The Teaching/Learning Relationship in the First Years of School: Some Revolutionary Implications of Vygotskya's Theory

During the last twenty years, Vygotsky's theory has increasingly been cited when considering aspects of early education. Most commonly, however, a single concept (the zone of proximal development) has been used to represent the theory, and treated as synonymous with the view that a teacher's job is to scaffold the children's learning. By contrast, in this paper we stress the fact that Vygotsky's theory is one that requires attending to what individuals bring to interactions, what goes on during those interactions, and the cultural contexts (as they have developed over historical time) of the individuals involved. Equally important, we stress that Vygotsky's view of interactions between teachers and children involves the concept of obuchenie, a Russian term meaning both teaching and learning, rather than scaffolded instruction. To take this position seriously involves making dramatic changes in the process of education as typically practiced. For this reason Vygotsky's theory has revolutionary implications, examples of which we discuss in the final section.     

All Things Considered: Educational Radio as the First MOOCs

Those who do not learn history, even educational technology history, are doomed to repeat it. Every windshield has a rear-view mirror: using historical trends can yield lessons and guidance as we navigate the future. Take for instance MOOCs and their relatively rapid rise to popularity and fame in practice, predictions, and scholarship. Existing literature on MOOCs generally does not predate 2008 in terms of historical foundations. However, this approach fails to look beyond the immediate past, assuming a brave new world in massive, open, distance learning which actually has existed for over a century. To address this shortsighted view, we present a brief history of educational radio, making the case for this medium as the first MOOCs and draw upon the literature around this medium to present a cautionary tale and lessons from which we might learn going forward.     

The Teaching/Learning Relationship in the First Years of School: Some Revolutionary Implications of Vygotskya's Theory

During the last twenty years, Vygotsky's theory has increasingly been cited when considering aspects of early education. Most commonly, however, a single concept (the zone of proximal development) has been used to represent the theory, and treated as synonymous with the view that a teacher's job is to scaffold the children's learning. By contrast, in this paper we stress the fact that Vygotsky's theory is one that requires attending to what individuals bring to interactions, what goes on during those interactions, and the cultural contexts (as they have developed over historical time) of the individuals involved. Equally important, we stress that Vygotsky's view of interactions between teachers and children involves the concept of obuchenie, a Russian term meaning both teaching and learning, rather than scaffolded instruction. To take this position seriously involves making dramatic changes in the process of education as typically practiced. For this reason Vygotsky's theory has revolutionary implications, examples of which we discuss in the final section.     

First Possession,History, and Young Children's Ownership Judgments

It is impossible to perceive who owns an object; this must be inferred. One way that children make such inferences is through a first possession bias—when two agents each use an object, children judge the object belongs to the one who used it first. Two experiments show that this bias does not result from children directly inferring ownership from first possession; the experiments instead support an alternative account according to which the first possession bias reflects children's historical reasoning. In Experiment 1, eighty‐five 3‐ to 5‐year‐olds only based inferences on first possession when it was informative about the past. In Experiment 2, thirty‐two 5‐year‐olds based ownership judgments on testimony about past contact, while disregarding testimony about future contact.     

浅论马克思对无产阶级历史命命的最初论证

无产阶级作为资本主义社会的掘墓人，在马克思的学说中占有十分重要的地位，过去理论界对这一问题研究很多，但大多局限于经典作家已有的经论上，笔认为。马克思对无产阶级历史使命的最初论证，不是从无产阶级的处境开始然后寻找无产阶级解放的途径，而是以德古典哲学的人本主义和民化理论为依据，从人怎样获得解放的问题开始，进而在探求人的解放中发现了无产阶级及其历史使命，只有对无产阶级进行纵向理论分析，即探讨马克思对无产阶级历史地位和历史使命的全面论证的过程，才能对当代无产阶级的理论问题有深刻的认识。     

Running a TEMPUS Project: First Experiences

This paper describes the experiences gathered at Aachen University's computer science department while running one of the first TEMPUS projects. An outline of the historical background is followed by a brief introduction to the TEMPUS programme as such. The aims and goals of our project, BASCULE, are then described in more detail. Finally, we discuss the lessons we have learned.     

