From the abstract to the concrete: Creating conditions for the development of theoretical thinking in children in early education

Abstract

Theoretical thinking is a complex cognitive activity; it is rational thinking aimed at the creation of concepts. Knowledge and theoretical thinking (in contrast to empirical knowledge) are created in the process of cooperation between a child and an adult under certain conditions, in which specific developmental tasks are carried out. The aim of this article is to share with a wider audience the author’s personal experience gained in an experimental attempt to develop theoretical thinking in children in early school education by means of the ascending teaching strategy, from the abstract to the concrete. The project, which was aimed at changing the learning culture, draws on the theories developed by Vygotsky, Davydov and Elkonin. The studies in the project showed that there is substantial intellectual potential in children in this age-group which is not developed in traditional education. Contemporary schools do not seem to create learning conditions that match the children’s specific stage of development or their learning strategies. Opening school culture to new concepts that create the right conditions for developmental change requires changes in teachers’ understanding of the nature of thinking and of the child’s theory of mind.