Play and piaget: What are the stages of play? Jean Piaget’s Theory of Play!

Опубликовано: March 31, 2021 в 11:12 am

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What are the stages of play? Jean Piaget’s Theory of Play!

This post may include affiliate links and I may earn commission if you make a purchase through these links.

How can a theory published in 1936 still help you to understand your children and how to encourage them through their cognitive development? 

While Jean Piaget’s Theory of Play is closing in on its one-hundredth anniversary, it is still used in education and psychology to understand the stages of children’s development. 

And I can help you to understand your child’s development so that you can support their play in a way that helps them grow.  

What Is Play?

When you think of play, you probably think of a boy pushing cars or a girl digging in the sand, but what is play really? 

Play is any activity this is not required that you do just for your self-enjoyment. The reward with play is the play itself.  So anything you do for fun. 

Why Is Play Important?

“Play is the work of childhood. ” 

That’s the famous quote, but who said it? That’s right, Jean Piaget. 

I know you might’ve thought it was Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers said, “ Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning.” 

Wait, didn’t Maria Montessori say something like that? 

She sure did. She said, “ Play is the work of the child.” 

I could give you many more examples of famous child psychologists and education experts saying the child’s work is play. 

Because play is that important. Unfortunately, in today’s society and lifestyles, there is not enough time for children to play. 

Play is important to promote healthy child development.  It is so important that the United Nations has recognized that play is the basic human right of every child.

Play helps children develop in their brains’ cognitive, social, physical, and emotional areas. 

Play allows children to use their creativity and imagination to strengthen their physical bodies and brain.  

During play, children get to take on roles of adults like playing family or playing restaurant.  They also get to conquer their fears and deal with any difficulties they are facing in their life. 

It also helps them to build problem-solving skills and develop resiliency that will help them well into their adult life. 

How Much Should Children Play?

In today’s world, it often feels like there’s no time for downtime for anyone, including children.

 Between parents working, after-school activities, and homework finding time for children to have some downtime can feel like an impossible juggling act. 

Some studies suggest that children should get 3 hours a day of outdoor play.   But children should get regular play throughout their day, not just in one long session.

Piaget’s Stages of Play: How Piaget Developed the Theory

At the beginning of his career, Jean Piaget was developing questions for a French version of the English intelligence test. He became fascinated with why children gave the wrong answers to the questions and what their logic was behind it. 

He started thinking that these answers showcased the difference between adult thinking and child thinking.  During his time, children were more viewed as small adults, so the idea that children and adults thought differently was revolutionary. 

 Once he had his children, he started making observations of how they grew and how they played. 

Piaget developed his theory using his observations of his children and developed a theory of cognitive development that focused on the stages of play that children go through. 

The Stages of Cognitive Development are found in Jean Piaget’s research.

Piaget’s research led him to build his theory on four stages of cognitive development based on how children play, including the sensorimotor stage, the pre-operational stage, the concrete operational stage, and the formal operational stage. 

The stages are broken down by age from birth to 2 years,  2 to 7 years, and 7 to 11 years at 11 through adult.  

1. The sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years)

The sensorimotor stage of Jean Piaget’s theory spans from birth to 2 years.  during this stage, children learn through their five senses and movement and exploring their environment.

A good way to encourage development during this time is by giving children sensory play with sensory bins with different textures and playing with different activities that make different sounds. 

It is important to provide children with a rich environment full of objects they can interact with that incorporate all of their senses. 

Things you can give your child: 

  •  Different textures and fabrics: Corduroy, velvet,  denim,  papers, sandpaper, and bubble wrap
  • Things that make different sounds:  whistles, bells. toys that click
  • Things of different shapes and sizes: foam blocks with a variety of shapes 
  • A space that encourages movement:  Pikler triangle, baby gyms, and tummy time mats 

2.

The preoperational stage (2 to 7 years)

The preoperational stage of Jean Piaget’s theory spans from 2 to 7 years. 

This stage begins when your child starts talking and communicating more, but they are still unable to put ideas together logically.  During this time, children start doing parallel play which means that they’re playing next to children but not really with them.

Also, during this stage, children have difficulty seeing things from other people’s points of view.  Children start playing more pretend games and role-playing games.   

In this stage, it is important that your child continue to learn through real-world experiences but is also given the opportunity for pretend play.

Things that will help your child through the preoperational stage :

  • Dolls including lottie dolls, Peg dolls, and baby dolls
  •  Action figures
  •  Dress-up clothes
  •  Small world toys ( items to build their small worlds, including animal figurines, dolls, dollhouses, and furniture)
  • Building blocks and construction set
  • Crayons, markers, pens, pencils, and paper to draw with
  • Picture books and some board books while they are still young toddlers

 3. The concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years)

The concrete operational stage lasts between the ages of 7 years old and 11 years old, according to Jean Piaget’s theory. 

Your child will start building logical thought and be able to understand the laws of conservation,   where the same thing can be different shapes and be the same amount.    For example,  they will be able to understand a cup of water is the same amount if it’s in a tall thin glass or a short, stout glass. 

At this age, children become expert problem solvers and want to understand how the world works around them. 

Things you can give your child to help them develop during the  concrete operational stage:

  • Logic games like Mancala and chess
  • STEM toys (mechanical building sets)
  • Science kits
  • Hobbies that create something like  woodworking or sewing or crocheting
  • Number games
  • Models to build ( airplane models,  doll houses, and  car models) 
  •  Legos and Lego sets 

4.

The formal operational stage (11 to adult)

The formal operational stage Jean Piaget’s theory from around 11 or 12 years old through adulthood. 

During the formal operational stage,  children and adolescents begin to understand abstract thought and can manipulate ideas in their heads. 

They will also be able to do more complicated math and think creatively, and they can understand more complicated scientific ideas. They also can understand hypothetical scenarios and questions. 

Things to help your child develop during the formal operational stage: 

  • Rubik’s cubes 
  • Chess
  • Games that involve strategy and thought
  • Sudoku puzzles
  • A multitude of books on different subjects
  • Also, taking classes on hobbies and deep-diving into hobbies

What are the key elements of Piaget’s theory?

Piaget’s theory consists of the four stages of cognitive development that always happen in the same order, are never skipped, and slowly transition into the next stage.  

The stages are: 

  • The sensorimotor stage (0-2 years old) 
  • The preoperational stage  (2-7 years old)
  • The concrete operational stage (7-11 years old)  
  • The formal operational stage (11-adulthood) 

What is schema, according to Piaget? 

Frederic Bartlett was the first to use the idea of schemas in his theory on learning, but it was Piaget who would first use the term schema. 

For Piaget, a schema is a process of learning new knowledge and the category to which knowledge belongs.  He believed that schemas were constantly evolving as people took in new knowledge. 

According to Piaget, a common example of a schema would be a child’s understanding of a dog.  To a small child, a dog has fur, four legs, teeth, and a tail; when she sees a cat, she may also call it a dog because it checks all the same boxes.   

It’s not uncommon for small children to call all animals they encounter a puppy.  As they are corrected and learn more about different animals, their idea of what a puppy is changing to be a more specific definition.   

Piaget’s four types of play & What they mean for a child’s development

According to Piaget, children play in 4 ways, functional, constructive, fantasy, and games with rules.   These types of play occur at different stages of development. 

Piaget believed that the way children play shows their cognitive development level.   

Functional play

Functional play is more physical, like running, sliding, jumping, dumping out a box of toys, and experimenting with the world through their senses. 

This type of play is prevalent during the sensorimotor stage between 0-2.  This stage of play ends between the ages of 2 and 4. 

From here, children will move from just moving blocks around and tossing them to stacking them and starting constructive play. 

Constructive play

During this play stage, children want to play with toys and other objects to accomplish a goal.  For example, using blocks to build a tower.  

Children tend to play this way between the ages of 3-7.   Eventually, they will start mixing in some fantasy play with their constructive play.  

Instead of building a tower, they might use blocks to build a little town and drive cars around their block buildings on imaginary roadways. 

Symbolic/fantasy play

During the fantasy or symbolic stage of play. Children play make-believe games and role-playing games.  

These games can be fantasy-themed like princesses and knights or role-playing games like a teacher, police officer, or mom and dad.  

The best way to support and encourage your child during this play stage is to give them dress-up clothes and play pretend with them. Often they will want to tell you what to do during the game. 

This stage can start around 3-4 years of age and last through 11 or 12 years old.

Games with rules 

The last stage of play is games with rules.  During this type of play, children play games with friends with preset rules like tag or hide and seek. 

This can also include board games and video games.  

During this stage, children understand how to follow the rules, and if someone breaks the rules, there are consequences in the game. They understand ideas like cooperation and like being competitive. 

These games usually begin around the age of 7 and continue through adulthood. 

When choosing toys for your child, you want to consider the stage of development they are in and the kind of play they do in that stage. 

For example, you wouldn’t buy a board game for an 18-month-old, but playing it with your 7-year-old could be fun for both of you. 

You want to choose the toys that best help your child develop in their stage.  

You can learn more about my recommendations on toys here in my gift guides, which are based on cognitive development and theories of play. 

References: 

https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182#:~:text=Play%20allows%20children%20to%20use,important%20to%20healthy%20brain%20development.&text=It%20is%20through%20play%20that,in%20the%20world%20around%20them.

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-0-387-79061-9_2578#:~:text=Definition,interactions%20with%20the%20physical%20environment.

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Developmental Stages of Play – Piaget — My Teaching Cupboard

Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist in the early 1900s. He created theories of cognitive development based on his observational studies of children. The theories of Piaget reinforce the idea that children learn through play.

In this blog post you will discover Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development and how these relate to his developmental stages of play.

Piaget devised a series of developmental stages of play. We can observe them throughout his four stages of cognitive development.

Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development proposes 4 stages.

  • Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years

  • Preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7

  • Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11

  • Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up

If you would like to learn more about Jean Piaget and his theories on cognitive development in children, check out THIS BLOG POST: Stages of Development–Piaget

“According to Piaget, children engage in types of play that reflect their level of cognitive development: functional play, constructive play, symbolic/fantasy play, and games with rules.”

— Johnson, Christie & Wardle 2005

Sensorimotor Stage

The name of the first stage (sensorimotor) gives you a clue about how children learn in those first two years of life. Right from birth, babies use their senses to learn about their world.

Exploratory play through the five senses is the primary type of play you will see at this stage. Young children in this stage are focused on two things:

  1. their own bodies

  2. external objects.

You will notice babies and toddlers in the sensorimotor stage are focused on repeated patterns of movement or sound. They spend their time sucking, shaking, banging and babbling.

Piaget observed babies from around 6 months onwards organised their knowledge conceptually. At first babies might not understand a specific toy, but as they look, feel, and touch it, they start to form a concept of the toy in their minds. As they learn more about the properties of objects and how they can be manipulated, they begin to understand the effects of play on their environment.

Preoperational Stage

The next stage of cognitive development is the preoperational stage. You will observe children in this stage are learning to associate objects with words and the way they use and represent objects has no real adult logic behind it.

Piaget noticed children in this stage use imaginative play to represent objects, and they build their conceptual knowledge through pretending and dramatic play.

At around 4 years of age, they become more interested in social interactions and start to enjoy structured games with rules. In the preoperational stage, their thinking is still dominated by intuition rather than logic though.

Concrete Operational Stage

As children move through the concrete operational stage, Piaget noticed logical thinking emerges. Hands-on games with rules become extremely effective learning tools to use with children in this stage of development.

Initially, rules provide the structure and repetition sought after by their development of logical thinking. Gradually, the children in the concrete operational stage become more focused on the social aspects of play. They play in order to seek connection and acceptance by the group.

Formal Operational Stage

By the formal operations stage, children are developing the ability to reason and think hypothetically. Abstract concepts such as the future, justice and values are engaging and easily understood by children in the formal operations stage.

The children in this stage of cognitive development desire more competitive games and games with more complex rules. Piaget observed children in this stage also needed less direction from adults, as they are more capable of thinking independently.

Piaget’s Four Developmental Stages of Play

Piaget suggested the stages of cognitive development occur in a particular order. Children will not skip a stage but progressively move through each one. He also believed the stages of play to be progressive, with visible changes in children’s play as they pass through each stage.

According to Piaget, children engage in types of play that reflect their level of cognitive development. Play is children’s work.

Through play

  • children develop cognitive skills and learn new information

  • they learn and practice social skills

  • children develop effective communication skills

  • they learn self-regulation skills

  • children develop the ability to resolve conflicts

  • they work on problem-solving skills

  • children learn to cooperate with others

  • they learn about themselves and their place in the world

  • children explore roles, interests, skills, and relationships

Play is how children explore and learn about their world.

Piaget’s Functional Play

Any repetitive action that the child finds enjoyable is functional play.

Functional play is the first type of play children experience. It begins with babies in the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development. When babies learn to control their bodies and objects, they experience functional play.

Babies play through repetitive actions, like shaking a rattle, splashing in the bath, or repeatedly dropping toys from their highchair. These basic actions become play when the child deliberately engages in the activity for pleasure (Frost, 1992).

As children develop cognitively, their simple, repetitive actions become more and more complex and coordinated. Functional play is not exclusive to the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development.

Children can observe and enjoy functional play throughout their entire childhood. Whenever children discover and practice new motor skills like sliding, climbing, stacking, jumping, and bouncing, they are taking part in functional play.

Piaget’s Constructive Play

When children manipulate objects to create something, they are taking part in constructive play.

Constructive play is often seen in the classroom through hands-on inquiry type pedagogies.

In constructive play, children develop their conceptual knowledge by posing questions, testing ideas, and gathering information. Through their experimentation with learning materials they plan, explore, and discover.

Constructive play allows children to make sense of their world.

In constructive play, children also develop

As educators, we should encourage this type of play because it lays the foundation for academic, social, and emotional success.

Young children prefer constructive play. When given a choice of play activities, preschool children choose constructive play more than 50% of the time (Rubin, Fein, & Vandenberg 1983).

Piaget saw constructive play as a transition from functional to symbolic play. It allows children to manipulate and control their environment and gives children a sense of accomplishment.

The key to promoting constructive play in your classroom is to provide your children with age appropriate and inspiring learning materials. The children should be able to use these materials in an organised, goal-oriented way so that they can make something new with them.

Constructive Play Investigation Areas

Because constructive play is driven by children’s interactions with their environment (Chaille 2008), designing an appropriate learning environment will take the constructive play in your classroom to a new level.

Try adding new and novel materials like loose parts to your investigation areas to spark interest and invite children to explore the materials in new ways.

Integrate your investigation areas and repurpose the materials you offer the children in your class.

  • combine the woodwork bench with the art area

  • add some math manipulatives or loose parts to your literacy area

  • add the science table to your blocks area

  • use the veranda or outdoor space by taking indoor materials and resource outside

  • bring outdoor materials and resources inside the classroom

  • set up the collage trolley in the playground

  • add a tray of Lego to a picnic blanket under a tree.

