A conceptual model of the taxonomy of technical creativity of engineering students

The article is devoted to the development and theoretical substantiation of a conceptual model of the taxonomy of technical creativity in the context of engineering students’ training in the higher education system. The relevance of the stated topic is due to the need to clarify the conceptual and categorical framework and build an integrated classification model that allows describing, analyzing and diagnosing the levels of technical creativity in the educational environment of the university in the context of the transformation of engineering education and focus on the tasks of technological development. The paper clarifies the interpretation of the concept of “technical creativity” from the standpoint of systemic and taxonomic approaches, and suggests a model of taxonomy based on the identification of key components of technical thinking and their hierarchical organization on a four-level scale of manifestation. The structural elements of the taxonomy are defined, reflecting the productive, selective, associative, visual, problem-analytical, behavioral and predictive aspects of technical creativity, which allows us to considerit as a multidimensional and functionally organized education. It is proved that the proposed taxonomy creates a methodological basis for the development of criteria and indicators for assessing the level of development of technical creativity of students, as well as for analyzing the pedagogical potential of the educational environment of the university. It is shown that the hierarchical structure of the levels ensures comparability of diagnostic results, identification of development zones and design of educational conditions aimed at the transition from reproductive forms of thinking to productive and design-prognostic. The results obtained can be used in the design of educational programs, improving the mechanisms of internal assessment of the quality of engineering training, as well as in the practice of strategic planning for the development of the educational environment of the university, focused on the formation and sustainable development of technical creativity of future engineers.