FEATURES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL DIAGNOSTICS OF CREATIVE ABILITIES OF SENIOR PRESCHOOL AGE CHILDREN

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Literature review
In modern Russian education, a personality-oriented educational paradigm prevails, in which a special place is given to the development of individual independence and creative initiative. In this sense, the search for effective ways to develop the creative potential of a person at different stages of his life is relevant.
Preschool age is a period of intensive development of creative abilities. The brightness of the child's feelings and imagination, the immediacy of his perception of the surrounding world, and the active knowledge of the world create prerequisites for the formation of creative activity during this period.
"Creatively minded people are distinguished by their ability to change the design, to redefine the environment so that it meets their intellectual needs and requirements. By definition, the ability of creative people to adapt to changing conditions is higher simply because they themselves create the conditions for a more successful and full realization of their potential" [1, p.189].
Today, the problem of developing creative abilities in preschoolers is not new,but it is still relevant. The relevance of the development of a creative personality, capable of making atypical decisions, dominating the situation of novelty, expanding the boundaries of the known, is justified by modern trends in the development of the national educational system in the sense that the education of the individual must meet the requirements of a developing society. The importance of studying the problem of diagnosing creative abilities is due to its weak development, the lack of a wide variety of diagnostic tools that allow us to identify the creative potential of a person.
Stimulating creative development in preschool age increases children's ability to learn, increases their readiness to learn in school, which plays a fundamental role in shaping the holistic development of the individual. A high level of intellectual development, the ability to create, the ability to self-knowledge – all these are the main factors of successful learning and prevention of school maladjustment.
Ability by definition is a personality trait that characterizes your success in a certain activity and the ability to perform this activity without excessive effort [2, p. 59].
In the scientific literature, there are many interpretations and definitions of the term "abilities". B. M. Teplov interprets abilities as "individual psychological characteristics that distinguish one person from another and are associated with the success of one or many types of activities" [3, p.4-20].
According to K. S. Platonov, abilities are considered as "a part of the personality structure, which, being activated in a particular type of activity, determines its quality" [4, p. 2].
According to the famous psychologist N. With. The Leites, "ability – it's personality traits that affect the feasibility and the degree of success" [5, p. 6].
L. A. Wenger, believes that ability is a psychological qualities necessary for the execution of any activity and manifested in it [6, p. 32-38].
Therefore, most scientists understand abilities as individual, rather than innate personality traits that allow you to achieve a high level of skill in a particular activity.
Thus, "creative abilities" can be understood as individual human qualities that are necessary for the successful implementation of his creative activity.
The development of creative abilities involves their improvement, that is, reaching a qualitatively new level in their development. It should be noted that a person's creative abilities can develop spontaneously, without a pre-defined plan of purposeful actions, or in an organized way: conscious actions that are aimed specifically at the development of the corresponding abilities.
Creativity is the foundation of the entire creative process.
Russian psychologist and organizer of science V. N. Druzhinin characterizes creative abilities as individual characteristics and qualities of a person that determine the success of performing creative activities of various kinds [7, p. 179].
The Soviet teacher and psychologist V. V. Davydov in the pedagogical encyclopedia describes "creative abilities" as a set of opportunities for the implementation of activities and actions aimed at creating new educational products [8, p.358].
Psychologists associate the ability to be creative, primarily with the peculiarities of thinking. American psychologist J. Gilford, who studied the problems of human intelligence, found that the so-called divergent thinking is characteristic of creative individuals. At the heart of creative thinking is a divergent way of thinking, characterized by the main features such as:
- speed – the ability to formulate as many ideas as possible, since it is not the quality of ideas that is important, but their quantity.
- flexibility – the ability to express a variety of ideas.
- originality – the ability to create new, original ideas that can be expressed in a response or solution that contradicts ordinary ideas.
- completeness – a way to improve your result or give it a ready-made look.
Thus, analyzing the presented views on the problem of creativity, we can say that the most important components of creative abilities are creative imagination and the quality of creative thinking.
The development of creative abilities is promoted by the older preschool age, since it is here that the psychological foundations of creativity are laid. At this age, children can create a new image, designs that differ in feature, flexibility, and variability. The older preschool age is characterized by activity, curiosity, questions to an adult, the ability to comment on the process and the result of their own activities, motivation, developed imagination, perseverance. Initiative is associated with curiosity, ability, ingenuity, ingenuity, the ability to voluntarily regulate behavior, the ability to overcome difficulties.
An important condition for the development of creative abilities of preschoolers is the implementation of purposeful leisure in preschool and family: getting them new bright impressions, providing emotional and intellectual experience, which is the basis for the emergence of ideas and new materials, for the work of the imagination. The study of creative activity is impossible without interaction with art. With the right influence of adults, the child understands the meaning, the essence of art, visual and expressive means [9, p. 62-69].
Another important condition for the development of creative abilities is taking into account the individual characteristics of the child. It is important to take into account the temperament, character and characteristics of certain mental functions and even the mood of the child on the day of work [10, p. 78].
An important condition for the development of creative abilities is also learning, during which knowledge, methods of action and skills are formed that allow the child to implement their plans. To do this, knowledge and skills must be flexible, modifiable, and skills – generalized, that is, applicable in various conditions. In some cases, children of preschool age experience a decline in creative activity. Thus, the child, realizing the imperfection of their drawings and crafts, loses interest in visual activities, which affects the development of creative activity of preschoolers in general.

