Home – Home – Jornals – "Philosophy of Education" 2020 number 1

Introduction. The purpose of the publication is to present the theoretical and practical potential of the essay as a creative educational task in didactics of higher education, and its relevance in Russian education. The article provides with the results of an empirical study of students of two levels of higher education (undergraduate, postgraduate) the real possibility of a successful search and finding innovative technologies that are recognized in the goals, content and means of «forms of vision and understanding of certain aspects of the world» (M. M. Bakhtin). Methodology and methods of the research. The methodological basis of training is the concept of cultural and historical development of higher mental functions of L. S. Vygotsky. The object of the research is the process of a creative search for students who voluntarily choose an issue and independently formulate the topic of their essay. The study subject is the perception and understanding of stimulating material (quotes of eminent thinkers, audio and video materials) proposed by courses «Theory and practice of higher education», «Didactics of the higher education», «Pedagogy and psychology of the higher education». The verbal creativity of students in creating their own text involves a dialogue between me and the other (M. M. Bakhtin). The implementation of the author’s intention is presented in the research results (with a predominance of content analysis) of students’ essays. The results of the research. The novelty of the author’s approach is using the genre of an essay as a didactic resource instead of a study of particular examples of classical and modern literature. The essay as a task enables to solve problems that are connected with a comprehending the actual problems of society and the individuality, students adaptation and identification in comprehension and justification of their position. Writing an essay as an educational activity is organized in a situation of freedom to choose problems and topics for producing their works of creative activity, which are the embodiment of the author’s «I am». In thinking, captured in writing, reveals the creative potential of each student, his or her reflection (personal, social, civil, patriotic, moral aspects), manifested in the need for self-expression and the ability to tell about yourself, your impressions, thoughts through the perception of the world based on a relationship of trust with a teacher. The undoubted advantage for each student is the opportunity to present the author’s views on the actual problem and the topic of the essay. This genre assumes a small size and a free composition, reflecting the individuality of the personality, his or her position. Conclusion. The use of didactic tasks that aim to develop the creative abilities of modern students who are in the situation of accessibility of any information requires conscious selection and subsequent interpretation that are embodied as the aesthetic experience of verbal creativity in the educational process, as existential experience, freedom of expression and self-identification.