In your opinion, at what age should children be introduced to the theory of solving inventive problems? While you are thinking, we will answer: from kindergarten. No, no, we are not talking about forcing preschoolers to take integrals or design 3D graphics. The point is to teach children to think creatively and find ways to solve problems that arise before them.
Agree, even the most loving and caring parents cannot give their children ready-made templates for solutions for all occasions. And not even because it is physically impossible, but because it is not necessary. A much more reasonable step would be to instill in children an algorithm for solving emerging problems and teach children to use it.
Our program “TRIZ in practice: a creative approach at work and in life” will help you with this. And, of course, our article about TRIZ methods for preschoolers, where we will look at the basics of this creative approach for the little ones who have already reached kindergarten, but who are too early for school. This is the most important stage, because it is during this period of life that children lay the foundations of thinking and the foundations for their future success in school and life.
What is TRIZ?
First, let's say a few words about what TRIZ is. The original idea of TRIZ is that different problems can often be solved using the same methods. The theory is based on several dozen ready-made techniques and solution templates, from which you need to select the most suitable ones for a specific task.
Initially, the posed problem is reduced to a certain general form, then a suitable technique is sought to solve it, and then the solution found is applied to the initially posed problem. At first, the theory was used to solve technical problems, but later it became clear that TRIZ could be applied to life and to solve a wide range of problems.
The very first version of the theory of solving inventive problems was developed by
Genrikh Saulovich Altshuller (1926-1998), known to science fiction fans under the pseudonym Genrikh Altov. Yes, he is not only an inventor, but also a talented writer, and his “Legends of Star Captains” and other works are loved by many generations of readers [G. Altov, 2015]. By the way, Heinrich Altshuller wrote a lot for children. Is this why the theory he invented for solving inventive problems is applicable even to kindergartens?
Heinrich Altshuller began developing the principles and methodology of TRIZ in the post-war years, then continued to work on the theory in collaboration with the inventor Rafael Borisovich Shapiro (1926-1993). By the way, Shapiro was also a writer and signed his works with the pseudonym Rafail Bakhtamov. It is significant that the very first publication devoted to TRIZ touched primarily on issues of the psychology of invention and was called “On the Psychology of Inventive Creativity” [G. Altshuller, R. Shapiro, 1956].
In the same article, an attempt was made to systematize the creative process, breaking it down into stages:
- Analytical stage – selection and definition of the fundamentals of the problem, identification of the main contradiction and its causes.
- The operational stage is the study of typical solutions in nature and technology, and the subsequent search for new methods within the system and beyond.
- The synthetic stage is the introduction of functionally determined changes to the system and methods of its use, checking the applicability of the principle to solving other problems.
The concepts, methods and solution schemes were presented in more detail in the book “Introduction to TRIZ”, which was subsequently republished many times. Basic concepts and approaches" [G. Altshuller, 2011]. Thus, the author of the theory believes that the first step to invention is the correct formulation of the situation so as to immediately exclude from consideration not very effective and not very promising solutions.
Next, you need to set the task in the format of “remove unnecessary quality without losing the functionality of the system” or “add the desired quality in addition to the existing ones.” This formulation of the problem allows us to answer a number of extremely important questions for subsequent work :
- What parts does the system have and how do they interact?
- Which parts and interactions are beneficial, which are harmful, and which are neutral?
- What can be changed without losing functionality, and what cannot?
- What will lead to improvement of system functions and what will lead to deterioration?
Then you need to identify contradictions on the way to solving all these issues and eliminate them. For example, to increase the strength of a structure without increasing the mass of the structure. Actually, after all this has been done, there is literally a step left before invention. The algorithm for solving inventive problems (abbreviated as ARIZ) developed by Heinrich Altshuller includes several dozen steps. The number of steps varies depending on the version of the algorithm.
How can all of the above be applied in kindergarten, when most children have just begun to memorize letters and numbers? Let's find out!
Accidents are not accidental: first testing
Until the fall of 1987, teachers and teachers of preschool educational institutions simply did not know what it was - TRIZ technology. The world of childhood and the art of invention came into contact only when, in the Far Eastern port city of Nakhodka, seminarians who were supposed to read reports for engineering and technical workers were suddenly asked to conduct a lesson with children.
Successful performances in front of the children who listened attentively made it possible to draw a conclusion about at what age one can begin to introduce a person to systems thinking. After this, the theory of solving inventive problems began to be actively used when working with children - first at the stations of young technicians, and then, when its main sections were supplemented by purely educational ones, such as creative pedagogy and the theory of creative personality development, and everywhere in preschool educational institutions.