Methods and results of the study
Diagnostics of the peculiarities of the development of children's creative activity makes a huge sense in the pedagogical process.
The purpose of the diagnosis: to study the level of development of creative abilities of children of senior preschool age.
Based on this goal, the following tasks were defined::
- select diagnostic tasks that allow you to determine the level of development of creative abilities in older preschool children;
- determine the indicators, criteria, and levels of development of creative abilities in older preschool children.
In order to assess the level of creative abilities of older preschool children, the following methods were used, which are presented in Table 1.
Table 1-Diagnostic map of the study of the level of development of creative abilities in older preschool children
Indicators Diagnostic techniques
Imagination Technique "Drawing figures" (author O. M. Dyachenko), "How to save a bunny" (author V. Kudryavtsev), "The sun in the room" (authors: V. Sinelnikov, V. Kudryavtsev)
Thinking Technique "Unfinished drawing" (author E. P. Torrens),
The study of the development of creative abilities was conducted on the basis of the state budget educational institution of the Samara region in the structural subdivision "Kindergarten" Semitsvetik "of the secondary school" Educational Center "Southern City "" village. Roadside, the study involved 20 children aged 6-7 years.
Method 1. "Drawing figures" (author O. M. Dyachenko).
The goal is to determine the level of development of imagination, the ability to create original images.
Material: 2 sets of cards, each of which has one figure of indeterminate shape drawn on it. In total, each set contains 10 cards, the size of each card is half of the album sheet. A simple pencil.
The research procedure. "Now you will finish drawing the magic figures. They are magical because each figure can be finished so that you get some picture, any picture you want"
The teacher-psychologist offers the child a simple pencil and a card with a figure. After the child has finished drawing the figure, he is asked: "What did you do?". The response is fixed.
Evaluation criteria.
High level (7-10 points) - children convey a visual, in some cases detailed, unusual drawing. The intended image is usually depicted in the center of the drawing.
Average level (3-6 points) - children complete most of the figures, but they are all schematic without details.
Low level (0-2 points) - children do not actually accept the task. They draw something of their own next to the given shape, or give a non-objective image ("such a pattern"). Sometimes children draw schematic patterns (template diagrams).

