Creativity means digging deeper, looking better, correcting mistakes, talking to a cat, diving into the deep, walking through walls, lighting up the sun, building a castle in the sand, welcoming the future.

E. Torrance

The proposed creativity training program is designed for high school and junior students, although it can, with some modifications, be carried out with participants of other ages.

The optimal group size is 8-16 people, possible - from 5 to 25-30. The main emphasis of the program is on solving the following problems:

1. Development of intellectual qualities that make up creativity: fluency, flexibility and originality of thinking, imagination, ability to find unexpected associations.

2. Demonstrating the power of creativity in solving life's problems and achieving personal and professional goals.

3. Formation of team creative work skills. The training exercises are combined into 12 lessons, each of which lasts approximately 3 academic hours. Thus, the total duration of the program is 36 hours. But you need to remember that the specified time is arbitrary; the actual duration of work depends on a number of factors, in particular the size of the group. Although most exercises provide time guidelines, they relate not so much to their duration as a whole, but to the duration of specific stages of work (generating ideas, drawing, making a presentation, etc.). Most likely, the number of exercises for the specified time will be excessive - thus, the presenter will have the opportunity to choose them.

The description of each lesson begins with a short explanation, followed by detailed descriptions the exercises included in it. They are made according to the same scheme: procedure for conducting the exercise, its psychological meaning, discussion, in some cases - implementation examples. The sequence of classes and exercises within each of them is built on the basis of the principle of consistency in the presentation of material and the rules for organizing socio-psychological trainings. Of course, this sequence is not the only acceptable one; experienced presenters can use the set of exercises as a “constructor” to create their own programs that meet specific tasks and working conditions.

Getting to know each other and bonding

Objective of the lesson: to introduce participants, to unite them, to create a common understanding of creativity and the essence of training technologies for its development. It is advisable to start with a short introduction, conduct 2-3 introduction techniques, and then, before moving on to the next exercises, spend 15-20 minutes talking about what creativity is, what it consists of, and in what situations it is needed. In addition, the rules for working in the group should be discussed and agreed upon:

♦ Be active.

♦ Listen to each other without interrupting.

♦ Speak only on your own behalf.

♦ If the information is addressed to someone specifically, then address this person directly, and not talk about him in the third person.

♦ Do not distribute or discuss outside of class personal information about the participants.

♦ Avoid criticism when performing exercises; if there is a need to criticize something, wait for a discussion.

♦ In case of unwillingness to perform any exercise, the participant has the right to refuse without explaining the reason for this, but he must publicly declare his refusal.

Dating techniques

♦ "Everything but the name." Participants get to know each other in pairs (2–3 minutes, free form), after which each introduces his neighbor to all other participants. He names the real name, and invents everything else himself, but in such a way that this name is remembered.

♦ "Three facts." Each participant tells the group their name and three facts about themselves. One of them is real, and the other two are fictional. The task of the rest is to determine which of the presented facts corresponds to reality (participants are asked to vote in turn for the truth of each of the facts). Then the participant who introduced himself reveals the truth: which of the given facts is real.

♦ "I I know…" The participant, holding the ball, says “I (F.I.), and I know (names some celebrity),” after which he throws the ball to another. He must introduce himself in the same way and name another celebrity, the first letter of whose last name begins with the last letter of the name of the previous participant. The ball is not thrown to the same participant twice. Having been in the hands of everyone, it is thrown in the reverse order, and the one who throws it calls the person to whom he intends to throw it by name.

Exercise "Carousel"

Description of the exercise. Participants are divided into two equal subgroups (if the number of participants is odd, then the leader joins one of the subgroups). Those who are in the first subgroup sit in the inner circle facing outward, those who are in the second take places in the outer circle, facing them. Thus, everyone is divided into pairs. Then the presenter gives a topic for discussion and distributes roles: for example, those sitting in the inner circle take a passive role (listen, ask clarifying questions), and in the outer circle they take an active role (tell, answer questions). After one and a half to two minutes, at the command of the leader, the outer circle moves relative to the inner circle by one person to the right or left (i.e., the composition of the pairs changes) and the distribution of roles changes: those who listened are now telling, and those who were telling are listening. Then the outer circle again shifts relative to the inner one, the active and passive roles change, and the new topic for discussion. 2-3 topics are discussed in this way, for example:

♦ my achievements;

♦ my skills;

♦ not everyone knows about me that...

The set of topics may be different, but it is desirable that they provide an opportunity for self-disclosure in a positive way, talking about one’s strengths, strengths. It is not advisable to discuss the weaknesses and shortcomings of the participants.

Acquaintance, an opportunity for positive self-disclosure, search and awareness of your strengths. The exercise allows you to show something that is not very approved in traditional communication, but is important for creative self-disclosure: talk about your strengths, advantages, and brag a little.

Discussion. What new and unexpected things did you learn about those with whom you interacted? What about ourselves? In which role were you more comfortable - speaking or listening, what was the reason for this? In ordinary life, it is not very common to brag, talk about your achievements and strengths... Why do you think? When and why is it really not worth talking about your achievements, but when is it okay to brag?

Exercise “Name the number”

Description of the exercise. Each of the participants, taking turns acting as a leader, names any number from 1 to equal to the number of participants in the group. As many people as the number is named must stand up at the same time. If this is successful, then the next participant becomes the driver; if it fails, the previous driver calls out new numbers until the task is completed.

Psychological meaning of the exercise. Learning to coordinate joint actions.

Discussion. What did the participants focus on when making decisions for themselves when to stand up and when to remain seated?

Exercise "Paper clips"

Description of the exercise. Participants are divided into subgroups of 5–6 people. Each of them has 4 paper clips in their hands. First task: make a chain of them as quickly as possible (one for each subgroup, using all the paper clips). The presenter records the minimum and maximum time required for this. Second task: disassemble the chain as quickly as possible. After this, the participants are given 1 minute to discuss how to complete this task the fastest, and the game is repeated. The presenter again records the time and compares it with that required in the first attempt.

Psychological meaning of the exercise. The exercise convincingly shows that an activity is more productive when the way it is carried out is planned in advance, and some time is spent deciding exactly how best to carry it out. This also applies to creative activities: those that occur in situations with a high degree of uncertainty and the absence of previously known methods of action.

Discussion. How much faster were you able to complete the exercise on the second try? What is the reason for this acceleration - is it because training has taken place, because a more efficient way of activity has been invented, with better coordination of the actions of the participants, or with something else? How realistic is it to plan activities and decide who should do what if it is not clear in what ways to carry them out?

Exercise "Throw the ball"

Description of the exercise. Participants stand in a close circle, they are given a small ball (for example, a tennis ball) and the task is formulated: to throw this ball to each other as quickly as possible so that it is in everyone’s hands. The presenter records the time required for this. The optimal number of participants in a circle is from 6 to 8; with a larger number, it is advisable to perform the exercise in several subgroups. The task is not difficult; it usually takes about two seconds for each participant to complete it for the first time. The exercise is repeated 3-4 times, the leader asks to do it as quickly as possible. When the time spent has been brought to approximately one second for each participant, the facilitator asks them to invent and demonstrate a way in which they can throw the ball so that it is in everyone’s hands, spending only one second for the whole group.

Usually after some time the participants come up with and demonstrate an appropriate solution. It consists in the fact that they all place their hands folded in a “boat” on top of each other, and alternately spread their palms to the sides. The ball, falling down, is passed from hand to hand and thus has time to visit each participant. Problem solved!

Psychological meaning of the exercise. A demonstration of how a problem can be solved more effectively with the help of a non-trivial approach to it, and how stereotypes prevent this (“to throw means to throw up and then catch”). Group cohesion, learning to coordinate joint actions.

Discussion. What prevented you from immediately seeing a quick way to complete a task, what stereotype was activated? Who first came up with the idea of ​​throwing the ball, not throwing it, but dropping it, and what prompted this idea? What situations, when a stereotypical vision prevented one from seeing a simple and non-trivial way to solve a problem, were encountered in the life experiences of the participants, and how were these limitations managed to be overcome?

Exercise “Curious”

Description of the exercise. The driver names one of the most common letters in speech (not “s” or “b”), after which he begins to ask the other participants various short questions (one for each). The answer to them should be words starting with this letter. Quite often, a chain of questions and answers is built into a logically connected story, but this is not at all necessary. The main thing here is not logic, but efficiency of reaction, the ability to quickly come up with many questions and answers to them. Whoever is delayed in answering for more than 2-3 seconds or says a word beginning with a different letter takes the place of the driver, names a new letter and the game continues.

Psychological meaning of the exercise. Intellectual warm-up, training in reaction speed to unexpected questions.

Discussion. Which options for questions and answers do you remember and found most interesting?

Example Let's say the letter "K" is named. Then the conversation might look like this:

Who? - Goat.

Where? - In the cafe.

What is he doing? - Shows off.

With whom? - With a cat.

Who is this cat? - Sorcerer.

Does the goat like him? - It depends.

Exercise “Freeze Frame”

Description of the exercise. Participants move freely around the audience. At the leader’s command, given by clapping their hands, they stop and demonstrate, through facial expressions and pantomime (posture, gestures, body movements), the word that the leader calls. The “freeze frame” lasts 8-10 seconds, after which, when the leader claps again, the participants again begin to move freely around the room until the next clap sounds and the next word is called. It is advisable to take “still pictures” using a digital photo or video camera and demonstrate the footage to the participants immediately after the exercise.

You can use, for example, the following sets of words:

♦ Time, past, childhood, present, study, future, profession, success.

♦ Meeting, communication, understanding, friendship, love, family, happiness.

Psychological meaning of the exercise. On the one hand, the exercise develops expression skills, on the other hand, it gives participants the opportunity to look at their attitude to those areas of life that the words relate to from a new perspective.

Discussion. What conclusions did each participant draw personally from this exercise and from observing other participants?

Creative thinking (1)

Creativity is the ability to be surprised and learn, the ability to find solutions in non-standard situations, a focus on discovering new things and a tendency to deeply understand one’s experience.

the main task this and subsequent lessons - demonstrate the basic qualities that characterize creative thinking(fluency, flexibility, originality) and provide a variety of opportunities to practice them.

Many exercises designed for this resemble puzzles and logical problems in shape. However, in them it is required to find not the only correct answer, but to discern as many diverse and original, although logically consistent, options as possible. This is best done in a relaxed, game form; In no case should classes resemble an exam or testing.

Here is an excerpt that well illustrates the specifics of creative thinking:

“In Switzerland they produce brandy with a whole pear in the bottle. How did she get there? The very first assumption: the neck of the bottle was cast after the pear was in it. Another guess: the bottom of the bottle was welded when the pear was already inside. Everyone assumes that since the pear is ripe, it means that the bottle was already fully ripe. In fact, if we saw how a branch with a tiny sprout is pushed into a bottle through the neck, which after some time turns into a ripe pear, we would not have to rack our brains for long over the question posed" (De Bono, 1997, p. 102).

Exercise “What?”, “Where from?”, “How?”

Description of the exercise. Participants sitting in a circle are shown some unusual object, the purpose of which is not entirely clear (you can even use not the object itself, but its photograph). Each participant must quickly answer three questions in order:

1. What is this?

2. Where did this come from?

3. How can this be used?

However, repetition is not allowed; each participant must come up with new answers to each of these questions.

Psychological meaning of the exercise. A light “intellectual warm-up” that activates the fluency of the participants’ thinking, stimulating them to come up with unusual ideas and associations.

Discussion. Which answers to questions do the participants remember and seem to be the most interesting and original?

Exercise "Original Use"

Description of the exercise. This exercise involves coming up with as many different fundamentally feasible ways of using ordinary objects in an original way as possible, for example:

♦ paper sheets or old newspapers;

♦ empty cardboard boxes;

♦ bricks;

♦ car tires;

♦ bottle caps;

♦ torn tights;

♦ burnt out light bulbs;

♦ aluminum beverage cans;

♦ snow, ice.

The work is performed in teams of 4–5 people, time – 10 minutes. The exercise works most clearly when it is possible to give participants those items about which we're talking about, and ask not only to name, but also to show the proposed ways of using them. The work is presented according to the following scheme: one of the subgroups names or demonstrates one way to use the object. An idea is scored 1 point, its demonstration – 2 points (if the item is not provided to the participants and, as a result, the demonstration is impossible, then any fundamentally implementable idea is scored 1 point). The next subgroup represents another method, etc., it cannot be repeated. The subgroup that ultimately scores the most points wins.

Psychological meaning of the exercise. It provides visual material for discussing the qualities of creative thinking (fluency, originality, flexibility), allows them to be trained, and to move away from stereotypes in the perception of surrounding objects and their usual functions. In addition, it allows you to focus the attention of participants on the distribution of roles in the group when solving creative problems (idea generators - performers, leaders - followers).

Discussion. How were the roles distributed within the groups: who put forward ideas and who implemented them, who was the leader and who was the follower? What personality traits of the participants is this distribution associated with? Do the participants behave in real life the same way as in this exercise?

When the mentioned part of the discussion is completed, it is advisable to talk about the criteria accepted in psychology for assessing the effectiveness of performing such creative tasks:

♦ Fluency: number of ideas put forward by each participant.

♦ Originality: the number of ideas that are not repeated in other microgroups.

♦ Flexibility: the variety of semantic categories to which ideas belong. For example, you can make a toy airplane, boat or some other similar figure out of paper; from a fluency perspective that's all different ideas, but from the point of view of flexibility, they all belong to the same category (origami).

Participants independently evaluate the effectiveness of their subgroups based on these parameters, consulting with the facilitator if necessary.

Exercise “Improving a Toy”

Description of the exercise: Participants are shown soft toy and the task is given: to propose as many fundamentally feasible ways to improve it as possible - what can be done to make it more interesting for children to play with it? The exercise is performed in subgroups of 4–5 people, the work time is 8–10 minutes. Then representatives of each subgroup present their ideas in turn.

Psychological meaning of the exercise. Training the skill of generating ideas in teamwork conditions.

Discussion. What, from the participants' point of view, contributed to the emergence of new ideas during this exercise, and what hindered it? Which ideas seem the most creative? How can you classify the ideas expressed, what semantic categories do they belong to? What life situations can this exercise be compared to?

Exercise “Logic puzzles”

Description of the exercise: Participants are asked to solve several logical puzzles, such as the following:

♦ fold four equilateral triangles from six matches;

♦ connect nine dots with four straight lines without lifting the pencil from the paper;

♦ there are four fragments of the chain, each of which consists of three closed rings. To open one ring costs 10 rubles, to close it costs 20. You need to sequentially connect all four fragments of the chain into one circle, spending 90 rubles on this;

♦ The peasant needs to transport a wolf, a goat and a cabbage across the river by boat. Only one of the following can be placed in the boat at the same time. You cannot leave a wolf with a goat or a goat with cabbage on the shore unattended (they will eat each other) or send a boat on an “independent voyage” without a peasant on board. How to organize transportation so that everyone remains safe? Participants are asked to solve the first 1–2 problems individually, then work is organized in teams of 3–4 people. Participants are asked not only to solve problems, but also to observe how this happens: firstly, to pay attention to how ideas come to them themselves, and secondly, to how teamwork develops.

Psychological meaning of the exercise. The commonality between the proposed problems is that to solve them you need to go beyond the immediate situation that is obvious at first glance, and abandon the search for a solution in the direction that comes to mind upon a superficial examination of the situation. The exercise allows you to practice solving problems of this kind and creates conditions for observation and self-observation of how this happens.

