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Tools of the Mind : Vygotskian approach to early childhood education / E. Bodrova, D.J. Leong.
... Play and imagination are the other central tenets of Vygotsky's theory. Play is especially productive in developing students' abstract thoughts and imagination when specific characteristics such as imaginary situations, roles and rules are present (Bodrova and Leong 2007). Therefore during the Performing segment, the facilitators encouraged the boys to pretend that they were the Mouse King and jump as high as he did or to pretend that the soldiers were chasing them and they had to leap as far as they could so that they would not be caught. ...
How can we improve Finnish boys’ conceptions of ballet? How can we increase male involvement in ballet? We tried to answer these central questions by reflecting on and reviewing the goals, content and teaching methods utilized to teach methods of a tuition-free ballet workshop titled Ballet Energy for Boys. Produced by the Finnish National Opera, this workshop was introduced to about 2500 seven to eight year-old boys in elementary schools in the capital region in Finland. Written primarily for dance educators, this article aims to contribute to the literature about our recent efforts in inspiring boys to learn ballet and to learn how to appreciate ballet.
... These studies included children and adolescents in their samples and found relationships between inhibitory control and ToL measures. Thus, measures that require motor control may be more discriminating in younger subjects because of evidence that different aspects of inhibitory control develop at different ages, with earlier development of motor control relative to cognitive control (Bodrova & Leong, 2007; Nigg, 2001). In samples of adults, this pattern could be reversed. ...
Some executive tasks may require diverse abilities to solve, having implications for the comprehension of an individual's performance. This study investigated the processes involved in the resolution of a complex test of executive function (EF): the Tower of London (ToL) task. One hundred twenty-four healthy teenagers, 1114 years old (M = 12.5, SD = 1.14) participated in the study. They were tested using the Auditory Working Memory Test, Visual Working Memory Test, Computerized Stroop Test, Semantic Generation Test, Cancellation Attention Test, and Trail Making Test B, in addition to the ToL. Multivariate analysis showed significant effects of age on visual and auditory working memory, interference control, and planning, with a marginal effect on selective attention. A gender effect was found only on visual working memory where boys scored higher than girls. Significant correlations were found between EF measures despite their low and moderate magnitudes. Performance on the ToL task was correlated with some executive ability measures. The most difficult problems that required four and five moves were more correlated with EF measures than the easier problems that required two and three moves. Regression analyses revealed that only auditory working memory integrated the ToL explanation model after controlling for age. However, the explained variability was very modest, suggesting that other abilities not analyzed in this study may participate in the ToL solution. In conclusion, this investigation highlighted the modest role of auditory working memory in ToL scores in a sample of teenagers.
An accumulating body of evidence suggests that young children who exhibit greater executive functioning (EF) skills in early childhood also achieve more academically. The goal of the present study was to examine the unique contributions of direct assessments and teacher ratings of children's EF skills at the beginning of prekindergarten (pre-k) to gains in academic achievement over the pre-k year. Data for the current study come from a subsample of children recruited for a large-scale pre-k curriculum intervention. This subsample (n = 719) was restricted to all children who were native English speakers and had at least 1 pretest and posttest score on the assessments. Several important findings emerged. Teacher reports of EF and direct assessments were correlated, particularly when EF direct assessments were modeled as a single component score. When entered into the models simultaneously, both teacher ratings and direct assessments significantly predicted academic gains in literacy and mathematics; however, the direct assessments were only marginal in predicting gains in language. EF skills accounted for the largest proportion of variance in mathematics achievement gains. The value of using both types of measures in future research is discussed.
This qualitative study examined children's concept formation and writing emergence from the perspective of graphical multi-signification by observing the free drawing activities provided by four girls and six boys, aged four to five, in a Chinese class at a Chinese heritage language school in the USA. Children's capacity for graphical multi-signification may develop in a consistent transition process, first producing pictographic symbols and then consistently transitioning to the use of ideographic symbols for multi-signification, with children's contingency association, focus variation, and extension chain characterising their formation of concepts and complex thinking. To enhance children's learning, a child's drawing may be transformed into a teaching-appropriate two-part conceptual structure, with the first part depicting the child's operations of a within-group and between-group extension chain and the second part presenting the conceptual sequential extensions with respect to literal, contextual, and extensive signification embedded in the child's drawing.
