Darya S. Vasilina

In the context of modern education, the formation of critical thinking skills among students of a pedagogical university is of particular importance, since it is carried out in an information society. If a student can think critically, he/she can, accordingly, express a subjective opinion, make the right choice in a timely manner, solve vital and scientific problems, reasonably build a dispute, make an objective assessment of someone else's point of view. The humanities block of disciplines at a pedagogical university (we are talking about such disciplines as philosophy, social studies, psychology, literature and art) provides students with fundamental knowledge about human society, culture, history and worldview. Therefore, the aim of the study is to identify the leading approaches to the definition and formation of critical thinking among students of a pedagogical university in the humanities block classes; to experimentally test the effectiveness of a number of activities and the academic discipline "Technology for the development of critical thinking". To achieve this goal, the tasks of forming critical thinking among students of a pedagogical university were highlighted: the ability to analyze, compare, synthesize and generalize. In addition, it is planned to conduct a study to assess the current level of critical thinking among students of a pedagogical university, as well as to develop and test the effectiveness of new strategies and pedagogical techniques for the development of this skill. The theoretical significance of the research lies in the fact that the idea of the peculiarities of critical thinking formation in the humanities block classes among students of a pedagogical university has been expanded, criteria and levels of critical thinking formation in students of a pedagogical university have been identified from the position of a system activity-oriented approach; a curriculum on the discipline "Technology of critical thinking development " have been developed and practically implemented. The practical significance of the study is due to the fact that the developed measures and described methods of working with students of a pedagogical university can be used by teachers of other educational organizations of the Russian Federation. The presented materials can serve as a basis for the development of methodological recommendations for teachers of universities in the country. The results obtained in the study can be widely used in the activities of higher education organizations in humanities classes. The article contains a theoretical analysis of various approaches to the assessment of critical thinking, offering an integrated method for the formation of critical thinking skills among students of a pedagogical university. The paper presents the results of the analysis of the concept of "critical thinking", defines criteria and indicators, and characterizes the levels of critical thinking formation. The authors suggest methods and techniques for developing critical thinking in educational practice in the humanities classes, and propose algorithms for working with various types of visual texts. At the same time, any sources of information presented in the form of text, images, diagrams, etc. are considered as visual texts.

Currently, the problem of competent professional self-determination of school graduates can be considered particularly relevant. Its solution depends on constantly changing socio-economic, socio-cultural factors and attitudes to the prestige of professions in society. An important role is also played by such reasons as: the position of family members, teachers and friends; the location of the educational institution; awareness of the condition of the labor market; the abilities and inclinations of the student. In addition, potential specialists in the field of pedagogical professions are expected according to the number of graduates of a higher educational institution. In this regard, the importance of correct and informed choice of profession by high school students is of particular relevance. This choice should be made by future members of society at school already. It is the specialized psychological and pedagogical classes that make it possible to give clear ideas about the specifics of the teacher's work to high school students. Such classes are not just a component of the professional orientation system for school graduates, but also a resource for personal development, because a modern psychological and pedagogical class can become an important element for revealing the abilities of students, revealing and developing pedagogical gift, forming leadership qualities and skills necessary for successful professional activity in human-centered spheres. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to theoretically substantiate and experimentally test the effectiveness of the of psychological and pedagogical classes model functioning, which was developed at the BSPU named after M. Akmulla. The theoretical significance of the study is in developing the idea of the directions and organizational and methodological characteristics of work in psychological and pedagogical classes, determining the stages of the educational process (pre-specialized and specialized); selecting and developing curricula for elective courses of psychological and pedagogical subjects, identifying optimal methods and forms of training in psychological and pedagogical classes, and substantiating the types of effective specializing. These works formed the basis of the model of psychological and pedagogical classes developed at the BSPU named after M. Akmulla. The practical significance of the study is due to the fact that the developed model of psycho-pedagogical classes, a number of procedures and projects can be used by teachers of other educational organizations of the Russian Federation. The presented materials can serve as a basis for working out methodological recommendations for teachers of psychological and pedagogical classes. The results obtained in the study can be widely used in the practical educational work of higher education organizations in our country.