Exercise “Photo riddles”

Description of the exercise. Participants, united in subgroups of 3-5 people, are given 2-3 “photo puzzles” to work on - photographs that depict something that at first glance is not entirely clear, allowing for different interpretations. This could be an ordinary object, but filmed from an unusual angle (for example, a bottom view of a car), some strange object of unknown purpose, a person engaged in an incomprehensible activity, a separate part of something from which it is difficult to determine what it belongs to, and etc. The presenter can either take or find such photographs himself, or instruct the participants to find them in color magazines and their own photo archives as homework.

Participants are asked to give as many possible answers as possible to the following questions regarding each image within 6–8 minutes:

1. What is shown in the photo?

2. What idea did the photographer want to express with this photo?

3. How could this photograph be titled if it were entered into a competition? artistic photography?

Then representatives of each subgroup show the photographs they worked with and offer their answers to questions about these photographs.

Psychological meaning of the exercise. Learning to perceive materials from new, unexpected angles, leaving room for imagination and allowing for ambiguous interpretation. Training the ability to generate ideas about ways to interpret this, to look for unexpected associations.

Discussion. Which options for interpreting photographs were most memorable, seemed the most interesting and creative? What real life situations can this exercise be compared to? What psychological qualities are most important for being productive in such situations?

Exercise “Incredible situation”

Description of the exercise. Participants are asked to think about an imaginary situation, the occurrence of which is incredible or extremely unlikely. Their task is to imagine that such a situation did happen, and to propose the maximum consequences for humanity that its occurrence could lead to. The exercise is performed in subgroups of 3–5 people, the work time is given at the rate of 5–6 minutes per situation. Here are some examples of incredible situations for this exercise.

♦ The force of gravity on Earth will increase 5 times.

♦ All three-dimensional geometric shapes will turn into flat ones.

♦ All people will suddenly grow tails.

♦ The endings in all words of the Russian language will disappear.

♦ The dollar will rise in price 100 times compared to all other currencies.

♦ Cables will begin to hang from the clouds all the way to the Earth.

♦ Sports will immediately and completely disappear from people’s lives.

♦ The friction coefficients of all substances on Earth will decrease by 20 times.

♦ All metals will turn into gold.

There are various options for performing this exercise. For example, several subgroups may be asked to discuss the same situation. Then the presentation of the results is organized as follows: each of the subgroups in turn receives the floor in order to voice one idea; can't be repeated. If a subgroup runs out of original ideas, it drops out of the game; The team that stays in the game the longest wins. If the subgroups are offered different situations for discussion, then such a competition is not held; instead, representatives of each of the subgroups voice 3-5 ideas that seemed the most original.

Psychological meaning of the exercise. Generating skills training unusual ideas in relation to situations that go beyond ordinary ideas.

Discussion. Which of the proposed ideas are most memorable and seem the most creative? Why exactly are these ideas interesting? What facilitated this exercise and what hindered it? In what real-life situations would the ability to think about “impossible situations” be useful? Can you give examples from your life experience when a situation that seems incredible at first glance becomes real?

Exercise "Cheesecake"

Description of the exercise.“You’ve probably seen a cheesecake sled. This is an inflatable bladder from a truck wheel, on which a durable cover is put on and handles are attached. A person sits on this camera, grabs the handles and slides down the snow slides (see photo below). Imagine that you climbed up a hill with such a cheesecake, intending to slide down from there, but suddenly, already at the top, you saw that the hill was too steep and covered with bumps. It's scary to drive down there; you can fall and hurt yourself. What decision do you think you will make - to go despite being afraid or to refuse?

Further instructions vary:

1. For those who refuse: “Well, you are reasonable. Now, please, come up with as many ways as possible to roll this cheesecake down to the friend who remains below, so that it doesn’t tip over and fly down the slope to the side.”

2. For those who will go: “Well done, you are brave people! Nevertheless, the slide is really steep and dangerous, and no one wants to break their neck. Think of as many ways as possible to go down the hill on this cheesecake in such a way that you have the opportunity to slow down and control the speed.”

Psychological meaning of the exercise. In addition to modeling a situation to generate ideas, the exercise allows you to discuss the problem of attitude to risk: are participants ready to find themselves in situations of uncertainty, potentially fraught with unpleasant consequences, what is the reason for their readiness or unpreparedness.

Exercise "Gulliver"

Description of the exercise. Imagine yourself in the place of Gulliver, who finds himself in the land of Lilliputians (where he is about the height of a three-story house) and in the land of giants (where he is about the height of a pencil). Come up with as many ideas as you can about what items you could use in each of these countries as:

♦ beds;

♦ bed linen;

♦ cars;

♦ pet;

♦ notebook.

The exercise is performed individually, the work time is 10–12 minutes. Then the participants voice their options, and the presenter writes them down.

Psychological meaning of the exercise. The exercise is based on the technique of hyperbolization (presentation of familiar objects in an exaggerated form), which contributes to the emergence of new associations, the development of the ability to perceive familiar things from new, unexpected angles, to pay attention to their properties that everyday life are not noticed.

Discussion. Where was it easier to imagine yourself in the role of Gulliver - in the country of Lilliputians or giants? What is this connected with? Which of the ideas put forward about the use of objects seem most interesting? What unexpected properties of familiar objects are used in them?

Creative thinking (2)

We have repeatedly asked people how and when they came up with new ideas. The answer most often was: while walking, driving a car, in the bathroom, while relaxing and listening to music. But we have never heard of new ideas being born while working on a computer...

B. Cleg, P. Beach

This lesson continues to train the basic qualities of creative thinking. When discussing exercises, the emphasis should be on what specific life situations and why the corresponding qualities are needed, giving participants the opportunity to draw as many parallels as possible between the training and everyday life.

Exercise "Cause and Effect"

Description of the exercise. Participants are given an image or a brief verbal description of a situation that allows for many interpretations, which arises due to various reasons and leads to various consequences (see figure). Participants, grouped into subgroups of 3–4 people, are asked to guess more:

1. The reasons that could lead to this situation.

2. Consequences that may arise after it.

It is advisable that all subgroups work on the same situation. 10–12 minutes are allotted for putting forward ideas. Then their presentation takes place: the participants of each subgroup take turns getting the floor to voice one of their ideas, then the floor is passed to the next subgroup, which voices another idea, etc. You cannot repeat yourself. The group that has nothing more to say is eliminated from the game, and the word is passed on to the next one. The subgroup that remains in the game last wins and is awarded with applause. Causes are discussed first, then consequences.

Psychological meaning of the exercise. Making up possible reasons and consequences of situations that can be interpreted ambiguous is one of the most effective ways developing the ability to generate ideas, improving the fluency and flexibility of creative thinking.

Discussion. How were the roles of the participants distributed when putting forward ideas: who took active position, and who chose to remain passive? What is the reason for this, and how typical are the same positions for participants in other life situations? To what extent was the flexibility of thinking demonstrated when putting forward ideas? Do they belong to qualitatively different semantic categories, or are the put forward causes and consequences fundamentally of the same plan? What life situations can this game be likened to? What skills are developed in it and where are they in demand?

Exercise "Merchandiser"

Description of the exercise.“There is such a job - merchandiser, the word comes from English merchandise –"goods". These workers are responsible for placing goods in the retail space. Students often work part-time. Sometimes they work in large supermarkets, but more often they have to serve several small retail outlets at once and see how the goods of the manufacturer they work for are placed there. Imagine that you are merchandisers. You need to visit 15 in one day retail outlets located in different places. There is no transport between them, you will have to walk. Try to plan your route in such a way that, having visited all 15 points, you will cover as little distance as possible in total and, as a result, complete your work faster.

The layout of retail outlets is shown in the figure on the right. To simplify the task, we will assume that between any two of them we can go along the shortest path, directly.”

The exercise is performed in small subgroups (2-3 people), the work time is 8-10 minutes. Then each subgroup draws the selected trajectory and uses a ruler to measure its length. Those whose path is shorter win.

Psychological meaning of the exercise. Problems of finding the shortest path connecting several points have a strict mathematical solution, but with 15 points, participants will not be able to find it in the allotted time; this would require a powerful computer with the appropriate program. Therefore, the task turns into a situation with a high degree of uncertainty for them, forcing them to act using the “estimation” method. The exercise provides an opportunity to practice finding solutions in such conditions, and also to discuss what usually guides people when searching for them.

Discussion. Was it possible to develop some kind of meaningful strategy for solving this problem, or was the path simply laid out “by eye”? Surely you have encountered similar situations in life: you need to get to several places at once in one day, choosing a route that will allow you to do it faster... How did you solve such problems, what were your guides, what method do you consider the most effective? What other life situations are similar to the one described and are solved in a similar way?

Exercise “Pairs of words”

Description of the exercise. Each participant comes up with two words that do not have a direct logical connection with each other, and voices them. The neighbor sitting on the right formulates a logically correct sentence that links them. Let’s say the words “mug” and “shovel” are named. A sentence might look, for example, like this: “The treasure hunter took a shovel and began to dig up the mound, but found only a broken mug there.”

Psychological meaning of the exercise.“Intellectual warm-up”, training the ability to combine seemingly unrelated things, to look for unexpected analogies.

Discussion. Which options do you remember and found most interesting?

Exercise "Associations"

Description of the exercise

♦ Participants are shown two objects and asked to build an associative chain between them - to choose words that would be logically connected in pairs and would all connect these objects together (see example).

The concept of “creativity” is closely related to the concept of “creativity”.

Most definitions of creativity clearly demonstrate an orientation towards its procedural or productive side. So, S.L. Rubinstein defines creativity as an activity that creates “... something new, original, which, moreover, is included not only in the history of the development of creativity itself, but in the history of the development of science, art, etc.” 1 . According to M.G. Yaroshevsky, “creativity means the creation of something new, which can mean both transformations in the consciousness and behavior of the subject, as well as products generated by it, but also products alienated from it” 2 . In these definitions, creativity is viewed by its results: ideas, behavior, material objects.

The definition of creativity from a procedural point of view belongs to V.M. Bekhterev. He defines creativity as the creation of something new in a situation where a problem-irritant causes the formation of a dominant, around which the stock of past experience necessary for the solution is concentrated. training creativity psychological creativity

K. Rogers writes: “I understand by a creative product the creation, through action, of a new product, growing, on the one hand, from the uniqueness of the individual, and on the other, conditioned by the material, events, people and circumstances of life.”

In foreign psychology, two groups of approaches to determining the essence of creativity are distinguished: those focused on searching for sources; process oriented.

At least three approaches can be included in the first group.

• 1. The psychoanalytic approach argues that creativity is the result of intrapersonal conflicts. The creative process at its core is the externalization of the products of imagination through the interaction of primitive and more mature types of thinking.
• 2. Humanistic psychology believes that creativity occurs when there are no intrapersonal conflicts. The creative process is the realization of natural creative potential in the event of eliminating internal barriers and external obstacles.

Psychometricians such as D. Guilford believe that an individual's natural creativity is genetically determined and can be measured by standardized tests. The creative process is an interaction between two opposing types of thinking: divergent and convergent.

The group of process-oriented approaches includes the position of “associationists,” who believe that human creativity is the result of his ability to find distant associations in the process of searching for a solution to a problem. Gestalt psychology proceeds from the fact that creative thinking is not logical, step-by-step actions and not isolated associations, but a more specific restructuring of a holistic situation.

If creativity is understood as a process that has certain specifics and leads to the creation of something new, then creativity is considered as a potential, an internal human resource. Creativity also refers to a person’s ability to discover new ways of solving problems or new ways of expression (K. Rogers).

Creativity is a person's ability to constructive, innovative thinking and behavior, as well as awareness and development of his experience.

Creativity manifests itself in many ways. These are speed, flexibility, accuracy, originality of thinking, rich imagination, sense of humor, commitment to high aesthetic values, and the degree of detail in the image of the problem. An essential condition for the actualization of this ability is self-control and self-confidence.

A significant part of the manifestations of creativity relates to the peculiarities of thinking. One of the first experimentally substantiated lists of thinking features that contribute to creative achievements was proposed by D. Guilford, who considered the integration of convergent (logical, sequential, linear) and divergent (holistic, intuitive, regulatory) thinking necessary for creativity. He identifies the following features as a result of the integration of both dimensions of thinking:

• - fluency as the ability to generate the maximum number of ideas;
• - flexibility as the ability to generate a wide variety of ideas;
• - originality as the ability to generate non-standard ideas;
• - accuracy as the ability to give a completed form to the products of thinking.

The stages, stages and phases of the creative process are viewed differently by researchers. The main thing that unites descriptions of the creative process is the presence in the vast majority of them of conscious and unconscious stages, and the launch takes place in the conscious sphere, continues in its unconscious structures and again enters the realm of consciousness.

In modern practice of creativity training, participants are offered the following stages of the creative process: preparation, frustration, incubation, insight and development. Below is a brief description of them.

Preparation. This stage is caused by the emergence of an urge to change one or another situation that has ceased to satisfy the subject of creativity. The emergence of this impulse can be called the first insight, especially when the problem is not given to the subject from the outside, but is formulated by him himself.

The preparation stage is characterized by conscious efforts to find a way out of a problematic situation. The subject logically works through, analyzes the situation, the problem both as a whole and its individual elements, collects Additional information. At this stage, solution options arise and are tested, the subject makes repeated attempts to apply schemes and algorithms known to him to solve the problem. The criterion that people most often focus on when choosing a solution or behavior is the degree of similarity, similarity of the current problem or situation to those that were encountered previously. In essence, in the process of preparation there is a deepening, detailing and clarification of the image of the problem, giving it a structure, albeit fuzzy and far from final. If the task or problem is truly creative, the inconsistency of known, previously developed solutions and behavior options is revealed.

Frustration. The transition to this stage occurs at the moment when, having analyzed all the information at his disposal and checked possible solutions, the individual does not find an answer and finds himself at a dead end.

Frustration is experienced in an extremely uncomfortable form, when the individual feels tension, irritation, discouragement, inferiority, fatigue, and apathy. There is a feeling that there is no solution in principle, that the conditions of the problem are incorrect, that someone is to blame for the current situation. This experience is stronger the more the subject’s consciousness is saturated with stereotypes and attitudes with rigid identifications. The situation is aggravated by the fact that negative emotions lead to a decrease in self-control and the level of reflection of what is happening.

A constructive attitude towards frustration presupposes the recognition of its role as a natural stage of the creative process, which serves as a signal for the reorganization of activity. At this moment, it is advisable to realize what barrier or barriers impede the manifestation of creativity, what stereotype a person falls within, in what area he does not have enough information, where he can get it, etc. Incubation. The specificity of this stage of the creative process is determined by the position of the functional asymmetry of the cerebral hemispheres.

Features of the organization of the work of these hemispheres, in particular, are described using the concepts of lateralization and reciprocity. Lateralization (as a specialization of the cerebral hemispheres) intensifies as a person develops and leads to the fact that the cerebral hemispheres begin to participate differently in all mental processes. In addition, the hemispheres act “in turns”: when the right is active, the activity of the left is inhibited and vice versa. This feature is called reciprocity.

Currently, it is generally accepted that the left hemisphere is responsible for the formation of a discrete, linear model of the world, encoded by signs and concepts, interconnected by cause-and-effect relationships, and the right hemisphere is responsible for the formation of a continuous model, in which the leading role is played by complex images of real objects, closely connected by emotional relationships.

