Laws and theories of memory in psychology. Associative thinking in children. Associative theory of thinking

The mental world of people is diverse and versatile. A high level of development of the psyche provides a person with numerous opportunities, however mental development would not pass without preserving the acquired experience and knowledge, and this is ensured thanks to memory. For several centuries, representatives of various sciences have been engaged in the study of memory. Among them are psychologists, biologists, physicians, geneticists, cybernetics and many others. The representative of each of these sciences has its own system of concepts and its own theories of memory, but they all help to expand human knowledge about it.

Associative theory

The most ancient are psychological teachings, since medical, genetic and biochemical theories and laws of memory appeared much later. One of the first, which is still relevant today, is the associative concept. The period when this theory of memory appeared in the 17th century, and its most active development occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The associative theory of memory is based on the concept of association, in other words, the connection between different phenomena of the psyche. The founders of this doctrine are G. Ebbinghaus, A. Pilzeker and others. They viewed memory as a complex system of associations, regardless of whether they are short-term or long-term, more or less stable. Representatives of this memory theory subdivided associations according to contiguity, contrast, similarity, spatial and temporal proximity.

The associative theory of memory made it possible to learn some of its laws. Psychologists working in this direction have established the peculiarities of changing the number of elements that are remembered when different amounts repetitions of the presented series, as well as the peculiarities of storing the elements of the memorized series in memory, depending on the time interval between memorization and reproduction. It was thanks to this teaching that many other basic theories of memory were later founded.

Gestalt memory theory

After the associative theory faced a problem that it could not answer ( it comes on the explanation of the selectivity of memory), it was replaced by another theory - gestalt. The initial concept in this teaching was the initial, the integrity of the primary elements - gestalt. Proponents of this theory are convinced that it is the principles of gestalt formation that determine human memory.

This concept emphasized the importance of the fact that the material to be memorized and reproduced by a person must necessarily be structured, brought to integrity and organized into a system. Special attention was also paid to the role of a person's intentions and needs, by the way, this is precisely what representatives of Gestalt theory explained the selectivity of mimic processes. The main idea of ​​its adherents is that the material (both in memorization and reproduction) is an integral structure, and not a random set of elements formed on an associative basis.

Gestalt theorists explain the dynamics of memorization and reproduction as follows: at each separate moment in time, a person has a certain need, which contributes to the creation of an attitude to memorize or reproduce. The installation, in turn, revives the necessary holistic structures, which are the basis for memorizing or reproducing material.

Despite the fact that the representatives of this theory found psychological explanations for many facts of the selectivity of memory, they could not solve the problem of the formation and development of human memory in phylo- and ontogenesis. Motivational states that determine mnemonic processes in a person are predetermined in advance - this is how the representatives of the Gestalt theory of memory imagined memorization. Briefly, the disadvantage of this doctrine can be expressed as follows: it did not pose and did not try to solve the question of the dependence of the development of a person's memory on his practical activity.

Psychoanalytic theory

Representatives of the psychoanalytic theory of memory, the founder of which is Z. Freud, Special attention in considering the preservation and memorization of information, they pay to the unconscious level of the psyche. Psychoanalytic theory memory shows a significant role played by early emotional experiences that can influence the rest of your life. The representatives of this theory pay special attention to the displacement of negative information from consciousness and its manifestation through humor, dreams, slips of the tongue and other manifestations of the unconscious.

Thanks to psychoanalysis, many interesting psychological mechanisms of subconscious forgetting associated with the functioning of motivation have been discovered and described.

Sense theory

In the first half of the 20th century, a semantic theory of memory emerged. Its most prominent representatives, A. Binet and K. Buhler, argue that the work of memory directly depends on semantic connections (their presence or absence), which combine the material to be memorized into semantic structures - more or less extensive. The representatives of this theory of memory in psychology pay special attention to the semantic content of the material. In their opinion, semantic memorization occurs according to laws different from mechanical memorization. They argue that the material to be memorized is part of the context of certain semantic connections.

Representatives of this theory seek to present memory in the form of reproduction of pure thoughts that are completely independent of the speech form. After all, they break and contrast the memorization of words and thoughts, coming to conclusions that merge with the antagonistic theory.

Activity theory

French scientists, including P. Janet, founded a new theory of memory based on considering it as a type of activity. P. Janet is one of the scientists who was one of the first to interpret memory as a system of actions that are focused on memorizing, systematizing and storing information. The French school of psychology proved the social conditioning of all memory processes, its direct dependence on human activity.