Why is the TRIZ methodology needed in kindergarten?
We all come from childhood, and the foundations of a person’s future life are laid precisely in preschool age. At this time, the little person learns to walk and talk, read and write, listen and understand, communicate and express emotions, and, of course, think.
Today, creative thinking is needed in almost any field of activity: law and software development, medicine and the construction of country cottages, pedagogy and even the installation of telecommunication networks, because communication means penetrate where nothing is suitable for their use.
How work with children in kindergarten is structured largely determines how creative thinking will be developed in children. And, therefore, how well they will study, how well they will choose a profession and how well they will be able to fit into the modern world. The objectives of the TRIZ methodology are precisely to teach a creative approach, and therefore are ideally suited for working with preschoolers.
Children are not yet constrained by perception patterns, they are inquisitive and spontaneous, they are just learning about this life. Therefore, nothing prevents them from imagining their imaginary world and deciding for themselves how they want to see it. Ideally, children should not only not be disturbed, but also indulge in every possible way their desire for creativity and learning everything new. The introduction of the TRIZ methodology in a preschool educational institution (preschool educational institution) contributes to the creative process to the fullest.
Let us note that creativity is not some separate process isolated from everything else. Creativity is directly related to the development of analytical thinking, observation, attentiveness, imagination, speech, and the acquisition of new sensorimotor skills. As a result, the ability to think creatively contributes to the formation of a multifaceted personality with a broad outlook and the ability to practically solve emerging problems.
Objectives of the TRIZ methodology:
- Development of creative perception and thinking.
- Development of the qualities of a creative personality.
- Formation of vocabulary.
- Development of coherent speech and the ability to express thoughts.
- Pronunciation correction.
- Formation of perception of numbers and mathematical concepts.
- Teaching constructive activities.
- Instilling socialization, interaction and teamwork skills.
Thus, the TRIZ methodology contributes not only to creativity itself. The TRIZ technique is no less useful in developing coherent speech, replenishing vocabulary, acquiring skills in operating numbers and mathematical concepts, and much more. It is probably easier to find what is not included in the tasks of the TRIZ methodology.
Therefore, the TRIZ methodology in kindergarten is needed, on the one hand, to develop flexibility and systematic thinking, and on the other hand, to stimulate search activity and the ability to find answers to non-standard questions. Using the TRIZ methodology, you can significantly activate a child’s creative potential, his mental activity and imagination, and raise a child into a real inventor and generator of new ideas.
And one more important point. A kindergarten, a group in a kindergarten, is a small group, but a team. And sometimes it’s not a small, but a fairly large children’s group. Group classes using the TRIZ method teach children cooperation, interaction, the ability to help a friend and find a way out of a difficult situation, as well as rejoice at their own and others’ successes when the problem is successfully solved.
The results will not take long to arrive. Parents and educators will soon see that the child’s drawings have become more diverse, artistic subjects are more complex, speech is more literate, and now the child assembles structures from Lego not only from the proposed pictures, but also by inventing his own figures.
In general, TRIZ is a useful technique for children in all respects. All that remains is to figure out how to apply such a complex technique as TRIZ for such young children as preschoolers.
TRIZ program at preschool educational institutions
Learning is structured in such a way that children do not even realize that they are studying a very complex theory, which is quite difficult for an adult to comprehend. A child's mental flexibility has no boundaries or limitations. His imagination is limitless.
Please note that all the best inventors on the planet were fond of science fiction as children. And an inventive project in a preschool educational institution with TRIZ allows children to believe and immerse themselves in that very world of fantasy, and understand that everything is possible in life, you just need to want it.
TRIZ methods in preschool educational institutions work to develop independence in the child. Isn’t this what every mother dreams of while hastily tying shoelaces and straightening her preschooler’s hat? They learn to make decisions and take responsibility for them. Creative thinking develops enormously, and the child is sure that this is the norm, that this is the way to think.
The use of TRIZ technologies in speech therapy groups at preschool educational institutions has proven to be very effective. Speech development based on the methodology occurs quickly and fully. By school, children are already able to compose coherent stories based on a picture, including their emotions and experiences. There are no pauses or filler words in their speech.
Moreover, learning to deeply analyze a situation helps children make predictions for the future. That is, they learn to assume what the result will be if they do this or that.