Constructive Play in the Playground

Water play troughs and sandpits are staples in most early childhood playgrounds. They are excellent invitations for children to take part in constructive play.

Other areas you might like to consider adding to your outdoor space are

  • water tables

  • woodwork benches

  • art easels and paints

  • outdoor mats or tables with baskets of blocks puzzles, Lego and other traditional classroom materials.

A large garden for children to work and play in also encourages a variety of constructive play.

Piaget’s Symbolic/Fantasy Play

Symbolic/Fantasy play is role playing or make-believe play.

Symbolic play is the ability of children to use objects, actions, or ideas to represent other objects, actions, or ideas. Classroom dramatic play areas and small world setups are the perfect learning experience to foster symbolic/fantasy play.

Symbolic/fantasy play is widely considered the most sophisticated play activity during the preschool and kindergarten years. Symbolic play encourages the development of social skills, academic abilities, early literacy concepts, and behavioural self-regulation (Leong & Bodrova 2015).

Symbolic/fantasy play can be seen in children as young as 18 months of age. You may have seen toddlers engaging in pretend play when they use objects to represent something else like driving a car by moving a pretend steering wheel or using a block of wood as a cell phone. Drinking from an empty cup or pretending to feed a doll are also examples of symbolic play.

As children develop through Piaget’s cognitive developmental stages, their play includes fantasy and drama. Preschoolers enjoy role play and often include social norms in their pretend play. As their role-plays and imagination become more sophisticated, socialization becomes an important part of their play.

You will notice these children will start to designate roles to themselves and to others. They will begin to include sequential steps and organised plans in their imaginative play.

Dramatic play is vital to cognitive development and should be a vital component of your classroom. It provides the opportunity for children to explore various roles and social rules that they may not otherwise have the chance to explore in the real world.

Dramatic play helps children to move away from their egocentric thinking. Through symbolic or fantasy play, children will learn skills in negotiation, cooperation, listening, sharing, taking turns, and respecting others’ feelings, thoughts, ideas, and physical space.

Symbolic play is also a prerequisite to literacy and numeracy. When we write letters and numbers, we are using symbols for what we want to convey. When children are engaged in symbolic play, they are practicing these very concepts.

Researchers have found that a child who follows a sequence when playing (stirring milk and then feeding the doll) will also be able to manage syntax in language (“I need paper and crayons”).

Children will also be developing their cognitive skills when they use their imagination and take part in symbolic or fantasy play. New neural pathways are created whenever a child learns how to think creatively.

The development of creative thinking skills help children to become effective problem solvers. Creative thinking skills are also vital for bringing new perspectives into our world.

Piaget’s Games With Rules Play

Any play which has imposed rules to be followed by the players is games with rules play.

This is the last type of play documented by Piaget. To successfully take part in this type of play, children must first have the cognitive ability to understand and remember the rules.

These games will also require children to self-regulate. They will need to control their own desires and needs in order to follow the rules of the game.

Children are usually first introduced to games with rules at school. Games like Tiggy, Cat and Mouse or Duck-Duck-Goose are always classroom favourites. These class games are often a child’s first introduction to games with rules play.

Board games and card games are other types of games with rules. Through these games, children develop an understanding of cooperation and competition.

Games with rules are often characterised by logic and order, and as children mature, they can develop method and planning in their game playing (Frost 2004).

“By initiating their own games with rules, children learn the need for rules, how to negotiate with each other, and fairness so that the game is enjoyable for everyone. Team sports and board games are games that have very specific rules and encourage the development of strategy. Electronic games are designed to target children at different stages of development and often encourage the practice and mastery of new skills through challenging tasks and fantasy.”

— Frost 2001

Piaget’s theories about learning strongly suggest we should focus on creating engaging learning environments which provide opportunities for children to experiment and interact with the world around them.

Educators need to provide interactive, hands-on learning experiences so children can progress through Piaget’s stages of cognitive development and meet their cognitive developmental milestones. For children to construct new knowledge and mental models of understanding, we must carefully plan and provide purposeful play experiences for our students.

Play experiences which encompass

You will find many resources HERE to help you create engaging learning environments and provide interactive, hands-on learning experiences.

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Psychology Behind Learning Through Play

Outdoor Learning and Play










Learning through play, appears to be a simple notion, but has profound meaning.

It helps children make sense of the world around them through discovery, allowing them to develop cognitively, socially, emotionally and physically.

The importance of play has been studied by various psychologists and scientists for over a century.

Jean Piaget (1962) was the first psychologist to make the systematic study of children’s cognitive development. 

Piaget viewed play as integral to the development of intelligence in children. His theory of play argues that as the child matures, their environment and play should encourage further cognitive and language development.

 ‘In play a child is always above his average age, above his daily behaviour, in play, it’s as though he were a head taller than himself.’ (Lev Vygostsky 1978)

Guided play and children’s development

Both child-led play and guided play have a fundamental role in children’s development. In child-led play, children have full independence and true autonomy.

Alternatively, through guided play teachers can deliver games, activities or a setting for children to play and target specific areas of development.  


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In both cases, children should be actively engaged and have fun whilst participating.

All activities should be child-centred. 

Indoor Play Vs Outdoor Play

Now that we have established the importance of play and learning, many recent studies have revealed that indoor play can be disadvantageous to children’s growth. 

Research by Burdette and Whittaker in 2005 discovered, that outdoor imaginary play encourages the brain to mature at a considerably faster rate, than those children who play indoors.

This results in better language development and more sociable children, who are generally happier. 

Health Benefits of Outdoor Play

When it comes to playtime, many parents and teachers frequently worry about children picking up germs which may result in them becoming unwell, consequently choosing indoor play instead.

This is a common misconception and in fact, recent research by Epstein (2001) has found that playing indoors has a higher probability of encouraging Asthma than playing outdoors.

Many studies have shown that outdoor play can enhance the immune system.

In fact, research suggests that children from rural areas, or those children who spend a lot of time engaging in outdoor play have the best overall general health.

Playing outdoors increases children’s Vitamin D levels, provided by the sun. Vitamin D is fundamental to children’s overall health as it encourages; a better mood, increased energy levels, and improved memory.

Outdoor learning experiences through play can work hand in hand with the curriculum. Through play, children are encouraged to makes sense of the ‘real world’ and put into practise the concepts and skills that they have acquired in the classroom. This in turn better equips them for the future. 

At Pentagon Play, all our products are created with the vision of encouraging children’s growth. We offer specific products to target different areas of development. We also understand the importance of free play and have products to help children use their active imagination, whilst having true independence.

For additional information on how we can support you to select the finest play equipment for your school, please Contact Us for free specialist advice.









Our Playground Consultants will work with your school to design a playground environment that suits your children and schools needs. Contact Us for free, expert advice.





Kay Hamid

Copywriter

14/05/2018



The Play Theories of Parten and Piaget

There are two different “stages of play” theories commonly discussed in child development. For caregivers of infants and toddlers, understanding the theory behind stages of play helps identify what a child is learning. Caregivers can create better learning environments to support a child’s development.

Table of Contents

  1. Parten’s 6 Stages of Play Theory
    • Unoccupied Play
    • Solitary Play
    • Spectator/Onlooker Play
    • Parallel Play
    • Associative Play
    • Social/Cooperative Play
  2. Piaget’s 4 Stages of Play Theory
  3. How Parents and Educators Can Encourage Play
  4. How Accurate are Stages of Play Theories?

Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development includes four stages of play: functional play, constructive play, symbolic/fantasy play, and games with rules. 

Mildred Parten Newhall‘s social stages of play theory (known as Parten’s Stages of Play) covers play progression for children from newborn to age six. This theory has six stages: unoccupied play, solitary play, spectator/onlooker play, parallel play, associative play, and social/cooperative play. 

Parten’s 6 Stages of Play Theory

Mildred Parten Newhall’s play theory was part of her dissertation in 1929. Through observing young children, Parten Newhall created a framework for understanding how children’s play becomes more complex as they age.

Of course, when I say complex, I do not mean to diminish the incredible brain development of infants and toddlers. Their play may seem simple, but they are actually soaking in all the information about the world around them that they will then apply to more complex play.

Infants and young toddlers are focused on their own sensory experiences. As they grow, their play becomes more social and interactive with peers.

#1 Unoccupied Play | Birth to 3 Months

Unoccupied play is when infants play, seemingly without purpose or needing interaction from others. While very young children are dependent on caregivers, they are alone and exploring the world around them using their senses during unoccupied play. 

“Unoccupied” refers to playing alone without obvious objectives, not that they aren’t playing and learning.

·Example: A baby doing tummy time, clenching and unclenching a blanket, looking out, and turning their head towards sounds in the environment.

·Nature Play Example: Taking tummy time outdoors. A baby can feel the sun’s warmth, reach past the blanket to brush their hand across the grass, observe the shadows as clouds move, and hear the sounds of nature.

#2 Solitary Play | 3 Month to 2 1/2 Years

Solitary play is when children play alone with no particular goal except to explore objects, the environment, and the impact they can have on objects and the environment. Simple loose parts play (aka object play) is a crucial part of solitary play. 

Children are motivated to explore objects and toys that interest them. This type of play is essential because it gives toddlers a chance to understand how their bodies and the things in their environments function.

·Example: A toddler exploring a themed treasure basket of loose parts.

·Nature Play Example: A toddler filling and pouring a pail of water over and over again.

#3 Spectator Play | 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 Years

Spectator/Onlooker play is when children watch other children as they play nearby. While playing, children may interact for a moment and then step out to merely observe. At this age, children will begin practicing entering and exiting group play.

During this stage of play, a child may seem to be “lonely” or “isolated.” Caregivers should appreciate that a child learns and observes lots of information while watching others. What they learned can be used in their own play later. Aren’t humans just incredible social beings?

·Example: …when a child watches a YouTube video of another child doing a toy unboxing. JUST KIDDING. That is not part of the recommendation on screen time for toddlers. A real example is an older toddler walking through a classroom and pausing to watch as children play in the block center.

·Nature Play Example: An older toddler at a playground climbing to the top of a playset and observing while others play.

#4 Parallel Play | 3 1/2 to 4 Years

Parallel play is when two children play side-by-side, often with the same materials. The children may engage in a short conversation or onlooker play. One child may mimic the words or behaviors of the other. 

To caregivers, it may appear that the children are not playing together. In reality, children are collecting information from one another and building social skills. Parallel play becomes a safe way to practice entering more complex play.

·Example: Two children sitting together at the table with their own paper and paint. One child says, “A mess!” The other child repeats the words and continues painting.

·Nature Play Example: Two children digging in a sandbox together, each with their own shovels. 

#5 Associative Play | 4 to 4 1/2 Years

Associative play is when children begin interacting more while playing but are still focused on their own goals and interests. The interactions, collaboration, and sharing of materials are more complex than parallel play. Still, each child focuses on their own interests and motivations.

·Example: Two children taking blocks from the same bin but building their own structures. Each child talks aloud about what they are creating and may respond to one another.

·Nature Play Example: Two children each climbing a hill and running back down it. They are both laughing and mimicking each other’s screams. Sometimes they run together; sometimes, each child runs on their own.

#6 Cooperative Play | 4 1/2 Years and Up

Cooperative/social play is when children’s play becomes the most complex and interactive. In this stage of play, children build social bonds and establish more exclusive friendships. Children practice collaborating and communicating. Children get to take turns practicing leadership roles.

·Example: Superhero play or playing house

·Nature Play Example: A group of children building a snowman together or digging the world’s deepest hole

Stages of Play Theory | Piaget & Parten PDF

You’re welcome to use this resource. Please link to https://wellbeingswithalysia.com/stages-of-play/ to credit me. Thank you!

Piaget’s 4 Stages of Play Theory

Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development has four stages of play: functional play, constructive play, symbolic/fantasy play, and games with rules. 

The four stages of play shouldn’t be confused with Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development. The stages of play are part of how children learn about the world as they move through the stages of cognitive development.  

Like with Parten’s theory, these stages progress through early childhood. A child will build play skills as they move through each stage but still partake in earlier stages. 

Functional play is when very young children explore objects using their senses. Functional play is classic object/loose parts play, where a child is using all their senses to understand an object fully.

Constructive play is when children take those objects they have explored and start to use them with purpose. Instead of mouthing or gathering markers, a child begins to draw with them. Instead of banging or throwing blocks, a child starts to stack and build.

Symbolic/fantasy play is when children incorporate objects into pretend play. Imaginative activities can be as simple as using a block as a phone. More complex symbolic play includes role-playing. Children can move beyond concrete thinking and can use their imagination to expand their play.

“Games with rules” is when children can understand and follow different types of rules. “Games with rules” is often part of group play but can also be part of solitary play. The rules are used as guidelines on moving forward with an activity.

How Parents and Educators can Encourage Play

Parents and early childhood educators can support children’s play by providing developmentally appropriate toys and materials, plus plenty of opportunities for open-ended play. 

During conversations, caregivers can use open-ended questions such as:

  • “What would happen if you…?”
  • “What could you do next?”

How Accurate are Stages of Play Theories?

Play is essential to learning. That part is absolutely accurate.

That being said…

For students of the field of child development, we have based so much of our knowledge and practice on theorists. And in my experience, Piaget’s and Parten’s stages of play can both be observed in children.

But that being said…

The American education system is based on a minimal part of the global human experience. There is simply not enough cultural diversity in the studies of these child development theorists. For example, Piaget (a white man) developed much of his cognitive theory while observing his own children. And Parten Newhall (a white woman but serious credit for that doctoral dissertation in the 1920s!) was completing one-minute observations of children playing.

Play is important. Knowing the theory behind stages of play will make you a more in-tune caregiver. You’re not wrong if you ask your own open-ended question of these theories.

I hope you’re all along for the ride while I start deconstructing all the child development knowledge I spent ten years building up.

More recent posts

Play – Piaget Stages Of Development, Children, and Therapy

Activity that is not required, but is enjoyed.

While the term “play” may refer to an extremely varied range of activities, certain broad, defining characteristics have been noted. Perhaps the most basic one is that play is something that is not required. Although the enjoyment derived from it may be needed emotionally, no single play activity itself is necessary for survival. Thus, play is referred to as “autotelic”—it is engaged in for its own sake, with the reward inherent in the activity itself. Nevertheless, in spite of its detachment from survival and financial gain, play is engaged in wholeheartedly. During the time allotted to play, it commands a person’s entire attention.

Play takes place in a realm divorced from ordinary reality and governed by its own rules, which may be more complex and absolute than those of many “serious” activities. It is also bound in terms of both time and space. The period during which one engages in play has time limits: it begins, proceeds, and inevitably ends when one returns to “real life. ” Play is also set apart in space—a person generally goes somewhere special (even if it is only the “play room” or the “playground”) to engage in play. The relationship between play and tension has also been noted. While tension is not absent from play itself, the ultimate result is the reduction of tension and conflict. Based on this feature, play has often been viewed as a “safety valve” for the harmless discharge of tensions and conflicts.

