| How might we accelerate children’s ability to solve problems? |
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Watching children solve a problem with an adult’s assistance, led the Russian psychologist Vygotsky to the view that children already have capacity for solving more advanced problems which they have not yet been able to make use of. He observed how when an adult helped a child with a problem, the child was able to make use of his/her partially completed skills and concepts. Vygotsky was impressed by the sometimes dramatic acceleration some children showed in their ability to solve problems when working with an adult in this way
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Evidence and reflection
You may find it helpful to ask a colleague to observe a teaching session you feel confident about and identify examples of where you offered a child help with a problem. Your colleague could record his/her observations using an observation schedule that categorises:
Moving forward
After the session, you could discuss with your colleague when and how you were successful at helping pupils to solve a problem for themselves and therefore move their thinking forwards. You could review how you could further develop the support you offer your pupils. You might also consider opportunities for supporting children in solving more complex problems than they could tackle alone that you could be missing and how you might address this. Find out more  Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society, The Development of Higher Psychological Processes Massachusetts/London: Harvard University Press
A summary of Lev Vygotsky’s work is available on the GTC’s Research of the Month website at: http://www.gtce.org.uk/research/romtopics/rom_teachingandlearning/vygotsky1/ You can find out more on the theme of cognitive acceleration on the GTC’s Research of the Month website at: http://www.gtce.org.uk/research/romtopics/rom_teachingandlearning/brunerROM/ |
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