TRIZ methodology: implementation technologies
The essence of the TRIZ method for preschoolers is to draw the child’s attention to the features of the world around him, interesting phenomena and events, but at the same time not to give an exhaustive explanation and answer to all questions. In other words, you don’t need to give children ready-made recipes and solutions, you need to teach them to find answers on their own.
In this sense, TRIZ is quite rightly considered a “school of creative personality”, because TRIZ presupposes creativity in everything, from posing a question to ways of finding an answer. By the way, this is completely consistent with the concept of the great Russian teacher, psychologist and researcher Lev Vygotsky.
Thus, he explored the relationship between learning and development, thinking and speech, creativity and imagination, social environment and mental development. He introduced into scientific use the concept of the “zone of proximal development for children” and always insisted that learning is not the same as development. You can read more about his developments in this direction, in particular, in the book “Thinking and Speech” [L. Vygotsky, 1999].
Actually, the difference between TRIZ and traditional methods of working with children is precisely to give children the opportunity to think of things that are accessible to them with their own minds, and not just repeat what adults have said. Of course, such methods require special training on the part of preschool teachers.
At a minimum, they themselves should be able to see the unusual in the ordinary, the new in the familiar. And they must be able to show this new and unusual to children. How? For this purpose, there are special methods and technologies adapted to the characteristics of preschool age.
TRIZ methods for preschoolers are described in detail in the book “TRIZ Classes in Kindergarten (a manual for teachers of preschool institutions)” [P. Gin, 2010]. Options for applying these methods in practice can be found in the book “Development of Creative Thinking. Along the steps of TRIZ. First stage. Workbook" [E. Pchelkina, 2019].
Let’s say right away that in TRIZ methods for children we will see a lot in common with methods for stimulating creative activity and imagination in adults. The difference will only be in the specifics of the tasks that children face. All tasks are adapted taking into account the age and perception of preschoolers, and the teacher acts as a moderator of the discussion. So let's see how it works!
Brainstorming method
The brainstorming technique is that children are given a problem and asked to find a solution, and they are allowed to put forward any, even the most unrealistic, versions of the solution. Any criticism of the ideas put forward is prohibited, both from adults and from group mates in the kindergarten. You can only complement and offer improvements to other people's ideas. Tasks for brainstorming are chosen from among those understandable to children:
- How to save your grandmother from a gray wolf.
- How to put out a fire without water.
- Where to hide from the heat in summer.
When a lot of ideas accumulate, the discussion participants all together choose the best option.
Method of morphological analysis
The essence of the method is to try to combine different characteristics of an object when creating a new object. Let's say, if you need to invent a new game, for clarity, two axes are drawn. Along one they draw the parts of the body that will be involved in the game (arms, legs, arms + legs), and along the other are the playing devices that can be used (ball, tennis racket, jump rope).
Next, the whole team goes through possible options for combining and using body parts and gaming devices in the game, and at the end, you can invite everyone to play together a new game that the children have just come up with. Such games using the TRIZ method greatly develop fantasy, imagination, and the ability to interact. This is a simple example, but in principle, using the method of morphological analysis, you can invent much more complex things and find dozens of variations of a future invention.
Focal object method
This method assumes, to some extent, the opposite situation: you need to transfer the properties of one object to another. The simplest example: imagine and draw what a dog with wings, a bird with horns, or a waterfowling camel might look like.
In a similar way, you can try to “create” a hybrid of a ship and an airplane, a train and a submarine, a car and a helicopter. The main thing is not to limit children's imagination in anything! In this regard, the focal object method is ideal specifically for children, because its application possibilities are limited for complex technical solutions.
Directory method
The essence of the method is to arrange events in a logical sequence and come up with connections and transitions between them. In this way, for example, you can compose a new fairy tale. The teacher gives hints in the form of pictures and leading questions:
- Who is our main character in the fairy tale?
- Is this hero positive or negative?
- Why is this hero positive or negative?
- What bad did the bad guy do?
- What good did the positive hero do?
- How did they fight each other?
- Who supported the negative hero?
- Who supported the positive hero?
- How did the confrontation between good and evil end?
In addition to imagination, this TRIZ technique is useful in developing coherent speech, public speaking skills and expanding vocabulary.
Personal analogy method
As part of this method, children are asked to personally depict any animal, phenomenon, or object. You should start with simple tasks. Let's say, depict a cat or a dog, show how the cat or dog is angry, happy, asking for food.