In children, play is a necessary vehicle for normal physical, social, and cognitive development. The well known early 20th-century American psychologist G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924) viewed the evolution of children’s play as recapitulating the evolution of the human species. Individually, play develops in stages that correspond to a child’s social and cognitive development. Initially, a child’s play is solitary in nature. Next comes parallel play, where children are in each others’ company but playing independently. Socially, the final stage is cooperative play, which consists of organized activities characterized by social roles.

Jean Piaget formulated a series of developmental stages of play that corresponded to the successive stages in his influential theory of cognitive development in children. The sensorimotor stage (birth to approximately two years old), when children are focused on gaining mastery of their own bodies and external objects, is characterized by “practice play” consisting of repeated patterns of movement or sound, such as sucking, shaking, banging, babbling, and, eventually, “peekaboo” games in which objects are made to repeatedly disappear and reappear. As children learn more about the properties of objects and learn how to manipulate them, they begin to monitor the effects of play on their environment, and their relationship with that environment becomes increasingly systematic.

The preoperational stage (ages 2-7 years) is marked by the ability to master symbolic functions, including the association of objects with words, and the transition from an egocentric focus to an awareness that events have causes outside themselves. At this stage, children begin to engage in make-believe games marked by the use of objects for purposes other than their intended function. Between the ages of 4 and 7, when their thinking is still dominated by intuition rather than logic, children first become interested in games characterized by rules, structure, and social interaction. As they move through the concrete operational stage (ages 7-11), during which categorizing activities and the earliest logical operations occur, the types of rules governing their play and the reasons for following them change. At first, rules are centered on the sensorimotor aspects of play and largely provide structure and repetition. Gradually, they become more focused on the social aspects of play and are connected with acceptance by the group. By the fourth, or formal operations stage (ages 12 and higher), with the gradual emergence of a mature ability to reason, competitive games and games with codes of rules begin to predominate.

While other psychologists have proposed schemes that vary from this one theory, there is general agreement on its broad outlines. Some additional categorizations of children’s play that have been proposed include diversive play, composed of aimless activities that serve as a diversion when a child is bored; mimetic play, which is repetitious, structured, and symbolic; and cathartic play, which is therapeutic in nature.

One of the first to use play in therapy with children was Hermine Hug-Hellmuth in 1921, following Freud’s work with “Little Hans,” a five-year-old boy with a phobia. British psychoanalyst Melanie Klein used play as a source to a child’s unconscious from which she could make interpretations, starting in 1919. Just as adults used free association to communicate about their unconscious and talk to communicate about their feelings, theorists reasoned that children communicate through their natural play what they cannot yet verbalize. Play therapy was used by Anna Freud to help children develop a closer connection to the therapist. A more structured approach came about in the 1930s with David Levy using play therapy to help children work through and re-enact stressful situations to release them. In keeping with Carl Rogers’ non-directive play work in the 1940s, Virginia

These Columbian girls are engaged in cooperative play, the final stage of playing activities. (AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced with permission.)

Axline used non-directive play to allow a child to freely be himself or herself, working toward self-realization. By the 1960s, schools had introduced guidance and counseling services. A number of counselors, including Garry Landreth urged in writings that school counselors incorporate play therapy to meet the developmental needs of all children. The International Association for Play Therapy formed in 1982 and now has 3,300 members worldwide. Play therapy has grown in its applications, expanding to include adults and families and into hospitals as well. The therapy usually occurs in a playroom, specially designed for children and furnished with toys and equipment to facilitate children’s play.

Dolinar, Kathleen J. Learning Through Play: Curriculum and Activities for the Inclusive Classroom. Albany, NY: Delmar, 1994.

Gil, Eliana Play in Family Therapy. New York: Guilford Press, 1994.

Landreth, Garry L. Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship Muncie, Indiana: Accelerated Development Inc., 1991.

Moyles, Janet R. The Excellence of Play. Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1994.

Hughes, Fergus P. Children, Play, and Development. Boston Allyn and Bacon, 1991.

The Importance of Constructive Play

One of my favorite activities as a young child growing up on a farm in the beautiful border country between England and Wales was to go outside after the frequent heavy rains we often experienced (or even while it was raining) to dig and build little ditches, channels, aqueducts, tunnels, diversions, and dams for all the runoff. I also loved creating fantastic marble shoots with my peers at school using several sets of unit blocks. I remember some of these block creations were so high that they touched the classroom ceiling! Both these activities involved constructive play. In this article I argue that, while constructive play is often viewed as secondary to both physical and symbolic/fantasy play, it is critically important for young children, and should be encouraged and supported both in the classroom and on the playground.

Piaget’s Stages of Play

According to Piaget, children engage in types of play that reflect their level of cognitive development: functional play, constructive play, symbolic/fantasy play, and games with rules (Johnson, Christie & Wardle 2005).

  • ­Functional play is the use of bodily movements, with or without objects, such as running and jumping, sliding, gathering and dumping, manipulating and stacking objects, and informal games without rules.
  • ­Constructive play uses objects—blocks, Legos, Tinkertoys, or different materials (sand, modeling clay, paint, blocks)—in an organized, goal-oriented way to make something.
  • ­Symbolic/Fantasy play is role playing or make-believe play, such as pretending to be a baby, firefighter, superhero, or monster, and make believe actions, such as driving a car by moving a pretend steering wheel, or using a block of wood as a cell phone.
  • ­Games with rules are games with peers that are controlled by pre-established rules, such as tag, Mother-May-I, checkers, Duck-Duck-Goose, and so on.

Piaget also viewed these forms of play as progressive, or cumulative, beginning with functional play (i.e. an infant playing with a rattle) and progressing to games with rules. But, because a game with rules requires someone to make sure players adhere to these rules—usually an adult—it is often not included within the framework of free play. And, while functional play is the kind of play encouraged in most outdoor playgrounds (swinging, sliding, riding tricycles, running, and climbing), symbolic/fantasy play is viewed by many experts as the highest level of play in the preschool and kindergarten years (Leong & Bodrova 2015). Early childhood scholars believe that symbolic/fantasy play develops children’s social skills, basic mathematical abilities, early literacy concepts, and behavioral self-regulation. Unfortunately some have even called it mature play (Leong & Bodrova, 2015). Thus constructive play is often left out of the discussion regarding the critical importance of play, or is simply viewed as a bridge between functional play and the supposedly more desirable and sophisticated symbolic/fantasy play.

Constructive Play is what Young Children Do

With the current focus on early childhood standards, assessment of young children’s progress, and early childhood academic activities, early childhood educators continually have to justify the use of play in the curriculum. Often this justification is that play prepares children for later academic, social, and emotional successes (Leong & Bodrova 2015). But, while constructive play teaches children to be flexible thinkers (Bruner 1972), and develops a sense of control and self-esteem by encouraging children to control their environment (Chaille 2008), I believe the main value of constructive play is that it enables children to be children: to do what children need to do and want to do!

In fact, research shows that when given a choice of free play activities, constructive play is chosen more than 50% of the time by preschool children (Rubin, Fein, & Vandenberg 1983), and for preschool children, constructive play was also their favorite outdoor activity (Ihn 1998). Further, constructive play is wonderful for children who may not be quite ready to move on to symbolic/fantasy play: many boys, children with delayed or slow language development, those whose social development may be immature, and children with certain disabilities.

Constructive play allows children to manipulate and control their environment

Constructivist Learning

I often enjoy playing with my 4-year-old grandson, Isaac. When he visits us at our home, he loves to play with the set of unit blocks that we acquired for our own children. He loves to make patterns on the floor, matching up different size blocks, and placing blocks of the same shape and size together. But recently everything changed: he decided his goal now was to place all the blocks on end, and to see how high he could build them! He even tried constructing these structures on a gymnastics mat (which happened to be on the floor) until he discovered that this did not provide the needed stability.

Isaac’s goal had changed because his view of the world had changed as a result of his cognitive development. Our understanding of constructive play comes from the constructivist view of development and learning (Chaille 2008). This approach to early childhood education is about responding to children who are, by nature, exploring, discovering, and theory building in everything they do. It is a theory that believes children construct knowledge through interactions between their own ideas and experiences in the social and physical world. Thus, learning from a constructivist perspective is intrinsic, because children continually try to make sense of their world, which is what Isaac was doing.

​Hands-on exploration allows children to make sense of their world.

Encouraging Constructive Play

The most important thing in encouraging constructive play for young children is to understand the value of this kind of play, in and of itself, and not to view it as preparation for future academic success and development, or as a bridge to symbolic/fantasy play. Children should be encouraged and supported to fully enjoy, explore, and appreciate constructive play. Further, enough time every day needs to be provided for all kinds of play, and constructive play should be encouraged inside, in transition areas (i.e. porches or decks), and on the playground. This begins by providing a vast array of stimulating materials such as:

  • ­ Unit and hollow blocks
  • ­ A woodworking area
  • ­ A variety of puzzles
  • ­ Mosaic tiles and patterns
  • ­ Milk crates, boxes, and other cubes
  • ­ Clean pieces of wood of different sizes, shapes, and strengths
  • ­ Sticks and stones, leaves, bark, and other natural materials
  • ­ Sand and sand toys
  • ­ Water and water toys
  • ­ Clay, play dough, and other modeling materials
  • ­ Paints, brushes and easels, chalk, crayons, stencils, drawing tools, and other art materials
  • ­ Car tires (bias and clean)
  • ­ Wagons and tools to move sand, dirt, and other materials (Wardle 2000).

Indoors

Because constructive play is driven by children’s interactions with their environment (Chaille 2008), changing the environment encourages all sorts of constructive play. Adding new and novel materials to indoor learning centers is one way to increase constructive play indoors; another is to integrate materials across learning centers: the woodwork bench with the art area, the science and block area, the literacy area with the math manipulatives, and so on. Finally, taking materials outside and bringing materials into the classroom from the playground, are additional ways to increase constructive play.

​Providing inspiring materials is key to promoting constructive play.

Outdoors

Well-designed water play areas and sandboxes encourage constructive play because so much can be done using these very flexible materials (Ihn 1998). A hardtop area within the playground or transition area between the classroom and playground encourages play with unit and hollow blocks, water tables, woodwork benches, art easels and paints, and other traditional classroom materials. A large garden also encourages a variety of constructive play.

However, children also need to be encouraged to use traditional classroom materials and equipment in novel and innovative ways outside, such as painting on the sidewalk or fence, making garden signs and building birdhouses on the workbench, and building higher and bigger with blocks. In general, outdoor play is louder, takes up more space, uses more—and often different—materials, and is messier than indoor play(Johnson, Christie & Wardle 2005).

Conclusion

Constructive play is what young children do naturally. While other forms of play can be justified as preparing children for later academic and life successes, constructive play should be encouraged and supported because it lets children simply be children. This, many believe, is the best possible preparation for later achievements. Providing adequate time each day for play, and continually changing, combining, and adding new and more complex materials, both indoors and on the playground, are the best ways to support constructive play.

References

Bruner, J. (1972). The nature and uses of immaturity. American Psychologist, 27, 687-708.

Chaille, C. (2008). Constructivism across the curriculum in early childhood classrooms. Big ideas as inspiration. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Ihn, H. (1998). Analysis of preschool children’s equipment choices and play behaviors in outdoor environments. Early Childhood News, 10(4), 20-25.

Johnson, J. E., Christie, J. F., & Wardle, F. (2005). Play, development, and early education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Leong, D. L. & Bodrova, E. (2015). Assessing and scaffolding make-believe play. In Bohart, H., Charner, K., & Koraleck, D. (Eds.), Spotlight on young children: Exploring play (pp 26-36). Washington, DC: NAEYC

Rubin, K., Fein, G., & Vandenberg, B. (1983). Play. In E. Hetherington (Ed.) & P. Mussen (Series Ed.,), Handbook of child psychology: Vol.4. Socialization, personality, and social development (pp. 693-774). New York: Wiley.

Wardle, F. (2000). Supporting constructive play in the wild: Guidelines for learning outdoors. Child Care Information Exchange (May), pp 26-29.

Self-concept of the child

Contents:

Development of the self-concept.
Subjective Self.
Objective Self
Defining oneself at an early age.

Try an experiment. Before reading further, write 20 answers to the question “Who am I?” Then look at the list and think about what you wrote. My answers are:

  • I am a consistent, analytical person.
  • I love certainty and feel uncomfortable in situations of uncertainty.
  • I am a persistent, purposeful person who finishes what he started.
  • I am not greedy about money and time.
  • I play many roles: wife, mother, stepmother, grandmother, daughter, sister, singer, board member.
  • I have many close female friends.
  • I am much taller than average and sometimes clumsy.
  • I don’t fit the traditional idea of ​​femininity.

My list, and perhaps yours, contains information about my appearance, the roles I play, and my qualities, attitudes, and self-image. These are all aspects of my self-concept – my self-schema, in Piaget’s words.

For each of us, the self-concept serves as a kind of filter of experience, influencing our choices and determining our reactions to other people. Our ideas about gender role form a significant part of the self-concept. Because these beliefs and attitudes about ourselves are so important to our personality and therefore our behavior, it is important to understand how they are formed.

Our ideas about the emergence of a sense of self in a child are strongly influenced by the theories of Freud and Piaget, since each of them believed that at the beginning of life the child does not have a sense of separateness. Freud pointed to the symbolic relationship between a mother and a small child, in which two beings are united together as if they were one. He believed that at first the baby is not aware of himself as a being separate from his mother, only gradually the child understands that he is special. This representation was studied by Margaret Mahler (Mahler, 1977), a well-known theorist of the psychoanalytic orientation, who suggested that the child has a “psychological birth” a few months after the biological birth.

Even more influential than the theories of Freud or Piaget, however, was the work of the American psychologist William James (James, 1890, 1892), who made an important distinction between two aspects of the self, called I and Mine. The aspect of the Self, often referred to as the subjective Self , refers to the inner feeling “I am”, “I exist”. Aspect of Moe, sometimes referred to as objective self, covers a set of properties or qualities that are objectively known or inherent in a person: this includes physical characteristics, temperament and social skills. It is the aspect of My that is the Self-concept – a set of ideas or beliefs of each of us about our own qualities. However, it is our Self that determines the Self-concept and has beliefs and ideas about itself. So when we describe ourselves to someone else or answer the question “Who am I?” as I asked you at the beginning of this article, you are describing Mine, but it is your Self that is doing the description.

This division, originally proposed by James, can be found in most modern works devoted to the study of the formation of feelings of oneself , although modern researchers and theorists use different names for these two aspects. For example, Michael Lewis (Lewis, 1991, 1994) in his writings refers to Self as the mechanism of self and Mine as the self-image. Robbie Case (Case, 1991) makes a similar distinction between the categories of Implied Self (I) and of the described I (Mine). In the following, I will use the terms subjective self and objective self, as I consider them to be the clearest of the available alternatives.

