuted. Therefore, the solution is to place them in special schools for the gifted.

Not all experts agree with this point of view. If a child is talented, this does not automatically mean that he will be incompetent in communicating with peers. Sometimes these children show arrogance in relation to the surrounding children ("What to talk to them about?") Or to their teachers ("What can they teach me?"). In this case, communication problems will arise. But these are rather the costs of family education, and not at all an attribute of creative giftedness. Most often, children with artistic, artistic, poetic abilities enjoy well-deserved admiration in their own class, fame at school and all kinds of support from teachers.

How to recognize the giftedness of a child?
All gifted children have a distinct search need. They experience vivid, intense emotions when doing a certain job. They are also distinguished by an extraordinary sense of purpose, the ability to long-term concentration of attention, the ability to manage their activities (in a certain area).

Intellectual giftedness and creative giftedness are not directly related. The famous researcher in the field of creativity E. Torrance said that if we identified gifted children on the basis of intelligence tests, then we would have eliminated 70 percent of the most creative of them.

In what area will a gifted child prove himself? This can be judged by observations or the results of special tests. But you should not impose the results of your observations or tests on him. It is better to provide conditions for the wide manifestation of its capabilities.

"10 Commandments for Creative Parents":
1. Achieve yourself success in what you love!
2. Build a relationship with your child on trust!
3. Accept your child, of course, do not demand drastic changes from him!
4. Try to think positively, believe in the success of your child!
5. Strive for self-knowledge - this is a good example!
6. Be sensitive to your child's experiences!
7. Let your child be the situational leader of your relationship!
8. Set only such restrictions that help the child to take responsibility!
9. Create in the child a sense of security in the system of your relationships - so that he can freely express his "I"!
10 Try to keep your words in line with your deeds!

Among the junior high school students there are gifted children, but not all children who are successful in learning are gifted. On the other hand, not all gifted people become excellent students.

According to the eminent Swiss psychiatrist, founder of analytical psychology Carla G. Jung (1875-1961), "a gifted person is, from a biological point of view, a deviation from the average measure." The rejection is beautiful, the best of all. Which parent does not dream that their child will show extraordinary abilities? What teacher wouldn't want to cultivate talent, be proud of their student's achievements? In this context, a number of questions arise. First, what is giftedness, is it always visible, and what might be the dynamics of its development? Secondly, does giftedness lead to a harmonious personality formation or not, and what problems arise on this basis during school years?

Both in literature and in the opinions of people far from psychology, two images of a gifted child have developed. One of them is a thin and pale "bookworm". Such a child is certainly weak, physically undeveloped, he cannot give back to his less intelligent peers and has already managed to spoil his eyesight - glasses become his obligatory attribute. This is a child out of this world, a "little old man", from an early age absorbed in solving non-childish problems. Another image is exactly the opposite: a gifted child is superior to ordinary children in all respects. He is taller, prettier, stronger than his peers. In general, perfect.

Of course, from the point of view of psychological science, both ideas are wrong. In terms of physical parameters, gifted children are just as different from each other as children of "average norm". Foreign psychologists note only one physical characteristic that distinguishes gifted children (and even not an external one) - a high energy level. It allows you to do something with full dedication for a long time, stay awake for a long time and sleep less. The main criterion for judging giftedness is intelligence quotient (eng. Intelligence Quotient - IQ).

As is known, IQ - indicator calculated during testing. Mind tests, which are widespread in the West, are also known in our country. Most often, school psychologists use D. Wechsler's tests and the so-called Stanford-Vine scale. The smart score is calculated as follows:

If a child solves all tasks intended for his age, and his mental age is therefore equal to the chronological, "passport" age, then IQ = 100 points. Children who cope with more complex tasks designed for the next age period gain more than 100 points. Those who received more than 120-130 points on testing are considered gifted.

In school years, giftedness usually manifests itself in an easy and quick assimilation of educational material. Everyone knows excellent students who learn without much effort, without cramming, grasping everything on the fly. They not only perfectly memorize, capture the material, but also process, generalize it, find a place for it in the existing system of knowledge and, at the right time, extract it and reproduce it. There are few such children; more often in schools, those who put colossal work into their studies "go for a medal", completely subordinating their lives during this period to one goal - to achieve high academic performance. They are less capable, but they are more efficient. Note that deep and complete involvement in educational activities contributes not only to the productivity of untalented students, but also to the development of their abilities.

Pupils to whom teaching is easy have a high ability to assimilate knowledge, or the so-called school talent. Sometimes they are called intellectuals.

But among schoolchildren there are also gifted children who do not achieve high results in learning.