The incubation stage begins at the moment when the individual stops consciously working on the problem, which is associated with the logical operations of the left hemisphere, and the problem is “transferred” to the right hemisphere. From the continuous right-hemisphere model, the missing information and, in general, any information relevant to the task are attracted. If past experience contains the necessary “key” images, then they will eventually take their place in the “emptiness” of the decision structure.

Insight. Insight is a short-term but very distinct stage of the creative process, the moment when a solution to a problem enters the sphere of consciousness. It is characterized by intense positive emotions, revitalization, even euphoria. This is the culmination point of the creative process, in which the results of prolonged preparation and timely transition from a state of frustration to the incubation of an idea are manifested. When an answer enters the sphere of consciousness, it needs to be quickly recorded.

Development. Development, or verification, is the final stage of the creative process, during which the truth of the resulting solution is verified by logical means.

This stage can be represented by two substages:

• - actually checking the truth of the insight (verification). The subject of the creative process is looking for answers to the questions: “Will this work?”, “Does this meet the initial conditions?”, “Is this really the answer to the question posed?” Sometimes it happens that a seemingly brilliant idea fades and is rejected as false. In this case, the subject most often returns to the stages of incubation or frustration, after which he can begin preparation again;
• - implementation. If the truth of the insight is established, then the process continues at the second substage, the duration of which varies from several seconds (for example, the implementation of a behavior option in communication) to several years. At the implementation stage, skills, abilities, techniques and resources play a decisive role.

There are various approaches to constructing programs that develop creative abilities. The vast majority of these programs are aimed at developing one or another component of creativity. In its development, the component approach predominates, the leading role in which is given to the development of the characteristics of divergent thinking.

Thus, socio-psychological creativity training is a private form of personal growth training aimed at developing a person’s creative thinking. Subordinate to this are the tasks of understanding and overcoming barriers to the manifestation of creativity, understanding the characteristics of the creative environment, developing skills and abilities to manage the creative process.

During the training, an environment with the following parameters is created and maintained: problematic, uncertainty, acceptance, non-judgmental.

Games and exercises for training to develop creativity and creativity Creativity (from the English create - to create, English creative - constructive, creative) - the creative abilities of an individual, characterized by a readiness to create fundamentally new ideas that deviate from traditional or accepted patterns of thinking and are included in the structure of talent as an independent factor, as well as the ability solve problems that arise within static systems. According to the authoritative American psychologist Abraham Maslow, this is a creative orientation that is innately characteristic of everyone, but is lost by the majority under the influence of the environment.

Creativity is an activity that results in the creation of new material and spiritual values. Being in its essence a cultural and historical phenomenon, creativity has a psychological aspect: personal and procedural. It presupposes that an individual has abilities, motives, knowledge and skills, thanks to which a product is created that is distinguished by novelty, originality, and uniqueness. The study of these personality traits has revealed the important role of imagination, intuition, unconscious components of mental activity, as well as the individual’s need for self-actualization, in revealing and expanding one’s creative capabilities.

Creativity (from the Latin creatio - “creation”) is a person’s ability to generate unusual ideas, original solutions, and deviate from traditional patterns of thinking. Creativity is one of the components of a creative personality and does not depend on erudition. People with a high level of creativity are called creatives.

According to a number of scientists, in the manifestation of creativity, or more precisely, divergent thinking, which is the basis of creativity, the role of the genetic factor, in contrast to the environmental one, is small. Among the numerous facts that confirm the crucial role of family-parental relationships, there are the following:

As a rule, the eldest or only child in the family has a greater chance of showing creative abilities.

Children who identify themselves with their parents (father) are less likely to show creativity. On the contrary, if a child identifies himself with the “ideal hero,” then he has a greater chance of becoming creative. This fact is explained by the fact that most children have parents who are “average”, uncreative people, and identification with them leads to the formation of uncreative behavior in children.

More often, creative children appear in families where the father is much older than the mother.

The early death of parents leads to a lack of behavior patterns with restricted behavior in childhood, which contributes to the development of creativity.

Increased attention to the child’s abilities is beneficial for the development of creativity, a situation where talent becomes an organizing principle in the family. So, a family environment, where, on the one hand, there is attention to the child, and on the other hand, various inconsistent demands are placed on him, where there is little external control over behavior, where there are creative family members and non-stereotypical behavior is encouraged, leads to the development of creativity in children. child.

T.S. Suslova identified the main features characteristic of creative individuals. This is consciousness, responsibility, perseverance, a sense of duty, high control over behavior and emotions, determination, enterprise, risk-taking, social courage, internal locus of control, intellectual lability. V.N. Druzhinin (1999) believes that the development of creativity proceeds according to the following mechanism: on the basis of general talent, under the influence of the microenvironment and imitation, a system of motives and personal properties (nonconformism, independence, self-actualization motivation) is formed, and general talent is transformed into actual creativity, i.e. creativity is a synthesis of talent and a certain personality structure.

Low intelligence, neuroticism and anxiety hinder the manifestation of creativity.

Target: awareness of creativity in oneself and its development. (Developing the ability of participants to find new non-standard (creative) solutions to problems; establishing communication links within the group.)

Tasks:

Awareness and overcoming barriers to the manifestation and development of creative thinking.

Understanding the characteristics of a creative environment.

Formation of skills and abilities to manage the creative process.

The effectiveness of psychological training lies in the fact that training methods usually pursue development goals. During classes, the child, gradually getting rid of stress, can reveal his true capabilities. It is necessary to take into account the potential capabilities of the child. In this case, we mean an orientation toward the “zone of proximal development.” It is in pedagogical and most of all in socially what is much more important is not what the child demonstrates in this moment, but what to expect from him in the future. The optimal group size is 8 - 16 people, however, it is also possible to work with groups from 5 to 25 or more participants.

Establishing rules for the group. Rules for the group's work are developed:

speak one at a time;

do not interrupt the one who is speaking;

do not use physical force against others;

do not insult anyone, do not tease anyone, etc.

In addition, it is stipulated that in some exercises there will be a “Stop!” rule. (“I’m not participating in this game”).The rules are written down on a piece of Whatman paper, which is constantly hanging on the wall during all subsequent group lessons.

The proposed game exercises are aimed at development and activation of creativity - systems of creative abilities.

The purpose of these exercises is to teach a person to act productively in situations of novelty and uncertainty, relying on his creative potential; navigate in rapidly changing circumstances, make adequate decisions when the initial information for this is incomplete.

What, Where, How

Participants sitting in a circle are shown some unusual object, the purpose of which is not entirely clear (you can even use not the object itself, but its photograph). Each participant must quickly answer three questions in order:

What is this?

Where did this come from?

How can this be used?

However, repetition is not allowed; each participant must come up with new answers to each of these questions.

The easiest way to get props for this exercise is to take not whole objects (their purpose is usually more or less clear), but fragments of something - such that it is difficult to understand from them where they came from.

The meaning of the exercise

Discussion

Which answers to questions do the participants remember and seem to be the most interesting and original?

Unusual actions

Each of the participants is asked to remember some unusual, original action, a strange and not entirely explainable act from the perspective of common sense, committed over the past one or two months (1-2 minutes are given for reflection). Then participants are asked to briefly talk about it and also comment:

What exactly do they see as unusual about this action?

What, from their point of view, prompted him?

How do they evaluate this action “in hindsight” - what is it for?

led, was it worth doing?

If there are fewer than 12 participants in the group, it is advisable to perform the exercise together; with a larger number of participants, it is better to divide the group into 2-3 subgroups that will work in parallel.

The meaning of the exercise

Discussion

How do unusual actions affect our life - do they make it brighter, more interesting, more complex, more dangerous, or change it in some other way? Did the participants have Lately situations when you wanted to do something unusual, but something stopped you? If so, what exactly stopped them and how is this assessed “retrospectively” - is it right that the action was not completed, or would it have been better to have done it? Whose unusual actions did the participants want to repeat?

Using skills

Each of the participants names some sports skill that he owns (for example, snowboarding or rollerblading, doing pull-ups on a bar, throwing a ball in a precisely given direction, etc.). Then the rest of the participants offer possible options for using these skills - not only in physical education and sports, but also in others life areas. Exercise

performed in a general circle.

The meaning of the exercise

Discussion

Participants exchange their impressions and thoughts about what new skills and methods of application interest them.

Training for the development of creativity and creative abilities

Conceptual introduction:

Materials: paper, scissors, pencils, models of objects, ball, newspapers.

Stages of work:

I. Stage – warming up

Exercise “Throw the ball over”

Goals: verbal and non-verbal communication, brings group members closer together. It is aimed at liberating group members, establishing contacts with each other and finding a quick solution to the task.

Materials: ball.

Time: 2-5 minutes

Procedure: Participants stand in a close circle, they are given a small ball (about the size of a tennis ball) and the task is formulated: to throw this ball to each other as quickly as possible so that it is in everyone’s hands. The presenter records the time required for this. The optimal number of participants in a circle is from 6 to 8; with a larger number, it is advisable to perform the exercise in several subgroups. The exercise is repeated 3-4 times, the leader asks to do it as quickly as possible. When the time spent has been brought to approximately 1 s for each participant, the facilitator asks to invent and demonstrate a way in which the ball can be thrown so that it is in everyone’s hands, spending only 1 s for the whole group. Usually after some time the participants come up with and demonstrate an appropriate solution. (It consists in the fact that they all place their hands folded in a “boat” on top of each other and alternately spread their palms to the sides. The ball, falling down, is passed from hand to hand and thus manages to visit each participant). Problem solved!

Psychological meaning of the exercise. Demonstration of how a problem can be solved more effectively with the help of a non-trivial approach to it and how stereotypes prevent this (“to throw means to throw up and then catch”). Group cohesion, learning to coordinate joint actions.

Issues for discussion:

What prevented you from immediately seeing a quick way to complete a task, what stereotype was activated?

Who first came up with the idea of ​​throwing the ball, not throwing it, but dropping it, and what prompted this idea?

What situations, when a stereotypical vision prevented one from seeing a simple and non-trivial way to solve a problem, were encountered in the life experience of the participants, and how were these limitations managed to be overcome?

Exercise “Islands” (5-10 minutes)

Target: All participants will be posted on the newspaper. (on the whole, half of the newspaper, on a third).

Materials: newspapers.

Time: 5-10 minutes

Procedure: Participants are divided into groups of 4-6 people and complete tasks at speed.

The meaning of the exercise: Creating conditions for implementing and putting forward ideas about how to act in a non-standard situation, group unity, physical warm-up. Participants exchange emotions and feelings and voice all their ideas.

II. Stage – Main activity

Exercise "Freeze Frame"

Target: development of expression skills, on the other hand, gives participants the opportunity to look at their attitude to those areas of life that words touch from a new perspective.

Materials: list of words.

Time: 10 minutes

Procedure: Participants move freely around the audience. At the leader’s command, given by clapping their hands, they stop and demonstrate, using facial expressions and pantomime (posture, gestures, body movements), the word that the leader calls. The “freeze frame” lasts 8-10 seconds, after which, when the leader claps again, the participants again begin to move freely around the room until the next clap sounds and the next word is called. It is advisable to take “still images” using a digital photo or video camera and demonstrate the footage to the participants immediately after the exercise.

You can use, for example, the following sets of words: time, past, childhood, present, study, future, profession, success; meeting, communication, understanding, friendship, love, family, happiness.

Exercise “Using objects”

Target: development of creative intelligence.

Materials: paper clip, toothbrush, pencil, match... etc.

Time: 10–15 minutes

Procedure: In two minutes, find as many uses for a shoe lace as you can and write them down. This exercise develops creative intelligence; you can take any other subject for consideration.

Issues for discussion:

Was it difficult to come up with new uses for simple and familiar things?

How can your item be used?

What did this exercise make you think about?

Exercise "Arch"

Target: development of creative abilities, search for a non-standard solution to a given problem.

Materials: scissors, paper.

Time: 10 minutes

Procedure: Participants unite into teams, receive A4 paper, and are given a task: to make an arch so that any of the participants or all of them in turn can pass through it. Demonstrate as many ways as possible.

Issues for discussion:

Who at first thought it was impossible to do the exercise?

How often do such situations arise?

Who suggested the solution or is it a collective one?

III. Stage - Completion

Exercise “Creative Life”

Target: generalize the ideas of private individuals about their creative abilities and find their creative beginning.

Time: 7–15 minutes

Materials: paper, pens.

Procedure: Participants are united in groups of 5-6 people and given the task: Create a list of recommendations that will allow you to “make your own life more creative” and write them down. The recommendations formed must be realistically implemented by all participants or at least the majority of them (i.e., do not imply the presence of any rare abilities, too large material costs, etc.).

Discussion in the group to sort out all the options.

Example:

Exercise regularly;

Master meditation and relaxation techniques.

Keep a diary, write stories, poems, songs, write down smart thoughts.

OVERCOMING SPACE

Description of the exercise

Participants are located near one of the walls of the audience and are given the task - everyone to get to the opposite wall in such a way as not to touch the floor with their feet (for example, crawling or moving on chairs). Each movement method can only be used once per group. However, those who have already crossed this space can return back and help the remaining participants cross. They themselves already have the right to move in a normal way,

but the participants they are helping should still not have their feet on the floor (but they can, for example, be moved different ways or “translate” on your hands, holding their legs in the air). Methods of movement, again, should not be repeated.

If the number of participants is less than 13 - 14 people, the exercise is performed by the whole group at once; with a larger number, it is advisable to divide the participants into 2 - 3 subgroups and organize a speed competition between them (the optimal team size is 8 - 10 people; if possible, boys and girls should be distributed evenly between teams).

The meaning of the exercise

Creating conditions for putting forward and implementing ideas about ways to act in an unusual situation, group unity, physical warm-up.

Discussion

WHAT, WHERE, HOW

Description of the exercise

Participants sitting in a circle are shown some unusual object, the purpose of which is not entirely clear (you can even use not the object itself, but its photograph). Each participant must quickly answer three questions in order:

1. What is this?

2. Where did this come from?

3. How can this be used?

However, repetition is not allowed; each participant must come up with new answers to each of these questions. The easiest way to get props for this exercise is not to take entire objects (their purpose is usually more or less

clearly), and the fragments of something are such that it is difficult to understand from them where they came from.

The meaning of the exercise

A light “intellectual warm-up” that activates the fluency of the participants’ thinking, stimulating them to come up with unusual ideas and associations.

Discussion

What answers to the questions were remembered by the participants are presented

the most interesting and original?

ORIGINAL USE

Description of the exercise

This exercise involves coming up with as many different fundamentally feasible ways of using ordinary objects in an original way as possible, for example, the following:

- Paper sheets or old newspapers.

- Sports hoops, dumbbells, etc.

- Bricks.

- Car tires.

- Bottle caps.

- Torn tights.

- Burnt out light bulbs.

- Plastic bottles.

- Aluminum beverage cans.

The work is performed in teams of 4 - 5 people, time - 10 minutes. The exercise works most clearly when it is possible to give participants the items in question and ask them not only to name them, but also to show the proposed ways of using them. The work is presented according to the following scheme: one of the subgroups names or demonstrates one way to use the object. Naming is scored 1 point, demonstration - 2 (if the item is not provided to the participants and, as a result, demonstration is impossible, then any fundamentally implementable idea is scored 1 point). The next subgroup presents another method, and so on until the ideas are exhausted. The subgroup that ultimately scores the most points wins.