Subjective Self

Most self-development students today would challenge Freud’s assertion of a primary symbolic relationship between infant and parent in which the infant does not yet have a sense of separation (Harter, 1998). It is now generally accepted that the child has some primitive sense of separateness from birth. In the first months, the baby’s task is to coordinate the various sources of information he has about his own actions or their influence. In particular, in the first year of life, the infant is aware of himself as a figure capable of organizing events around him. The joy that a child experiences when he manages to make hanging toys move or to make a sound by pressing a toy with a squeaker is proof that the child has a feeling of himself as a doer. Albert Bandura develops his theory in the same vein, believing that the foundations of the feeling of self-efficacy are formed in the first year of life, when the baby realizes that he can control certain events in the world around him.

This feeling of self-efficacy or control is noted not only in relation to inanimate objects, but to a much greater extent it is expressed in the relationship of the child with adults who react to his behavior in quite predictable ways: smile in response to the smile of an infant, with a funny facial expression react to his tricks, changing diapers or giving food, observing a certain ritual, play hide and seek. Of course, in most cases, these events are not “caused” by the child – it is the parents who often initiate the game or certain behavior. But these actions contain myriads of repeating sequences in which the parent responds / reacts with some predictable behavior to a certain action of the child. From the child’s point of view, it was he who “made” some event happen – thus, the child begins to feel his effectiveness and strength, that is, to feel yourself.

Piaget also believed that the decisive element in the development of the subjective self is the understanding of the permanence of objects by about 9 or 12 months. Once the baby begins to understand that mom and dad continue to exist even when they are out of sight, he understands, at least on an elementary level, that he exists independently.

Objective Self

The second important step for the child is to understand that he, too, object in the world and therefore has certain qualities and properties, such as gender, size, name, as well as qualities such as shyness or courage, dexterity or clumsiness. It is this self-awareness that is the hallmark of the concept of Mine.

The study of self-awareness. When does a child really develop such self-awareness? This question is difficult to answer, although the results of several different strategies indicate that the age of 15-18 months is a transitional period in this respect. The most widely used strategies for studying the interaction of a child with a mirror. First, the child is placed in front of a mirror and simply observed for his behavior. Most children aged 9-12 months will look at their own reflection, make faces or try to communicate with the “baby in the mirror”. After a certain period of time, the experimenter, pretending to wipe the child’s face with a handkerchief, puts a stain on the child’s nose with lipstick, and then again allows him to look in the mirror. The conclusion about the presence of self-recognition and, thus, self-awareness of the child is made on the basis of his further behavior: whether the child touches a spot on his nose or on the “nose” of the reflection in the mirror.

The results of one of Lewis’s studies using this technique are shown in the figure. As you can see, none of the 9-12 month old children in this study touched their nose. But by 21 months, three-quarters of children showed self-recognition at this level. The figure also shows how often children refer to themselves by their first names when they are shown a picture of themselves, which is another very common technique for measuring self-awareness. You can see that this step in development occurs almost at the same time as self-recognition in the mirror. Both events occur around the middle of the second year of life (Bullock & Lutkenhaus, 1990).

As soon as a child develops self-awareness, a whole range of manifestations of his behavior changes. The child begins to insist on independent performance of actions and demonstrates a new possessive attitude towards toys or other objects that are dear to him (“mine!”). Knowing these features allows you to understand a lot about the behavior of the legendary “intolerable two-year-olds. ” In a literal sense, the result of the emergence of self-awareness in children is that they become self-willed.

Recognition of oneself in a mirror and use of one’s own name occur almost at the same time

Another consequence of the emergence of self-awareness in a child is the expression of such emotions as embarrassment, pride, or shame. These emotions are usually observed in children only towards the end of the second year of life, probably because they all involve some aspect of self-esteem that requires at least a minimal level of self-awareness to emerge (Lewis et al., 1989; 1992). According to Lewis, the emergence of emotions such as shame or pride occurs as a result of becoming aware of certain standards of behavior and comparing oneself with these standards – a developmental step that also occurs at the end of the second year of life. For example, only at this age do children begin to use the word “dirty” to describe themselves or some object, believing that they evaluate themselves or others in relation to a certain standard. A child experiences a sense of shame if, in his opinion, he does not meet the standard, while pride, on the contrary, arises when the child is able to meet the standard, for example, to build such a high tower of cubes as the teacher asks, it is enough to wash his hands ” clean,” etc. One aspect of development in general is this: after age 2, children are increasingly seeking the approval of adults, using their reaction as a signal that they have reached (or not) a certain standard or lived up to expectations. By school age, children already internalize these standards and expectations and become more autonomous in their judgments (Schaffer, 1996), in addition, the rules and norms of behavior dictated by parents are assimilated, as a result of which children can regulate their emotional manifestations and behavior.

Defining oneself at an early age.

Having reached the initial level of self-awareness, a preschool child begins to define “who I am” by studying his qualities and social roles. A two-year-old child not only knows his name, perhaps he can also tell if he is a boy or a girl, small or big. By about age 5 or 7, a child can give a fairly complete description of himself across a range of dimensions. For example, Susan Harter (Harter, 1987; 1990; Harter & Pike, 1984) found that children of this age have a clear idea of ​​their competence in various specific areas: in solving puzzles, in the ability to count, in those knowledge and skills that are acquired in kindergarten, in climbing trees, in the ability to jump rope and the ability to make friends.

By the second year of life, children begin to realize themselves as participants in a social game, learn to interact with other people. Case (Case, 1991) indicates that the child is beginning to form an understanding of his own role in life “scenarios”. Therefore, in some situations, he begins to think of himself as a “helper”; in other situations, when he, for example, advises another child what to do, he feels like a “boss”. You can already see this clearly by watching
role-playing game of preschoolers, in which specific roles are immediately distributed: “I will be a dad, and you will be a mom” or “I am a teacher”. Understanding one’s role in the totality of family roles is part of the same process of self-determination. The child is aware that he has sisters, brothers, father, mother, etc.

All this is a great advance in the child’s awareness. However, he is still aware of his I as a set of specific qualities. For example, each facet of the self-concept of a preschool child seems separate and resembles a list: “I can run well”; “I don’t like to play with dolls”; “I live in a big house”; “I have blue eyes” (Harter, 1998). These individual aspects of the self-schema have not yet coalesced into a global sense of self-worth (Harter, 1987; 1990; Harter & Pike, 1984). Kids this age don’t say “I’m a terrible person” or “I really like myself.” The perception of oneself is closely related to the specific environment and specific tasks.

The self-concept of a preschool child is also specific in other aspects: he tends to focus on the external characteristics of himself – is he a boy or a girl, how does he look, what and with whom does he play, where does he live, what does he do well to do and what not to do, rather than on more enduring inner qualities. This pattern has obvious parallels with the patterns of cognitive development characteristic of the same age: it is at these years that children’s attention is focused on the external signs of objects, and not on their permanent qualities (this is most clearly manifested in solving conservation problems, for example, when a child thinks, that the number of coins in a row increased because you stretched this row in length, or there was more water when it was poured into a taller thin glass).

Read further: Self-concept at school age.

Read also:
Self-actualizationSelf-actualization

.
What is a role-playing game?
Features of the role-playing game in preschool age.

Game theory f. Piaget

Life
demanded from child psychologists
practical advice
related to learning and
behavior
children, which made them turn to
game research,
mainly as a means of learning and
therapeutic
techniques. Explanations received in them
The results were taken from a variety of
theories available in
disposal, mainly from neo-Freudian ones.
On the other hand, psychologists who study
normal development, mostly
were describing
facts and their classification.

Children’s
psychologist Stern divided the games into
individual
and collective, which have their own
divisions.
Individual play includes
improvement of physical activity,
for example,
running and jumping, mastering properties
objects in creative and destructive
games,
transformation of objects and people through
miscellaneous
kind of transformation. Collective game
is imitation and struggle.

Another
child psychologist, Charlotte Buehler,
divided
game into a functional one, using
sensorimotor
child’s apparatus, fantasy game and play
with a deception of feelings, a passive game (such as
browsing books) and playing
construction. Titles
games in this classification, as well as
definition
games in terms of enjoyment, which
the child receives thanks to his
own
activity and pleasure
“to be
cause”, in fact, is the essence
similar concepts.

exception
of this series of theories is psychology
development of J. Piaget (1896-1980), professor
University of Geneva and Director
Rousseau Institute. Since childhood, interested
zoology and studying
snails, he started from the age of 10
actively
publish your research.
His biological background and interest
to philosophy, especially to the theory of knowledge,
led Piaget to study the mental
development of children. He believed that logical
analysis of “knowledge” can
be clarified by information about how children
are learning
think logically. To analyze the received
data
and search for the causes of children’s activities in
different
age he uses (especially in his
late
research) logical and mathematical
models.

Theory
Piaget’s play is closely related to his point
vision
for the development of mental abilities.
He
postulated the existence of two
processes that he considered fundamental
for everything organic
development, namely, assimilation and
accommodation. Most
a simple example of assimilation is food. Food
changes
in the process of eating and becomes part of
organism.
Accommodation is regulation
relations
organism with the outside world, such as
change of direction for
Togo
to avoid obstacles, or cut
muscles
eyes in bright light. Both processes
assimilation
and accommodation, complement and
overflow
into each other. If the pieces of food that
need to learn
large, then the animal has to
disclose
wider mouth. A series of
physical
and chemical processes that
fit
it to the type of food received (accommodation),
changing
at the same time what is already being digested.

Piaget
uses the terms assimilation and
accommodation
in a broader sense for
and to
mental processes. Assimilation
applies to any
the process by which the body converts
information received in the process
turning it into part of the body’s knowledge.
Information,
as it should be, “assimilated”. Accommodation
means
any device that an organism
forced
carry out in relation to the environment
the world to assimilate (assimilate)
information. intellectual development
is due to the long
active interaction of assimilation
and accommodations. mental adjustment
takes place when these two processes
balance
each other. In the other case, dominating
either accommodation or assimilation.
When accommodation prevails, we
observe
imitation. When playing, it is observed
pure assimilation that changes
incoming
information according to individual
needs. play and imitation
are part of the integral development
thinking and, therefore, pass
through the same stages
development.

Piaget
distinguishes four main periods in
intellectual
development, each of which is subdivided
for a number of sub-periods. From birth to
18 months – sensorimotor
(sensory-motor) period. AT
According to Piaget’s point of view,
during this period, the child begins with chaotic
impressions from different
sense organs,
which he still cannot separate from
of your own
reactions to them. During this period
he is gradually getting
sensory-motor
coordination and necessary fitness
for perception and manipulation
objects in space, time, and
also for
determining meaningful relationships between them.

AT
next big period, period of development
representative
thoughts at the age of 2 to 7-8 years, these
achievements
are repeated again symbolically and
verbally. Starting from a simple
ability to imagine
missing objects, the child learns
symbolize
entire object classes and relationships
between them. But he still can’t see
them aloof. This “egocentrism”
not a manifestation
selfishness, and the consequence
forced attention to only one
aspect
developments. This makes it impossible for the logical
thinking, because it implies
ability to return to compound
parts of the causal
chains and see their relationship with
different points of view. At this stage
baby not
can group objects based on
their general characteristics.
He classifies “syncretically”,
comparing one thing with another
because
there is something in each of them that attracts him
Attention.
The reasons for the action are explained as follows.
in the same way:
the ball flies because it is red and towards it
rope tied.

Concepts
quantity, quality, time, space
and the reasons are on the dological
level.
If two equal vessels are filled
the same
liquid to the same level, and
the contents of one of them are then poured
into two other similar vessels,
then a small child will
deny that the amount of liquid in
two vessels
equal to the amount of liquid in one
vessel, because
only one attracts his attention
aspect:
the height of the water level in the vessels. He is not yet
able
mentally trace in your imagination
all operations in reverse order
fluid transfusion
into two vessels.

On the
third, main stage of development, in
11-12 year old child
gradually becomes reversible
all
operations, but only in specific,
familiar and understandable situations. FROM
child’s attention is “de-centered”.
Reverse thought operations
initially carried out at the level
allowing you to see the connection as a property,
pertaining to the whole class. Only in youth
age, these operations become
fully
abstracted from all
specific content elements,
which allows you to build formal,
logical, evidence
interrelationships of facts.

On the
each stage, concepts develop with
acquisition
experience, through interaction and
balancing
assimilation and accommodation. But one
experience
not enough. There are internal
restrictions
development at each stage, in part
dependent
from the stage of maturation of the central nervous
systems,
and partly due to knowledge
physical and social environment.
It is important that interaction with others
performances, and later
and their interchangeability, make
individual to look at things from different
points of view. it
essential to the ability to see
brain teaser
relationships and contradictions.

The game
begins in the sensorimotor period.
This view of Piaget is based on
detailed observations
for the development of their three children and
inventive experiments with them,
conducted between 1925 and 1929
d. According to Piaget, a newborn baby
does not perceive the world as permanent
objects that exist in space
and time
regardless of his own
existence.
Judging by the difference in the reactions of the child,
the bottle that disappeared from his field of vision,
becomes
lost forever. The child is watching
stain
light until it hits
his field
vision, and stops responding immediately
as soon as
it disappears. When, a little later, the child
does
sucking movements, while continuing
without
a visible reason to look at the point at
which disappeared
the spectacle that interests him, then this is not yet
counts
game because it is a continuation
enjoyment of feeding
or observation.
The child’s behavior is now out of
stages
reflexes. In a circular reaction between
incentives
and responses include new elements,
but the activity of the child remains all
still repeating
what he did before. Piaget calls
it is “reproductive assimilation” –
performing a previously available action.
Such repetition
“for the sake of repetition” is a precursor
games.

Early
sensorimotor development is inadequate
described
in terms of individual reflexes,
which
develop with experience.
Some coordination between individual
perceiving
receptors and movements exist
already
from the moment of birth, and many reflexes,
available
in a newborn, rather, are replaced,
how
combined with later arbitrary
movements. However, in such cases
some interaction is required
between receiving and assimilating information.
Random “attempts” to blow bubbles,
wave your fist
etc., which is characteristic of all normal
babies
most likely related to this
(Anokhin P.K., 1964, in English. lang.).