Afterwards you can move on to more difficult tasks. For example, depict rain, a thunderstorm, snowfall, a storm at sea, a boiling kettle, or a working vacuum cleaner. Then you can further complicate the task. For example, ask the children to imagine how a cat or dog would sing the song “A Christmas Tree Was Born in the Forest.” Or choose a suitable song for the “singing vacuum cleaner”.
Little People Modeling Method
The little people technique in TRIZ is a simplified and accessible for children version of the structure of the surrounding world from three types of little people: “hydratics”, “tverdikov”, “pneumatics”. Solid objects seem to be made of “tverdik”, and the “tverdik” stand close to each other and hold hands tightly.
By analogy, liquids seem to consist of “hydratics”, because “hydratics” do not hold hands and can move relative to each other. But “pneumatics” are constantly in motion, so we cannot see air, gas and other gaseous substances with our own eyes.
To begin with, children are explained the structure of solid, liquid and gaseous objects separately, and only then in connection and interaction. For example, iced tea is in a solid cup made of “hards”, and itself consists of “hydrates”. If the tea is hot, steam from the “pneumatics” rises above it.
In a similar way, it can be explained why you can easily remove a spoon from a cup of tea by picking it up, but you cannot pick up water from a cup. If we imagine that a spoon consists of several “tverdiki” that hold hands tightly, then, by taking and lifting one “tverdik”, we lift all the others with it. And water consists of many “hydratics” that do not hold hands. Therefore, taking one “hydratic”, we can only pull it out of the cup, that is, only a drop of water.
Methodology of typical fantasy techniques
The method of standard fantasy techniques (TFT) involves changing the properties of an object using magic. The Wizard of Increase, the Wizard of Decrease, the Wizards of Division and Union, and also the Wizards who can take us to the past or future come to the aid of children.
Children need to imagine what will happen if this or that object is enlarged, reduced, divided into parts, or transferred to another era. Examples of practical tasks can be found in the report “Methodology of typical fantasy techniques (TPF)”, made specifically for teachers working with young children [L. Mikhailina, 2016]. By the way, this technique is suitable not only for kindergartens. This TRIZ technique is also used in elementary schools.
Goldfish method
The Goldfish Method consists of dividing a situation into its component elements, evaluating the elements as real or fantastic, and finding a rationale for elements that seem impossible and fantastic. This method was named according to the plot of a well-known fairy tale, and it is easiest to consider the application of the method using the example of a fairy tale about a goldfish.
Children are offered a line-by-line analysis of the work with a rating on the “real - fantastic” scale. So, the first few lines look quite real. The old man could really live with his old woman on the seashore, and indeed, instead of fish, with a net you can pull out both algae and mud. Fantasy begins from the moment when a goldfish falls into the net.
Can a fish be gold? Here the children are invited to find an explanation for this phenomenon. For example, fish scales sparkled in the rays of the sun and therefore seemed golden. Or the sea was distant and southern, where fish of the most bizarre colors are found. This is how children find reasons for phenomena that are incomprehensible and unreal at first glance. Therefore, the “Goldfish” method is often called the method of substantiating new ideas.
Snowball method
The Snowball method is the exact opposite of the Goldfish method. It is based on the assumption of a certain fantastic situation, on which, like a rolling snowball, very real events are layered. A classic use of this technique is the story “Amphibian Man” by Alexander Belyaev.
The initially unrealistic fantastic idea that gills were implanted into a person to breathe under water is superimposed on other, very real events from people’s lives. By the way, the “Snowball” method is most often used for writing fairy tales. And, using this method, it is quite possible to teach children to compose fairy tales on their own.
These are the most basic and most popular TRIZ techniques for preschoolers. You will find more methodological developments in the article “Conducting classes using TRIZ technology in kindergarten” [N. Fominykh, 2017].
We already foresee that some readers are ready to begin making skeptical remarks about the authors of the methodology and assumptions that the authors themselves did not work in kindergarten and have never seen living children. And they don’t know that even the most inquisitive and good-natured baby can in the blink of an eye turn into an angry, withdrawn creature who will answer all the adults’ questions by remaining silent or answering with a monosyllabic “I don’t know.” What to do in this case?
Using TRIZ technology in the educational process of a preschool institution
In modern conditions, the number of changes in life that occur in a short period of time urgently requires a person to have qualities that allow him to approach any innovations creatively and productively. In order to survive in a situation of constant change, in order to respond adequately to them, a person must activate his creative potential [9, p. 3].
For a long period, education in a preschool institution was focused on the formation, first of all, of knowledge, skills and abilities, and was of a reproductive and informational nature.