The meaning of the exercise

The exercise provides visual material for discussing the qualities of creative thinking (fluency, originality, flexibility), allows you to train these qualities, and move away from stereotypes in the perception of surrounding objects and their usual functions. In addition, it allows participants to focus their attention on the distribution of roles in the group when solving creative problems (idea generators - performers, leaders - followers).

Discussion

How were the roles distributed within the groups: who put forward ideas and who implemented them; who was the leader and who was the follower? What personality traits of the participants is this distribution associated with? Do the participants behave in real life the same way as in this exercise?

When the above-mentioned part of the discussion is completed, it is advisable to talk about the criteria accepted in psychology for assessing the effectiveness of performing such creative tasks:

Fluency: The number of ideas generated by each participant.

Originality: the number of ideas that are not repeated in other microgroups.

Flexibility: the variety of semantic categories to which ideas belong. For example, you can make a toy airplane, boat, or some other similar figure out of paper; From a fluency standpoint, these are all different ideas, but from a flexibility standpoint, they all belong to the same category (origami). But if it is proposed to use paper as a tablecloth or bedding on a seat, this is a different category (the covering properties of the paper are used). Participants independently evaluate the effectiveness of their subgroups based on these parameters, consulting with the facilitator if necessary.

GULLIVER

Description of the exercise

Imagine yourself in the place of Gulliver, who finds himself in the land of Lilliputians (where he is about the height of a three-story house) and in the land of giants (where he is about the height of a pencil). Come up with as many ideas as possible about what items you could use in each of these countries as equipment for various types sports (gymnastics, athletics, fencing, play in town, weightlifting, skiing, etc.)?

The exercise is performed individually, the work time is 10 - 12 minutes. Then the participants voice their options, and the presenter writes them down.

The meaning of the exercise

The exercise is based on the technique of hyperbolization (presenting familiar objects in an exaggeratedly reduced or enlarged form), which contributes to the emergence of new associations, the development of the ability to perceive familiar things from new, unexpected angles, and to pay attention to their properties that are not noticed in everyday life.

Discussion

Where was it easier to imagine yourself in the role of Gulliver - in the country of Lilliputians or giants? What is this connected with? Which of the ideas put forward about the use of objects seem most interesting? What unexpected properties of familiar objects are used in them?

MODES OF ACTION

Description of the exercise

Participants are asked to come up with as many methods of action as possible to resolve any non-trivial situation, for example from these:

It is beautiful and original to wrap a gift, having only newsprint and tape.

Open a can without having a can opener (more difficult option: using only those items that are available in the classroom).

Transport a passenger on a bicycle that is not equipped with special devices for this.

Pour gasoline from a barrel with a narrow neck, without tilting it or making a hole in it.

Reach from the stairs to the light bulb, which is 20 cm away from reach.

Seal the hole in the boat using available means (the size of the hole is 2x2 cm, there are no special adhesive materials on hand).

The exercise is more dynamic when performed in subgroups of 3-4 people, although individual work is also possible. As for the choice of situations that will become the subject of work, the exercise turns out to be more interesting if the presenter first voices 5 - 6 different options, and then the participants themselves choose 2 - 3 of them with which they would like to work.

The meaning of the exercise

Training the basic qualities of creative thinking (fluency, flexibility, originality) in situations of finding a way out of unusual situations.

Discussion

First, representatives of each subgroup briefly talk about what courses of action they propose, and then discuss 2 questions:

1. What made it easier to come up with these ideas and what made it difficult?

2. Remember similar situations from life, decide which

Did ingenuity help, or... was it knowledge?

CHEESECAKE

Description of the exercise

You've probably seen a cheesecake sled. This is an inflatable bladder from a truck wheel, on which a durable cover is put on and handles are attached. A person sits on this camera, grabs the handles and slides down the snow slides. Imagine that you climbed up a hill with such a cheesecake, intending to slide down from there, but suddenly, already at the top, you saw that the hill was too steep and covered with bumps. It's scary to drive down there; you can fall and hurt yourself. What decision do you think you will make - to go anyway, despite the fear, or to refuse?

Further instructions vary:

1. For those who refuse:

“Well, you are reasonable. Now, please, come up with as many ways as possible to roll this cheesecake down to the friend who remains below, so that it doesn’t tip over and fly down the slope to the side.”

2. For those who will go: “Well done, you are brave people! However, the slide is really steep and dangerous, and no one wants to break their neck. Think of as many ways as possible to go down the hill on this cheesecake in such a way that you have the opportunity to slow down and control the speed.”

The meaning of the exercise

In addition to modeling a situation to generate ideas, the exercise allows you to discuss the problem of attitude to risk: are participants ready to find themselves in situations of uncertainty, potentially fraught with unpleasant consequences, what is the reason for their readiness or unpreparedness.

Discussion

Example

Here are some descent options:

Sit facing forward, braking with the heels of your feet.

Lie with your stomach on the cheesecake, slow down with your palms and

feet.

Let the cheesecake go its own way, but group as much as possible to avoid injury in the event of a capsize.

To increase traction with snow, increase the weight: call a friend from below and sit on the “cheesecake” together.

Make a “steering wheel” out of a jacket or scarf by tying them to the handles.

Kneel down on the cheesecake, place your feet on the snow behind you and use them as a steering wheel and brake.

Take off your jacket and put it under the cheesecake - the sliding will become worse, the speed will decrease.

Partially deflate the camera, then the sliding will become worse.

Turn the cheesecake over: then it will not glide so well and, accordingly, the descent speed will become slower.

Ride at the “fifth point”, resting only your head on the “cheesecake”.

THE EARTH IS ROUND

Description of the exercise

Everyone knows that the Earth is round. But what specific meaning can be put into these words? As psychological studies show, many children understand these words completely differently from what adults expect from them. For example, they believe that the Earth is a flat circle that floats in the sea or floats freely in space. At the same time, when asked what shape the Earth has, they quite reasonably answer “round!”, and this answer does not contradict their ideas about the structure of the world. Come up with as many other options as possible, as erroneously as possible, but from the point of view of logic it is consistent to imagine the “roundness” of the Earth. The exercise is performed in subgroups of 3 - 5 people, work time is 6 - 8 minutes.

The meaning of the exercise

In addition to developing the ability to generate ideas, the exercise allows you to demonstrate the possibility of ambiguous interpretations and, as a result, the occurrence of errors even when understanding “truths” that seem obvious.

Discussion

SPORTS SUIT

Description of the exercise

Participants, grouped into subgroups of 3-4 people, are asked to make 2 lists:

1. What can be done with a tracksuit.

2. Something that cannot be done with a tracksuit.

5-7 minutes are allotted for this work, then the lists are announced. After this, it is proposed to come up with ways by which you can turn items from list 2 (“impossible”) into items from list 1 (“possible”). Another 6-8 minutes are allotted for this work.

The meaning of the exercise

Stimulating participants to generate ideas that at first glance go beyond common sense. Demonstration of the relativity of the concepts “possible” and “impossible”, their dependence on a number of conditions and assumptions.

Discussion

Representatives from each of the subgroups tell what “impossible” statements they were able to turn into possible ones and in what way. If some statements remain on the list of impossible, then what is the reason for this, what restrictions could not be overcome? Then participants are asked to give examples of situations from life experience in which the seemingly impossible turned out to be quite possible, and to suggest the rejection of what conventions, assumptions, and traditions this was associated with.

SPORTS LETTERS

Description of the exercise

Participants are asked to choose a letter that is often found in the Russian language (from approximately the following set: B, I, K, M, P, R, S, T) and depict it as a person. After that, they come up with as many words as possible starting with the chosen letter, denoting sports, various options for physical exercises, etc., and draw a person (still in the form of a letter) doing each of these activities. The exercise is performed individually, on A3 sheets, work time is 8 - 12 minutes. Then an exhibition of the resulting drawings is held.

The meaning of the exercise

Development of both verbal creativity (searching for words about sports that begin with a given letter) and the ability to express one’s ideas in an unusual, distinctly strange context (in this case, through drawings of a letter turned into a person and doing different things).

Discussion

What exactly seems most interesting in the created drawings?

ARCH

Description of the exercise

Participants unite into 2 - 3 teams, receive A4 paper, and are given the task: to make an arch from one sheet of such a size that any of the participants can pass through it. The arch must consist of a continuous strip of paper, but you cannot use any fastening accessories; participants only have scissors at their disposal. The method for performing this exercise is not explained to participants.

If the group is “advanced” and can easily cope with creative tasks, then it makes sense to complicate the exercise: ask the participants not just to build such an arch, but to come up with and demonstrate as many ways to do this as possible (10 min), and arrange a competition between the subgroups: who has invented more such ways.

The meaning of the exercise

Practicing skills in generating ideas in teamwork, uniting participants. The exercise is also interesting because the proposed task usually seems impossible to most participants at first, but then they are convinced that it is not difficult to complete, you just need to come up with ideas on how to do it. This allows us to demonstrate the conventionality of the concepts “possible - impossible” and show that one should not immediately abandon a task or call it “stupid” if a solution does not immediately come to mind.

Discussion

Who at first thought that the exercise was impossible to do?

Then you realized that it is actually simple, you just need to understand how. How often do we have situations in our lives when we cannot see a way to do something because we consider it impossible in principle and do not even try?

FREEZE

Description of the exercise

Participants move freely around the audience. At the leader’s command, given by clapping their hands, they stop and demonstrate, using facial expressions and pantomime (posture, gestures, body movements), the word that the leader calls. The “freeze frame” lasts 8 - 10 seconds, after which, when the leader claps again, the participants again begin to move freely around the room until the next clap sounds and the next word is called. It is advisable to take “still images” using a digital photo or video camera and demonstrate the footage to the participants immediately after the exercise.

You can use, for example, the following sets of words:

Sports, training, youth, victory, medal, glory, career, success.

Meeting, communication, understanding, friendship, love, family, happiness.

The meaning of the exercise

On the one hand, the exercise develops expression skills, on the other hand, it gives participants the opportunity to look at their attitude to those areas of life that the words relate to from a new perspective.

Discussion

What conclusions did each participant draw personally from this exercise and from observing other participants?

UNUSUAL NAMES

Description of the exercise

The exercise involves coming up with as many unusual but understandable names for some simple physical exercises as possible. The exercise is best done in subgroups of 3-4 people, although individual work is also possible. The time for discussing unusual names for one exercise is 4 - 6 minutes, after which the participants voice the proposed options.

The meaning of the exercise

Training in the generation of ideas related to the search for alternatives, rejection of the most typical options for interpreting objects and phenomena. Demonstration of one of the key principles of creative thinking: any point of view on something is only one of possible points of view.

Discussion

How great was the variety of proposed names, what features of the exercises formed their basis? In what life situations is it useful to abandon the most familiar ways of interpreting known things, and try to find alternative, unusual ways of perceiving them?

Discussion

How were the roles of the participants distributed when putting forward ideas; who took an active position and who chose to remain passive?

What is the reason for this, and how typical are the same positions for participants in other life situations?

To what extent was the flexibility of thinking demonstrated when putting forward ideas? Do they belong to qualitatively different semantic categories, or are the put forward causes and consequences fundamentally of the same plan?

What life situations can this game be likened to?

What skills are developed in it and where are they in demand?

INTERPRETATIONS

Description of the exercise

Participants are offered a short description of a situation of interpersonal interaction, conflict or incident that allows for the possibility of ambiguous interpretation, after which they are asked to describe this situation through the eyes of various characters, for example:

1. Each of the heroes directly involved in it.

2. A random observer who happened to be nearby.

3. Journalist.

Depending on what kind of situation is given as an example, the list of these characters can expand (for example, the roles of a coach, a law enforcement officer, etc. can be added).

Examples of situations for performing this exercise:

A pole vaulter pushes the pole back while clearing the bar. The height is successfully overcome, but the pole falls straight on the unwary judge, hitting him in the forehead with all its might. The judge is speechless from pain for a few seconds, and then, coming to his senses, decides to disqualify this athlete and remove him from the competition for “unsportsmanlike conduct.” Describe the situation from the perspective of the athlete, his coach, referee, sportsman

correspondent, spectator on the podium.

A teenager, wanting to impress a classmate, lit a cigarette during a break right in the classroom. She saw this and slapped him on the head. In surprise, he dropped the unextinguished cigarette and did not pay attention to it. As a result, a fire broke out and the classroom burned down. Describe the situation from the perspective of a student, his parent, a classmate, a teacher, a fire inspector who happened to be in the class of another student at that time, or the school principal.

The meaning of the exercise

The exercise teaches how to search for an alternative view of events and phenomena by mentally putting oneself in the place of its various participants, and promotes the development of empathy skills (intuitive understanding of the state of other people, “feeling” into it). In addition, this exercise usually reveals an extremely common mistake in interpersonal perception, which is that when explaining the reasons for the behavior of another person, we overestimate the significance of his personality traits, but underestimate the influence of the situation in which he finds himself. It is advisable to draw the attention of participants to this fact and remind them of what is real, as the results show psychological research, a person’s behavior is predetermined by the qualities of his personality, on average, only 30%, and the remaining 70% by the characteristics of the situation in which he finds himself.

Discussion

Which interpretations of events seem to be the most unusual and original? In what life situations is it important to be able to look at events from a new perspective, mentally putting yourself in the shoes of other participants? What was paid more attention to when interpreting events - the personality traits of the one who got into them, or the influence of the situation in which he found himself? How do we tend to explain the reasons for the behavior of other people in real life situations?

LIVE NUMBERS

Description of the exercise

The presenter calls out various numbers, and each participant demonstrates them with their body. After all the numbers have been demonstrated, the participants unite in threes and begin to show three-digit numbers called by the leader (5 - 7 attempts). It makes sense to film the resulting “figures” on an electronic photo or video camera, demonstrate it to the participants, collectively choose the one who managed to demonstrate them best, and symbolically reward him with applause.

The meaning of the exercise

Warm-up, development of expressiveness, generation of ideas about ways to transmit information with a lack of means available for this.

Discussion

It is enough to exchange emotions and feelings that arose during the exercise.

INCREDIBLE SITUATION

Description of the exercise

Participants are asked to think about an imaginary situation whose occurrence is improbable or extremely unlikely. Their task is to imagine that such a situation did occur, and to suggest as many consequences for humanity as possible to which it could lead. The exercise is performed in subgroups of 3 - 5 people, the work time is given at the rate of 5 - 6 minutes per situation. Here are some examples of sports-related improbable situations for this exercise:

The Olympic Games will be held as in ancient Greece: women will no longer be allowed to participate, and athletes will compete naked.

Doping control will be waived at all competitions.

Higher sporting achievements will not increase, but, on the contrary, decrease.

All people will decide to become professional athletes.

Football will be banned in Russia.

Sports will disappear from people’s lives altogether.

There are various options for carrying out this exercise. For example, several subgroups may be asked to discuss the same situation. Then the presentation of the results is organized as follows: each of the subgroups in turn receives a word in order to voice one of the options; the consequences cannot be repeated. If a subgroup runs out of original ideas, it drops out of the game; The team that stays in the game the longest wins. If the subgroups are offered different situations for discussion, then such a competition is not held; instead, representatives of each of the subgroups voice 3 to 5 ideas that seemed the most original.

The meaning of the exercise

Training the ability to generate unusual ideas in relation to situations that go beyond ordinary ideas.