Domestic psychologists, among whom one can name P.I. Zinchenko, A.N. Leontyev, A.A. Smirnov, and others, continued work on the theory in the study of memory associated with the general psychological theory of activity. They viewed memory as special kind activity, which is part of the system of actions that are subordinate to the solution of the mnemonic problem, namely, memorizing, preserving and reproducing certain information. Adherents of the activity theory of memory in psychology paid special attention to the study of the composition of mnemonic actions and operations, the dependence of the productivity of memory on the place in the structure of the goal and the means of memorization, the comparative productivity of memorization - voluntary and involuntary.

Physiological theory

Physiological theories of memory owe their appearance to the teachings of I.P. Pavlov, who deduced the laws of higher nervous activity. The scientist argued that the material basis of memory depends on the plasticity of the cerebral cortex and its ability to form conditioned reflexes. Physiological mechanism memory consists precisely of the formation, strengthening and extinction of temporary and neural connections. The connection between previously fixed information and new information is formed thanks to conditioned reflexes, on which the physiology of memorization is based.

To understand the reason for the conditioning of memory, it is worth turning to the concept of reinforcement, also introduced by Pavlov. It should be noted that psychological theories of memory are based on completely different principles. Pavlov, however, considers this concept as a coincidence of communication with the achievement of the immediate goal of a person's action or a stimulus that motivates the action. It is this coincidence that leads to the preservation and consolidation of the information assimilated by the individual. Correlation of the physiological understanding of reinforcement with the psychological concept of the goal of action is an act of fusion of psychological and physiological analysis of memory mechanisms. The main function of this process is aimed at the future, that is, memorization makes sense only if you ask the question "what will happen." If you live with the question "what happened", this process is completely meaningless.

Physical theory

The teachings of I.P. Pavlov also influenced the emergence of the physical theory of memory. The adherents of this concept are engaged in the study of the neurophysiological level of memory mechanisms. Physical memory theory states that arousal leaves a physical imprint after it passes through a group of neurons. This physical trace leads to changes (mechanical and electronic) at the junction of the cells. Thanks to these changes, the repetition of the impulse along the previously traversed path is easier.

So, when a person sees an object, his eyes examine the contours, as a result of which the impulse moves in a certain group of nerve cells. Nerve cells, in turn, model the perceived object as a space-time structure. The basis of the process of memorization (storage or reproduction) is the creation and activation of neural models - this is what the neural theory of memory states.

Biochemists about memory

The biochemical theory of memory states that with long-term memorization, new protein substances are formed - neuropeptides and others. After the stimulus acts on the nerve cell, an electrochemical reaction occurs, as a result of which reversible changes occur in the cells, contributing to short-term memorization. At the next stage, on the basis of previous changes, a biochemical reaction arises with changes in its structure of the neuron, the result of which is long-term memorization. In the course of numerous experiments, it was found that ribonucleic acid (RNA) and oligopeptides play a huge role in memorization.

A huge number of experiments have been carried out by adherents of the biochemical theory. And the laws of memory, which they managed to establish as a result of the work, made it possible to better understand the process of memorization and reproduction. The experiment in which scientists tried to transfer memory from one creature to another deserves the greatest attention. Of course, the simplest organisms were subjected to the experiment, but this is already the first step.

Regularities deduced by G. Ebbinghaus

G. Ebbinghaus at the end of the last century deduced and systematized a number of patterns of memory. He managed to do this thanks to the associative theory of memory in psychology. Briefly, we can say that he worked on establishing patterns of memorization, for the study of which nonsense syllables and other information, poorly organized in a semantic plan, were used.

He found that a person immediately and for a long time remembers even the simplest events in life, if they made a particularly strong impression on him. If these moments are less interesting to a person, he may not remember them, even if they happen several dozen times. With sufficient concentration of attention, a person from memory can easily reproduce all the main moments of an event that happened once in his life.

Remembering a long row, it must be remembered that its beginning and end are most easily reproduced. When memorizing a series that is too long (when the number of elements in it exceeds the volume of short-term memory), the number of correctly reproduced elements of this series decreases when comparing this indicator with the same indicator for the case when the number of members of the series is equal to the volume of short-term memory.

The laws of memory

Numerous psychological theories of memory have led to the derivation of a number of laws. Scientists have found that memorization, preservation and reproduction of material occurs through various operations for processing, recoding information, including analysis, systematization, generalization, synthesis and other mental operations.

When a person reproduces a text, wishing to remember it, both the words and phrases of which it consists and the thoughts contained in it are imprinted in the memory. It is the latter that are remembered first of all when the task is to reproduce the previously studied text.