Before ‘us’ and ‘now’: developing a sense of historical consciousness and identity at the museum

ABSTRACT

Young children seem to begin to develop a sense of historical consciousness and associated belonging to a wider collective identity prior to the commencement of formal schooling. Historical consciousness is a capacity to differentiate and also make connections between the past, present and future that contributes to a growing understanding of one’s own life and identity in the context of a historical past. The responses of 24 young children aged from 3 to 7 years visiting a small social history museum were analysed through photo-elicitation and parent reports. It would seem that the museum experience assisted in the development of foundational concepts of historical consciousness. Growth of a sense of historical identity was evident for some children, related to a sense of belonging to the ‘we’ of contemporary times in contrast to the ‘they’ of the past. The role of language to support young children’s understanding and thinking is highlighted by this research.     

论胡锦涛"七一"讲话对党的群众观点的新发展

胡锦涛"七一"讲话极大地丰富和发展了党的群众观点.这集中体现在:把坚持群众观点看成是区分唯物史观和唯心史观的分水岭;充分肯定人民群众的历史主体地位;指出"三个代表"重要思想的本质是立党为公、执政为民的观点;强调要细心研究和正确看待群众利益,并不断改进和加强党的群众工作.     

Subitizing or counting as possible screening variables for learning disabilities in mathematics education or learning?

This paper aims to highlight the significance of a particular aspect of magnitude processing, namely counting and subitizing or the rapid enumeration of small sets of items, for learning. Emphasis is laid on the historical roots and the conceptual framework as well as on studies on pre-verbal and school-age children. Evidence of the potential value of this research for the assessment of children at risk of mathematical learning disabilities, is presented. Inherent to its nature, subitizing relies on rapid, preverbal analogue magnitude comparisons being triggered. We will highlight the differences with counting, and the implications of shortcomings in counting and subitizing in children with mathematical learning disabilities for the automaticity of number magnitude processing. Furthermore we especially look in this paper at the varying assessment paradigms which are used in research with different age groups, something which has received insufficient attention in the past. Finally, we outline the challenges for future research on mathematical learning disabilities.     

“I think it fits in”: using process drama to promote agentic writing with primary school children

Set against the backdrop of children being ‘alienated’ from their writing, this paper is taken from a United Kingdom Literacy Association sponsored project where primary school teachers were trained to use process drama in order to give children more agency in their writing across the curriculum. Here, we use discourse analysis to think about the children's historical creative writing in relation to the drama lessons which are differently framed by the teachers. Building upon a theoretical model of process drama as involving ‘embodied experience’ and writing as problem‐solving, a case is made that process drama can lead to what we term ‘agentic writing’. Agentic writing, we demonstrate, involves children actively translating their embodied experience of process drama into writing by making a range of intertextual borrowings. These borrowings serve both to capture and transform their embodied experience as the children gain agency by standing outside language to achieve ‘double voicedness’ and in doing so write sophisticated texts. Seeing the relationship between process drama and writing in this light, we argue, provides a means of reconnecting children to the act of writing.     

Teaching Traumatic History to Young Children: The Case of Holocaust Studies in Israeli Kindergartens

Recently, the Israeli Ministry of Education initiated a mandatory nationwide curriculum for Jewish kindergarten children focusing on the study of the Holocaust. This initiative raises general questions regarding the inclusion of sensitive historical issues in curricula for young children. In this article, we use the new Holocaust curriculum as an instructive case through which to address the broader questions about what might constitute an appropriate and acceptable curriculum in early childhood. We discuss the initiative from three disciplinary perspectives: a developmental sciences perspective, an anthropological/cultural perspective, and a learning sciences perspective. As we demonstrate, these three perspectives not only represent different disciplines but also highlight different aspects of this issue, thus exposing the complexities of this discussion. We show that understanding these perspectives separately and then trying to combine them may enable a richer and more complex look on the broader questions that this specific curriculum raises. We conclude with an endeavor to integrate the three perspectives, all of which should be taken into account when constructing a curriculum for young children.     