American psychologist Alice P. Torrance (1915-2003), the test of which is often used in modern Russian schools, drew attention to poorly performing students. Among them, he found children with a different type of giftedness - creative. They are not able to easily study different subjects; assimilation of a large amount of available data, experience of someone else's essence, is generally a big problem for them. They are strong in something else - in solving complex problems, looking for non-standard ways, ways of acting. They are characterized by originality of thinking, creation of something new, creativity.

Concerning IQ, then it is high both among intellectuals and among the creatively gifted, but there is one interesting pattern. A high level of creativity is combined with a high general intelligence: in "creative" children IQ also more than 120 points. An increase in the level of intelligence in the range from 120 to 170 points does not cause a corresponding increase in creativity. Very high general intelligence (/ Q = 170-180) does not contribute to the development of creative abilities. An adult who has risen to such a level becomes an encyclopedist, a systematizer of scientific knowledge, a brilliant analyst and critic. It is believed that excessive criticality and focus on the assimilation of knowledge interfere with creativity, the creation of fundamentally new ideas. This is the same obstacle to the development of creative abilities, creativity, as a lack of knowledge, low intelligence.

High abilities to assimilate knowledge and high creative abilities determine two types of giftedness - "keepers of knowledge" and "generators of ideas". Society, of course, needs people with different talents, but traditionally in European culture, creativity is especially valued. Note that, for example, the eastern culture of this ns presupposes: in such an economically developed country as Japan, both schoolchildren and adult professionals are all focused on assimilating knowledge and acquiring skills that allow them to do work in the most efficient way.

School and creative endowments - varieties mental giftedness. In addition to her, there are special abilities that determine the motor (the child manifests it, for example, in sports, dancing), social (organizational capabilities) and practical giftedness (manifested in various spheres of human activity - cooking, working with wood or metal, sewing, growing flowers, etc.). About social giftedness, which includes surprisingly wide opportunities for communication with other people, K. Jung wrote: “Along with the gift of the mind, there is the gift of the heart, which is no less important, but it’s easy to overlook. Such people are often more useful and valuable for the well-being of society in more generally than other talents. "

It is important to note the following: in whatever area special abilities are manifested, at the core they always have sufficiently developed general abilities. That is why the widespread belief that outstanding athletes do not shine with intelligence or, say, about the limitations of rural school students, who then turn out to be excellent workers in agriculture, becomes a big mistake. In addition, the school does not reveal all types of abilities. If a student has not shown himself in any way in learning, it does not follow that he does not have potential abilities, he could not manifest them in favorable conditions and in general will never show them in the future.

In this regard, the following question arises: should only those children be considered gifted who early revealed their extraordinary capabilities? What is the dynamics of the development of high abilities?

Modern Russian psychologists N. S. Leites, V. E. Chudnovsky and V. S. Yurkevich, who work with gifted children, distinguish two main ways of their development.

The first way is early development. Typically, in childhood, mental talent and special abilities in the field of art and science (for example, music, mathematics) begin to develop intensively. At the same time, the child shows his abilities brightly, achieves noticeable success in one or several types of activity at once. The adults around him see and appreciate the giftedness, they pin great hopes on the child.

In some cases, the initially set rate of development is maintained, which leads to outstanding achievements in adulthood. There are relatively few of those who showed themselves early and retained their gift throughout adulthood. Famous names include composers Wolfgang A. Mozart and Franz Liszt, scholars Blaise Pascal and Gottfried V. Leibniz, writer Alexander Griboyedov.

Often the pace of development slows down, and the child, at best, for a while "gets stuck" on what has been achieved. A slow, steady decline after a quick take-off is also possible, which in school and subsequent years is painfully perceived both by the child himself and by his relatives, who expected great success from him.

The second way - giftedness remains unnoticed in childhood and manifests itself later. A period of relatively slow mental development is followed by a stormy rise, when the child, completely unexpectedly for those around him, begins to outstrip his peers and achieves significant success. This often occurs in adolescence, as, for example, in Newton, whose giftedness did not appear until the age of 11. An example that has become a textbook is the biography of Albert Einstein. He was considered a completely incapable child and was expelled from the gymnasium at the age of 15. He was admitted to the Higher Polytechnic School in Zurich only the second time.

It is assumed that there is a third path that can be traversed by the gifted. These people, having received rich inclinations from nature, could not realize their potential throughout their lives. For the development of abilities, it is not enough to have good inclinations, you also need to work: abilities develop only in activity. There is no fully developing activity - and the potential remains unclaimed, there can be no talk of any significant achievements. Any abilities, apparently, can remain undeveloped, but there is reason to believe that there are especially many creatively gifted people among those who have not realized their abilities. It is for creative natures that it is most difficult to adapt to life, find their place in society, achieve success, and show their originality. When a major US firm recruited employees with creative abilities, they were found among young people without qualifications and stable earnings.

