Methods for Developing Students’ Creative Thinking through Teaching the Types of Public Speaking

Abstract

The article examines the effectiveness of teaching types of oratorical speech in contemporary education and provides a theoretical rationale for its positive impact on the development of learners’ creative potential with regard to age-related characteristics. Methodologically, the study draws on principles of rhetorical pedagogy, approaches to fostering creative-thinking skills, and insights from developmental psychology, which inform both content selection and task design. The paper outlines key mechanisms of creative thinking development – cognitive flexibility, a culture of argumentation, interpretive skills, and the formation of an individual “voice” as part of one’s linguistic personality and proposes a set of targeted exercises to support these competencies.

The theoretical component of the lesson is grounded in the ideas of A. Baitursynuly and M. Akhetov concerning rhetoric and speech culture. The practical component includes the analysis of rhetorical texts, the writing of argumentative essays, training in composing oratorical speeches, and presenting a reasoned personal stance on proverbs. The authors argue that these tasks create conditions for developing analytical and critical thinking alongside creativity and contribute to strengthening adolescents’ value orientations, such as responsible self-expression, communicative etiquette, and a culturally informed perspective.

Following an action-research framework, an experiment conducted in a general education school is reported using diagrams and tables. The findings indicate that the proposed lessons facilitate the formation of relevant skills and values and confirm the applied value of the suggested methodological solutions. The conclusion offers practical recommendations for age-appropriate differentiation of instructional content, a staged model for increasing task complexity, and criteria for assessing outcomes, thereby outlining the possibilities for implementing this approach in educational practice.

Key words: the art of rhetoric, types of public speaking, proverbs, adolescence, analytical thinking, critical thinking, creative thinking, creativity.