PROJECT TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PROCESS OF PREPARING FUTURE SOCIAL TEACHERS FOR WORK WITH GIFTED CHILDREN

Abstract

The article emphasizes the importance of activities engaging gifted children, revealing their proneness and skills, creating favorable conditions to advance their gifts, and facilitating self-actuation and successful socialization in modern pedagogy. It necessitates conducting social and pedagogical activities with gifted children and training the relevant professionals in higher educational establishments for fulfilling this task. In training future social educators, one shall consider the peculiarities of gifted children and specific nature of social and pedagogical activities engaging them. We have defined the terms “giftedness” and “gifted children”, and discovered the peculiarities of gifted children to be considered by educational professionals working with them. We have also outlined the special nature of social and pedagogical activities with children with signs of giftedness. A poll conducted for future social educators revealed that the latter are not completely ready to work with gifted children. It emphasizes the necessity of their professional training in this domain in higher education establishments. The author's definition of “professional activities of social teacher in work with gifted children” and the definition of “professional training of future social educators for work with gifted children” were examined. We have explained the reasonability and benefits of using project technologies in professional training of these students to work with gifted children. The following definitions were made: “project”, “project method”, and “project technologies”. Projects classification was considered. We have revealed the demands and peculiarities of project technologies use. We have also outlined the specific nature of project technologies applied to course entitled “Social-pedagogical work with gifted children”. A case study of a collective student project was examined. The project was aimed at defining a professional identity for gifted children. It considered the requirements for project technologies and the special nature of social and pedagogical activities conducted while working with these children. The implementation of the consummated project proved its efficiency. As the project was implemented, students applied the knowledge and skills acquired during course studying, and developed the necessary competences making them ready to work with gifted children professionally.