Currently, there is a reorientation of education towards the development of creative qualities of the individual.
The task of developing a creative personality prepared for the stable solution of non-standard problems in various fields of activity in the process of education and training, set in the Federal Law “On Education of the Russian Federation” dated December 29, 2012 No. 273 - Federal Law and the Federal State Educational Standard, approved by order of the Ministry of Education and Science Russia dated October 17, 2013 No. 1155, is one of the socially significant priorities of modern society [1], [2].
Kindergarten teachers today face a difficult task - to improve the pedagogical process so that it meets the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard and ensures the preservation of the intrinsic value and uniqueness of the preschool period of childhood.
The introduction of innovative technologies in preschool educational institutions is an important condition for improving the preschool education system.
Among innovative technologies for teaching children to think creatively, the technology of G.S. occupies a leading place. Altshuller - the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), adapted to work with preschoolers T.A. Sidorchuk, S.V. Lelyukh S.V., N.N. Khomenko N.N. and others about 20 years ago [9, p. 4].
TRIZ for preschool children is a system of games, activities and tasks that can increase the effectiveness of the program, diversify the types of children's activities, develop creative thinking in children, technology allows for a naturally person-oriented approach, and the principle of conformity with nature, which is especially important in the context of the Federal State Educational Standard BEFORE.
“TRIZ is a controlled process of creating something new, combining precise calculation, logic, and intuition,” this is what the founder of the theory, G. S. Altshuller and his followers believed [3, p. 2].
TRIZ technologies are used in direct educational activities, in independent activities of children, in joint activities with adults, and in work with parents.
TRIZ as a universal toolkit is used in classes from all educational fields. This makes it possible to form a single harmonious, scientifically based model of the world in the child’s mind and to carry out heuristic learning. A situation of success is created, results are exchanged, the decision of one child activates the thought of another, expands the range of imagination, stimulates its development [6, p. 2].
For example, in classes on the formation of elementary mathematical concepts, the following games are widely used: “What number is lost?”, “Where do we meet this number in life?”, “Where do we meet these lines?”, “Where are the geometric shapes hidden?”, “Puzzle games” " Games using game materials: (counting sticks) “Measure the length of an object”; “Lay out pattern”; “Construction of objects according to instructions”; (cubes) “Comparison of objects by the number of cubes...”; "construction of facilities."
The optimal form for children to master creativity techniques is a system of creative tasks that are given to children through games, algorithms in the classroom and during the day, and are practically embodied in creative thought: in drawings, essays, fairy tales, songs, riddles, crafts, movements [5, p. . 5].
Classes using TRIZ elements in children relieve the feeling of constraint, shyness is overcome, fantasy, logic of thinking, and imagination gradually develop. TRIZ gives children the opportunity to express their individuality and teaches children to think outside the box.
TRIZ develops such moral qualities as the ability to rejoice in the successes of others, the desire to help, the desire to find a way out of a difficult situation [5, p. 6].
In joint activities with adults and independent activities of children, games and exercises of TRIZ technologies are used as follows:
1. The use of systematic games and exercises of an intellectual nature in joint activities with an adult, including routine processes (“Teremok” with personal hygiene items, dishes, bedding; “You are my piece” with items of clothing while dressing for a walk; “Earlier - later” to determine the sequence of routine processes; composing riddles, comparisons, metaphors about those objects that are used in routine moments; games with analyzers “Find out by smell what is for lunch today”, “Find out by touch what you will wear today ").
2. The use of systematic games and exercises of an intellectual nature in the educational process in specially organized training (in games-lessons, classes).
3. The use of systematic games and exercises of an intellectual nature in the independent activities of children [5, p. 9].
The main means of working with children is pedagogical search. The teacher should not give ready-made knowledge, reveal the truth to them, he should teach them to find it. If a child asks a question, there is no need to immediately give a ready answer. On the contrary, you need to ask him what he himself thinks about it. Invite him to reasoning. And with leading questions, lead the child to find the answer himself. If he does not ask a question, then the teacher must indicate the contradiction. Thus, he puts the child in a situation where he needs to find the answer
TRIZ technology helps us develop children's imagination, develop logical thinking, and develop the ability to pose and solve a problem.
In order to properly organize joint activities with preschoolers, teachers must know the various methods and techniques used in TRIZ.
Little Men Method.
The essence of the method is to imagine an object in the form of a set (crowd) of little people. This model retains the advantages of empathy (visibility, simplicity) and does not have its inherent disadvantages (the indivisibility of the human body).