Extending Responsiveness to Intervention to Mathematics at First and Third Grades

Responsiveness to intervention (RTI) is an innovative approach to the identification of learning disabilities (LD). The central assumption is that RTI can differentiate between two explanations for low achievement: poor instruction versus disability. If the child responds poorly to validated instruction, then the assessment eliminates instructional quality as a viable explanation for poor academic growth and instead provides evidence of a disability. For children who do respond nicely, RTI serves a critical prevention function. Most of RTI research has been focused on early reading. In this article, we describe two ongoing programs of research on RTI in the area of mathematics: one on a comprehensive mathematics curriculum at first grade and the other focused on word problems at third grade. For each research program, we describe the sample, explain how students are identified as at risk for mathematics disability, provide an overview of the interventions to which responsiveness is gauged, and describe some results to date.     

Confucian Principles: A Study of Chinese Americans’ Interpersonal Relationships in Selected Children’s Picturebooks

There has not been enough critical analysis of children’s literature by and about Chinese Americans, especially when compared to other minority groups in the United States. In particular, Chinese American historical books lack extensive analysis. It is important to reflect cultural accuracy in literature and to help children develop clear concepts of self and others by providing precise cultural and physical characteristics of people. While cultural authenticity allows children the opportunity to see a reflection of real experiences within a book instead of seeing stereotypes or misrepresentations, obtaining correct information about a certain time period can help children to see images of immigration accurately represented in literature. Using the Confucian delineation of interpersonal relationships as the major criterion of cultural authenticity, this article examines three currently available children’s picturebooks set in the historical period between 1848 and 1885. In addition to exploring how Chinese Americans’ interpersonal relationships are portrayed in these children’s historical books, this article argues for more proactive inclusion of the diversity in selection of picturebooks.     

Remediating history: assessing the past in Dutch historical fiction for children c. 1960–1980

Historical fiction is a powerful way of transmitting national history to later generations. It emerged in the nineteenth century as a means of building identity and fostering solidarity. However, in the 1960s and 1970s, former representations of history were deconstructed. Instead of glorifying the nation, social evils were exposed. As a consequence of this, western European histories of children’s literature claim a shift in children’s books from an emphasis on political to social history. Historical heroes and triumphs were replaced by accounts of the lives of common people and how they were touched by great events. This article investigates the influence of this changed perception and representation of history on images of nationality in Dutch historical children’s books. Two groups are identified: a group of books that are critical of historical practices and events, focus on the lives of common people, and project emancipatory ideals on historical characters; and a group of books that transmit a conventional image of the past which was introduced in former periods, in which nation-building and the formulation of a national character reigned. However, images of nationality transgress these categories.     

Determinants of Dyadic Scaffolding and Cognitive Outcomes in First Graders

Objective. The purposes of this study were to identify mother, child, and dyadic determinants of effective mother–child collaboration and to determine the impact of this collaboration on children's cognitive development. Design. Ninety-two mother–child dyads from the Massachusetts site of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development participated in a site-specific, home-based instructional task through which they were assessed for scaffolding effectiveness. Cognitive characteristics of both mothers and children, as well as dyadic characteristics from infancy, were examined as predictors of effective dyadic scaffolding when the children were in 1st grade. In addition, concurrent cognitive capabilities of the children were regressed on scaffolding while controlling for earlier cognitive test scores. Results. Mothers' verbal intelligence and children's mental development, as well as shared sensitivity, predicted the effectiveness of scaffolding collaborations, which in turn uniquely predicted cognitive capabilities of the children. Conclusions. Effective mother–child scaffolding is a function of individual mother and child characteristics, as well as the nature of the mother–child relationship; scaffolding predicts children's cognitive outcomes.     

Creative Endeavors: Inspiring Creativity in a First Grade Classroom

With an emphasis on high-stakes testing and a focused curriculum, it would seem at times, the joy of creativity is missing from the classroom. This article describes a curricular approach the children named “Creative Endeavors”, as implemented by a first grade teacher. The approach is described in three phases. In the exploratory stage the children were presented with various media, made requests for additional materials, and explored different forms of expression. In the second phase the children made choices based on interests, and typically worked with others in a spirit of collaboration with an emphasis on the process of the project as well as affective responses. In the final phase of intentional planning, children began to independently design, construct, and take responsibility for their project working alone or with others. Phases are intended to provide a blueprint for other teachers to explore creative endeavors in the classroom. Children in this project communicated through various media including sewing, photography, and drama. Through collaborating with peer and choosing projects, the children became authentically engaged in the various classroom experiences. Although the curricular approach was intended to foster creativity, in each phase writing about their projects became a natural and critical element in the process. Children wrote about their experiences, the steps they took to take part in the process, why they chose it, and reflected upon the projects undertaken.     