Discussion

Which of the proposed ideas are most vividly remembered and seem to be the most creative? Why exactly are these ideas interesting? What facilitated this exercise and what hindered it? In what real-life situations would the ability to think about “impossible situations” be useful? Can you give examples from your life experience when a seemingly incredible situation became real?

GUESS THE CELEBRITY

Description of the exercise

The driver makes a wish for some famous person(for example, an athlete) who is known to all or the vast majority of participants. It doesn’t have to be a living character; it can also be a historical figure. The participants' task is to guess it. To do this, you can ask the driver such questions about the mystery person that imply the answers only “Yes” or “No” (the answer options “I don’t know” or, if the question is unclear or does not apply to the mystery character, “Difficult to answer”) are also allowed. Participants in a circle ask the leader such questions, and when one of them has a version about who the mystery is, he can voice it. If the answer is correct, he himself becomes the driver and makes a wish for the next celebrity; if it is incorrect, he is eliminated from the game until the end of the round. The game usually includes 3 - 4 rounds, but can, if the participants wish, last longer.

The meaning of the exercise

Training in the ability to understand information when there is a lack of initial information, and purposefully ask questions to obtain the missing information.

Discussion

What questions were most effective in identifying the hidden characters? Is it possible to identify any general strategies guessing these characters?

OPPOSITES

Description of the exercise

Participants are offered brief descriptions several situations, and it is proposed to come up with situations that could be considered as opposite to those proposed. The exercise is performed in subgroups of 3 - 4 people, the work time is determined based on the calculation of 2 - 3 minutes per situation. Then representatives of each of the subgroups take turns voicing the invented options and arguing why they can be considered as opposite to the proposed situations.

For example, the following situations can be suggested:

The boxer enters the ring.

A girl rides down a hill on roller skates.

A photojournalist sends photos from competitions to the editor.

Of course, you can offer other situations, but you should avoid too simple options in which the opposite situations are obvious (for example, “Team A won the match” / “Team B lost it”), and choose those where the opposites are not so obvious or, according to at least they can be distinguished on the basis of different characteristics.

The meaning of the exercise

Training in thinking “by contradiction” - a way of finding solutions to problems in which, in order to more fully understand their essence, their opposite is presented. Development of flexibility in the perception of life situations.

Discussion

What meaning did we put into the concept of “opposite” when performing this exercise? In which situations was it easier to come up with opposite options, and in which was it more difficult? What is the reason for this? Give examples of life situations where the “by contradiction” approach to solving problems can be useful.

SHOW WITH MOVEMENTS

Description of the exercise

Participants are divided into four subgroups that receive

one word from each list:

Time of day (morning, afternoon, evening, night).

Time of year (winter, spring, summer, autumn).

Elements (water, earth, fire, air).

Emotion (fear, anger, interest, resentment).

Age (child, teenager, adult, elderly person).

Profession (driver, doctor, cook, teacher).

Type of sport (field hockey, water polo, trampolining, mountain biking).

The easiest way to distribute words between subgroups is by drawing lots: write them on small pieces of paper, turn them over and ask representatives of each subgroup to draw one piece of paper out of every four. The elongated leaves are not shown to other subgroups and are not read out. When the words are distributed, each of the subgroups receives the task: to prepare small dramatic sketches, using movements to depict each of the words they received. You are given 6-8 minutes to prepare, then the teams take turns demonstrating their sketches, but you cannot speak. Representatives of other subgroups, acting as spectators, guess which words are being discussed.

The meaning of the exercise

Development of expressiveness, the ability to convey information with limited available means and perceive it in conditions of obviously incomplete data for this, team unity.

Discussion

What was easier - demonstrating or guessing the words?

Which sets of words were easier or more difficult to work with?

What is this connected with? Has there been a distribution of roles in teams during the work process (idea generators, performers, facilitators, etc.); If so, to what extent does the choice of roles reflect the general life position of those who played them? What real life situations can this exercise be compared to?

PROFESSIONAL SHOW

Description of the exercise

Participants, grouped into subgroups of 3-4 people, are offered lists of several professions. Their task is to prepare small dramatic sketches that would allow the audience to guess what professions they are. Sketches must not include speech or demonstration of publicly known attributes professional activity(like a white hat with a red cross on a doctor’s head); professions are shown through facial expressions, movements, and interactions between participants. Time for preparation is 12 - 20 minutes, for presentation - 1 - 2 minutes per profession. Each of the subgroups takes turns presenting their sketches, and representatives of other subgroups, acting as spectators at this time, guess which professions are presented.

Here are examples of occupational lists for this exercise:

Subgroup 1 Subgroup 2 Subgroup 3 Subgroup 4

Doctor Teacher Salesman Security Guard

Policeman Military officer Judge Lawyer

Pilot Driver Programmer Train driver

Editor Journalist Accountant Governess

Another option is to demonstrate not professions, but various sports.

The meaning of the exercise

Development of artistry, the ability to express information when there is a lack of means for this and to understand such expression from other people, team unity. In addition, the exercise gives reason to think about what the content of the work of representatives of various specialties is, how much we are guided by real knowledge about their activities, and how much by common stereotypes.

Discussion

What did the sketches reflect? to a greater extent: the real content of the work of representatives of the relevant professions, or some common stereotypes, purely external impressions about them? Give examples of life situations when people confuse one with the other: for example, they themselves choose a profession based on external impressions of it, without thinking about what representatives of these professions actually spend most of their working time on.

SPORTS TEAM LOGO

Description of the exercise

Participants, united in subgroups of 4-5 people, are asked to come up with and depict a logo for a team performing in the sport chosen by the participants. Operating time 15 - 20 min. Participants are asked to follow the stages of the creative process: spend the first 5 - 7 minutes putting forward ideas and recording them (in the form of verbal descriptions or sketches) without critical evaluation, then spend time evaluating the ideas put forward and choosing the most interesting one, and then detailing the selected idea and its implementation in the form of a full-size image (on an A3 sheet). After this, each team gives a presentation of its logo.

The meaning of the exercise

Demonstration of the specifics of work at various stages of the creative process, practicing team interaction skills at each of these stages.

Discussion

During the work, were you able to maintain such a sequence of stages of the creative process? If so, how did this contribute to its effectiveness?

What conditions are most important for productive creativity at each stage? If not, what prevented it? Is it advisable to subject any team creativity to rules, or is it sometimes more useful to let this process take its course?

(NOT) SPORTS PERSON

Description of the exercise

Participants take a sheet of paper and receive the following instructions:

“Please lay your sheet horizontally and divide it in half with a vertical line. Now, on the left half of the sheet, draw a sports person, and on the right, a non-sports person: the way you imagine them. The artistic qualities of the drawing do not matter, the main thing is to express with its help how, from your point of view, sports and non-sports people differ.”

You are given 6-8 minutes to draw, then the drawings are laid out one below the other (so that you get a series of images of a sports person, and in parallel - a series of images of a non-sports person) and the participants take turns commenting on exactly what qualities of these characters are reflected in their drawings. The presenter records the named qualities and then, summarizing, once again pronounces those of them that were mentioned most often.

The meaning of the exercise

Awareness by participants of the stereotypes existing in their minds about which people are and are not inclined towards sports, and how sport changes a person. Demonstration of the fact that in the public consciousness, sportiness is usually perceived in a positive way (beauty, physical health, etc.), and unsportsmanship – in a negative way.

Discussion

What new did each participant learn during this exercise? How, in their opinion, is it possible in other words, without using

particles “not”, express the meaning of the phrase “unsportsmanlike person”?

MY REFLECTION

Description of the exercise

Each participant leans his back against the wall, where a sheet of light wallpaper or 2 - 3 glued sheets of whatman paper, the height of his height, hangs, and takes a pose that, as he believes, reflects his typical emotional condition. The partner traces the outline of his body on the sheet with a pencil, after which the participants change roles. When the contours of each participant’s body are outlined, the resulting drawings are colored and, if desired, supplemented with real jewelry and details of the participants’ clothing. Working time 30 - 40 minutes, when coloring contours

body, it is advisable to use watercolor or gouache. After finishing drawing, each participant is asked to come up with a free-form presentation of their “reflection on the wallpaper” and demonstrate it (2 - 3 minutes per person).

The meaning of the exercise

Development of expressiveness, awareness of one’s bodily “pressures” - areas of increased muscle tension associated both with the inability to relax, and with insufficiently expressed emotions, unfulfilled desires, etc. In addition, the exercise helps to accept one’s physical appearance.

Discussion

What emotions and feelings arose during this exercise?

How comfortable and natural is the pose reflected in the picture?

What emotional state does it reflect that prompts it to be accepted?

What areas of the body are highlighted in brighter colors, and what is the reason for this?

What new things did you learn about yourself and other participants while doing this exercise?

I WANT_CAN_NEED

Description of the exercise

Participants build collages - visual compositions that include clippings from colored newspapers and magazines, drawings, photographs, and any small objects that the participants have at hand. The theme of the collage: “My desires, opportunities and responsibilities.” This reflects the personality structure according to E. Bern: “Child (desires) – Adult (opportunities) – Parent (obligation).”

Usually, the presenter first draws this personality diagram and briefly comments on it, and then invites the participants to complete collages, either adhering to the traditional scheme (three circles one under the other: desires in the bottom, opportunities in the middle, obligations in the top), or by coming up with their own version. A simpler modification of the exercise, appropriate when working with younger teenagers, is to focus on one of these components, for example, make a collage on the theme “my dream.”

Working time is 25 - 30 minutes, then there is a presentation - an excursion, during which the authors alternately act as guides, presenting their collages.

The meaning of the exercise

Exercise promotes a more complete awareness of your desires and capabilities, setting personal and professional goals, and increasing self-esteem.

Discussion

What conclusions did each participant draw for himself personally when performing this exercise, what new things did he learn about himself, his desires and capabilities?

Quote on topic: as the famous Russian psychologist and psychotherapist M.E. Litvak says, “A person’s happiness lies in the fact that for him “I want, I can and I need” have the same content.” To what extent do you agree with this position? Give arguments for and against it.

UNUSUAL ACTIONS

Description of the exercise

Each of the participants is asked to remember some unusual, original action, a strange and not entirely explainable from the standpoint of common sense, action committed over the past one or two months (1-2 minutes are given for reflection). Then participants are asked to briefly talk about it and also comment:

What exactly do they see as unusual about this action?

What, from their point of view, prompted him?

How do they evaluate this action “in hindsight” - what did it lead to, was it worth doing?

If there are less than 12 participants in the group, it is advisable to perform the exercise all together; with a larger number of participants, it is better to divide the group into 2 - 3 subgroups that will work in parallel.

The meaning of the exercise

The exercise helps to transfer knowledge and skills related to creativity to consideration of one’s own life, increasing the degree of openness to new life experiences.

Discussion

How do unusual actions affect our life - do they make it brighter, more interesting, more complex, more dangerous, or change it in some other way? Have the participants recently had situations when they wanted to do something unusual, but something stopped them? If so, what exactly stopped them, and how is this assessed “retrospectively” - is it right that the action was not completed, or would it have been better to have done it? Whose unusual actions did the participants want to repeat?

USING SKILLS

Description of the exercise

Each of the participants names some sports skill that he owns (for example, snowboarding or rollerblading, doing pull-ups on a bar, throwing a ball in a precisely given direction, etc.). Then the other participants offer possible options for using these skills - not only in physical education and sports, but also in other areas of life. The exercise is performed in a general circle.

The meaning of the exercise

The exercise teaches you to generate ideas about ways practical application resources available to participants, helps to increase self-esteem, and also increases motivation to develop new skills and improve existing ones.

Discussion

Participants exchange their impressions of the work and thoughts

about what angles of using skills interested them and aroused the desire to put them into practice, as well as about what new skills they wanted to master during the exercise.

MAGIC BINOCULARS

Description of the exercise

The presenter asks the participants to relax, take a comfortable position, close their eyes and begins to slowly, measuredly read out the instructions, pausing at the places indicated by ellipses: “Imagine that you have a magic pair of binoculars in your hands. Looking into it, you see what is happening in your future, in a few years. First, you look one year ahead... Where are you, what are you doing, who surrounds you?.. Consider this picture in all details. And now you look five years into the future... What do you see? What changes have occurred in your life?.. And now you look ten years ahead. What has your life become?.. Where are you, with whom, what are you doing? What changes have occurred during this time with you and around you?..."

After this, participants are asked to open their eyes, take three sheets of paper, draw two partially overlapping circles on them (like the field of view of binoculars) and depict in them what they imagined in 1, 5 and 10 years (10 - 15 min). The exercise is performed individually.

The meaning of the exercise

This is a meditative technique that allows you to take a more meaningful look at your life prospects, dreams and goals, and also move on to a conversation about what steps you should take to realize them.

Discussion

Each participant demonstrates their drawings and comments on what is depicted in them. If the drawings are positive in nature and reflect goals and dreams (most often this is the case), then the participant shares his thoughts on what he should do to make this future come true, but if something negative is depicted - thoughts about whether this can be avoided and if yes, then how.

CREATIVE LIFE

Description of the exercise

Participants, united in subgroups of 5-6 people, are given the task: Formulate a list of recommendations that will allow you to “make your own life more creative” and write them down. The recommendations formulated must be realistically implemented by all participants or at least the majority of them (i.e., do not imply the presence of any rare abilities, too large material costs, etc.).

The meaning of the exercise

Transferring the consideration of creativity problems from the plane of specially simulated situations to the area of ​​everyday, everyday life realities.

Discussion

The sheets on which the recommendations formulated by the teams are recorded are laid out or hung up for viewing by all participants. Representatives from each team in turn get the floor to voice their recommendations and briefly comment on how exactly following each of them will make your own life more creative. As an example and possible material for discussion in the group, a list of such recommendations compiled by experts in the psychology of creativity is given (L. King, 2005, p. 12

Exercise regularly.

Make sure your diet is varied and balanced.

Master relaxation and meditation techniques.

Improve your self-confidence.

Keep a diary, make sketches, write short poems

stories and songs.

Read fiction, developing imagination.

Think about alternative ways using objects that you come across in everyday life.

Think about the similarities between things that are unlike each other.

Take up painting or sculpture.

Visit inspiring places.

Do things you wouldn't normally think about.

Try to be more spontaneous and sociable.

Watch comedies and try to develop your own humorous style.

Listen to classical music.

Try to complete your daily routine in different ways.

Make new friends and expand your social circle.

Think of yourself as a creative person.

Think of creativity as a way of being.

Imitate that famous creative person you admire.

Learn to ask yourself the question: “What if?...”

Don't sit too long in front of the TV.

Let yourself dream.

Don't be afraid to be wrong or make a mistake.

Don't make hasty judgments.

Be interested in absolutely everything.

Expand your horizons of interests, etc. Warm-up exercise

Close your eyes and imagine a cube, try to turn it with another face, twist it. Once you have achieved success in this, try turning the cube into a ball. Rotate the ball for a minute, then open your eyes and begin to perform the suggested exercises. This task will help you tune into a creative wave and contribute to the birth of various ideas.

Exercise No. 1

Think of 10 ways to use an empty pen refill and write them down. It is advisable to come up with non-standard options (even crazy ones), this will increase the effectiveness of the exercise.

Exercise No. 2

Using only squares, try to draw a picture (or at least a drawing) that depicts some kind of plot.

Exercise No. 3

Write down the numbers from 0 to 9 in order and add various elements to them so that in the end it would be impossible to determine what kind of number is written.