In the first volume of the Oxford Review of Education Jerome Bruner (1975) showed how the upbringing of the very young is influenced by poverty, and how different kinds of upbringing shape human development. He called the paper ‘Poverty and childhood’ and baldly stated ‘With respect to virtually any criterion of equal opportunity and equal access to opportunity, the children of the poor ... are plainly not getting as much schooling, or getting as much from their schooling as their middle-class age mates’ (p. 43). Since Bruner’s seminal paper, the developmental sciences have exploded. New insights from neuroscience, genetics and cognitive psychology have provided accounts of the developing architecture of the brain, the course of linguistic and cognitive development, and more recently the development of resilience. Most of these insights focus on the development of the child, but usually from research in the laboratory or in the context of the family. However, there is also a new literature on ways that environments outside the home can support or hinder the child’s development. This paper will attempt to integrate findings from the developmental sciences with educational research on pre-school education. The first half of the paper extends Bruner’s arguments through a discussion of possible mechanisms that underlie the link between poverty and under-achievement, especially the capacity to plan ahead. The second half of the paper focuses on the role of the ‘enabling environment’ of the pre-school in supporting the kinds of early ‘executive functions’ that will later underpin educational achievement. The paper concludes with recent findings from the ‘Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education’ research (EPPSE; Sylva, Melhuish, Sammons, Siraj, & Taggart, 2014) on the educational pathways of nearly 3000 English children. The findings show that high quality pre-school provided the foundation for academic learning, but the newest research shows that it also nurtured self-regulation and the executive skills needed in planning ahead.
This paper reports on the effectiveness of an innovative course design that bridges classes from two different disciplines. The Bridge design creates assignments in two classes: a summary class and a panel class. The design encourages students to engage in teaching and interacting with their peers within and across disciplines, and provides instructors with unique opportunities for formative assessment. Relative to control groups, students in the summary class perceived greater opportunities to teach peers, participate in class discussions, think critically, and engage in collaborative learning. Students in the panel class showed gains in critical thinking. Both classes afforded multiple opportunities for formative assessment. Following a discussion of the results, recommendations for improving the Bridge design are presented.
Cognitive education is defined and described according to aspects that are common to a variety of curricula and programs as well as aspects that vary across programs. Its most basic and universal characteristic is its focus on processes of systematic logical thinking and especially the application of basic tools of learning. The application of fundamental cognitive and metacognitive concepts in teaching and learning is described with examples. Selected curricula, programs, and approaches are listed and briefly characterized. Criteria for evaluating cognitive education programs are proposed and some examples of successful evaluation strategies are given.
Th is paper gives an overview of the major theoretical perspectives and factors in language acquisition. In the discussion, research findings in African setups are included alongside key A merican or European find ings. Implications for parents and educators are highlighted together with areas requiring more inquiry.
Executive functions (EF) are cognitive capacities that allow for planned, controlled behavior and strongly correlate with academic abilities. Several extracurricular activities have been shown to improve EF, however, the relationship between musical training and EF remains unclear due to methodological limitations in previous studies. To explore this further, two experiments were performed; one with 30 adults with and without musical training and one with 27 musically trained and untrained children (matched for general cognitive abilities and socioeconomic variables) with a standardized EF battery. Furthermore, the neural correlates of EF skills in musically trained and untrained children were investigated using fMRI. Adult musicians compared to non-musicians showed enhanced performance on measures of cognitive flexibility, working memory, and verbal fluency. Musically trained children showed enhanced performance on measures of verbal fluency and processing speed, and significantly greater activation in pre-SMA/SMA and right VLPFC during rule representation and task-switching compared to musically untrained children. Overall, musicians show enhanced performance on several constructs of EF, and musically trained children further show heightened brain activation in traditional EF regions during task-switching. These results support the working hypothesis that musical training may promote the development and maintenance of certain EF skills, which could mediate the previously reported links between musical training and enhanced cognitive skills and academic achievement.
Vygotskian perspectives on teaching and learning early literacy
- E Bodrova
- D Leong
Bodrova, E., & Leong, D. (2005). Vygotskian perspectives on teaching and learning early
literacy. In D. Dickinson & S. Neuman (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy research (Vol. 2).
Thought and language (E. Hanfmann & G. Vakar, Trans.)
- L S Vygotsky
Vygotsky, L. S. (1962). Thought and language (E. Hanfmann & G. Vakar, Trans.). Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press. (Original work published in 1934)
Tool and symbol in child development The Vygotsky reader (T
- L S Vygotsky
- A Luria
Vygotsky, L. S., & Luria, A. (1994). Tool and symbol in child development. In R. van der
Veer & J. Valsiner (Eds.), The Vygotsky reader (T. Prout & R. van der Veer, Trans.).
Original work published in 1984) CHAPTER Tactics: Using Shared Activities For Further Reading Vygotsky's theory: The importance of make-believe play
- L E Berk
Oxford: Blackwell. (Original work published in 1984)
CHAPTER
Tactics: Using Shared
Activities
For Further Reading
Berk, L. E. (1994). Vygotsky's theory: The importance of make-believe play. Young Children,
50(1), 30-39.