Method 2. "How to save a bunny" (author V. Kudryavtsev).
The goal is to assess the ability to turn a task of choice into a task of transformation in the conditions of transferring the properties of a familiar object to a new situation.
Material: bunny figurine, saucer, bucket, wooden stick, deflated balloon, sheet of paper.
The research procedure. In front of the child on the table, there is a bunny figure, a saucer, a bucket, a stick, a deflated ball and a piece of paper. Teacher-psychologist, picking up a bunny: "Meet this bunny. One day such a story happened to him. The bunny decided to swim on a boat on the sea and sailed far, far from the shore. And then the storm began, huge waves appeared, and the bunny began to sink. Only you and I can help the bunny. We have several objects for this purpose (the teacher draws the child's attention to the objects laid out on the table). What would you choose to save the bunny?»
Evaluation criteria.
High level (3 points) - to save the bunny, it is suggested to use a balloon or a piece of paper. On the ball, the bunny can fly away, and from a sheet of paper to build a boat and get to the shore. Children who are at this level have a mindset to transform the available subject material. The initial task to choose from is independently transformed by them into a transformation task.
Average level (2 points) - solving the problem using simple symbols, when the child suggests using a stick as a log on which the bunny can swim to the shore. With this decision, the child again does not go beyond the situation of choice.
Low level (1 point) - the child chooses a saucer or bucket, as well as a stick with which you can lift the bunny from the bottom, without going beyond a simple choice; the child tries to use the objects in the finished form, mechanically transfer their properties to a new situation.
Method 3. " The sun in the room "(authors: V. Sinelnikov, V. Kudryavtsev).
The goal is to identify the child's ability to transform the "unreal" into the "real" in the context of a given situation by eliminating the discrepancy.
Material: a picture of a room in which there is a man and the sun; pencil.
The research procedure. Teacher-psychologist, showing the child a picture: "I'm giving you this picture. Look carefully and tell me what is painted on it." After listing the details of the image (table, chair, man, lamp, sun, etc.), the teacher-psychologist gives the following task: "Right. However, as you can see, here the sun is drawn in the room. Tell me, please, can it be so, or did the artist get something wrong here? Try to correct the picture so that it is correct."
Using a pencil is not necessary for the child, he can simply explain what needs to be done to "correct" the picture.
Evaluation criteria.
High level (3 points) – a complex answer (remake drawing - "to Make the sun a lamp"); constructive response to (inappropriate to separate from others by saving it in the context of a given situation – "to make a Picture", "Paint" window, "Put the sun in the frame," etc.).
Average level (2 points) – the simple answer (Draw the sun in a different location (on the street)).
Low level (1 point) – no response, failure to accept the task ("I don't know how to fix it", "You don't need to fix the picture"); formal elimination of the discrepancy (erase, paint over the sun).
Method 4. "Unfinished drawing" (author E. P. Torrens). The
goal is to study the creative abilities of children of senior preschool age, including the parameters fluency( lightness), flexibility, originality and accuracy of thinking, as well as imagination.
Material: a sheet of paper with the image of 10 contours, a simple or black pencil.
The procedure for conducting. Use additional elements to draw different images from each contour.
Evaluation criteria.
Flexibility is evaluated by the number of categories used in the content of the drawings. Failure – 0, maximum-3 points. The originality of different categories is evaluated by points: 1-animals, food, transport; 2-toys, people; 3-the hero of fairy tales, clothes, birds, plants; 4-furniture, fish; 5-insects, appliances; 6-toilet items, lamps, musical instruments, pastel accessories.
Finishing with a minimum number of lines, which beats the traditional use of the contour (cucumber, sun, etc.) – 1 point. The drawing consists of additional elements connected to the main outline (a person, a boat, a path in the garden) – 2 points. The main outline is a part in other items or a part of them– 3 points. The drawing contains a certain plot, expresses some actions – 4 points. A drawing includes several images or objects that reveal its theme, which is subordinated to a single semantic center associated with the main contour – 5 points.
On average, children score 6-9 points; receiving 1-2 points for fluency, flexibility, originality and 3-4 points for the nature of the drawing. With a score of 11 or higher, we can say about the high creative abilities of the child and his giftedness. With a result of 2-3 points, children do not possess creative abilities, but may have high intelligence.
The results of the study of the level of development of creative imagination in older preschool children are presented in Table 2.
Table 2-The level of development of creative imagination in children of senior preschool age according to the method "How to save a bunny" (author V. Kudryavtsev)

The level of the number of children in %
Low 4 20
Average 11 55
High 5 25

According to the results of the method "Drawing figures" (O. M. Dyachenko) , we see that 20% (4 people) of senior preschoolers coped with the tasks at a low level. For children with a low level of creative imagination, the following features were characteristic: the children found it difficult and did not feel interest in the task, even with the tips of an adult. Children who showed a low level in the performance of the task, did not show an emotional attitude to the image, avoided difficulties.
The average level was shown by 55% (11 people) of senior preschoolers. Children who showed an average level of imagination, after listening to the task, confidently started to do the work, worked enthusiastically, with desire and interest, but sometimes they needed the tips of an adult. Children quickly finished drawing all the figures, embodying the ideas, followed the created image.
At a high level, 25% (5 people) of senior preschoolers coped with the task. Children who showed a high level of creative imagination performed individual drawings, in which unique images and phenomena, figures of indeterminate shape – in a drop, a cloud, a whale-were most often found.
In the works of children, fantasy was often traced: there were non-repeating images, such as a letter, a butterfly, coffee, a robot, a cannon, a horse.
The results of diagnostics of the level of development of the ability to transfer the properties of a familiar object to a new situation are presented in Table 3.
Table 3-Results of diagnostics of the level of development of the ability to transfer the properties of a familiar object to a new situation