Method of substantiating new ideas “Goldfish”
. The method was proposed by G. S. Altshuller. The essence of the method is to divide the situation into real and fantastic components with the further finding of real manifestations of the fantastic component.
Method of morphological analysis
. The method was developed by the famous Swiss astronomer F. Zwicky. The purpose of the method is a systematic review and analysis of all conceivable options for a given phenomenon or object [10, p. 42].
Synectics method.
This is the so-called method of analogies: a) personal analogy (empathy). Invite the child to imagine himself as some object or phenomenon in a problem situation. Sample options for tasks: - pretend to be an alarm clock that you forgot to turn off; - show the gait of a person whose shoes are pinching; - portray an angry pig, an alarmed cat, an enthusiastic rabbit; - imagine that you are an animal that loves music, but does not know how to speak, but wants to sing a song [10, p. 25].
Circles of Llull
(author - Raymond Lull). The principle of making educational games is as follows: circles cut out of cardboard are divided into the required ones, and an arrow or outline is attached to the top according to the size of the sector. Images, signs, and symbols related to the topic are attached to the sectors.
Games can be selected in two directions:
1. To consolidate and clarify existing knowledge - for example, images of trees (oak, apple tree, pine, etc.) are attached to the sectors of the largest circle, images of the leaves of these trees are attached to the smaller ones, and fruits or seeds are attached to the third ( acorn, apple, pine cone, etc.), and the smallest - places of growth (edge of forest, garden, pine forest, etc.)
2. To develop imagination, fantasy and creativity - for example, during an art class, the child independently chooses which vase he will draw: various vase shapes are attached to the first circle, color to the middle circle, and painting options to the small circle [9, p. 26].
Directory method
.
Children are invited to compose a fairy tale using a book. The presenter asks the children a question, the answer to which the child finds by indicating the word on the open page of the selected text. The answers found in the book are collected into a single storyline .
It is recommended to teach children to compose a logically coherent text in which good triumphs over evil [9, p. 26].
The method of focal objects (MFO) is the transfer of the properties of one object or several to another. For example, a ball. What is he like? Laughing, flying, delicious; telling bedtime stories. This method allows you not only to develop imagination, speech, fantasy, but also to control your thinking. Using the MFO method, you can come up with a fantastic animal, come up with a name for it, who its parents are, where it will live and what it will eat, or offer pictures of “funny animals”, “pictograms”, name them and make a presentation.
For example, “Left Monkey” His parents are a lion and a monkey. Lives in hot countries. Runs very quickly on the ground and deftly climbs trees. Can quickly run away from enemies and get fruits from a tall tree [10, p. 27].
Methods for activating the selection of options
. One of the most common methods of this kind is brainstorming. The solution to the problem takes place in two stages. At the first stage (idea generation), any criticism is prohibited, “wild”, even fantastic, proposals are encouraged. At the second stage, experts critically evaluate the results of the assault, trying to select rational ideas [3, p. 28].
Robinson method
Forms the ability to find a use for a seemingly completely unnecessary item. Can be played in the water of the game “Auction” in the senior group and preparatory group. The teacher offers the children an object (for example, a chewing gum wrapper, a pen cap, etc.) and asks them to come up with as many uses for it as possible. The item is “sold” to the one who made the last offer [10, p. 29].
Method of control questions.
This method allows you to generate new ideas and solutions and formulate them using leading questions. It is used in the form of a monologue addressed to oneself, or a dialogue between inventors [9, p. thirty].
Fantasy techniques
: technique “do the opposite”; the “change the unchangeable” technique (if some property of an object or phenomenon seems completely unchangeable to you, change it); merger reception; the technique of “removal” (or the technique of “separating a function from an object”), here you need to separate one of its main properties from the object, or, conversely, attribute to this object the property of a completely different object; acceleration (slowdown) technique: select an object or process and speed up its action to such an extent that a new quality arises; method of universalization (generalization), etc. [8, p. 45]
Theatrical game
represents a rich field for the development of creative imagination in children: All theatrical games can be divided into two main groups: director's games and dramatization games. The first group - director's games in kindergarten - includes tabletop, shadow theater, and theater on a flannelgraph.
The second group is dramatization games, which are based on one’s own actions in playing a role. Another way to develop creative imagination is through special games.
