Development of Critical Thinking for Future Preschool Teachers in the Educational Discipline «formation of Soft Skills of the Modern Preschool Education Specialist»

Abstract

Today, the need for the formation and development of critical thinking attracts more and more attention from foreign and domestic scientists. It was found out that this is primarily due to the lack of independence, social orientation, motivation and effectiveness of thinking of the younger generation. There is a tendency to increase the flow of information with which a person interacts on a daily basis, but the question arises not only of perceiving and memorizing this information, but also of critical understanding, highlighting important characteristics, and achieving the truth of knowledge. The development of critical thinking becomes the main task of education, in particular higher education, it is an important component of the intellectual development of future teachers. The article considers the need to develop critical thinking skills in future educators. The didactic features of the mentioned phenomenon among students of higher education in the specialty 012 Preschool education during the study of the discipline «Formation of soft skills of a modern specialist in preschool education» were revealed. Education focused on the development of critical thinking is an urgent methodological problem of modern education. Techniques for the development of critical thinking make it possible to obtain positive results in the formation of active mental activity of students. The specified type of thinking is aimed at developing skills for working with information, the ability to analyze and apply this information in solving professional situations. Based on the analysis of scientific literature, the interpretation of the concept of «critical thinking» from the perspective of psychological and pedagogical science, namely the views of researchers of the past and modern scientists, is highlighted. The author describes the methods and techniques of developing critical thinking. Among them, the following were found to be effective: «INSERT», «Open microphone», «Brainstorming», «Conjecture tree», «Written discussion», «Thick and thin questions», «PRES-formula», «Fishbone». The specified methods and techniques accustom students to independent thinking, a critical look at alternative solutions to existing problems, and the choice of well-founded argumentation. Emphasis is placed on the application of the problem-based approach in the educational process, which is the main tool for the development of critical thinking, because it contains a contradiction that allows students to form their own attitude to the issues under consideration. It has been proven that during the study of micro- and macroeconomics, effective methods of developing critical thinking are the division of students into groups and teamwork during preparation for debates, and the important role of essay writing is also analyzed. Key words: critical thinking, professional training, future educator, «INSERT», «Written discussion», «PRES-formula», «Fishbone».