To a large extent, memorization is facilitated by the attitude towards the process. In other words, if a person trying to memorize a text or any other information sets himself a certain mnemonic task, the memorization process will be easier and faster, and the information will be stored in memory for as long as possible.

In order for the productivity of memorizing information to become higher, it is necessary that a person somehow associates it with the purpose of the activity. This is due to the fact that it is better remembered that in the structure of activity its goals take place, and not the constituent means of carrying out this activity.

Learning the material well does not require it to be learned by heart immediately. Moreover, if the material is taught within a day, it will take half the time than if it is done immediately.

* this work is not a scientific work, is not a final qualifying work and is the result of processing, structuring and formatting the collected information intended for use as a source of material for self-preparation educational work.

Plan

1 associative memory theory

2.Gestalt theory

3 behaviorism

4.Psychoanalysis

5 semantic theory of memory

6 activity theory

7.Cultural-historical theory

8 cognitive direction

9 genetic theory

10 bibliography

1 associative memory theory

One of the first psychological theories memory was an associative theory. It arose in the 17th century, was actively developed in the 18th - 19th centuries, and gained predominant distribution and recognition in England and Germany. This theory is based on the concept of association - a connection between individual mental phenomena, developed by G. Ebbinghaus, G. Müller, A. Pilzeker and others. In the mainstream of this theory, memory is understood as a complex system of short-term and long-term, more or less stable contiguity associations, similarity, contrast, temporal and spatial proximity.

In the 80s. XIX century. German psychologist G. Ebbinghaus discovered the law of "pure" "memory, derived from experiments with memorizing three-letter meaningless syllables, forgetting after the first unmistakable repetition of a series of such syllables proceeds rather quickly at first. Already within the first hour, up to 60% of all the information received is forgotten, and after six days less than 20% of the total number of originally learned syllables remains.

"" What matters most is the sensory tone and the associated interest. Experiences, accompanied by intense pleasure or displeasure, are ineradicable, so to speak, are imprinted and often after many years are remembered with greater clarity. What a person is especially interested in, he remembers without much difficulty; yet the rest is forgotten with amazing ease. When memorizing syllables devoid of meaning or nothing related to each other, members are memorized, for some reason especially noticeable, strange-sounding, for example, or rare. "" (7, p. 258). G. Ebbinghaus also concluded that when memorizing a long row, the material at the ends is better reproduced ("edge effect").

Another psychologist G.E. Müller's research was limited to the study of special conscious mnemonic activity (the process of deliberate memorization and reproduction of material) and paid less attention to the analysis of the natural mechanisms of imprinting footprints.

2.Gestaltalt theory

V late XIX v. the associative theory of memory was replaced by Gestalt theory. According to the supporters of this theory (W. Wundt, E.B. Titchener, B.V. Zeigarnik, K. Levin), it is the laws of gestalt formation that determine memory.

In the mainstream of this theory, the importance of structuring the material, bringing it to integrity, organizing it into a system during memorization and reproduction, as well as the role of a person's intentions and needs in memory processes was especially emphasized. the main idea The study consisted in the fact that during memorization and reproduction, the material usually appears in the form of an integral structure, and not a random set of elements formed on an associative basis.

Research by B.V. Zeigarnik showed that if the subjects were offered a series of tasks, and some let them complete them to the end, while others were interrupted by unfinished ones, then later the subjects recalled unfinished tasks twice more often than those completed by the time of interruption. When receiving a task, the subject has a need to complete it. This need, which K. Levin called a quasi-need, increases in the process of completing the task.

3 behaviorism

The views of the supporters of behaviorism were close to those of the associationists. The only significant difference between the two was that behaviorists emphasized the role of reinforcement in memorizing material and paid much attention to the study of how memory works in learning processes.

American psychologist D. Watson focused on the study of the processes of learning or the formation of new reactions during life. "" In our understanding, memory is a general term for expressing the fact that after a certain period of non-exercise in certain skills, the function does not disappear, but remains as part of the organization of the individual, although it may undergo greater or lesser disturbances due to non-exercise.

If after such a period the old stimulus is given again, then: 1) either the old reaction arises definitely and sharply; 2) either it occurs, but with unwanted additions (errors); 3) either it arises with such great irregularities that the organization is hardly noticeable - the renewed memorization is just as difficult as the initial one. "" (7, p. 267) 4. Psychoanalysis

The merit of Z. Freud and his followers in the study of memory was the elucidation of the role of positive and negative emotions, motives and needs in memorizing and forgetting the material. Psychoanalysis has revealed many interesting psychological mechanisms subconscious forgetting associated with the functioning of motivation. Z. Freud asserted: "" There is a reason to believe that forgetting is permissible with unimportant things; with important things, it serves as a sign that they are treated easily, therefore, their importance is not recognized. Forgetting is also explained by what could be called “false intentions.” (6, p. 231).