Exercise #4

Try to combine two different objects and write down which ones beneficial properties this item will have.

Exercise #5

Take any object, mentally divide it into several parts (3-5) and write down the new properties of each part.

Second set of exercises (development of imagination).

To perform these exercises, you just need to close your eyes. If you don’t rely on your memory or want to improve your decisions in the future, take a piece of paper or a pen to write them down.

Warm-up exercise

Close your eyes and imagine a cube, try to turn it with another face, twist it. Once you have achieved success in this, try turning the cube into a ball. Rotate the ball for a minute, then open your eyes and begin to perform the suggested exercises. This task will help you tune into a creative wave and contribute to the birth of various ideas.

Exercise No. 1

Close your eyes and try to imagine an autumn park. Watch the falling leaves. Do the exercise for 3-5 minutes.

Exercise No. 2

Close your eyes and try to imagine yourself sunbathing on the beach. Look around, see the faces of the people nearby (if you can’t, just watch the play of the waves or something else). Do the exercise for 5-10 minutes.

Exercise No. 3

If people stopped being able to walk and learned to fly. Imagine how life would change.

Exercise No. 4.1

Write the names of any 10 objects, close your eyes and begin to imagine their images. Hold each image for 5-7 seconds.

Exercise No. 4.2

Using the images from Exercise No. 4.1, try to manipulate them. First, one, then bringing it closer, then moving it away, then try using two, three, and so on all ten together.

to develop the ability to see problems:

≪Look at the world through someone else's eyes≫.

≪In the morning the sky was covered with black clouds and it began to snow. Large snow

flakes fell on houses, trees, sidewalks, lawns, roads...≫.

After reading an unfinished story, students need to continue

this story, but in several ways: from your point of view; from the point of view of a pilot setting off on a flight; from the point of view of a hare or fox in the forest.

≪Write a story using this ending.

≪… and the kitten fell asleep peacefully in Masha’s arms.”

I use exercises aimed at developing the ability to conduct observations in order to identify a problem.

≪One theme - many stories.

It is necessary to come up with and draw as many stories as possible on the same topic. For example: “Forest”, “Animals of the native land”, “Across the taiga”, “Animal hunting”, etc.

≪A story on a given topic≫.

The theme of the game is announced by the student, going to the board, for example, “Winter”. Children

name words related to this topic. The student writes the words on the board and composes a story or fairy tale on an environmental theme.

In 1st grade, I successfully use the method of constructing fairy tales (according to the method of I.V. Vachkov), which allows students to develop communication skills for working in a group, contributing to the development of a creative, extraordinary approach to solving problems. For example, in class, a circle "We are explorers" In 1st grade I use group work. I explain to the children that at the next stage of work they will have to create creative work- compose a tale, but with famous characters.

- Why do they write and tell fairy tales?

- What character traits are most often ridiculed in fairy tales? Why are they there?

Are the characters punished?

- You need, after consulting with your comrades in the group, to choose one of the named negative character traits and use it in your fairy tale.

Perhaps it will be easier for you to make your choice after you have drawn lots

draw out cards with images of fairy-tale characters.

The group has the right to introduce one of its literary heroes by completing

replacement in the proposed set of cards. When selecting, one condition must be observed: the characters must be well known to children. Female characters: Baba Yaga, Frog Princess, Malvina, Little Red Riding Hood, Little Mermaid, etc., male characters: Father Frost, Old Man Hottabych, Pinocchio, Karabas-Barabas, etc.

The work takes place in groups of five people. The cards must be mixed, each group draws 5 cards at random, after 15-20 minutes they must present the name of the fairy tale and act it out. After viewing the presented fairy tale, it is discussed whether the actors managed to demonstrate the negative character trait of the character and teach him a lesson.

In the next lesson, to make the task more difficult for students, I suggest

compose a fairy tale telling about their life in the family or in the classroom. In a fairy tale, the student must imagine himself as the main character, depicted in any form, age, or appearance. After the children listen to the fairy tale, they are given the opportunity to express their feelings: did you like this fairy tale or not, if so, then what points, if not, then why?__

Characteristics of the creativity training program and exercises

The main goal of the program is to recognize creativity in oneself and develop it.

• 1) awareness and overcoming barriers to creativity;
• 2) awareness of the characteristics of the creative environment;
• 3) formation of skills and abilities to manage the creative process.

Creativity training makes it possible to receive personally tinged feedback without creating critical levels of tension.

The proposed exercises allow you to understand the phenomenon of creativity and develop the skills to control its mechanisms and latent factors that determine their successful functioning. They can be used to develop flexibility of thinking, decision making, and problem solving. In addition, the exercises can be used in practical classes in the psychology of creativity, general and social psychology.

In the course of the work, training participants gain the opportunity to understand what creativity is, what its manifestations are, as well as the barriers that prevent the actualization of their own creative resources.

In this case, the psychologist focuses on the following sequence of steps:

• · detailing the image of the problem and its cross-modal connection with the content of the accumulated experience;
• · use of heuristic techniques and techniques for managing the creative process;
• · embodiment of the found solution or behavior option into reality.

Creativity training allows you to understand the phenomenon of creativity and develop the skills to manage its mechanisms and hidden factors. They can be used to develop flexibility of thinking, decision making, and problem solving. In addition, the exercises can be used in practical classes in the psychology of creativity, general and social psychology.

Psycho-gymnastic exercises are combined into four large groups:

• 1. Exercises that can be used at the stage of acquaintance between participants in a creativity training group.
• 2. Exercises aimed at understanding what creativity is, what are the stages of the creative process, and what role the subject’s accumulated experience plays in its course. Exercises aimed at understanding the barriers to creativity (internal, formed during a person’s life, and external, knowledge of which allows a person to be more free in his decisions and actions, to create a creative environment for himself and other people).
• 3. Exercises aimed at developing the creative potential of participants, testing and training skills to manage hidden factors that optimize the creative process.
• 4. Exercises aimed at personal support of training participants.

Some steps carried out during the training involve the use of a number of specific techniques: meditation, guided visualization, guided imagination, free drawing, transforming the condition of a task or problem from a symbolic one into a figurative form.

The goal of the program: awareness of creativity in oneself and its development.

• - awareness and overcoming barriers to creativity;
• - awareness of the characteristics of the creative environment;
• - formation of skills and abilities to manage the creative process.

During the training, from the first minutes of work, an environment with the following parameters is created and maintained:

• 1. Problematic
• 2. Uncertainty
• 3. Acceptance
• 4. Non-judgmental.

In the course of the work, training participants get the opportunity to understand what creativity is, what its manifestations are, as well as the barriers that prevent the actualization of their own creative resources.

Specifics of the group discussion method, stages of group discussion

For determining this method There are several names such as "focus group", "focused group interview", "group discussion" and "in-depth group interview". The variety of names is explained by the fact that the understanding and use of focus groups since their introduction has been influenced by different theoretical directions. Modern definition"focus group" differs from the original one proposed by R. Merton.

Let's consider the term "focus group", namely the two key words "group" and "focus" in the name of this method. To do this, we turn to various concepts and definitions. The concept of “group” is very broad, it refers to both dyads and large groups. In this context, we are interested in a small group. In the definition of small groups, according to R. Baron, N. Kor, N. Miller, there are two main traditions. Within the first, it is determined by the period of existence, the presence of structure, individuals’ awareness of group membership, etc. Within the second, it is determined through the existence of any forms of communication between individuals or their mutual social influence. An example of the definition of the second type according to this classification is the formulation of D. Forsyth, where a group is “two or more individuals who influence each other in the course of social interaction.” The latter definition, in particular, allows focus groups to be classified as small groups. According to M. Shaw’s classification, there are six main definitions of a small group. First, definitions given from the point of view of the perceptions of group members, its participants and the group as a whole; secondly, the motivation of its members; thirdly, group goals; fourthly, its organization; fifth, interdependence; sixth, interactions. M. Shaw defines a small group as a community of people that exists for some time, has common goals and a primary group structure. In Russian social psychology, the definition of a small group given by G.M. Andreeva has become classic. So, this is “a group in which social relations appear in the form of direct personal contacts.” Summarizing the above, it is obvious that there are a number of classifications according to which focus groups belong to small groups. Considering them as a specific type of small group allows us to interpret the processes occurring in it, taking into account the principles of psychology, in particular, group dynamics. Another key word in the definition is “focus,” which reflects the concentration of the respondents’ attention and the sociologist’s efforts on a particular topic. Initially, in the interpretation of R. Merton, focus was understood as a stimulus, and in one of the very first studies, a film acted as it. IN marketing research the focus of the group is usually ads or its storyboard (most often presented in several pictures), product, company image, film, etc. However, in the social sciences in general, and in sociology in particular, modern stage development of focus groups, the stimulus for discussion can be a selected topic, problem or phenomenon of social life.

There are several basic concepts for defining the focus group method. The tradition of determining where a focus group has a stimulus was proposed by M.A. Robert and F. Tilman. According to these authors, it involves several respondents at the same time, is focused (on an external stimulus), and differs from other types of group interviews in the step-by-step nature of behavior. In this regard, the purpose of a focus group is to study the opinions of its members on a particular subject, while the facilitator is interested in obtaining the sum of individual points of view and finding out in as much detail as possible the opinions of group members. The definition through the introduction of the concept of “in-depth group interview” will be given by I. Goldman, understanding by depth the search for information that is not always manifested in the process of everyday communication, but by “interview” special kind interaction between respondents and the presenter in the process of obtaining data.

Using the following distinctive characteristics, R. Kruger defines a focus group:

• 1) community of people,
• 2) united in groups,
• 3) according to some criteria,
• 4) as a result of which data is produced,
• 5) having a qualitative nature,
• 6) during a group discussion.

Individual approach to discussion participants

The main features of an educational discussion are that it represents a focused and orderly exchange of ideas, judgments, and opinions in a group for the sake of searching for truth. Interaction and self-organization of participants - not taking turns answering students’ questions to each other, not making statements in anticipation of his assessment, but students turning to each other, discussing the ideas, points of view, problems themselves; organizational efforts, compliance with the rules of discussion on the part of the students themselves. Discussion is inferior to presentation in terms of the effectiveness of information transfer, but is highly effective for consolidating information, creative comprehension of the studied material and the formation of value orientations.

Among the factors for in-depth assimilation of material during the discussion, foreign researchers name the following:

• · familiarizing each participant during the discussion with the information that other participants have (exchange of information);
• · admission of different, divergent opinions and assumptions about the subject under discussion;
• · the ability to criticize and reject any of the opinions expressed;
• · encouraging participants to seek group agreement in the form of a common opinion or solution.

Difficulties in conducting discussions. A real discussion should not turn into a means of formulating a predetermined thesis (although it often happens that discussion becomes an effective means of persuasion in a particular point of view). During this discussion, each participant thinks freely and expresses his point of view. The leader of the discussion faces special tasks: he must not so much guide as stimulate, encourage participants to exchange points of view. The exchange of views between participants should occur freely.

It is necessary to structure an educational discussion in such a way as to give students the opportunity to make their own decisions, analyze the various ideas and approaches that arise in them, and build actions in accordance with their decisions. However, the traditional lesson is built in a different spirit. How to make the transition from a regular lesson to a lively creative discussion of the topic, a vision of the problems inherent in it?

One option for such a transition is an evolving discussion. Such a discussion arises as if by itself, naturally. However, in order for it to arise, appropriate conditions are necessary. In other words, children in a regular lesson should have the opportunity to discuss their thoughts and opinions with the teacher and with each other. This means that the teacher himself must be attuned to the possibility of such a discussion and be interested in the children’s statements. In this case, the teacher’s interaction with children is aimed at developing, deepening the children’s thoughts, and turns into an educational discussion.

Choosing a discussion topic to study in class is always problematic for a teacher. The main criteria are relevance and convenience for the educational process. More details:

• - compliance of the topic with didactic tasks;
• - significance and modernity, significance for all members of society;
• - preparedness of the teacher himself;
• - sufficient maturity of students to understand and study in detail;
• - lack of excessive emotional tension related to this problem.

In the experience of conducting educational discussions, a significant place belongs to the creation of an atmosphere of goodwill and attention to everyone. But what about mistakes? One of the rules of discussion is to refrain from any expression of approval or disapproval. At the same time, one should not ignore the illogicality of reasoning, obvious contradictions, unfounded, unsubstantiated statements. The general approach is to use tactful feedback (usually through questions) to clarify the basis of statements, the evidence that supports the opinion expressed, and encourage thinking about the logical consequences of the ideas expressed.

An important element of leading a discussion is the concentration of the entire course of the discussion on its topic, focusing the attention and thoughts of the participants on the issues under discussion. During a lengthy discussion, it makes sense to conduct an intermediate summary of the discussion. Summing up the current results of the discussion, the teacher usually stops at one of the following points of the discussion:

A summary of what was said on the main topic, an overview of the data presented, factual information;

Brainstorming technology

Brainstorming (from the English brainstorming - brain attack) is a teaching method that stimulates the intellectual, creative and cognitive abilities of students.

Brainstorming (MS) is one of the most popular methods of stimulating creative activity. Allows you to find solutions to complex problems by applying special discussion rules. Widely used in many organizations to find innovative solutions to a wide variety of problems.

MS - group collective production of new ideas. The method is based on the free expression of associations. The point is to collectively generate ideas that would not have occurred to an individual. Word for word, image for image... One expresses, another picks up, the third completes.

MS makes it possible to combine very different people; If the group manages to find a solution, then its members become staunch supporters of its implementation. Nowadays, brainstorming can be effectively used by organizations to improve the quality of work in teams.

MS is a technique that encourages putting forward as many ideas as possible, an unbiased attitude towards the statements of colleagues, and the desire to compromise.

MS is the most famous, but far from the most successful attempt to create a creative technique (albeit with a very impressive name). Various researchers have repeatedly made attempts to create more advanced modifications of the MS.

The classic brainstorming technique proposed by Osborne is based on two basic principles - “delaying judgment on an idea” and “from quantity comes quality.” The purpose of brainstorming is to eliminate the evaluative component in the initial stages of idea creation, which involves the application of several rules:

• * Free flight of imagination is encouraged - people should try to unleash their imagination as much as possible. It is allowed to express any, even the most absurd or fantastic ideas. There are no ideas so awkward or impractical that they cannot be expressed out loud.
• * There should be a lot of ideas - each session participant is asked to submit as many ideas as possible.
• * Criticism is excluded - at the stage of generating ideas, expressing any criticism towards the authors of ideas (both our own and others) is not allowed. Those working in interactive groups should be free from the fear of being judged on the ideas they propose.
• * Combining and improving proposed ideas - participants are asked to develop ideas proposed by others, for example, by combining elements of two or three proposed ideas.
• * At the final stage, the best solution is selected based on expert assessments.

The purpose of the “toolkit” brought to your attention is to familiarize yourself with step-by-step technology MS, consider the features of its implementation, understand what needs to be done to ensure a guaranteed result, what may be the reasons for ineffectiveness, evaluate the applicability of this method within your organization.

Heuristic conversation

Heuristic conversation is a question-and-answer form of teaching, when the teacher, instead of imparting ready-made knowledge to students, forces them to come to new concepts and conclusions. This is done through correctly posed questions on the part of the teacher and the use by students of their experience, existing knowledge and observations.

A characteristic feature of such a conversation is the presentation of a problem that requires a solution. To do this, the teacher asks students a series of interrelated questions that follow from one another. Each of the sub-questions presents a small problem, but together they lead to a solution to the main problem posed by the teacher. The question here plays a very important productive and cognitive function.