At
Piaget does not need to invent
special
momentum for the game as he considers
as an aspect of assimilation, i.e. repetition
achievements in order to adapt
and fastenings. By the fourth month of life
looking and touching become
coordinated and the child learns
what if you push a suspended toy,
then she
will wobble or rattle. One day
learned,
this action will be repeated again
and again. it
already a game. “Functional” pleasure
and “pleasure
cause” are generated by repetition
actions as soon as they have been worked out in
flow
successful milestones in
sensorimotor period. In the process of searching
toys, learning
open lids, baby 7-12 months
makes opening lids and doors
into an exciting game. Randomly received
result
it will repeat almost like a ritual.
The game is already
not only by repeating successful actions,
but
repetition with variations. However, only
aged
12-18 months the child begins to actively
experiment.
By this time, various
opportunities for coordinated action
with items.
This allows the child to distinguish
actions
from the object to which they are directed,
what
gives rise to a systematic study
and search
new. At the last stage of the sensorimotor
period, actions become possible
in the absence of items and related
with them symbolism,
pretense, imagination.

Symbolic
play or play—imagination characterizes
period of figurative thinking at the age
from
2 to 7 years old. Piaget’s point of view on this
period is based
on his observations of arbitrary
children’s conversations and answers to
questions, as well as later
experiments to study the formation
children have the concepts of number, space,
quantities, etc. Initial thinking
takes the form of substitution actions,
which belong to the late
sensorimotor period of development.
A knotted rag depicts
small child.
Actions applied to one subject,
transferred to his deputy. By
words
Piaget, imagination is the result
adaptation
to the missing object. His
presentation without completed obvious
movements is the basis of imagination.
At the initial stage, these internalized
actions replace the object of it
symbol, later they act as signs,
indicating
or defining an object. Language is
socially limited set of signs-words,
which the
helps this process, but does not determine
his.

Symbolic
game, or game-imagination has such
same
function in the development of figurative thinking,
like
practical game of sensorimotor
period. it
is pure assimilation, and it consistently
reproduces
and organizes thinking on the basis of already
learned images and symbols, for example,
given
question for fun ask and
telling stories for fun
tell them.
The symbolic game also serves to
assimilation
and consolidation of emotional experience
child. All the important things that happen
reproduced
in Game. But what happens in reality
distorted
in the game, because there is no desire
adjust
To her. However, the special nature of children’s
imagination games develop from
features
process of children’s intellectual
development
at this stage, with his egocentric
position
and individual character of images
and the characters it uses. In
time
“figurative” period role-playing game
everything becomes
more complex and organized. FROM
accumulation
knowledge about the physical and social environment
going on
transition to more accurate reproduction
reality. The game is increasingly
sensorimotor
and mental activity
become more
constructive and close to
reality. At the same time, the child
increasing social adaptation,
and he resorts to less distorted
deputies
reality. Ages 8 to 11
individual
symbols change after interaction
with others, thanks to which understanding and
the use of symbols becomes
more logical and objective. The game
now controlled by the collective
discipline and laws of honor, and thus
Thus, games with rules replace
individual
symbolic game-imagination of the early
period. Although games with rules are socially
“adapted”
and gradually develop into adults
they still show rather
assimilation
rather than adjusting to reality.

Theory
Piaget gives play a purely biological
the function of active repetition and cognition,
which
“internally digest” new situations
and experience.
This theory allows consistently
describe development
successful activity from pushing
hanging
rattles to play out plots and
rugby game
and chess. But there are some here
difficulties. Some of them are related to
Piaget’s approach, which
focuses more on what
maybe
be a logical structure of thinking
children based on their mistakes than on the selection
conditions under which errors are made.
His
methods designed to uncover
sequence of actions leading
to
mistakes or correct decisions, and
supply us
specific, undeniable
data. But they don’t give accurate information.
about specific
factors influencing the received data,
for which they are often criticized.

Assumption
that play is pure assimilation,
allows us to predict what the child
will beat any kind of activity,
which he mastered, and the game will
distort reality
according to needs
child. But limits are not specified
which
such distortion may be
influence of experience
this age level. For example,
must
does it happen at all well
adapted
and a reasonably informed 5 year old
child. Statistical accuracy
quantity
surveyed children and the percentage of those who
specific logical error, counting
outcome options,
obtained through systematic
changeable options for solving the problem,
– this is
what characterizes research
Piaget. But attempts
translate his research into traditional
experimental form often
difficult
in relation to his theory. For example, in
general
and overall American children achieve
relevant stages of thinking before
the age that Piaget describes
for Swiss
children. However, although Piaget establishes
certain age at which
acquired certain cognitive
operations, it also implies
that they are determined by both age and maturation.
Such a difficult concept as specific
weight, talented
5-6-year-old children learned relatively
short time using specially
developed
training course. Children loaded things
different materials, different sizes
and weight into water, weighed the volume of water,
displaced by these
objects, etc. Thus, they
studied the concept on specific experiments.
These 5 year olds
the children were clearly not on the “prelogical”
level
thinking. It can be argued that
decisive
factor in this case was
a period of time,
in which the children learned
it’s a concept, not a sequence
stages of development of logical thinking.

Essence
Piaget’s theories are composed of three main
background. His theory means
that intellectual development takes place
in a sequence that can
be accelerated or slowed down
but cannot change on its own
influence
experience; this sequence is not
continuous
line, but has a number of stages, each of
which
must be completed before
will join the next educational
step,
and finally this sequence can be
explain by describing the types used
logical
operations. There is evidence that
some concepts are given to children
comparatively easier,
than others. However, it was shown
that this fact is due not only to
the need to apply
certain logical operations, but
also depends on the
specific experience
which children of this age acquire
in our society.
The number of elements in the problem in the larger
degree,
than the logical operations included in it,
can be a major obstacle
for her right
solutions. For example, Piaget found
that 5-year-old children are not capable of exactly
reproduce
sequence of colored beads
chain or order
dressing the doll. But if the quantity
beads reduce to seven, then the younger ones
children cope
with a task.

So
thus, the number of elements, not the requirement
follow the sequence
should form the main
difficulty. A significant part of the described
Piaget
phenomena is beyond doubt, but all
more evidence is needed
to finally answer the question
about being explained
whether they are best based
theories of development of logical structures
individual, or in terms of gradual
changes in perception and adjustment
to information. If Piaget is right, what
factors did not determine intellectual
development, they also determine the development
games.

Piaget
distinguishes between the game
repetition
already learned actions and repetition
actions in order to comprehend them, which
include
includes the function of adapting to
reality.
In the game, on the contrary, reality adapts
to own
the needs of the child. In your form
“pure”
assimilation game ends at the end
period of figurative thinking, when
weakens
“egocentrism”.

Presentation for the master class and the master class itself “Development of logical thinking with the help of LEGO construction”.

| Related presentation:

Good afternoon dear colleagues!

I am glad to see you at the master class. And what will today’s master class be about, I would like you to reason and try (slide) to guess using the images on the slides. Quite right, the topic of this master class is: (slide) “The development of logical thinking with the help of LEGO construction.”

The purpose of the master class is presented on the slide. (slide)

First, I want to ask you what does the constructor develop?

Yes, that’s right: the designer encourages both the head and hands to work equally, while the two hemispheres of the brain work, which affects the comprehensive development of the child. (slide) Stimulates the development of speech, creativity, fantasies. The child does not notice that he is mastering the mental count, the composition of the number, he is performing simple arithmetic operations. (slide)

Every child is a born constructor, inventor and explorer. These tasks laid down by nature are especially quickly realized and improved in constructive activity. (slide)

A unique phenomenon in the world of games for children all over the world, allowing everyone to easily communicate in one universal language – the language of the game, is the designer. (slide)

Today I bring to your attention several types of construction kits that I use in my work with children. For this I will need helpers. I ask you, dear colleagues, to come to the tables.

We’ll find out later what they can do.

(slide) Lego has long been a legendary brand and still an ordinary miracle: children’s interest in it has not faded for many decades – since its appearance in Denmark in 1949. From that day until now, Lego has never changed its motto (slide) “Play with pleasure”.

The secret is that Lego (LEGO) penetrated the most secret nooks and crannies of the child’s soul and knows everything about it – about its features and dreams; creative impulses and fantasies; about the game and learning through it; about what is not always available to adults and is so generously open to children.

Adults understand how important it is to develop a child from a tender age with the best and most exciting toys in the world. (slide)

A child from the cradle learns the structural properties of parts. Having learned to roll over on his tummy, he will begin to explore the world around him. Offer him a constructor, and when he touches objects, pick them up, twist, turn and stack cubes one on top of the other. You can help him with these words, “I twist, I want to put,” then he will succeed.

From simple cubes, the child gradually moves to constructors, consisting of simple geometric shapes. (slide) Here, for example, are large cubes. Where the children of the first junior group roll the ball along the track, (slide) and having changed the goals and objectives for the children of the middle group, we built a ship from the same LEGO set and went on a trip around the world.

In my work I use different types of teaching children how to design (slide) you see them on the screen.

LEGO construction set encourages the development of children’s research and creativity, as well as the ability to observe and experiment.

The guys and I examined the details: size, shape, color, what they are made of, tested them experimentally for strength and buoyancy. (slide) Determined the name of each form: brick, cube, beak, slide, etc. After joint experiments with the designer, the children began to play with Lego more often, moreover, they used it not only as an independent game, (slide) but also as a way to complement role-playing games. From the details of the LEGO constructor, children create (slide) a fence on the farm, a playground as in the territory of a kindergarten, their own house and a road to the kindergarten. One of the favorite types of Lego construction for children is the performance of work on a given topic, when, for example, (slide) after reading fiction, the children are invited to “build” a fairy tale: characters (animals, people) or the place where the action takes place (forest , house).

On the one hand, the child is passionate about creative cognitive play, on the other hand, the use of a new form of play that promotes all-round development (slide) in accordance with the Federal State Educational Standard and the TEMP program. Develop, develop and develop again.

The designer plays a big role in preparing for school. (slide) It contributes to the formation, the ability to learn, to achieve results, to gain new knowledge about the world around us, to lay the first prerequisites for educational activities.

Children and I actively participate in various (slide) competitions and festivals at different levels. Here, for example, participation in the regional LEGO-festival “City of the Future”, where children embodied their dreams and ideas. (slide) It has become a tradition in our kindergarten to hold LEGO competitions, together with parents, where game motivation is aimed at helping an adult and creating an object with his own hands.

.(slide) With the use of LEGO constructors, children independently acquire knowledge when solving practical problems or problems requiring the integration of knowledge of various subject areas. you see them on the screen. So subsequently, the project activity makes it possible to educate the doer, and not the performer, to develop the volitional qualities of the individual and the skills of partnership interaction. (slide)

Nothing makes us adults so happy as the smile of our children! Children experience special joy when they study in the LEGO “Skillful Hands” circle (slide), where children have an unlimited opportunity to invent buildings, designs, showing curiosity, ingenuity, ingenuity. Creating a circle in kindergarten, we tried to make it a place of endless children’s delight and creativity. And we did it. (slide)

As a result of my work, I noted that children have a higher interest in constructive activities. The guys are actively constructing, they are ready to fantasize (slide) and create on any topic, they are not afraid to create something new, the phrases: “I don’t know how” or “How to do it?” began to sound less and less. Already during the discussion of the upcoming new building, many children offer design options; in the very process of activity, communication between the guys becomes more productive and respectful towards each other.

Dear colleagues, let’s see what my assistants did? I take the first volume designer. You use this constructor every day in your work, what is it called? (volumetric)

(slide) We use this type of LEGO on the plane as an unusual mosaic, which allows us to consolidate the ability of children to navigate on the plane. (Tangram, split pictures, mosaics, puzzles, Columbus Egg, etc.).

(slide) Our kindergarten is equipped with educational kits, the child independently assembles not only the model, but also the launch scheme in motion. This constructor is called LEGO-WEDO (motor, tilt sensor, parts of the designer, computer for launching).

(slide) And here are some other models we collect from this constructor.

Dear colleagues! Was there anything new for you to use in your work? What impression did my master class make on you? I ask my assistants to go through and evaluate the master class by building turrets. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.

The role of argumentation in the intellectual development of children

Argumentation as a necessary skill, which is formed in the process of teaching rhetoric, contributes to the intellectual development of the child – the transition from simple fantasy through egocentric attitudes to an objective position in solving the problem. The theoretical basis of this hypothesis was the ideas of J. Piaget, the studies of A.N. Perret-Clermont, T. Zittun, B. Schwartz and others, as well as the cultural-historical theory of L.S. Vygotsky, Elkonin–Davydov’s theory of developmental learning, P.Ya. Gal’perin’s theory of the formation of mental actions, G.A. Zuckerman. The study was conducted at the Moscow Children’s School of Arts. M.A. Balakirev. It was attended by children aged 9-12 years. The egocentric and objective statements of children in rhetoric classes were analyzed. These positions are correlated with the quality and consistency of the use of arguments from the point of view of the rhetorical theory of argumentation. The study made it possible to reveal how decentralization occurs in the process of discussion, i.e. the transition of the child from an egocentric position to the consideration of the problem on the basis of objective criteria.

Our study was devoted to identifying effective ways and means of developing the argumentation of children in rhetoric classes in order to form in them the persuasiveness of a demonstrative statement. The relevance of this topic is due to the practical interest of the educational system in the problems of introducing discussion methods into the educational process. Teaching argumentation to children aged 10–12 years in a rhetoric course helps to increase communicative competence associated with the formation of the ability to convince and prove. Argumentation as a means of coordinating one’s own point of view and the opponent’s point of view also stimulates the intellectual development of children: the clash of positions of the participants in the discussion regarding the topic of discussion contributes to the transition from simple fantasizing through egocentric attitudes to an objective position in discussing the problem.

Argumentation in our study was considered in two aspects: psychological and rhetorical. In the rhetorical aspect, the objectivity of the child’s arguments is determined by the knowledge and use of logical rules and patterns of using arguments in the discussion. The psychological aspect of argumentation is manifested in the process of an organized discussion environment in rhetoric lessons, the student is regularly placed in a situation where it is necessary to prove his own point of view, which entails decentration, i.e. the ability to correlate his point of view with the point of view of another person and look for reasons for evidence for one statement or the other.

Decentration occurs in a child in a situation of aggravation of the contradiction between his own point of view and the position of the opponent, i.e. in situations of socio-cognitive conflict. From this, a research hypothesis was formed, according to which argumentation, the need for which arises as a result of the contradiction between one’s own position and the position of an opponent or group, contributes to the intellectual development of the child – the transition in argumentation from simple fantasizing through egocentric attitudes to an objective position in understanding the problem under discussion and to its reasonable solution .

To test the hypothesis, the following tasks were set: to analyze the existing methods of teaching rhetoric; to study the organization of a joint dialogue in the process of teaching rhetoric; explore theoretical approaches to the study of argumentation as a form of social interaction in the educational process; develop a program for the development of argumentation in the course of teaching rhetoric; identify criteria for analyzing the obtained experimental data.

The scientific and methodological basis of the study was the sociocognitive approach to understanding the intellectual development of the child. The scientific basis of this approach was two methodological sources. The first source is the ideas of J. Piaget on the role of cooperation in the intellectual development of the child, as well as the studies of A.N. Perret-Clermont, T. Zittun, B. Schwartz and others, which present a neo-Piagiist approach to the study of the child’s intellectual development. The second source is the cultural-historical theory of L. S. Vygotsky, Elkonin–Davydov’s theory of developmental learning, P.Ya. Gal’perin’s theory of the formation of mental actions, G.A. Zuckerman.