For example, a game in the functions of objects. In this game you need to name as many uses of the same item as possible. Here's a brick. It can be used as a building material, as a press, as chalk (if you draw on asphalt with it), as a decoration for garden paths (if you crush it and sprinkle it on the paths), etc. This is how you can name the most ordinary objects and come up with their purposes [4, p. 18].
Game "Tale by Question"
. Several children are playing. Everyone in turn (in a circle) must answer their own question, continuing the plot of the overall story. Questions: Where does the action take place? Who is the main character? Where is he located? What is he doing? Where is it going? Whom does he meet? What did you say? What did they answer him? How did it all end?
Come up with an ending to the fairy tale.
Once upon a time there lived a bunny. He was small, white and very lonely. He decided to find himself a friend. He galloped past the fir trees to the edge of the forest... When playing with a child, you need to remember that the main thing is the development of general features of imagination, the ability to plan your activities in combination with creative, non-standard solutions. Encouraging creativity is especially important in preschool years. It is the preschooler whose whole life is permeated with fantasy and creativity. Having not received proper development at this age, creative potential will not always manifest itself in the future [4, p. 19].
TRIZ gives children the opportunity to show their individuality, think outside the box, and can also become an optimal solution for developing the intellectual abilities of children of senior preschool age in terms of preparing them for school.
That is why it is necessary to use TRIZ technology adapted for preschool age in joint and free activities.
What if the child answers “I don’t know”?
In fact, those who work using the TRIZ method are faced with a variety of situations, including childish stubbornness, reluctance to make contact, and getting involved in games using the TRIZ method. And we have already prepared recommendations for you on what to do in these cases [K. Nesyutina, 2014]. As a rule, such situations happen due to shortcomings on the part of adults. If desired, such situations are completely correctable, and over time, you can ensure that, upon hearing a question, the child begins to think about the answer, and not just remain silent or say “I don’t know.”
What to do to get your child to start thinking and reasoning:
- Never scold children for giving the wrong answer! Very often, “playing the silent game” is a consequence of the fact that the child has already said or done something wrong, received a bunch of comments, and is now simply afraid of making a mistake again.
- Reason with your child and don’t act like an examiner or a know-it-all. Children are acutely aware of falsehood, and if the child is already accustomed to the fact that you always know the correct answer and ask questions only for the purpose of testing, he may not want to be a test subject. Especially if, in case of an incorrect answer, he will also be scolded.
- Ask so-called “open” questions, for which there cannot initially be one single correct answer. This will make it easier for you to reason with your child, and the child will not be afraid to make mistakes. At the same time, he will understand that a different opinion is not necessarily wrong.
- Answer the questions your children ask you. Otherwise, children will quickly learn that they don’t have to answer or answer all “Whys” with “Because it ends in “y.” As a rule, children pick up such excuses from adults.
We wish that your children are healthy and happy, and that you always find a common language with them! We remind you that our program “TRIZ in practice: a creative approach at work and in life” and a screening test on the topic of the article are waiting for you:
We also recommend reading:
- Storytelling
- Creativity Development Digest
- Good books for self-education
- Charette procedure
- TRIZ classes for children: raising geniuses and simply happy people!
- Invention: a selection of useful materials
- TRIZ, RTV and TRTL in practice: dealing with the Soviet intellectual past
- TRIZ and design thinking in everyday life
- A selection of useful materials about creativity and creativity development
- Secrets of inventors: a selection of useful materials
- TRIZ fairy tales in pedagogy
Key words:1TRIZ
TRIZ methods
At the moment, the theory of solving inventive problems in preschool educational institutions has a large number of specific expressions. The following techniques are characterized by the greatest popularity.
Brainstorming (MS)
The “brain-storming” method was proposed by Alex Osborne, a person far from the field of education, but close to the advertising and marketing field. He created a universal way of collectively generating ideas, which continues to be used at the present stage, including for raising young children.
As part of classes on TRIZ technology in preschool educational institutions, the following cognitive tasks are set:
- development of communication skills (conducting discussions, tactfully assessing the points of view of comrades, interaction with the teacher, the ability to construct a reasoned statement and adhere to the principles of benevolently defending one’s own opinion, etc.);
- stimulating creative activity when solving problems;
- the formation of a desire and readiness not to sit and be silent, but, without hesitation, to give out a lot of thoughts on a given topic.
Questions can not only be very diverse, but also include fabulous and fantastic elements, for example:
- How to prevent the Bear from climbing onto Teremok and breaking it?
- How to preserve harvest supplies if mice get into the habit of sneaking into the barn?
