The book of the famous Soviet teacher and theorist Anna Mikhailovna Leushina, "The Formation of Elementary Mathematical Representations in Preschool Children" was published back in 1974, but scientific work has been carried out since the 40s of the last century. All the activities of the professor and doctor of pedagogical sciences were devoted to the development of children's ability to count and preparation for the study of mathematics in elementary school.
Thanks to her fruitful work, psychological and practical ways of developing children's perceptions of the count were revealed. She created a didactic system with load distribution across all age groups of the kindergarten. In addition to the theoretical and scientific concepts of this topic, A.M. Leushina developed a program for the formation of mathematical representations of children from 3 to 7 years of age. Long-term work of the author of the manual was carried out on the basis of a study of the psychology of children of a given age; conclusions were drawn as a result of experimental practical work.
In the article, we consider in more detail the contents of the book by Anna Mikhailovna Leushina "The Formation of Elementary Mathematical Representations in Preschool Children", we will dwell briefly on program tasks in working with kids of all age groups. Despite the fact that the age of the book is already considerable, the kindergarten teachers still use the methodology proposed by the Soviet teacher. The current generation of children grows on the didactic material developed by Leushina, based on its methods and techniques.
A little about the author of the book
Anna Mikhailovna was born in the village of Lyubogoshchi, which now belongs to the Tver region, at the end of June 1898. When the first university in Russia for the training of preschool workers opened in Petrograd, Leushina became his student. The course was taught by such wonderful teachers as E.I. Tikheeva and Yu. I. Fausek. After graduating in 1924, she devoted herself to scientific activity and taught at pedagogical institutes of Leningrad.
Since 1936, Leushina already headed the department of preschool pedagogy at the Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute. Herzen. The Soviet teacher writes a dissertation on the development of coherent speech in preschoolers. During the Great Patriotic War, it helps to evacuate children from the besieged city and is engaged in defense work together with the rest of the teaching staff. After the war, he returned to scientific research on the mental development of children.
Leushina developed a system for training preschoolers in counting, as well as the formation of concepts about space and time. Her book "The Formation of Elementary Mathematical Representations in Preschool Children" was the result of many years of scientific and practical work with preschool children.
Features of teaching mathematics to preschoolers
Anna Mikhailovna compared bourgeois pedagogy with teaching children mathematics during the study period and concluded that earlier classes were conducted spontaneously with the child, without a special strict program, the presence of which was denied.
Leushina believed that Soviet children were more developed and capable, therefore, she welcomed the program for the development of mathematical abilities in them from a very early age. The basis for the mathematical preparation of children for school, she called sensory education. The teacher provides the preschooler with material and a mental task, and the child, as a result of thought processes, must find the right solution.
Children in the process of independent reflection not only know the color, shape and size, but also understand the patterns, make decisions and develop logical thinking.
Item Comparison
In the manual for kindergarten teachers A. M Leushina, “The Formation of Elementary Mathematical Representations in Preschool Children,” the author proposes to use the methods of superimposing and applying to compare objects in size. Under the guidance of a teacher, a child not only compares the size of objects, but also correctly verbally reflects the result.
First, the child calls the words "more - less", then concepts are added: medium in size, high - low, wide - narrow, thick - thin, long - short, etc.
In work with such didactic material, work is also being done on the development of spatial representations. So, the child determines what is painted in front - behind, left - on the right, between objects, closer or further relative to himself and other things. The child learns to insert words correctly in speech - on, in, to, behind, in front, in the middle, inside, under, above, etc.
Analysis of accounting training in the literature
In Leushina’s book “The Formation of Elementary Mathematical Representations in Preschool Children”, the author makes a detailed analysis of the methods of teachers of that time, which are covered in literary publications. These are the works of L. K. Schleger, E. I. Tikheeva, and F. N. Bleher on the development of mathematical representations in preschoolers. Anna Mikhailovna highlighted the shortcomings of each of the methods and listed the positive points.
Development of concepts about set and number
A math school begins at an early age. Children first compare one subject with many, characterizing the number with the words: "one - many." However, children do not mean a certain set. So, at the request of the teacher to bring all the toys, the child can take only a few and say that this is all.
Further, the teacher conducts work on the development of the concept of a certain set. So, the children are given the task of distributing spoons to all 5 dolls. Here, the child must already exhibit a limited number of objects, in accordance with a given number.
The child considers many objects with the same name, for example, all the buttons on the table. With age, the baby already highlights, for example, all yellow elements or small ones from large ones. So, if 5 red circles are drawn, and then 2 blue circles, then the child no longer considers them as one set, dividing the circles into 2 separate sets. In addition, it is easier for children to master the concept of number when objects are depicted on the same line. If they are scattered across the sheet, then the child is in difficulty.
The role of analyzers in learning to count
A. Leushina revealed the value of analyzers in teaching preschoolers to count:
- kinesthetic - the child takes objects with his hands during the count, feels them;
- speech - calls aloud numbers;
- visual - the baby sees objects that he considers, watches with his eyes for them and with his hand;
- auditory - he hears his voice and called numbers.
Questions addressed in the book
The theorist of pedagogy Leushina in her book touched on many more questions of the development of mathematical representations of preschool children of different ages. These are methods for measuring the length, mass, capacity in vessels of bulk and liquid substances, the ability to navigate in space and time, concepts about the shape and size of objects.
The solution of arithmetic problems and inventing your own is carried out first on the subject and plot pictures, and then verbally. For the development of such mathematical representations, it is necessary to use visual material so that it is easier for the child to compose and solve the problem.
Training program in different age groups
The second half of Leushina’s book is devoted to teaching mathematics in all age groups of kindergarten, starting with the youngest group and ending with mathematics for 6 years old and 7-year-old children. Anna Mikhailovna describes in detail the techniques for organizing work with children and the didactic material that you must have for classes.
To facilitate the work, kindergarten teachers are given sample classes for each age group, affecting all programmatic issues. The teacher also acquaints educators with the work of forming mathematical representations outside of classes - in everyday life, during a walk, in games or in other classes.
The author pays special attention to mathematics for 6 years old and 7-year-old preschoolers. Training is added to the elements of computational activity and the solution of arithmetic problems.
The article gives a brief overview of the book of the Soviet teacher and theoretician Leushina, which is still used by many educators, and her method of forming mathematical representations is taken as the basis in the current "Kindergarten Education and Training Program".