The sociocognitive approach originates in the studies of J. Piaget, J.G. Mida and L.S. Vygotsky. One of the main questions that was raised in these three theories is: what is the specificity of the mental development of the child and its difference from other types of development? Although from different points of view, these three scientific approaches substantiate the hypothesis that social interactions play a crucial role in the development of a child’s thinking.

J.G. Mead, a representative of the Chicago school of sociology, argued that the psyche arises from the interaction of organic individuals in the social matrix. It is a form of participation in the interpersonal (i.e., social) process, the result of accepting the positions of others in relation to one’s own behavior [4].

In the cultural-historical theory of L. S. Vygotsky considers the environment not as a condition, but as a source of development [5]. L.S. Vygotsky wrote that “…behind all the higher functions and their relation are genetically social relations, real relations between people”[1, p. 51–64].

In the Geneva School of Genetic Psychology, the child’s relationship with the social environment is divided into relationships with adults and relationships with peers. Only in relations with peers, that is, in equal interaction between peers, J. Piaget saw the reason for the intellectual development of the child [14].

Piaget argued that in the course of a joint discussion, an objective position in reasoning is formed in children, i.e. in the process of cooperation in the intellectual development of the child, egocentric attitudes are overcome. He wrote about cooperation as follows: “From an intellectual point of view, it is she (cooperation) that is most suitable for shaping behavior that fosters a critical spirit, objectivity and discursive reflection” [12, p. 263]. Relationships of cooperation become available to the child by the age of seven.

From this arose one of the key questions in the post-Piagisian period of the existence of the Geneva school: what plays a decisive role in cognitive development – logical-mathematical experience leading to the emergence of logical structures or social interaction, during which a socio-cognitive conflict arises and is resolved? A.N. Perret-Clermont, a representative of the interactionist concept of the development of intelligence, formulated this question as follows: “Can social interactions stimulate the intellectual development of a child?” [Cit. according to: 4].

Other representatives of the interactionist approach V. Duaz and G. Mooney as well as A.N. Perret-Clermont point to the crucial role of social interactions in the development of intelligence. In one of the works of A.N. Perret-Clermont wrote that the main reason for cognitive development lies in the form of interactions that ensures the clash of individuals with different points of view on how to solve problems. Thus, the child compares his point of view with the opinion of an opponent or group, and as a result, a sociocognitive conflict arises, the solution of which leads to inter-individual coordination and the development of the child’s intellect [5].

Based on experiments on the conservation of liquid A.N. Perret-Clermont formulated the following thesis: “In some phases of development, the joint action of several individuals, which requires the resolution of the conflict between their different concentrations, leads to the construction (construction) of new coordinations in the individual” [5, p. 47].

A.N. Perret-Clermont’s experiments on fluid conservation and length showed the importance of studying how, in the process of collectively solving conservation problems, children argue their own position. The argumentation that the child uses in the course of the experiment can act as a criterion for the child’s intellectual development, on the one hand, and as a means of coordinating his own point of view and that of his opponent, on the other hand. It has been experimentally proven that one child’s arguments about the amount of liquid affect the nature and quality of the other child’s arguments. At the same time, the most important stimulating mechanism is collective activity, where argumentation contributes to the decentralization of the child’s position regarding the amount of fluid. The mechanisms and causal factors of the child’s transition from one position to another have become the main task of further study of argumentation [5].

Based on many years of research by N. Müller-Mirza and A.N. Perret-Clermont wrote the book “Argumentation and education” (2009). In it, the authors posed the following questions: how and when is it possible to carry out training using argumentation? Is the argumentation applicable in the study of all school subjects? how can the faculty of reasoning be enduring? What psychological problems arise in a dispute with others? How to analyze the arguments presented by students?

N. Müller-Mirza and A. N. Perret-Clermont argue that the ability to argue must be given the opportunity to improve in the process of child development. To carry out this activity and master the methods of assessing the child’s abilities, teachers must have special social skills and have a special pedagogical education [11].

Many years of work have resulted in theoretical research and experimental development by T. Zittun, M. Grossen, F. Archidiacono, R. Rommetveit, R. Marro, M.L. Schubauer-Leoni, B. Schwartz, who opened up new perspectives in the study of the socially developing learning environment and the possibility of using reasoning in teaching children. These works also present advanced teaching methods for using discussion forms of interaction in learning, developed on the basis of argumentation.

B. Schwartz, one of the authors of the special training program Kishurim, identified the specific role of argumentation in learning processes and opened a new direction in education, which is characterized by the introduction of argumentative practices in the education of children. The Kishurim program, implemented since 1998, promotes the development of argumentation and dialogic thinking among students in secondary schools [4].

Scientific views of A.N. Perret-Clermont can be compared with the works of G.A. Zuckerman in the field of discussion forms of interaction in the educational process. “Educational discussion,” notes G.A. Zuckerman, is a means of identifying, polarizing the individual sides of the contradiction in the points of view, the opinions of the participants in the discussion with the aim of subsequent coordination of different points of view for joint coordination of action” [10, p. 170].

The course “Philosophy for Children”, created under the guidance of Professor M. Lipman, is also an important methodological resource in the development of argumentation programs. The specified program forms the ability to clearly express one’s thoughts, listen to other participants, give arguments, weigh the solidity of the arguments and look for contradictions. This program was developed in the studies of N.S. Yulina, A.A. Margolis, S.D. Kovaleva, M.V. Telegina, E.A. Kondratieff [2; 3; 6; eight; 9].

Below we present a fragment of a study on a training program designed to develop the skill of argumentation in a training course in rhetoric. The purpose of this training course is the formation of argumentation as the ability to take into account the point of view of the opponent in the discussion. Within the framework of the training course, an attempt is made to synthesize the theoretical foundations of rhetoric, argumentation and debatable forms of joint work in the classroom. The program consists of three parts – diagnostic, training and control.

The study was conducted at the Children’s School of Arts (DSHI) named after. M.A. Balakirev. The sample consisted of two groups of subjects: the experimental group – 14 students of the Children’s School of Art. M.A. Balakirev at the age of 10–12, who were trained according to the experimental teaching methodology; control group – 14 students of the Children’s Art School named after. M.A. Balakirev at the age of 10–12 years old, who passed the preliminary diagnostic stage and the control stage.

The debate method was used in the study.

Debate is a role-playing game, which is a form of discussion that is conducted in accordance with clear rules. The teams participating in the debate consider a pre-selected controversial topic from opposing points of view.

According to the research hypothesis, two units of analysis were used in processing the results of the experiment: the egocentric position and the objective position.

Egocentric position. It is characterized by operating with fictitious facts, fantasizing, monologue. From the point of view of the logical foundations of argumentation, the basic laws are violated: there is a loss of the thesis, a shift in the thesis, i.e., frequent proof of the opponent’s thesis, tautological explanations (a circle in the argument), the use of false facts as arguments, etc.

Objective position. It is characterized by a focus on understanding the points of view of opponents, the scientific foundations of the subject of discussion, a focus on discussion (not only to express, but also to listen, and respond), criticality to the positions put forward by opponents, observance of the rules and regulations of the discussion, ethics in relation to the interlocutor. This position is characterized by the use of multiple arguments, expressed in logic, consistency, predictability and tolerance.

The transition from an egocentric to an objective position in the children’s reasoning was assessed on the basis of an analysis of the students’ statements. In each of the two types of positions, structural elements of analysis were distinguished, characterized by a certain set of speech units that refer a reasoned statement to a certain type of position in statements.

Figure 1 shows the structural elements of the analysis of the subjects’ reasoning, where the scores reflect the level of mastery of the skill of argumentation and the dynamics of decentration. At the same time, it is assumed that the higher the level of mastering the argumentation, the higher the dynamics of decentration.

Table 1

Argument analysis parameters

Structural element

Structural unit

Points

Argumentation structure

Use of singular argumentation. Justification of one thesis is carried out with the help of one argument

1

Use of multiple arguments Substantiation of the thesis is carried out using more than one argument

2

Use of complex argumentation. Argument containing more than one argument

3

Argument specificity

Arguments are succinct and concise

1

Belonging to the thesis. No bias on arguments not related to thesis

1

Representativeness

Social orientation of argumentation. Arguments reflect the state of the problem in a general perspective. Reasoning is carried out from a public position

1

Consistency of the relationship between thesis and arguments

Thesis persistence. The thesis remains the same throughout the proof. No substitution of the thesis by another thesis

1

Arguments are not identical to the thesis. Arguments substantiate the thesis, not repeat it

2

The thesis to be proved follows from the grounds. Reasons are sufficient to put forward a hypothesis

2

Logical literacy of the use of arguments according to one of the methods of argumentation

Argument with an example. Introduction of one or more examples to support generalization

1

Argument by analogy. Transition from one specific case to another

1

Argument with reference to authority. Link to informed sources.

1

Argument about causes. Reliance on objective examples, conclusions based only on cases from personal experience are excluded

1

Emotional coloring of argumentation

Lack of emotional exaggeration of the state of the problem. Lack of subjectivism in explaining the problem

1

Consistency of concepts among themselves within the argumentation

Using a single set of concepts for each idea. There is a connection between arguments, and between arguments and thesis

3

Credibility of argumentation

Arguments correspond to reality (true). Absence of fictitious, false facts in reasoning

1

Thus, the utterances of the children received after practical classes were evaluated by the experimenter in accordance with the above criteria. A scoring system with an uneven distribution of points reflects the level of difficulty in mastering a certain aspect of the argument.

Analysis of the results of the study revealed significant shifts in the argumentation of the subjects of the experimental group. At the control stage, the reasoning of many subjects was dominated by an objective position, the arguments in evidence-based statements corresponded to both truth and logical literacy. On the contrary, in the reasoning of the subjects of the control group, no dynamics of transition from an egocentric position to an objective one was found.

Comparison of the results obtained in the experimental and control groups is presented in Table. 2.

Table 2

Results of the experiment in the experimental and control groups

9029eight

2

9029eight

0

9029eight

Group

Diagnostic step

Teaching stage

Cont. stage

1*

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Expert. group (number of children)

EP

12

11

12

10

10

9

9

8

7

8

6

4

4

2

1

PP

2

3

2

3

3

3

4

4

6

4

3

3

2

2

2

OP

0

0

0

1

1

1

2

1

2

5

7

8

10

11

Control group (number of children)

EP

11

9

10

PP

3

5

3

OP

0

1

* – debate topic number; EP – egocentric position prevails in the argument; PP – an intermediate position in the argument; OP – an objective position in the argument.

Three fragments of discussions in the experimental group are discussed below. These fragments reflect the dynamics of the transition from an egocentric position to an objective one.

Fragment No. 1 (preliminary diagnostic stage).

The topic of the debate is “The Case of the Unfair Grading”. The point of the discussion was to evaluate the actions of a history teacher who gave a low grade to a student who, in the teacher’s opinion, did not retell a paragraph from the textbook close enough to the text, although the student cited many historical facts on the topic that were not included in the content of the paragraph. The children’s opinions were divided into two poles: one group supported the thesis “The teacher’s actions were correct” (hereinafter “+”) and the other argued that the history teacher was wrong (hereinafter “-“).

Here is a dialogue between Anton (9 years old) and Sveta (11 years old).

Anton (“-“; speech No. 1). Of course the teacher is wrong. He had no right to do so, because he must have found fault with this student. It happens often. The student knows the topic, but the teacher asks him incorrectly, somehow in his own way.

Light (“+”). And then how do you know how to answer correctly? Maybe retelling by paragraph is the right way?

Anton (“-“; speech No. 2). The paragraphs are boring, they are not even interesting to look at. I tried to read a story yesterday at recess. I read two lines and thought: “Boring.” If we read them, then at night, in order to fall asleep faster. And I usually play computer games in the evening before going to bed, I have no time to read. Therefore, it is more interesting for me to spend time in front of the computer.

Light (“+”). And what should be paragraphs in textbooks?

Anton (“-”; speech No. 3). Such that they do not put twos and threes.

Light (“+”). Explain, I don’t understand what you mean.

Anton (“-“; speech No. 4). Well, for example, such that there is little text, a lot of pictures, like in comics, because I love comics, it is interesting for me to read them. I would love these tutorials.

Anton’s statements can be schematically represented as follows.

Speech #1

Thesis

The teacher is wrong

Argument

He must have been picking on this student. The teacher asked him incorrectly

Speech #2

Thesis1

Paragraphs are boring

Argument1

I was reading a story yesterday and I was bored

Argument 2

Such textbooks are only for evening reading to fall asleep

Thesis2

I have no time to read

Argument3

I play computer games in the evening

Output

Therefore, it is more interesting for me to spend time in front of the computer

Speech #3

Thesis

Paragraphs should contain little text and many pictures, as in comics

Argument

I love comics, I’m interested in reading them

This dialogue reflects Anton’s stable argumentation on the issue of the fairness of knowledge assessment from the point of view of personal interest. He evaluates the situation from the position of his preferences and his own experience of relations with teachers. The leading questions of the opponent (Svet) about the possibility of creating knowledge assessment standards do not change Anton’s point of view. A stable egocentric position is associated with logical errors in the use of argumentation. Indicative in this regard is speech No. 2, where the substitution of the thesis takes place. Anton begins the statement with the statement that the paragraphs are boring, then a “breakdown” occurs in the chain of arguments: the arguments turn out to be somewhat distant in meaning from each other, since a new thesis appears in the middle of the speech. This leads to an incorrect conclusion, which cannot support the original thesis: a personal preference for computer games before studying does not explain the “boring” paragraph in the textbook, since this argument cannot confirm the opinion of the majority of students.

Fragment No. 2 (learning stage).

The theme of the debate is “City ecology – the task of every citizen or special organizations?”. The children were divided into two groups. One supports the thesis “Ecology of the city is the task of every inhabitant” (hereinafter “+”), and the other argues that ecology is the task of special organizations (hereinafter “-”).

Artur (“+”; speech No. 1). I believe that the ecology of the city is the task of every resident, because sometimes special organizations may not see the garbage that a person leaves in fence bars, under benches and in other hard-to-reach places. It’s easier for me, passing by, to take out and throw out this wrapper, rather than wait for special people with their equipment. Therefore, I think that people should deal with garbage, it’s easier that way.

Masha (“-”). And how do you know, maybe a person will be able to create such a perfect technique that garbage collection will be possible even in hard-to-reach places?

Artur (“+”; speech No. 2). Wrappers are thrown every day, polluting rivers, lakes, air. No super technology is enough.

Vla d (“-”). Then how can each individual person be able to deal so well with such great pollution on his own?

