Abstract
This research aims to interpret Vygotsky’s theory in development of a child’s semiotic activity in first grade mathematics classroom taught by open approach. This study focuses on investigate how first grade students construct signs and symbols in solving addition problems with the help of psychological tools in a mathematics classroom taught by open approach. The research was carried out in one first grade mathematics classroom including 32 students aged 6 - 7 years old and an internship student who was classroom teacher. Ethnographic methods were employed for collecting and analyzing data through classroom observation with audio-video tape recordings on 17 consecutive lessons on addition, students’ written works, field note taking and interviewing the classroom teacher. The result showed that the learning and instructional materials and drawing schematic diagrams and students’ language use are psychological tools that play a crucial role in development of first grade students ‘semiotic activity in solving addition problems. Students used units blocks and base ten blocks to operate addition with two numbers by decomposing and making ten strategies. Then, students drew schematic diagrams as symbol with their words to represent how to add two numbers corresponds to the meaning and the strategies they used.
Highlights
Vygotsky’s (1986, 1998) theory stipulates that the development of the child’s higher mental processes depends on the presence of mediating agents in the child’s interaction with the environment
Based on Vygotsky’s theory, this research interprets the development of a child’s semiotic activity in leaning to solve addition problem in the classroom taught by open approach as follows
The results showed that the learning and instructional materials like unit blocks and base-ten block and drawing schematic diagrams with students’ language use are psychological tools that play a crucial role in development of first grade students’ semiotic activity in solving addition problems
Summary
Vygotsky’s (1986, 1998) theory stipulates that the development of the child’s higher mental processes depends on the presence of mediating agents in the child’s interaction with the environment. Vygotsky himself primary emphasized symbolic tool-mediators appropriated by children in the context of particular sociocultural activities, the most important of which he considered to be formal education (Kinard & Kozulin, 2008). Cultural-historical development of human kind created a wide range of higher order symbolic tools, including different signs, symbols, writing, formulae, and graphic organizes. Individual cognitive development and the progress in learning depend, according to Vygotsky (1978), on the student’s mastery of symbolic mediators and their appropriation and internalization in the form of inner psychological tools. In Vygotsky’s cultural historical theory cognitive development and learning are operationalized through the notion of psychological tools. Psychological tools first appear as external symbolic tools available in a given culture (Kinard & Kozulin, 2008)
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