The role of an adult in the development of the cognitive sphere of a preschooler
It is important for parents to realize that their child’s cognitive sphere will be more effectively expanded and filled with the active participation of adults.
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In preschool childhood, the possibilities of knowledge practically know no bounds. The why child himself initiates many questions and increases his information base thanks to easy-to-understand answers. Active children gain knowledge through communication with adults and peers, as well as through experience, to the extent that those around them allow them to experiment and act.
But the peculiarities of the development of the cognitive sphere of a preschooler are such that mental processes aimed at cognition are to a greater extent involuntary. For comprehensive development, adults must direct the child’s attention, interest and activity. And this needs to be practiced not only in development classes, but also in everyday interactions with children.
Features of cognitive development
In children of early and primary preschool age they look like this:
Of all the processes of cognitive development in early childhood, perception is the dominant one.
It is most well developed, but at the same time it is still involuntary. The imperfection of perception lies in the fact that the child is able to grasp only individual qualities and properties of certain objects and still inextricably connects them with the conditions in which he finds himself.
Perception is the main way children develop
The imagination of children under preschool age is rather poorly developed and manifests itself mainly in the form of anticipation of the possible results of a particular action. Creative imagination does not yet make itself felt. A positive feature of this feature is the inability to lie, which will make itself known a little later.
Children remember involuntarily. Only objects that are distinguished by novelty, brightness, contrast, etc. are stored in the child’s memory. For successful cognitive development, it is necessary to gradually accustom him to purposeful memorization, the task of separating what is significant for him from what is less important.
The predominant form of thinking is visual and effective. The child will acquire knowledge about objects through direct interaction with them.
Basics of sensory development of younger preschoolers
By about six months, the child develops autonomous speech, which subsequently disappears and is replaced by more familiar, “adult” words. The volume of vocabulary grows: by the first year of life it is 10 words, by one year and eight months it is already 100, at two years this figure increases to 300, and by three years it approaches 1000 - 1500.
By the age of one and a half years, the child acquires the ability to speak not in separate words, but already put them into sentences. Their features are such that for now they are quite short and consist of 2-3 words.
The child begins to speak more common sentences closer to the third year. And although the speech of children is not always understandable to adults, they most often manage to convey to them what exactly they need at a particular moment. By the beginning of preschool age, the child already has fairly coherent speech.
Cognitive development of preschool children in the process of search activity
Bibliographic description:
Ldokova, G. M. Cognitive development of preschool children in the process of search activity / G. M. Ldokova, R. V. Ryzhmanova. — Text: direct // Education and upbringing. — 2022. — No. 3 (29). — pp. 27-29. — URL: https://moluch.ru/th/4/archive/168/5265/ (access date: 01/03/2022).
The quality of education is understood not as the child’s mastery of a certain amount of knowledge, but as the ability to acquire it independently. Therefore, the problem of cognitive development of children is relevant. This article, based on theoretical and empirical research, reveals the role of search activity in the cognitive development of a child.
Key words: preschool education, cognitive development, search activity, research.
Preschool education is designed to ensure the self-development and self-realization of the child, to promote the development of research activity and initiative of the preschooler. The scientific search for effective means of cognitive development of preschool children is a pressing problem that requires theoretical and practical solutions. Among the possible means of developing the cognitive activity of preschoolers, search activity deserves special attention.
Elementary search activity is understood as the joint work of the teacher and children, aimed at solving cognitive problems that arise in educational activities, in everyday life, in play and work, in the process of learning about the world. Search activity presupposes high activity and independence of children, the discovery of new knowledge and ways of knowing.
At the same time, in the practice of preschool institutions, the features and didactic potential of the search activity of preschoolers in the formation of cognitive activity are not sufficiently taken into account. The use of children's search activities, especially independent ones, is characterized by episodic nature, the teacher's position over the child, and the lack of a system in constructing search activities and meaningful organization.
This is confirmed by the results of our empirical research on the presented topic. The study was carried out in 3 stages: ascertaining, formative and control, in which children of the older group took part. The total number of children participating was 14, including 7 boys and 7 girls. In our study, we used the method of express diagnostics of intellectual abilities (MEDIS) for children of senior preschool age, developed at the Institute for the Development of Giftedness by I. S. Averina, E. I. Shabanova, E. N. Zadorina.
This technique includes four subtests, each of which contains five tasks. Using the first subtest, we identified the level of vocabulary and determined that the majority of children - 65% (9 people) have an average level, and 35% (5 people) have a low level.
Using the second subtest, we can judge the understanding of qualitative and quantitative relationships. It was noticeable that all children had difficulty assessing relationships between objects and phenomena. The level of development of logical thinking in the majority of preschoolers - 92% (13 people) is below average and only one child corresponds to the age norm.
According to the third subtest for identifying logical thinking, we observe that low-level indicators outweigh - 86% (12 people) - than average-level indicators - 14% (2 people).
And according to the data of the fourth subtest, we can judge the development of mathematical abilities. Here, the majority of the subjects—72% (10 people)—have below-average scores; the children had difficulty completing mathematical tasks to test their intelligence. For 28% (4 people), the number of correctly solved problems corresponds to the age norm, i.e., a sufficient level of development.
In general, having studied the results of the primary diagnosis (ascertaining stage) of children of senior preschool age, we concluded that the majority - 92% (13 people) are characterized by an insufficient level of intellectual development, which is due to the insufficient level of their cognitive development.