Artur (“+”; speech No. 3). I believe that if the government starts to create special organizations, purchase equipment, build buildings for these organizations, hire workers, then in 20 years the country will either go bankrupt, or they will stop treating, teaching and protecting people, since all funds will go to the maintenance of such organizations . Eventually people will lose their jobs. Wouldn’t it be better to entrust each person with the duty to preserve nature?

Masha (“-”). But people are different, there are responsible, and there are those who do not care. Do not you think so?

Artur (“+”; speech No. 4). I do not think so. All my friends throw garbage in a bucket.

Arthur’s statements can be schematically represented as follows.

Speech #1

Thesis

Ecology of the city is the task of every inhabitant

Argument

It’s easier for me to throw it myself than to call specialists

Speech #2

Thesis

Special equipment will never be able to cope with pollution

Argument

The environment is being polluted at a very rapid pace

Speech #3

Thesis

It is better to place on man the duty to preserve nature

Argument

Maintenance of special organizations would rather ruin the government than clean up the environment

Speech #4

Thesis

All people responsible

Argument

My friends are throwing garbage in a bucket

This example shows that the student’s position is unstable. Initially, in speech #1, the problem is considered from the personal position of the student. Then (speech No. 2) the student comes to the conclusion that it makes no sense to consider the issue subjectively, since what is convenient for one may be unacceptable for others. Further, the problem is considered from the point of view of the state, which embodies society as a whole. However, in the last statement (speech No. 4), Arthur again, as it were, closes the chain of argumentation within the boundaries of his environment (“all my friends are responsible people, therefore, all people are responsible”). Thus, here we observe an intermediate position in the student’s argument.

Fragment No. 3 (control stage).

The topic of the debate is “What is more important, mercy or justice?”. The question was put before the children: what is more important in a person’s life – mercy or justice?

Here is a dialogue between Alice (10 years old; “+”, mercy) and Matvey (10 years old; “-”, justice).

A l i s a (“+”; speech No. 1). Mercy is more important than justice. Mercy is formed from two words: “sweet” and “heart”. Sweet means kind, means it knows how to forgive. A person must be able to forgive.

Matvey (“-”). Why is it necessary to forgive if, for example, guilt is proven? If the driver is to blame for the accident, then – to jail.

A l i s a (“+”; speech No. 2). A person needs mercy to help those who are in trouble. Even in justice there is mercy. There are cases in the law when the punishment for criminals is mitigated, because they may have done something not on purpose or confessed to the crime themselves.

Matvey (“-“). Yes, I agree. But this does not mean forgiving the offender. Mercy cannot replace justice.

A l i s a (“+”; speech no. 3). Justice is something people have invented. As far as I know, each country has its own law and punishes the same crimes differently. And wars occur because of justice, because everyone has their own justice. Here Napoleon believed that Russia should be conquered. Fair? From his side, yes. But for Russia, no.

Matvey (“-“). Napoleon attacked Russia, it was not fair. Where is the justice?

A l i s a (“+”; speech No. 4). I believe that justice is like a point of view. Everyone has her own. And mercy, as I have already said, is kindness, which does not have a point of view, kindness is one, there is no other. Even the English poet Alexander Pope said: “In matters of faith and hope, people differ, but all mankind is united in mercy.”

Alice’s statements can be schematically represented as follows.

Speech #1

Thesis

Mercy is more important

Argument

A person must be able to forgive

Speech #2

Thesis

A person needs mercy to help someone who is in trouble

Argument1

Even in justice there is a place for mercy

Argument2

There are cases in the law when the punishment for criminals is mitigated

Speech #3

Thesis

Justice is a human invention

Argument1

Wars are about justice, because everyone has their own justice

Argument2

Napoleon believed that Russia should be conquered, this is his justice

Speech #4

Thesis

In mercy, kindness is one, there are no points of view in it

Argument

Alexander Pope said: “In matters of faith and hope, people differ, but all mankind is united in mercy”

In the last fragment, Alice’s statements are correlated with the objective position according to the following characteristics:

1. Almost all of Alice’s arguments are based on reliable examples (speech No. 1, speech No. 3, speech No. 4). Achieving objectivity in the examples given is a difficult task for the child. Most often, children use examples from personal experience, the experience of people they know, there are frequent cases of fantasizing, citing false facts as arguments.

2. Alice’s arguments are meaningfully related to each other. In speech #2 and in speech #3, the last arguments logically continue the previous ones.

3. Alice used facts in her argument, as evidenced by speech No. 2, speech No. 3, speech No. 4. Before participating in the discussion, she carried out work on the selection of information to prove her position. In this process, students develop an interest in research.

Thus, the study carried out a qualitative analysis of students’ statements during all three stages of the experiment. The main hypothesis of the study, according to which reasoning contributes to the intellectual development of the child – the transition from simple fantasizing through egocentric attitudes to an objective position in solving the problem, was confirmed. After evaluating the students’ statements in accordance with the analysis criteria at the control stage, we determined the argumentation of 11 children as a manifestation of an objective position. In the control group, the dynamics of the transition to an objective position was not observed.

The key concept for the analysis of the transition from an egocentric position to an objective one is the initially particular nature of the evidence, which can be briefly described as follows: “it is more convenient for me if it is so.” Decentration occurs in the process of refutation by opponents of the speaker’s initial arguments. The transitional moment here is a refuting question or counterargument of the opponent. A group of students asking questions acts as a mechanism that starts the process of shifting the position and objectifying the child’s thinking. Observing the process of using arguments by children from the point of view of rhetoric and oratory, we can say that students only manage to formulate an argument logically correctly when they reach the level of an objective position in their own reasoning.

Thus, this study contributes to the solution of an urgent psychological and pedagogical problem – the search for effective means of developing the child’s speech and thinking.

Literature

  1. Vygotsky L.S. Concrete human psychology // Vestnik Mosk. university Ser. 14. Psychology. 1986. No. 1.

  2. Margolis A.A. Program “Philosophy for Children” // Psychological Science and Education. 1996. No. 1.

  3. Margolis A.A., Kovalev S.D., Telegin M.V., Kondratiev E.A. Gathering Your Thoughts: A Methodological Guide to the Philosophy for Children Program. M., 1997.

  4. Obukhova L.F. Sociocognitive approach to the study of the intellectual development of the child // Psychological science and education. PSYEDU.ru. 2010. No. 5.

  5. Perret-Clermont A.N. The role of social interactions in the development of children’s intelligence. M., 1991.

  6. Retyunskikh L. T. The School of Socrates: Philosophical Games Ten Years Later. M., Voronezh, 2003.

  7. Rubtsov V.V. Social Interactions and Learning: Cultural and Historical Context // Cultural and Historical Psychology. 2005. No. 1.

  8. Telegin M.V. Educational dialogue: an educational program for children of senior preschool age. M., 2006.

  9. Philosophy for children / Ed. N.S. Yulina. M., 1996.

  10. Zuckerman G.A. How do younger students learn to learn? Riga, 2000.

  11. Muller N., Perret-Clermont A.N. Argumentation and Education: Theoretical Foundation and Practices. N. Y., 2009.

  12. Piaget J. Psychology et pedagogie. Paris 1969.

  13. Schwarz B.B., Linchevski L. The Role of Task Design and of Argumentation in Cognitive Development During Peer Interaction. The Case of Proportional Reasoning // Learning and Instruction. 2007. No. 17.

  14. Zittoun T., Perret-Clermont A.N. Four Social Psychological Lenses for Psychology of Learning and Development // European Journal of Psychology of Education. 2009. No. 24.

1.2 Game theory. The game as a means of developing the creative abilities of a person

The game as a means of developing the creative abilities of a person

course work

By the end of the 20th century, there were so many concepts of the game and in such a variety that they can be systematized in a certain way. The basis can be, for example, the leading factors on which this or that theorist relies in explaining the origin and functions of the game.

We received the following groups of game theories:

1. Theories that comprehend the game based mainly on biological (biopsychological) factors.

2. Theories based on psychological factors.

3. Theories that give a sociological, mainly socio-psychological interpretation of the game.

4.Synthetic theories that take into account various factors.

The beginning of the development of game theory is usually associated with the names of such thinkers as F. Schiller, G. Spencer, W. Wundt. Developing their philosophical, psychological and mainly aesthetic views, they incidentally, only in a few positions, also touched on the game as one of the most common phenomena of life, linking the origin of the game with the origin of art.

For F. Schiller, the game is rather a pleasure associated with a manifestation of excess vitality free from external need: “The subject of the impulse to play, presented in the general scheme, can be called a living image, a concept that serves to designate all the aesthetic properties of the phenomenon, in a word, everything that in the broadest sense of the word is called beauty. For Schiller, play is an aesthetic activity. An excess of forces, free from external needs, is only a condition for the emergence of aesthetic pleasure, which, according to Schiller, is delivered by the game. F. Schiller’s introduction of pleasure as a common feature for aesthetic and play activities influenced the further development of the problems of play.

According to Spencer, play is a form of exercise that is “enjoyable” and therefore, according to the universal psychological law of pleasure, is good for the organism. In his opinion, higher animals and man, due to their better adaptability, have an excess of energy not spent on physical existence. All organs of animals and humans are purely expedient and serve either survival or procreation. Because of this, they instinctively require constant training. However, not all organs are used at once. The conclusion follows from this: if the desire for energy discharge does not meet with an external reason for real activity, then an imitation of this activity arises, from which, the author claims, the game in all its forms occurs. The game usually reproduces those actions that are especially important for saving the life of the individual. The main instincts are manifested in the game: “whatever the game, its pleasure lies in winning a victory, in triumph over the enemy … This victory is tantamount to success in the struggle for existence and finds satisfaction in winning a chess game, for lack of a more rude victory properties “Spencer G. Foundations of psychology. SPb., 1897. S. 412. . In the realization of instincts, Spencer establishes the nature of the game as a game-competition, a game-competition. The physiology of the game extends to art: the game is the training of “lower” abilities; aesthetic activity – “higher” (hearing, vision), gymnastics of the nervous system, hygiene of the mind. G. Spencer does not devote too much space to the game and does not specifically deal with the creation of game theory. He expresses his views on the game in this way: “The activities called games are connected with aesthetic activities by one common feature, namely, that neither one nor the other helps in any direct way the processes that serve for life” Spencer G Foundations of psychology. SPb., 1897. S. 412. . For Spencer, the difference between play and aesthetic activity lies only in the fact that the lower abilities find expression in play, while the higher ones find expression in aesthetic activity. The above statements did not have the character of a systematic exposition of the theory of the game. They laid; only the tradition of considering the nature of the game in the context of the emergence of aesthetic activity. According to Spencer, play is biologically utterly useless and pointless, it occurs where serious life is not needed or cannot take place. The reason for the game, according to Spencer, is the accumulation of vital energy that has remained unused; this energy seeks its outlet, if only in aimless activity, such as play.

W. Wundt came closest to understanding the emergence of the game. However, he is also inclined to consider pleasure as the source of play. “Play is the child of labor,” he wrote. – There is not a single game that would not have a prototype in one of the forms of serious work, which always precedes it both in time and in essence. The necessity of existence compels man to work. And in it he gradually learns to appreciate the activity of his forces as a source of pleasure. The game, – continues Wundt, – eliminates the useful goal of labor and, therefore, makes the goal of this most pleasant result that accompanies labor ”Wundt Wilhelm. Ethics. – St. Petersburg, 1887. .

If G. Spencer, considering the game, included the game of man – in biological; aspect, Wundt includes it in the socio-historical aspect. A game for a person is such a recreation of human activity, in which its social, actually human essence is distinguished from it – its tasks and norms of relations between people. The game is multidimensional, it organically combines and coexists value, emotional-volitional, intellectual and effective “dimensions” realized through game activity, game consciousness and game relations.

Next, we will consider the concept of V. Stern’s game. Defining the game, Stern writes: “Free activity, which is an end in itself – this is how it must be defined if we want to characterize the existing at; game state of mind. This activity is an end in itself, that is, it is completely content with itself, it is not directed to any goals that lie outside it. The goal of the game in the mind of the player is reached and exhausted when the game is over “Stern V. Psychology of early childhood up to the age of six, 1922, p. 167.. Stern sees the specificity of the game in the absence of an external goal of the game and in a specific relationship to reality; fantasy, which, in terms of relations to reality, is intermediate forms between a complete confusion of subjective and objective realities and a complete consciousness of appearance, illusion.

From the point of view of the concept of gestalt, K. Koffka develops his idea of ​​the game. He assigns an extremely large place to the game in the children’s picture of the world, “the world of the child.” “Even when a child does not play, his attitude to the world is still different in a playful way” Koffka K. Fundamentals of psychological development. M. -L., 1934.. The world of a child, according to Koffka, is similar to the world of a “primitive person” in that it does not distinguish between living and non-living things, the mystical nature of perception. An illusion is inherent in a child when handling some thing as long as it is in his children’s world. If he encounters this thing in the world of adults, he treats it completely differently – for him it is already a different thing.The structure of the world of adults is expanding more and more, and gradually what was a full-fledged world for the child becomes only a game.Koffka analyzes the game as a manifestation of a special, qualitative of the child’s unique world, and not from the point of view of assimilation of the norms of the adult world, preparation for adult life, and the like, consequently makes the world of the child at play as an independent phenomenon the subject of consideration.0009

According to J. Piaget, play is a form of creativity, but creativity with a specific purpose. The game serves to restore the balance of the object with the environment, it is a kind of self-organizing dynamic mechanism that allows the subject to adapt to the changing conditions of existence. In this case, a leading reflection occurs in the game. In the conditional world of the game, a person learns to navigate and overcome the difficulties prepared for him in the world of reality. “A game is a kind of preparation for possible forms of behavior at a given level, not involving their immediate practical use.” Piaget’s concept is about the strategic importance of the game. Based on the fact that intelligence is formed on the basis of initial skills, Piaget believes that by analogy one can trace the evolution of the game, starting with the simplest forms, up to creative games, which are ultimately formed in art, science, i.e. trace the development of creativity. According to Piaget, the game manifests itself at each subsequent stage of human development, while new forms absorb the previous ones:

1) game-exercise – leads to the formation of the most complex skills; 2) symbolic game – contributes to the formation of the semiotic function and the processes of replacing reality with signs and symbols, thereby creating the basis of artistic activity;

3) game with rules – allows competition and rivalry.

Each of these categories of games reflects the level of intellectual development of the individual. Faced with any situation, the organism resorts to one of three forms of behavior: a) instinct; b) acquired automatism or habit; c) intelligence. Behavior can combine elements of all three forms. Piaget believes that there are no special differences between the mechanism used by the intellect to find a solution and the mechanisms of the game. J. Piaget introduces new meanings into the traditional understanding of the signs of the game and gives them a unified interpretation.