- How to transfer a piece of summer into the winter month?
- How to warm people in severe cold?
- What will happen if a hare's legs increase 10 times in length?
Interesting fact! Brainstorming works most effectively when children are immersed in a fictitious situation where some character, necessarily positive, supposedly needs help, advice, salvation, recommendation, etc.
Usually, in order to establish such a positive atmosphere, teachers begin the task with an introduction: “Guys, let’s help Alyonushka/kitten, Dunno, Little Red Riding Hood/thoughtful Prince...”.
The basic rules of the MS are:
- exclusion of serious criticism;
- encouragement of the most extraordinary and incredible proposals;
- the ability to modernize other people's ideas;
- the presence of joint discussions, through which the group selects the most optimal ones from all the answers and allows them to solve the problem with minimal losses.
To better consolidate the experience, the results obtained during brainstorming should be put into the form of practical activity and create some kind of product reminiscent of the game: a drawing, a craft, etc.
Synectics
In the 1950s, another interesting method for discovering and developing creative potential was developed by William Gordon, a famous inventor and scientist whose main passion was studying the type of thinking of creative and extraordinary people. The concept of “synectics” means “the unification of heterogeneous elements,” and the essence of the technique itself is the search for constant analogies.
The types of connections between objects can be different:
- Personal (empathic). Here the preschooler is usually asked to imagine himself in the image of some object or phenomenon within a problem situation. Sometimes the tasks turn out to be more specific and easy (“depict a cat who didn’t like the food she bought”), sometimes more abstract and complex (“depict Chungi-Changi’s reluctance to eat only coconuts and bananas”).
- Direct. The guys find such pairs from different fields of knowledge, which are based on the same patterns. For example, a submarine looks like a fish, a helicopter looks like a dragonfly, an airplane looks like a bird, helmets and helmets look like the shells of turtles, snails and other creatures.
- Fantastic. Here the teacher and his charges create their own rules and norms that ignore existing rationality. For example, children are asked to “think about what love/joy/happiness/excitement looks like” and draw it. As a result, the analogies that are embodied on paper will turn out to be completely different: someone will draw a plant, someone will draw a person, someone will draw an animal, etc.
The key goals of synectics are:
- developing the ability to think outside the box, to see the unusual in ordinary things, to look at the world from different angles and to take into account the conditions that are indicated in the task;
- fostering respect for the opinions and views of other people, the ability to understand and accept them.
Directory method
This technique, which was later successfully adapted for preschool educational institutions, was created in the 1920s by Berlin University professor E. Kunze. The first priority here is to teach children creative storytelling skills.
Important fact! Comprehension of this aspect sometimes becomes a rather difficult step for children, because, firstly, there are not many words in their active vocabulary, and, secondly, they are just beginning to comprehend the science of monologue speeches, becoming familiar with it at an elementary level.
Here the teacher needs a book with a lot of prose text and an almost complete absence of illustrations. First, the teacher creates a list of questions that will become the basis for the plot of a jointly invented fairy tale, after which the children type words that are in no way related to each other using the “poke” method. The teacher can transform some of them into parts of speech that are more suitable and convenient for children’s perception. Everything happens at a fast pace, encouraging emotional reactions, expressing first impressions, etc.
Then the group begins to come up with their own fantastic story, trying to successfully weave the existing vocabulary both into the fairy-tale format and into the answers to the questions asked. A certain level of preparation is required from both the children and the teacher. So, the first ones should already know that in fairy tales there are always positive and negative heroes, friends and helpers, magic and struggle, during which good wins. An adult needs to be able to correctly navigate the process, formulate new and initially unforeseen questions, unobtrusively correct the narrative, suggest options in case of difficulty, and encourage brilliant ideas. During the lesson, key points should be recorded in the form of diagrams, drawings, symbols, etc. The task will give the most tangible results if no more than 5 people are involved in it.
Modeling with little people (MMH)
Finally, the latest and one of the most visual embodiments of TRIZ technology in action is the method of modeling with little people. Thanks to it, preschoolers learn to imagine what objects of living and inanimate nature look like from the inside, what processes take place in them, and what the substances that fill them are.
Little people can appear in the form of drawings, toys, or children themselves. The MMC is used when the teacher needs to explain, for example, the process of melting an icicle: in winter the tiny inhabitants are cold, and they hold hands tightly, while with the establishment of spring warmth they begin to move, turning into water. This technology develops intelligence, attentiveness, observation, and also teaches modeling and schematization.