The level of the number of children in %
Low 4 20
Average 10 50
High 6 30

The children set to work and began to look with interest at the objects in front of them.
Thus, quantitative data indicate that at a low level of 20% (4 people), the child tries to use objects in a ready-made form, to transfer their properties to a new situation.
At the average level of 50% (10 people), the children's decision is made with elements of the simplest symbolism, when the child suggests using a stick as a log so that the bunny can swim to the shore on it. In this case, the children do not go beyond the situation of choice.
The high level includes 30% (6 people), children use the installation to transform the available subject material.
Thus, based on the results obtained, it should be concluded that the development of the ability to transfer the properties of a familiar object to a new situation, the average level prevails.
The results of the diagnosis of determining the implementation of creative imagination, the ability to transform the "unreal" into "real", are presented in Table 4.
Table 4-Diagnostic results of determining the implementation of creative imagination, the ability to transform "unreal" into " real»
The level of the number of children in %
Low 6 30
Average 11 55
High 3 15

A low level was shown by 30% (6 people) formal elimination of the discrepancy (erase, paint over the sun).
The average level was found in 55% (11 people) simple answer, the children were asked to draw the sun on the street.
A high level was shown by 15% (3 people), demonstrating a complex answer – to redo the drawing, put the sun in a frame, draw the sun in the form of a clock, draw a window.
As a result, based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that in the implementation of creative imagination, the ability to transform the "unreal" into "real", in the group of subjects of older preschool age, the average level of development prevails.
The results of diagnostics of creative abilities of children of senior preschool age, including parameters such as fluency( ease), flexibility, originality and accuracy of thinking, as well as imagination are presented in Table 5.
Table 5-Results of diagnostics of creative abilities of children of senior preschool age, including parameters such as fluency( ease), flexibility, originality and accuracy of thinking, as well as imagination
The level of the number of children in %
Low 7 35
Average 9 45
High 4 20

During the diagnosis, it was revealed that 35% (7 people) of children have a low level of development of creative thinking. Children have almost no creative abilities, but they have a high intellectual level.
The average level of development of creative thinking was determined in 45% (9 people) of children.
Only 20% (4 people) of children showed a high level of development of creative thinking, such children can be said to have developed high creative abilities and giftedness.
According to the diagnostic results, the examined sample of children of senior preschool age is dominated by low and medium levels of development of creative abilities.

Quantitative results of diagnostics of the general level of development of creative abilities in children of the senior preschool age of years are presented in Table 6.
Table 6-The overall level of development of creative abilities
in older preschool children
The level of the number of children in %
Low 4 20
Average 12 60
High 4 20
A high level of development of creative abilities was shown by 4 people (20%), the same number of children showed a low level of development of creative abilities by 4 people (20%). The average level of development of creative abilities was revealed in 12 people (60%).
Clearly comparative results of the level of development of creative abilities are presented in Figure 1.

Figure 1-Comparative results of the level of development of creative
abilities in older preschool children

The diagnostic results show that the average level of development of creative abilities mainly prevails in the group of the tested children of senior preschool age. The low and high level of development of creative abilities is demonstrated by the same number of subjects of preschool age.
Children with a low level of development of creative thinking and imagination had difficulties in making various ideas, they have little formed resourcefulness, ingenuity, few original answers, a large number of standard reasoning.
For the successful formation of creative abilities in older preschoolers, especially creative thinking and imagination, purposeful educational work is required, which should be carried out based on the idea of the current level of development of children's creative abilities, obtained in the course of psychological and pedagogical diagnostics.

Conclusion
Creative abilities are manifested in the desire and emotional attitude, in the interest in creative activity. Creativity manifests itself in the quality of knowledge, as well as in creative thinking and imagination, perseverance and independence in creative search and the formation of subjectively new things in a particular field of activity.
For children of older preschool age, such features as cognitive activity, the desire to search, interest in creative activity, and a tendency to imitate are characteristic. Specially organized creative activity is especially important for the development of a person's creative potential. With the right conditions created during the class, children can develop flexible thinking, develop their ideas, and improve.
Psychological and pedagogical diagnostics of the development of creative abilities in older preschool children showed a low level of development of creative abilities. The study mainly diagnoses the average level of development of creative imagination and thinking, which actualizes psychological and pedagogical activities for the development of creative abilities of children in preschool educational institutions. The next stage of the study will be devoted to this problem.

About the authors

Galina Vorozheikina

Samara National Research University named after Academician S. P. Korolev

Author for correspondence.
Email: gvorozh@mail.ru

student III course of Samara State University psychological faculty

Russian Federation, 443011, Russia, Samara, Academic Pavlov Str., 1.

References

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