An example of such a conversation could be a question about the nature of the steppe. The teacher asks the question “What is winter like in the steppe?” and when he receives a short answer, for example, “Winter is short and warm,” the teacher begins to ask sub-questions. This is necessary because such a short answer, firstly, is insufficient, and secondly, does not allow the student to justify it. For example, the teacher asks about the location of the steppe on the map in relation to forests and tundra, while specifying which region is warmer and why. Then he expands the “horizon” of the question, asking whether winter is the same throughout the steppe, leading to the original question, to which children will be able to give not only a more detailed answer, but also justify it.

As a result of logically interconnected questions, when the conversation takes on a gradually unfolding character, they are accompanied by a chain of answers. The questions are not connected mechanically; they are arranged in such a way that each subsequent one follows from the answer to the previous question. And the answer acts as a separate mental step, which is part of the solution to the problem.

To summarize all this, we can highlight the main characteristics of a heuristic conversation:

• · Each of the questions posed is a logical step in the search;
• · Issues are interconnected;
• · The search for answers and solutions is carried out by students with partial guidance from the teacher on their own: the teacher directs - students solve the steps of a holistic problem;
• · Such a search is focused on ways of obtaining knowledge or proving its truth;
• · The stock of existing knowledge plays an important role in the success of the search.

To better understand the nature of heuristic conversation, we need to consider its structural and functional features. The main structural elements are questions and answers; the question is the leading element. A chain of questions requires answers to each of them, as a result they lead to a certain general conclusion. Each question and its answer form a separate step. In a heuristic conversation, movement to the next step is possible only when the previous step is completed, that is, a new question is asked only after the previous one has been answered.

Within each step and between them, the teacher can make corrective comments or explanations, for example, “show on the map”, “analyze the action”, “find”, “remember”, “read and say” and so on. Comments play a supporting role and are, in fact, questions expressed in a non-interrogative form.

As we see, a heuristic conversation does not have a rigid framework of sequential and alternating questions and answers; it includes student statements, value judgments, chains of questions can be posed in such a way that the answer to them is unifying

Types of group discussion (“round table”, expert meeting, forum, symposium, polemical dialogue, debate, “aquarium” technique, intergroup dialogue)

Round table

The discussion is aimed at discussing any current topic that requires comprehensive analysis. As a rule, participants are not faced with the task of completely solving a problem; they are focused on the opportunity to consider it from different angles, collect as much information as possible, comprehend it, identify the main directions of development and solutions, coordinate their points of view, and learn constructive dialogue. Since the discussion is organized literally behind round table, 15 - 25 people can take part in it.

Expert meeting

The role of the expert in the discussion should be discussed in advance with the invitee: he should silently observe and speak only when asked to do so;

if the expert is aware of what is required of him, he will not be surprised or offended when he is not invited to participate in the dialogue;

you should not give the expert the opportunity to dominate the discussion and may even ask him to leave if he goes beyond his role.

Try to distinguish between a creative conflict (mismatch of positions) and a personal conflict (hostility), categorically suppress the latter. Having completed the discussion of a block of questions, draw the participants’ attention to the “collective memory”, read out statements on this topic, and summarize in a few words. Thank the participants for their fruitful work; if necessary, express your wishes regarding the further course of the discussion; announce a break, offering to use it for communication During the break, review the notes with the reporter, help him formulate a clear summary of the topic discussed: with this summary you will begin work after the break to begin further discussion of the topic. After the discussion as a whole is completed, be sure to summarize the overall results, constantly referring to the record of “collective memory”. Finally, invite all participants to turn to the “Expectations” sheet, ask those who expressed their thoughts at the beginning of the discussion to answer how their expectations were met.

In modern pedagogical practice, many different options for organizing group discussion have accumulated, since it is actively being developed not only as a teaching technology, but also as a way of organizing extracurricular collective creative activities of students. The variety of types of discussion is determined by its diverse target orientation, the content of the activities organized with its help, and the number of participants. So, in addition to discussions organized in the form of a discussion of a problem by a small group, there are those that ensure effective discussion in a sufficiently large student group by dividing it into small groups and organizing discussion in them, and then coordinating the results of the activities of small groups.

The debate consists of the following stages:

• 1) The presenter offers participants (to choose from) two or more possible points of view on the problem. Positions can be role-based and simulate a variety of approaches to solving a given problem. These may be representatives of different professional and social groups, political parties and associations, etc.
• 2) Students choose which point of view they will defend and unite in microgroups (MG), the numerical composition of which may vary.
• 3) The rules of discussion, the duration of discussion in groups and the rules for group speeches in debates are determined (each group has the right to 3 speeches);
• 4) A discussion of the problem is organized in MG microgroups:
  • · roles are distributed among the members of each group; a system of arguments is built to convince opponents;
  • · answers to possible questions are thought out;
  • · the question of how to manage the given time is resolved.
• 5) The presenter takes turns giving the groups the floor, defining the rules for the presentation;
• 6) At the end of the debate, a joint analysis of the results of the discussion is carried out.

The discussion is aimed at organizing a consistent discussion of proposed issues and aspects of one topic in small groups, followed by analysis and coordination of various approaches and making a collective decision.

The Aquarium discussion includes the following stages:

• 1) preparatory - the leader presents the problem and divides the student group into microgroups, which are located in a circle. Groups discuss the problem and determine their point of view on it. A representative is selected from each group who will reflect and defend the group’s position to other participants;
• 2) “aquarium” discussion of the problem - representatives of the microgroup gather in the center of the audience and discuss the problem, representing and defending the interests of their group. The remaining participants observe the progress of the discussion, taking the position of analysts who evaluate the content and form of speeches, the degree of their persuasiveness, and the peculiarities of the communication style of the discussants, but they are prohibited from interfering in the course of the discussion. However, the teacher can allocate special time for questions to the participants in the “aquarium” discussion;
• 3) analysis of the progress and results of the discussion can be carried out in one or two stages, depending on the purpose of the discussion. If an analysis of the nature of the interaction in the “aquarium” group is necessary, the teacher asks its participants to evaluate the degree of their satisfaction with how the discussion took place and to analyze the reasons for satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Then the “analysts” are given the opportunity to evaluate the progress and results of the discussion, the nature of the interaction of its participants. Finally, the teacher systematizes the students’ conclusions and sums up the overall result of the joint activity.

The specificity of this discussion is that students discuss the problem in rotating groups, working at different stages of the discussion in different compositions and on different aspects Problems. Moreover, at each stage, the participant in the discussion takes a new position: he can be the moderator of the discussion, the 1st speaker, the 2nd speaker, etc. This ensures maximum activity and involvement of everyone in the discussion of all aspects of the problem, and develops communication and organizational skills.

The teacher conducts a collective analysis of the results of the discussion and sums up its results, noting those students whose presentations were the most interesting and meaningful.

Varieties of the case-study method or the method of specific situations (from English case - case, situation) - a method of active problem-situational analysis, based on learning by solving specific problems - situations (solving cases)

The method of specific situations (case-study method) refers to non-game simulation active teaching methods.

The immediate goal of the case-study method is to work together with a group of students to analyze a case situation that arises in a specific state of affairs and develop a practical solution; the end of the process is the evaluation of the proposed algorithms and selection of the best one in the context of the problem posed.

The case-study method is most widely used in teaching economics and business sciences abroad. It was first used in the educational process at Harvard Law School in 1870; The implementation of this method at Harvard Business School began in 1920. The first collections of cases were published in 1925 in the Harvard University Business Reports.

The problem of introducing the case-study method into higher education practice vocational education is currently very relevant, due to two trends:

• - the first follows from the general orientation of the development of education, its orientation not so much on obtaining specific knowledge, but on the formation of professional competence, abilities and skills of mental activity, the development of individual abilities, among which Special attention pays attention to the ability to learn, change the paradigm of thinking, and the ability to process huge amounts of information;
• - the second follows from the development of requirements for the quality of a specialist who, in addition to meeting the requirements of the first trend, must also have the ability to behave optimally in various situations, be distinguished by systematic and effective actions in a crisis.

Currently active methods training, including the case-study method, are widely used in the training of economic personnel in a number of leading economic universities in Russia. The use of the case-study method in teaching students of economic specialties allows them to increase cognitive interest in the disciplines they study, improve their understanding of economic laws, and contribute to the development of research, communication and creative decision-making skills. A distinctive feature of the case-study method is the creation of a problem situation based on facts from real life. Created as a method for studying economic disciplines, the case-study method has now found widespread use in the study of medicine, law and other sciences.

In order for the educational process based on case technologies to be effective, two conditions are necessary: ​​a good case and a certain methodology for using it in the educational process.

Case-studiеs - educational specific situations specially developed on the basis of factual material for the purpose of subsequent analysis training sessions. During the analysis of situations, students learn to act in a “team”, conduct analysis and make management decisions.

The ideas of the case-study method (situational learning method) are quite simple:

• 1. The method is intended to obtain knowledge in disciplines in which the truth is pluralistic, i.e. there is no single answer to the question posed, but there are several answers that can compete in terms of truth; the task of teaching immediately deviates from the classical scheme and is focused on obtaining not just one, but many truths and orientation in their problem field.
• 2. The emphasis of learning is shifted not to the mastery of ready-made knowledge, but to its development, to the co-creation of the student and the teacher; from here fundamental difference The case-study method differs from traditional methods - democracy in the process of acquiring knowledge, when the student essentially has equal rights with other students and the teacher in the process of discussing a problem.
• 3. The result of applying the method is not only knowledge, but also professional skills.
• 4. The technology of the method is as follows: according to certain rules, a model of a specific situation that occurred in real life is developed, and the complex of knowledge and practical skills that students need to obtain is reflected; in this case, the teacher acts as a facilitator, generating questions, recording answers, supporting the discussion, i.e. in the role of manager of the co-creation process.
• 5. The undoubted advantage of the method of situational analysis is not only the acquisition of knowledge and the formation of practical skills, but also the development of students’ value system, professional positions, life attitudes, a unique professional attitude and world transformation.
• 6. In the case-study method, the classic defect of traditional teaching is overcome, associated with the “dryness”, unemotional presentation of the material - emotions, creative competition and even struggle in this method, so much that a well-organized discussion of a case resembles a theatrical performance.

The case-study method is a tool that allows you to apply theoretical knowledge to solve practical problems. The method promotes the development of independent thinking in students, the ability to listen and take into account an alternative point of view, and to express their own with reason. Using this method, students have the opportunity to demonstrate and improve analytical and evaluation skills, learn to work in a team, find the most rational decision the problem posed.

Goals and objectives Training “Development of sensitivity”

training creativity discussion group

Goal: better understand people, capture the hidden experiences of the interlocutor, reduce the number of conflicts with the social environment.

• § increase sensitivity in perception of the surrounding world;
• § will develop the ability to understand the uniqueness of each person;
• § will improve your ability to establish and maintain contacts in communication, forecasting and activities of people;
• § will help in predicting the behavior of people belonging to different social groups.
• § expanding the horizons of personal growth
• § find the true reasons for your own feelings and experiences
• § Main goals of sensitivity training:
• § - development of psychological observation as the ability to record and remember the entire set of signals received from another person or group;
• § - awareness and overcoming of interpretive limitations imposed by theoretical knowledge and fragments of consciousness;
• § - formation and development of the ability to predict the behavior of another, to anticipate one’s impact on him.
• § Psychotechnical exercises aimed at developing observational sensitivity.

Methodology and exercises for sensitivity training

• § The concept of “sensitivity training” is used very widely and ambiguously. Sensitivity training (or interpersonal sensitivity training) in the practice of foreign social psychology was formed by the end of the 50s. XX century The roots of the training lie in the practice of T-groups. Many foreign experts use these two concepts as equivalent. K. Rogers, proposing one of the well-known classifications of group forms of work, identifies two main categories, or two main types: “sensitivity training” groups and “organizational development groups.” The term “sensitivity training” is usually used to refer to both Roger’s “meeting groups” and the so-called T-groups, or human relations training groups that arose in line with K. Lewin’s school of group dynamics. T-groups are defined as a collection of heterogeneous individuals who meet to explore interpersonal relationships and the group dynamics that they themselves create through their interactions. A distinctive feature of this method is the desire for maximum independence of participants in the organization and functioning of the T-group. The main means of stimulating group interaction is the lack of structure. Participants, finding themselves in a social vacuum, are forced to organize their relationships within the group themselves and develop procedures for communicative activities. Learning in this case turns out to be more the result of trial and error among group members than the assimilation of objective principles that explain interpersonal behavior. In addition, T-groups, by developing interpersonal sensitivity, improve self-perception, awareness group processes and the ability to engage constructively in group activities.
• § There are at least two approaches to defining the concept of “sensitivity”. Many authors consider it as a holistic, general property, as the ability to predict (predict) the feelings, thoughts and behavior of another person. Other authors prefer a multicomponent theory. American psychologist G. Smith believes that the answer to the question of which point of view should be adopted depends on what we want: to select sensitive people or to train them. When selecting, preference should be given to the view of sensitivity as a general ability; a multicomponent theory is more suitable for training, since it is this that gives the key to where to start training, why to train, how to do it, and, let’s add for ourselves, - what to train. These exercises develop the ability to capture and remember a wide range of signals that come from other people, which allows you to obtain a holistic and at the same time detailed image of a person and a group.
• § To train observation in relation to non-verbal aspects of communication, tasks are used, the implementation of which requires recording the features of appearance, facial expressions, gestures, postures, autonomic changes, micro-expression of the eyes, paralinguistic components of spoken speech, etc.
• § Exercises aimed at recording the verbal aspects of another’s behavior include tasks related to memorizing content, changing it, establishing the “authorship” of thoughts, ideas, the originality of the composition of statements and argumentation. To develop sensitivity to the spatio-temporal characteristics of human interaction, tasks are proposed that require fixing the interaction distance, spatial location, movements, and rhythm of movements.
• § Persuasive influence training.
• § The problem of persuasive influence is vital and relevant. Conviction can, at the subjective level, cover the conviction of someone or a whole group of people about something.
• § Opportunities for social psychological training allow each participant to independently search for individual, acceptable only for him, methods and methods of persuasive influence, taking into account only his originality and uniqueness.
• § In persuasive training, speaking integral part partner communication training are also used role-playing games(social-role and plot-role) and psychotechnical exercises, however, the role and importance of the former increases significantly compared to sensitivity training

Training for the development of creativity. The purpose of the training: awareness of creativity in oneself and its development. Developing teachers’ abilities to find new non-standard (creative) ways to solve problems; establishing communication connections in the teaching team.

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Creativity development training.

Target : awareness of creativity in oneself and its development. Developing the ability of participants to find new non-standard (creative) solutions to problems; establishing communication links within the group.

Tasks:

1. Awareness and overcoming barriers to the manifestation and development of creative thinking.
2. Understanding the characteristics of a creative environment.
3. Formation of skills and abilities to manage the creative process.