Considering the problem of the early development of children and tracing their further life path, Vygotsky distinguishes between the so-called prodigies ("miracle children") and talented children, truly gifted. Prodigy from early childhood he amazes those around him with any exceptional abilities - musical, artistic, mathematical, the ability to reason "like an adult". Moreover, it is not themselves, for example, mathematical abilities that cause surprise, but the fact that they appear early, in such a small child. Such accelerated development, when a child quickly goes through each age stage, constantly outstripping his peers, does not become optimal, useful. Most geeks grow up to be ordinary people with average (or even lower than average) abilities.

If a child prodigy admires that he looks like older children, then a really gifted, talented child draws attention to himself with qualities characteristic of his age, but only exhaustively, fully developed. The prodigy is characterized by "running ahead", in its development there are signs of future ages. As L. S. Vygotsky notes, an adult genius differs from each of us not in that at the age of 30 he shows the experience characteristic of a 90-year old man, and in that he brings the same features of a 30-year-old to genius proportions.

Giftedness is a systemic quality of the psyche that develops during life, which determines the ability of a person to achieve higher, outstanding results in one or more types of activity in comparison with other people.

A gifted child is a child who stands out for bright, obvious, sometimes outstanding achievements (or has internal prerequisites for such achievements) in a particular type of activity.

Childhood is a period of formation of abilities and personality. This is the time of deep integrative processes in the child's psyche against the background of its differentiation. The level and breadth of integration determine the characteristics of the formation and maturity of the phenomenon itself - giftedness. The progress of this process, its delay or regression determine the dynamics of the development of giftedness.

One of the most controversial issues concerning the problem of gifted children is the question of the frequency of manifestation of children's giftedness. There are two extreme points of view: "all children are gifted" - "gifted children are extremely rare." Supporters of one of them believe that almost any healthy child can be developed to the gifted level, provided that favorable conditions are created. For others, giftedness is a unique phenomenon, in this case the focus is on finding gifted children. This alternative is removed in the framework of the following position: potential prerequisites for achievements in various types of activities are inherent in many children, while a significantly smaller proportion of children demonstrate real outstanding results.

Giftedness is often manifested in the success of activities that have a spontaneous, self-directed nature. For example, a child who is keen on technical design can build their models with enthusiasm at home, but at the same time not show similar activity either in school or in specially organized extracurricular activities (circle, section, studio). In addition, gifted children do not always strive to demonstrate their achievements in front of others. So, a child who composes poetry or stories can hide his hobby from the teacher.

Thus, one should judge the giftedness of a child not only by his school or extracurricular affairs, but by the forms of activity initiated by him.

1.2. Types of giftedness

There are three types of giftedness:

Academic;

Intellectual;

Creative.

Academic giftedness- "the ability to master brilliantly, that is, to learn."

The following terms are significant for academic giftedness:

    intellectual abilities

    motivation

    creativity

The psychological characteristics of children who demonstrate academic giftedness can be viewed only as signs accompanying giftedness, but not necessarily as generating it. Therefore, the presence of these psychological characteristics can only serve as a basis for the assumption of academic giftedness, and not for the conclusion about its unconditional presence.

A special place among gifted children is held by intellectual geeks... These are precocious children, whose capabilities are manifested at an extremely high outstripping rate of development of mental abilities. They are characterized by an extremely early, from 2-3 years old, mastering of reading, writing and counting; mastering the program of three years of study by the end of the first grade; choice of complex activities of his own free will (a five-year-old boy writes a "book" about birds with illustrations made by himself, another boy at the same age composes his own encyclopedia of history, etc.). They are distinguished by an unusually high development of individual cognitive abilities (brilliant memory, unusual strength of abstract thinking, etc.).

Creative giftedness- this is a characteristic not only of the highest level of performance of any activity, but of its transformation and development.

1.3. Portrait of a gifted child

1. Shows curiosity about many things, constantly asks questions.

2. Offers a lot of ideas, solutions to problems, answers to questions.

3. Freely expresses his opinion, persistently, energetically defends it.

4. Is inclined to take risky actions.

5. Possesses a rich imagination, imagination. Often preoccupied with transformation, improvement of society, objects.

6. Has a well-developed sense of humor, sees humor in situations that may not seem funny to others.

7. Sensitive to beauty, attentive to the aesthetics of things.

8. Not conflicted, not opportunistic, not afraid to distinguish himself from others.

10. Strives for self-expression, creative use of objects.

1.4. Socio-psychological portrait of a gifted child

I. The influence of the social environment on giftedness.

1. The results of various researchers considering the influence of the social environment (socio-economic relations, material security, social conditions, etc.) on giftedness are not unambiguous. But, it is possible to draw the following conclusions: socio-economic conditions affect the development of giftedness, because they determine the standard of living of a person; the more economically developed a society is, the more favorable are the opportunities for human development.