The impact of the First Language First model on vocabulary development among preschool bilingual children

The aim of this exploratory study was to examine the role of the First Language First model for preschool bilingual education in the development of vocabulary depth. The languages studied were Russian (L1) and Hebrew (L2) among bilingual children aged 4–5 years in Israel. According to this model, the children’s first language of educational instruction (up to age three) is the language to which they are exposed at home. Their second language—the dominant language of the country that is spoken by the majority of the population—is acquired sequentially, after relative maturity in the first language. Fifty-one Russian/Hebrew-speaking bilinguals (around age four) were selected from bilingual (Russian/Hebrew) preschools, which used the First Language First approach, and monolingual (Hebrew) preschools. The research was designed as a longitudinal study, as the children’s vocabulary was measured at two time-points—near the beginning and the end of the academic year. The children’s vocabulary was measured in both languages by examining its depth dimensions (paradigmatic semantic relations and syntagmatic semantic relations). The results demonstrated that the later immersion in L2 and continuing development of L1 within the First Language First model does not results in retardation in development of bilingual children in L2 in comparison to their bilingual peers from the monolingual (Hebrew) preschools. In addition, this model of early bilingual development enhances the linguistic interdependence of depth of vocabulary knowledge, and, therefore, supports balanced bilingual development.     

Social Status Profiles Among First Grade Children

The focus of our study is social status among first graders. In particular, we will consider the relationship between acceptance and rejection, and how these are connected to three social behavioral traits: bullying, victimization, and social withdrawal. The data set is from peer nominations of 748 children from 49 classrooms in the southwest of Finland, collected by interviews. A Social Network Analysis technique was used to analyze the data. The results indicated a negative correlation between acceptance and rejection, bullying, and social withdrawal, but did not correlate victimization. Positive correlations, however, were observed between rejection and all social behavioral traits. Based on cluster analysis, the first graders can be divided into Liked Children (N?=?447), Popular Bullies (N?=?68), Unpopular Bullies (N?=?28), Marginalized Children (N?=?135) and High Risk Children (N?=?21). All Unpopular Bullies and almost all High Risk children were boys. Boys were also nominated more often than girls as Popular Bullies, whilst girls were more often reported as marginalized or as Liked Children.     

Language planning for the 21st century: revisiting bilingual language policy for deaf children

For over 25 years in some countries and more recently in others, bilingual education involving sign language and the written/spoken vernacular has been considered an essential educational intervention for deaf children. With the recent growth in universal newborn hearing screening and technological advances such as digital hearing aids and cochlear implants, however, more deaf children than ever before have the potential for acquiring spoken language. As a result, the question arises as to the role of sign language and bilingual education for deaf children, particularly those who are very young. On the basis of recent research and fully recognizing the historical sensitivity of this issue, we suggest that language planning and language policy should be revisited in an effort to ensure that they are appropriate for the increasingly diverse population of deaf children.     

从神话到历史：教育中未曾发生的“哥白尼革命”

卢梭的教育思想常被教育史学界誉为教育重心从成人转向儿童的重大转折,是教育史上的“哥白尼革命”,由此形成了流传百年的美丽“神话”。借鉴儿童史、社会史等学科研究成果,从儿童服饰、儿童艺术、成年人对儿童的态度和对儿童教育的关注等来看,14—18世纪欧洲社会在儿童观和儿童教育观念发生的重大变化,说明欧洲近代儿童观变迁具有深刻的历史基础,并非是卢梭的先知先觉。从卢梭教育思想对1819世纪欧洲教育的影响来看,教育史上这一所谓的“哥白尼革命”,不过是一场因崇拜卢梭而虚构的“革命”。虽然卢梭曾对西方教育的历史变迁产生了重大影响,但人为夸大这种影响并无助于科学的历史认识。