Creativity (from the English create - to create, English creative - constructive, creative) - the creative abilities of an individual, characterized by a readiness to create fundamentally new ideas that deviate from traditional or accepted patterns of thinking and are included in the structure of talent as an independent factor, as well as the ability solve problems that arise within static systems. According to the authoritative American psychologist Abraham Maslow, this is a creative orientation that is innately characteristic of everyone, but is lost by the majority under the influence of the existing system of upbringing, education and social practice.. Creativity is an activity that results in the creation of new material and spiritual values. Being in its essence a cultural and historical phenomenon, creativity has a psychological aspect: personal and procedural. It presupposes that an individual has abilities, motives, knowledge and skills, thanks to which a product is created that is distinguished by novelty, originality, and uniqueness. The study of these personality traits has revealed the important role of imagination, intuition, unconscious components of mental activity, as well as the individual’s need for self-actualization, in revealing and expanding one’s creative capabilities. *(A brief psychological dictionary / Under the general editorship of A.V. Petrovsky, M.G. Yaroshevsky. - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 1999. - P.380)

Discussion and acceptance of the rules of work in the group:
be active;
listen to each other without interrupting;
speak only on your own behalf;
if the information is addressed to someone specifically, then contact
directly to this person, do not talk about him in the third person;
do not distribute or discuss personal information outside of class
information about participants;
avoid criticism when performing exercises; if there is a need to criticize something, wait for discussion;
* in case of unwillingness to perform any exercise, the participant
has the right to refuse without explaining the reason for this, but he must declare this publicly

Exercise “Getting Acquainted”(5-7 min.)

Group members sit in a circle.

Instructions: “Let’s start our work with introductions: everyone in turn will say their name and three inherent qualities beginning with the same letter as their name.”

This type of presentation requires participants to be inventive and flexible in their thinking, offering a somewhat unusual approach to considering their qualities and personality traits. The action that the task prompts group members to take is consistent with the characteristics of the creative environment. The task requires significant effort to complete it informally, since the temptation to name the first qualities that come up with the right letter sometimes turns out to be stronger than the readiness to search for more accurate characteristics that correspond to one’s own ideas about oneself. In some cases, quite contradictory characteristics are named: for example, stable, collected, fussy. In this case, the presenter can turn to the one who named these qualities with a request to explain what caused the listed such, at first glance, contradictory qualities. It is possible to address the same question to the group. It happens that one of the participants names one-dimensional qualities: for example, benevolent, kind, friendly. The facilitator may ask this group member what prevented him from naming more diverse characteristics.

In the two mentioned cases, as well as other cases (for example, someone generally finds it difficult to name three qualities), group members can pay attention to the difficulties they encountered in completing the task, and these effects can be used in further work with the group.

Exercise "Line"(5-10 min.)

Target : team building. The exercise allows you to realize non-verbal means establishing contact, testing them in a safe group environment, testing your ability to establish contact in various situations, understanding that when establishing contact there are no universal means and rules, and first of all it is necessary to focus on the person with whom you are interacting.

Progress of the exercise : participants line up according to: height; hair color; alphabet of names; foot size; zodiac sign, etc.

Instructions: “Now you have to line up according to eye color, from lightest to darkest. It is forbidden to talk during formation. So, let's start." 2 minutes are given to build. Then it is proposed to build according to hair color, from lightest to darkest. The conditions are the same. The last task is the most difficult: line up in height with your eyes closed, without talking.

Issues for discussion:

• How are you feeling now?
• What did you like most?
• Was it difficult for you to do the exercise?

Exercise “On an Ice Floe”(10 min.)
Description of the exercise.
Participants are divided into teams of 4-6 people (it is desirable that
there would be an equal number of participants in the teams and between them
boys and girls were evenly distributed). Each of the teams
they are given a large sheet of newspaper, which they spread on the floor.
The presenter reads out the instructions: “Imagine that you find yourself on a broken ice floe, drifting in the middle of a stormy sea. The ice floe is your newspaper. You all need to place yourself on it and hold out for a few minutes to wait for the rescuers. You cannot touch the floor outside the newspaper - anyone who does this is considered “drowned.” When the participants are placed on their “ice floes” and hold in this position for 15-20 seconds, the presenter says:
that the storm broke off a piece from each of the ice floes, and tears off about IVparts from each of the newspapers, inviting participants to place themselves on what was left. This is repeated 2-3 times. If one person in a team “drowns”, it receives a warning; if two or more, it is eliminated from the game (“your ice floe has capsized”). The winning team is the one that lasts the longest.
The technique involves close physical contact between the participants
and involves an element of shared risk and is therefore not recommended
conduct it both in insufficiently “warmed up” groups, where participants demonstrate tightness and embarrassment, and in overly active, difficult-to-control groups.

Technique, in addition to stimulating participants to creative solutions
problem posed to them, promotes unity and the formation of mutual trust. In addition, it clearly demonstrates the basic principle of teamwork: it is impossible to win individually, only everyone can do it together. But you can also lose individually (“fall off an ice floe”) by betting
jeopardizing the actions of the entire team.
Discussion. First, participants share the emotions and feelings that arose
during the exercise, then - with your own thoughts
we talk about what allowed the winning team to cope better in such a situation, and what “ruined” the rest. After this, the presenter asks for examples of life situations where similar mechanisms appear.

Exercise “Incredible situation”(10-15 min)
Description of the exercise.
Participants are asked to think about some imaginary situation, the occurrence of which is improbable or extremely unlikely: Their task is to imagine that such a situation did occur, and to suggest as many consequences for humanity as possible that it could lead to. The exercise is performed in
subgroups of 3-5 people, work time is given at the rate of 5-6 minutes
for one situation. Here are some examples of incredible situations
for this exercise.
The force of gravity on Earth will increase 5 times.
All volumetric geometric shapes will turn into flat ones.
All people will suddenly grow tails.
The endings in all words of the Russian language will disappear.
The dollar will rise in price 100 times compared to all other currencies.
Cables will begin to hang from the clouds all the way to the Earth.
Sports will immediately and completely disappear from people’s lives.
The friction coefficients of all substances on Earth will decrease
20 times.
All metals will turn into gold.
People will learn to accurately read each other's thoughts.
There are various options for carrying out this exercise.
For example, several subgroups may be asked to discuss
judgments are the same situation. Then presenting the results
organized as follows: each of the subgroups in turn
gets the floor to voice one idea, repeat
it is forbidden. If the subgroup has run out of original ideas, it
happens from the game; The team that stays in the game the longest wins. If the subgroups are offered different situations for discussion, then such a competition is not held; instead, representatives of each of the subgroups voice 3-5 ideas that seemed the most original.
Psychological meaning of the exercise.
Training the ability to generate unusual ideas in relation to situations that go beyond ordinary ideas.
Discussion. Which of the proposed ideas are most vividly remembered and seem to be the most creative? Why exactly are these ideas interesting? What
contributed to the implementation of this exercise, and what hindered it? In what real life situations will this skill be useful?
think about “impossible situations”? Can you bring
examples from your life experience when a seemingly incredible situation becomes real?
Exercise “Unusual Actions”(10-15 min.)

Description

Each of the participants is asked to remember some unusual, original action, a strange and not entirely explainable act from the perspective of common sense, committed over the past one or two months (1-2 minutes are given for reflection). Then participants are asked to briefly talk about it and also comment:

What exactly do they see as unusual about this action?

What, from their point of view, prompted him?

How do they evaluate this action “in hindsight” - what is it for?

led, was it worth doing?

If there are fewer than 12 participants in the group, it is advisable to perform the exercise together; with a larger number of participants, it is better to divide the group into 2-3 subgroups that will work in parallel.

The meaning of the exercise.

The exercise helps to transfer knowledge and skills related to creativity to consideration of one’s own life, increasing the degree of openness to new life experiences.

Discussion. How do unusual actions affect our life - do they make it brighter, more interesting, more complex, more dangerous, or change it in some other way? Have the participants recently had situations when they wanted to do something unusual, but something stopped them? If so, what exactly stopped them and how is this assessed “retrospectively” - is it right that the action was not completed, or would it have been better to have done it? Whose unusual actions did the participants want to repeat?

Exercise

"Using Items"(10–15 min.)

Goal: development of creative intelligence.

Materials: paper clip, toothbrush, pencil, match... etc.

Procedure: In two minutes, find as many uses for a shoe lace as you can and write them down. This exercise develops creative intelligence; you can take any other subject for consideration.

Issues for discussion:

1. Was it difficult to come up with new uses for simple and familiar things?
2. How can your item be used?
3. What did this exercise make you think about?

Exercise

"Nonexistent Animal"(10-15 min.)

Target : to unite the team and get to know each group member better.

Materials : Whatman paper, colored pencils

Progress of the exercise

The group sits down at the table and is offered whatman paper and colored pencils. The group must agree on what animal they will draw and write a story about it: what is the name of this animal, what is it like (5 characteristics), what can it do and what benefits will it bring to people.

Issues for discussion:

1. Why did you choose this animal?
2. What is it called, what can it do?
3. Did you have any difficulties doing the exercise?

Relaxation (5min)

Make yourself comfortable, take the position that seems most comfortable to you. Close your eyes and do not open them or move until the end of the exercise.

Your body begins to gradually relax. You feel the tension in your muscles disappear. With every spoken word, every muscle of the body is increasingly filled with a feeling of peace and pleasant lethargy. Your breathing is even and calm. Air freely fills the lungs and leaves them easily. The heart beats clearly and rhythmically. Turn your inner gaze to the fingers of your right hand. The fingertips of the right hand seem to touch the surface of warm water. You feel the pulsation in your fingertips. There is a feeling that the hand is gradually immersed in warm water. This magical water washes your right hand, relaxes it and rises up your arm... To the elbow... Even higher... Now your whole hand is immersed in pleasant warmth, relaxing... Fresh water flows through the veins and arteries of your right hand renewed blood, giving it rest and nourishing it with new strength... Breathing is even, calm. The heart beats clearly, rhythmically... And now your inner gaze turns to the fingers of your left hand.

The text above is completely repeated for the left hand. At the end, be sure to give instructions regarding breathing and heart.

Pay attention to your feet. The feet relax. They feel a pleasant warmth, reminiscent of the warmth of a fire burning in a fireplace. It feels as if your feet are standing on a fireplace grate. Kind, gentle warmth rises up the legs, giving life-giving relaxation and rest to the muscles... Tension disappears... And now the leg muscles relax - from the tips of the fingers to the thigh... Breathing is even, calm. The heart beats clearly, rhythmically... A pleasant, relaxing warmth spreads throughout the body, which creates a feeling of peace and relaxation... Tension in the shoulders, in the cervical region, in the lower part of the back of the head disappears... You feel how the tension accumulated here dissolves and disappears... Leaves... Breathing is even, calm. The heart beats clearly, rhythmically... Now your inner gaze turns to your face. Facial muscles relax... Tension goes away from the cheekbones... From the jaws... Lips become soft and supple... Wrinkles on the forehead smooth out... Eyelids stop trembling... They are simply closed and motionless... All facial muscles relaxed... A light, cool breeze washes your face... It is pleasant and kind - this air kiss... The air brings you its healing energy... Breathing is even, calm. The heart beats clearly, rhythmically...

Your whole body enjoys complete peace... Tension subsides, dissolves, goes away... Fatigue disappears... You are filled with a sweet feeling of rest, relaxation, peace... Peace that fills you with new strength, fresh and pure energy...

Meditation “Mountain Peak”"(5-7 minutes)

The purpose of the given visualization meditation is to help a person enter a dissociated state in order to see and realize their problems as if from the outside. This allows you to significantly mitigate negative experiences and find new, unexpected ways to resolve problems. Thanks to this, the “Mountain Peak” psychotechnics help increase self-confidence.

Imagine that you are standing at the foot of a huge mountain. You are surrounded by stone giants on all sides. Maybe it's the Pamirs, Tibet or the Himalayas. Somewhere in the heights, lost in the clouds, the icy peaks of the mountains float. How wonderful it must be up there! You wish you were there. And you don't have to reach the top by climbing difficult and dangerous steep slopes, because you... can fly. Look up: a dark moving cross is clearly visible against the sky. This is an eagle soaring over the rocks... A moment - and you yourself become this eagle. Having spread your mighty wings, you easily catch the elastic currents of air and glide freely in them... You see torn, ragged clouds floating below you... Far below - toy groves, tiny houses in the valleys, miniature men... Your vigilant the eye is able to discern the smallest details of the picture unfolding in front of you. Take a closer look at it. Take a closer look...

You hear the soft whistle of the wind and the sharp screams of those flying past small birds. You feel the coolness and gentle elasticity of the air that holds you high. What a wonderful feeling of free flight, independence and strength! Enjoy it...

It is not difficult for you to reach any peak that is highest and inaccessible to others. Choose a convenient area for yourself and go down to it, so that from there, from an unattainable height, you can look at what remains there, far away, at the foot of the mountains... How small and insignificant the problems that trouble you seem from here! Evaluate whether they are worth the effort and stress you have experienced! The calmness bestowed by heights and levels gives you impartiality and the ability to delve into the essence of things, to understand and notice what was inaccessible there, in the bustle. From here, from above, it is easy for you to see ways to solve the issues that have been tormenting you... The necessary steps and the right actions are realized with amazing clarity... Pause.

Take off again and experience the amazing feeling of flying again. Let it be remembered by you for a long time... And now again be transported to yourself, standing at the foot of the mountain... Wave your hand goodbye to the eagle soaring in the sky, which made a new perception of the world available to you... Thank him...

You are here again in this room. You have returned here after your amazing journey...

Exercise " Creative life» (10-15 min.)
Description of the exercise.
Participants, united in subgroups of 5-6 people, are given the task: to formulate a list of recommendations that will allow them to “make their own life more creative” and write them down on a sheet of AZ-A2 format. The recommendations formulated must be realistically implemented by all participants, or at least
would be the majority of them (i.e. do not imply the presence of any
rare abilities, too large material costs, etc.).
Psychological meaning of the exercise.
Transferring the consideration of problems and creativity from the plane of specially simulated situations to the area of ​​everyday, everyday life realities.
Discussion.
The sheets on which the recommendations formulated by the teams are written down are laid out or posted for everyone to see.
participants. Representatives of each team in turn receive
word to voice your recommendations and briefly comment on exactly how following each of them will make your life more creative.
Example.
Here, as an example and possible material for discussion in the group, is a list of such recommendations compiled by experts in the psychology of creativity.
Exercise regularly.
Make sure your diet is varied and balanced.
Master relaxation and meditation techniques.
Improve your self-confidence.
Keep a diary, make sketches, write poetry, short stories
and songs.
Read fiction that develops imagination.
Think about alternative ways to use objects you come across in your everyday life.
Think about the similarities between things that are unlike each other.
Take up painting or sculpture.
Visit inspiring places.
Do things you wouldn't normally think about.
Try to be more spontaneous and sociable.
Watch comedies and try to develop your own humorous style. Listen to classical music.
Regularly look for ways to break out of your “comfort zone.”
Try to complete your daily routine in different ways.
Make new friends and expand your social circle.
Think of yourself as a creative person.
Think of creativity as a way of being.

Literature:

1. Gretsov A.V. The best exercises to develop creativity. / Educational and methodological manual. - St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Research Institute physical culture, 2006., – 44 p.
2. Ilyin E.P. “Psychology of creativity, creativity, giftedness.” - St. Petersburg, Petersburg Series: Masters of Psychology, 2009., – 448 p.
3. Jiri Scherer. Creativity techniques: how to find, evaluate and implement an idea in 10 steps / Jiri Scherer: [trans. with him. O. Gleissner].-M.: SmartBook, 2009., – 136 p.: ill. – (Innovative management strategies).
4. 4. N.V. Samoukina “Games that are played.” Psychological workshop. Dubna. Phoenix. 1996