2. A very important condition for the development of giftedness is the family, namely: the structure and emotional climate of the family, styles of parental relationships, the attitude of parents to children's giftedness.

R. Hess and V. Shipman divided parental interaction styles into imperative and instructive.

The first one is characterized by unambiguous commands, for example: "Do as I said ...", "Sit quietly ...".

Parents expect from the child unquestioning observance of their instructions, their relationship is based on the authority of an adult.

This style develops passive compliance in the child, along with dependence and conformism.

The instructional style contains more information, and the requirements are justified: "Take the toys away, and I will sweep the floor ...".

Parents talk with the child "on equal terms", prove that their requirements are logical and reasonable. It fosters initiative and firmness.

Another important aspect is the attitude of parents towards children's giftedness. Obviously, this factor is one of the main factors affecting the realization of the child's capabilities. Relationship types: negative, ignorant, positive,

II. Features of cognitive activity.

Distinguished by the breadth of perception, gifted children keenly feel everything that happens in the world around them and are extremely curious about how this or that object works. They are able to monitor several processes at the same time and tend to actively explore everything around them.

They have the ability to perceive connections between phenomena and objects and draw appropriate conclusions; they like to create alternative systems in their imagination.

Excellent memory, combined with early speech development and the ability to classify and categorize, help such a child accumulate a large amount of information and use it intensively.

Gifted children have a large vocabulary that allows them to freely and clearly express their thoughts.

Along with the ability to perceive semantic ambiguities, to maintain a high threshold of perception for a long time, they are happy to deal with complex problems that do not even have a practical solution, they do not tolerate when ready-made answers are imposed on them.

They are distinguished by a long period of concentration and great persistence in solving problems.

The enthusiasm for tasks characteristic of a gifted child, combined with a lack of experience, often leads to the fact that he tries to do what he is not yet able to do.

III. Psychosocial sensitivity.

Gifted children display a heightened sense of justice; advanced moral development is based on the advanced development of perception and cognition.

They sharply react to the injustice of the world around them, make high demands on themselves and those around them.

Vibrant imagination, playfulness, creativity, ingenuity, and imagination (imaginary friends, siblings) are common in gifted children.

Children have a great sense of humor, they love funny inconsistencies, play on words, jokes.

They lack emotional balance, and gifted children are impatient and impetuous at an early age.

Sometimes they are characterized by exaggerated fears and increased vulnerability. They are extremely sensitive to non-verbal cues from others.

Self-centeredness at this age is the same as in ordinary children.

Often, gifted children develop negative self-perception, difficulties arise in communicating with peers.

IV. Physical characteristics.

Gifted children are characterized by a high energy level, and they sleep less than usual.

Their motor coordination and hand control often lag behind cognitive abilities. They need practice. The difference in the intellectual and physical development of such children can discourage them and develop dependence.

The vision of gifted children (under the age of 8) is often unstable, it is difficult for them to change focus from close to far.

V. Features of the system of relations.

In preschool age, the leading activity is role play.

Children have a rather pronounced and stable need to communicate with peers, and the need for recognition from the outside develops.

In older preschool age, along with the most significant adults for the child, a peer group also becomes a reference.Some features of the behavior and personality of a gifted child can lead to misunderstanding by their peers, conflict in their relationships, up to the child's isolation from the children.

Among the reasons are: the inability to listen to the interlocutor, the desire for dominance, to take on the role of the organizer of joint games, the tendency to demonstrate their own knowledge (which is largely consolidated by adults), the desire to monopolize the attention of an adult, intolerance towards less successful children, inconsistency, the habit of correcting others, etc. L. Homienguert points to another reason for the possible isolation of gifted children - due to their high mental development, they may not be interested in the games of their peers.

Faced with difficulties in relationships with peers and not understanding their reasons, such children often strive for friendship with adults or with older children.

But in dealing with the latter, they may have difficulties.

The reason is that the elders are ahead in physical development, due to which it is difficult for gifted children to become a leader in such a society.

Gifted children, to a greater extent than their peers with a normal level of development, are subject to the negative influence of disadvantage in the sphere of interaction and relationships due to their increased sensitivity to social reality.

Therefore, various violations in communication with people can significantly affect their self-image and their capabilities, while the most important condition for realizing their potential is the presence of a positive self-concept in such children.

Vi. Behavioral features indicating socio-psychological maladjustment.

Prolonged suppression of the intellectual and expressive needs of a gifted child can lead to emotional difficulties, neuroses and even psychosis.

Neuroses can cause periods of depression when the child is unable to understand the reasons for the rejection of those around him natural tendencies and aspirations.

He can go into an imaginary world, where the border between reality and fiction is erased.

Because of hidden, unconscious high parental expectations in a child, a child may develop a desire to bring all perfection - perfectionism.