· Criterion of the game’s self-goal , its “disinterest”. We are talking about a very common assertion that work does not have a goal contained in the activity as such, while the goal of the game lies in itself. Piaget recognizes the validity of this criterion, but seeks to clarify and rethink it. He notes that any game is deeply “interested”, in the sense that the player is interested in the result. In addition, in a number of games, the result may be financially more profitable than work.

· Pleasure criterion . Play is an activity for pleasure; work is for the good, regardless of the pleasure. Noting the importance of this criterion, Piaget refers to the opinion of E. Claparede, who saw in the game a direct, and in the work only an indirect realization of a desire or need, and, in addition, to Z. Freud with his distinction in human activity between the principle of pleasure and the principle of reality. Piaget believes that the pleasure principle and the reality principle are quite consistent with the pleasure derived from assimilation. Piaget also notes that there are games that represent a symbolic reproduction of events that are unpleasant and painful for a person. This proves the primacy of pure assimilation in the game (in the form of a repetition-event) and the secondary nature of pleasure. Playful pleasure, Piaget argues, is the affective expression of this assimilation. Considering other criteria of the game – its arbitrariness in contrast to the duty of work, non-conflict in contrast to the same work, Piaget interprets them from the point of view of the principle of assimilation, which is the source of the feeling of freedom that arises in the playing person and the way out of the grip of duties imposed from outside. Piaget’s general conclusion is that activity becomes playful depending on the internal orientation of the individual. The general criterion of the game is the dominant assimilation – the adaptation of reality to the subject, the victory of the Self over the world, the desire to repeat the usual patterns and the resulting feelings of freedom, completeness, mastery. This point of view – a personal attitude as the only criterion for the specificity of gaming activity – has become widespread.

Gradually conquered the world at the beginning of the 20th century. Freudianism could not but be reflected in game theory. As you know, the need to penetrate “beyond pleasure” arose in Z. Freud in connection with the analysis of traumatic neurosis. Having established that in traumatic neuroses the nature of sleep and dreams, in which the wish-fulfillment tendency is usually expressed, is disturbed and deviated from their goals, Freud concludes: “I propose to leave the dark and gloomy theme of traumatic neurosis and turn to the study of the work of the mental apparatus and its normal, the earliest activities. I mean the play of children” Freud 3. Beyond the pleasure principle. M., 1912. S. 43. . However, due to the general nature of Freudianism, its ancestor failed to draw a joyful picture. Having critically commented on various concepts of play, Freud expounds his ideas on the basis of observing the play of a one and a half year old child: “… we are approaching the assertion that, under the dominance of the pleasure principle, there are means and ways to make unpleasant in itself an object of memory and mental processing” Freud 3. Beyond the pleasure principle. M. , 1912. S. 47. . Freud interprets the motives and results of such “mental processing” in the traditional way for himself: the child seeks to move from a primitive experience of the situation to an active transfer of unpleasant experiences to a friend into the game and thus “revenge” on the one whom this latter replaces. Ultimately, Freud comes to the conclusion that the dreams of traumatic neurotics and the child’s tendency to play are of the same nature: the tendency to compulsive reproduction.

The game, in the concept of Bern, is considered as a way of self-realization of the individual, as the structure of his behavior, as the basis of communication and interpersonal communication. In Berne’s theory, play appears on two levels: play as an intersubjectivity, an integral analog of a way of life and a way of acting; the game as a psychoanalytic toolkit, a way and method of “pulling out” the subconscious and, consequently, a remedy. In this capacity, the psychoanalytic game is an analogue of business games and a tool for group psychoanalysis. “It should be remembered,” E. Bern points out, “that the concept of a game is scientific. The game is not just a habit, behavior or reaction, but a specific sequence of operations, each of which is expected to have a specific response: the first move (or strike) is the response; the second move is the answer; the third move is the answer; checkmate “Bern E. Transactional analysis and psychotherapy, St. Petersburg., 1992, p. 200 . The first of the levels of the game we have indicated, Berne makes the basis of his concept of life scenarios and transactional (in some publications – transactional) analysis. The second – in the practice of diagnostics and psychotherapy, carried out in individual or group psychoanalysis, in training scenarios and in psychotraining classes. Bernov’s game theory is fundamentally different from the traditional local understanding of the game as a particular kind of activity. The game is not an exercise or an experiment, not just a defense mechanism used from time to time. The game is a way of life hiding in other forms of a person’s life activity. Each person, as Bern demonstrates, plays constantly, in overwhelming cases – unconsciously, realizing his idea of ​​himself, of those around him, of the goals and meanings of existence. Berne abandons the traditional notion of play as an activity for profit or pleasure. The motives of the game are much deeper, and the outcome is more tragic. The game can be a human drama with a fatal outcome, destroy a person, bring misfortune to loved ones, represent

public danger; in the end, even war in the context of proposals for the interpretation of the game is sinister, but also a game. Thus, the game is a form of realization of the life scenario, and the scenario is the gradual unfolding of the life plan, which is formed in early childhood, primarily under the influence of parents, although not only. Scenario analysis is a way to understand the game that this or that person is playing at this or that period of his life. The goal of Berne’s concept: to understand the game you play, its hidden motives and possible consequences for the subject and his environment means to demystify personal life, and even destroy your habitual, comfortable inner image. It is no coincidence that Berne claims that the ultimate goal of his theoretical concept and psychoanalytic play practice is to teach a person to play less; seek genuine sincerity, human intimacy, mutual understanding.

A large number of studies are related to the analysis of opportunities to use the game to understand the child, for his education, adaptation, therapy. In some papers, an attempt is made to theoretically analyze the game. The child uses play, writes Erickson, “to compensate for failure, suffering and frustration, especially those associated with technically and culturally limited use of language” Eric G. Erickson. Childhood and society. – Ed. 2nd, St. Petersburg, 1996. .

Play is important for a child because it gives him the opportunity to express feelings and desires that cannot be expressed outside of play. This is due, firstly, to the fact that the child can express any feelings in the game without fear of sin or danger, which are associated with the expression of these feelings outside the game, and, secondly, with the fact that the game provides rich non-verbal means of expression. , closer and more natural to the child than speech. Play is the natural language of children. The child gives meaning to his play. Of particular value to the child in this regard is a dramatic or role-playing game: Erickson points out that such a game is the most natural autotherapeutic measure for a child. With the help of the game, he resolves his internal conflicts.

In Soviet psychology, play has been studied since the 1930s, and psychologists have tried to understand children’s play based on “peculiarities of the relationship between the individual and the environment” Basov M.Ya. General foundations of pedology, M.-L., 1931. . M.Ya.Basov, analyzing the objective conditions of the child’s existence, indicates that they are characterized by the child’s lack of duties, since his existence is provided by the parents. This leads to freedom in the relationship with the environment. This freedom determines the main feature of the game.

P.P. Blonsky, considering the game “the main type of activity of a preschooler, during which he exercises his strength, expands his orientation, assimilates social experience, reproducing and creatively combining the phenomena of the surrounding life” Blonsky P.P. Pedology. M., 1999. , at the same time, he believed that the term “game” combined a variety of activities:0009

intelligent.

The problem of creating a theory of children’s play was first raised in our psychology by LS Vygotsky. “The game is the fulfillment of desires, but not individual desires, but generalized affects” Vygotsky L.S. Play and its role in the psychological development of the child. Questions of psychology, 1966, N6. . The game creates a zone of proximal development of the child. Vygotsky singles out an imaginary situation as the central moment of the game. This imaginary determines the consciousness of the playing child.

In recent years, research has been carried out on the game related to its pedagogical use. The game itself is understood as “an adult-organized form of preparing a child for a future life in human society” Karpova C.N., Lysyuk L.G. Game and moral development of preschool children. M., 1986 . In the study by S.N. Karpova and L.G. Lysyuk, the influence of the game on the moral development of the child is considered. The game, from the point of view of the authors, is essential for moral development because the game provides the development of the necessary prerequisites for the formation of moral regulation of behavior, and because in the game the child learns the moral relations that exist in society.

From the point of view of Karpova and Lysyuk, the true appropriation of moral relations in plot-role relations is impossible.

In order for the moral content to really become a guide in the child’s behavior, it must be included in the performance of real tasks, in solving which the child will act on his own behalf, and not from the position that he performs in the game. In this regard, the authors form a hypothesis about the different influence of two game plans on the moral development of a preschooler: “The plot-role relations mainly determine the development of a preschooler’s ability to single out and better understand those aspects of their relationships with other children that are regulated by moral norms. Relationships about the game mainly contribute to the appropriation of moral relations by children and the formation of appropriate motives in them. Mastering the research related to the concept of the game, makes it possible to formulate a number of provisions that characterize it. They are as follows :

– the game acts as a valuable and independent activity in which the process itself is important, not the result;

– play is a free activity that is not determined by urgent practical needs and cannot be mechanically imposed from outside by someone else’s will;

– the game is the doubling of reality, the creation of a “parallel world”, the mutual imposition of real and imaginary reality;

– the game acts as an active form of simulation of real life situations, but since the game world is virtual, these situations can be easily varied in the game, including, they can be played with a fantastic change in the main parameters of reality.

We have seen a variety of concepts of children’s play, many scientists have been solving this problem, but there is no unequivocal answer, as it happens in science.

Workshop “Perspectives and opportunities for LEGO design in the framework of the integration of the system of preschool, general and additional education” a kindergarten of the combined type “Rainbow”, a structural subdivision of the kindergarten “Solnyshko”) with the support of the Nizhny Tagil branch of the State Autonomous Educational Institution DPO “Institute for the Development of Education”, a workshop was held

« Perspectives and possibilities of LEGO-construction within the framework of the integration of the system of preschool, general and additional education» .

It was attended by 54 people, including heads and teachers of educational organizations in the cities of Verkhnyaya and Nizhnyaya Salda, representatives of educational authorities, NTF IRO and the parent community.

At the opening of the seminar, the participants and guests were greeted by the head of the Department of Education of the city district Nizhnyaya Salda Terekhova Rimma Viktorovna, associate professor of the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology of the Scientific and Technical Faculty of the State Autonomous Educational Institution DPO “IRO” Osipova Marina Borisovna, director of the MDOUDSKV “Rainbow” Bazarova Anna Mikhailovna and director of the MOU Gymnasium Storozhkova Tatyana Aleksandrovna .

The idea of ​​making LEGO building a process that can be guided and expand the content of children’s building activities through the use of new generation building sets, as well as by involving parents in joint technical and communicative creativity, formed the basis of the workshop. By assembling the designer, the child not only develops fine motor skills, imagination and abstract thinking, he learns to fantasize, invent and tell stories, logically express his thoughts, arguing and proving his own position, enriching vocabulary and personal socio-cultural experience. And with what pleasure he plays with the resulting objects, figures, images …

Play becomes a road to learning, and it’s no coincidence that the name of the Danish company that produces the world’s most popular Lego constructor is translated as “Play easy” or “Play with pleasure”.

The well-known words of J. Piaget “In constructing, the child acts like an architect erecting a building of his own potential” can be considered the epigraph of this event.

Presenting the experience of the structural unit of the kindergarten “Solnyshko”, its head, Zorikhina Natalya Viktorovna, emphasized that designing is one of the favorite activities of children, in which their interests, hobbies and potentialities are revealed. Lego pedagogy today is one of the well-known and widespread pedagogical systems that use three-dimensional models of the real world and a subject-play environment for teaching and developing a child. The relevance of LEGO technology has increased in the context of the introduction of the Federal State Educational Standard for Preschool Education, because it allows the integration of all educational areas (“Social and communicative development”, “Cognitive development”, “Artistic and aesthetic development”, etc. ).

The first part of the seminar is initially focused on getting to know the educational practice of preschool educational institutions. All events within the framework of the seminar were held in the Design Center , , created for the effective organization of educational and leisure activities on design as an important part of the modern educational environment of the kindergarten “Solnyshko”, aimed at the comprehensive development of the child’s personality in various activities through the use of design technology.

Participants of the seminar attended two classes: “Animals of the Lego Country” (middle group, Tsepova Tatyana Evgenievna) and “Lunar Transport” (preparatory group, Uglova Natalya Georgievna). Then the experience of the work of the kindergarten “Solnyshko” in this direction was presented: the topic of the speech was Tsepova T.E. – “Construction as a way to develop spatial imagination in younger preschoolers”,
a Uglovoi N.G. – “Designing is a tool for the comprehensive development of personal qualities and abilities of a preschooler. ” The introduction of new approaches into practice that ensure the full development of preschoolers within the framework of the main general educational program of preschool education was presented by O.V.

About their satisfaction with the level of educational services, about the close attention of the staff of the preschool educational institution “Solnyshko” to increasing the competence of parents in raising and educating children, developing their intellectual and creative potential through LEGO design, as well as the degree of involvement in educational interaction, the parents of pupils spoke .

The result of the mini-discussion “Designing in preschool educational institutions: a tribute to fashion or a requirement of the time?” there was a unity of understanding that the use of LEGO – technology in creating a modern educational environment in a preschool educational institution with the aim of educating a socially active, comprehensively developed personality of a child is a hot topic in the system of preschool education and is inextricably linked with all types of children’s activities: play, research, labor, communicative etc.

The logical continuation was the presentation of Lego construction in the lower grades of the Gymnasium. In the speech “Lego construction: engineering thinking, controlled fantasy and educational effects” Osipova M.B. drew the attention of the seminar participants to the fact that the growing up of a child is a tense, intense and creative work that is done as a joint work or cooperation with adults in the “multi-age space”. The priority goal of modern education is to prepare such a person who could not only successfully adapt to constant, cardinal and regularly occurring changes / serious changes in the world around him, but also effectively develop in these conditions.

Of course, both the teacher and the student, as well as the technologies for organizing the educational process and educational interaction, must change. E effective T technology O learning and T creative process, as well as from the result obtained)!

The formation of the foundations and the development of engineering thinking in MOAG takes place from the early grades in the logic of the student’s development, taking into account his age and individual characteristics, established gymnasium traditions and the experience of teachers on the basis of an integral system of educational EVENTS (training courses implemented according to the curriculum, and activities carried out in the MOAG and outside it, within the framework of basic and additional education, during school and vacation time).

In order for an educational organization to become effective, it must constantly develop, introduce new technologies, set and solve new tasks, and implement new projects, one of which is Lego Studio.

The participants of the seminar with great interest, together with students of the 2nd grade and Zayats Ulyana Alexandrovna, “opened” one of the pages of the course “Lego stories: creating a fairy-tale world”, getting acquainted with the fairy tale about the kingdom of the dragon, the good fairy and princess Isabel and having been protected results of group project activities.

Master class “Lego construction: a dialogue of creative practices as a condition for the development of technical and creative abilities of younger schoolchildren”, where Zayats U.A. using the example of her own activities, presented the experience of the MOU Gymnasium of the Nizhnyaya Salda urban district in the context of the implementation of the Federal State Educational Standard of primary general education, became a bright culmination of the workshop.