Having analyzed theoretical sources, diagnostic results, and observing children, we came to the conclusion that an effective means of cognitive development can be the organization of search activities of children of senior preschool age, based on the technology of children's experimentation in the process of their cognitive development.
Carrying out primary diagnostics and analyzing theoretical sources made it possible to determine the directions of work with preschoolers on their cognitive development through the organization of their search activities.
The algorithm for organizing search activities was formed as follows:
1. The child is looking for a problem that needs to be solved;
2.Gives different options for solving this problem;
3.Checks the proposed solutions in practice;
4.Analyzes and draws possible conclusions.
When choosing a topic, the following rules were followed:
1. The topic should be exciting for the child, it should be interesting to him;
2.The topic must have a solution, it must benefit the children. They must gain new useful knowledge, skills, and abilities;
3.The topic must be original, it must have an element of surprise and unusualness.
Problem solving was carried out in 2 options:
- The children did not know the result of the experiment, but simply carried it out. This helped them gain new knowledge;
- The children predicted the outcome of the experiment and checked how correct their guesses were.
The organization of search activities took place in the form of interaction between an adult and a child, which served to develop in children activity, independence, the ability to set tasks, make decisions, try and not be afraid that something might turn out wrong, caused a desire to achieve the final result, and contributed to emotional comfort , social and cognitive development.
To check the effectiveness of the formative stage of work on the cognitive development of children of senior preschool age in the process of search activity, we conducted a repeated diagnosis. Analysis of the data obtained showed that the majority of children - 85% (12 people) have average vocabulary levels, 15% (2 people) - have a high level of vocabulary. These data indicate that the development of the vocabulary of these children corresponds to the age norm. Children have developed the ability to speak coherently and figuratively about objects and phenomena known to them, to use a variety of syntactic structures as means of expressive speech, to appropriately and accurately use figurative words and expressions in conversations, to use a variety of linguistic means when constructing coherent statements.
We judge our understanding of qualitative and quantitative relationships by the indicators obtained during the second subtest. And in this case, it is noticeable that 22% (3 people) still have difficulty assessing the relationships between objects and phenomena, although qualitative changes are noticeable in terms of test scores. If during the initial diagnosis these children had a low level of development of understanding of quantitative and qualitative relationships, then based on the results of repeated diagnostics, we can notice a transition to indicators close to the age norm.
Nevertheless, preschoolers have formed cause-and-effect relationships of phenomena, and they clearly show an exploratory interest in the world. The level of development of logical thinking also in the majority of preschoolers (50% (7 people)) reached the average level, which corresponds to the age norm. 28% (4 people) of children in the study group showed high scores on this subtest, i.e. these children show greater awareness and a higher level of development of analytical and synthetic activity.
According to the data of the fourth subtest, we can judge the development of mathematical abilities. Here, 28% (4 people) showed a high level of mathematical abilities), the majority of the children studied, 44% (6 people) had an average level, and only 4 children still experienced slight difficulties when performing mathematical tasks.
In general, having analyzed the results of repeated diagnostics of children of senior preschool age, we can say that the average and high levels of development have leveled out, 50% to 50%, respectively, 7 people each, i.e. the group is characterized by a sufficient level of intellectual development.
Thus, in the process of organizing search activities, children acquire the ability to independently set cognitive tasks that reflect a deeper penetration into the essence of phenomena, the establishment of analogies, and an understanding of increasingly general patterns. Our study confirmed our hypothesis that search activity is an effective methodological tool in the cognitive development of preschool children.
Literature:
- AbdrakhmanovaA. I. Current state of the problem of the formation of cognitive activity in children of senior preschool age. // Bulletin of Tomsk State Pedagogical University. - 2015. - No. 3. - P. 38–41.
- Gabova I. A. Possibilities of search activity in the development of cognitive activity in children of senior preschool age I. A. Gabova // Theory and practice of social development. – 2014. – No. 9. – P. 52–54.
- Rimashevskaya L. S. Experimentation as the main type of search activity /L. S. Rimashevskaya//Preschool education. — 2017. — No. 6.- P. 13–18
Key terms
(automatically generated)
: search activity, child, cognitive development, age norm, senior preschool age, logical thinking, primary diagnosis, high level, preschool education, intellectual development.
Neoplasms of preschool age
The development of the cognitive sphere leads the preschooler to new formations that take the personality to a new level. Neoplasms are the most important criteria that separate one age period from another and reveal its essence. In older preschool age, the meaningful acquisition is worldview and arbitrariness.
Formation of worldview
Gradually, connections are established in the child’s mind between everything he already knows about. Consequently, a primary worldview is formed. Psychological aspects such as the development of self-awareness and understanding of the system of relationships between people are also important.
The child's brain is able to detect certain patterns. An older preschooler already understands very well that actions and deeds lead to certain consequences, including moral and ethical ones.
The formation of a worldview as a mental new formation of preschool childhood is still quite schematic. This is a kind of outline that will begin to actively fill in as soon as the child goes to school.
Formation of arbitrariness
The main achievement of preschool age is the formation of arbitrariness. It is also a new formation that stimulates the development of the cognitive sphere. If a younger preschooler perceives, pays attention, thinks involuntarily - what attracts him more is what his cognition is directed towards - then in older preschool age, at least partially, this process can be controlled.
Arbitrary perception
Arbitrariness ensures the perception of the information that an adult presents to a child. Voluntary attention allows a preschooler to see and listen not only to what he wants, but also to what is necessary. Therefore, voluntariness is the most important “acquisition” for the cognitive sphere in the preschool period.