5 semantic theory of memory

At the beginning of the XX century. a semantic theory of memory arises. Representatives of this theory argued that the work of the corresponding processes is directly dependent on the presence or absence of semantic connections that combine the memorized material into more or less extensive semantic structures. A. Binet, K. Buhler proved that the semantic content of the material is brought to the fore during memorization and reproduction. "" When reproducing meaningful texts, the words of the text (especially unusual) and grammatical constructions, especially complex ones, are replaced during reproduction by others, easier and more familiar, but in such a way that the meaning is preserved. A. Binet and K. Buhler draw from this the conclusion that not so much the words and sentences themselves are memorized, but the thoughts that they designate "". (5, p. 266).

6. Activity in the study of memory

A. N. Leontiev, P. I. Zinchenko, A. A. Smirnov. In Russian psychology, the direction in the study of memory, associated with the general psychological theory of activity, has received predominant development. Here memory acts as a special type of activity, including a system of theoretical and practical actions, subordinate to the solution of a mnemonic task - memorizing, preserving and reproducing various information. In the studies of A.A. Smirnov, it was found that "" the most important condition that determined memorization in the experiments was the mainstream of the subjects' activity,

the main line of their direction and the motives that guided them in their activities. The best remembered thing was that which arose as an obstacle, difficulty in the activity "". (7, p. 485).

In P.I. Zinchechko's experiments, the memorization of pictures, which was obtained unintentionally in the course of the activity, the purpose of which was to classify the pictures, without the task of remembering turned out to be definitely higher than in the case when the subject was given the task of remembering the picture.

7.Cultural-historical theory

The founders of this theory are Russian psychologists L.S.Vygotsky and A.R. Luria. For the first time a systematic study of the higher forms of memory in children was carried out by the outstanding psychologist L.S. Vygotsky, who at the end of the 19020s began to study the issue of the development of higher forms of memory and showed that the highest forms of memory are complex shape mental activity social in origin. Within the framework of the theory of the origin of higher mental functions proposed by Vygotsky, the stages of the phylo- and ontogenetic development of memory, including voluntary and involuntary, as well as direct and mediated, were distinguished.

"" Memory is improving to the extent that improving writing systems, systems of signs and ways of using them. What was called artificial memory in the ancient and Middle Ages is being improved. The historical development of human memory is reduced mainly and in the main to the development and improvement of those auxiliary means that a social person produces in the process of his cultural life ... Internal development and improvement of memory, thus, are no longer an independent process, but dependent and subordinate, defined in its course by changes coming from the outside - from the social environment, surrounding man"". (7, p. 403).

8. Cognitive direction in the study of memory

The cognitive approach to the study of memory is based on the concept of human body as a system busy with active searches

information and processing of information, i.e. on the notion that people have different kinds of effects on information.

Structural theories of memory have been developed within the framework of the cognitive approach. The first theory is the theory of duality, first the information gets into short-term memory, and only then, as a result of repetition, into long-term memory. The second - the three-component theory assumes the presence of ultra-short-term (sensory) memory, which receives information from the outside.

A contribution to the study of this theory was made by the American psychologist W. Neisser, who studied thinking, memory, problems of artificial intelligence, as well as applied questions of the psychology of cognitive processes.

9 the genetic theory of memory

P.P. Blonsky made a significant contribution to the understanding of the phylogenetic development of memory. he expressed and developed the idea that different kinds memory presented in an adult are also different stages of its historical development, and they, accordingly, can be considered phylogenetic stages of memory improvement. "" In phylogeny, we still have the same series: motor memory - affective memory - figurative memory - logical memory in Janet's sense. Each of the members of this series follows the other in a certain sequence "". (7, p. 386).

Bibliography

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2. Luria A.R. Lectures on general psychology. - SPb.: Peter, 2004 .-- 320 p.

3. Maklakov A.G. General psychology: Textbook for universities. - SPb .: Peter, 2004. - 583 p.

4. Nemov R.S. Psychology: Textbook for students of higher pedagogical educational institutions: In 3 books. - 4th ed. - M .: 2003. - Book. 1: General foundations of psychology. - 688 p.

5. Rubinstein S.L. Fundamentals of General Psychology. - SPb .: Peter, 2002 .-- 720 p.

6. Freud Z. Psychology of the unconscious. 2nd ed. - SPb .: Peter, 2004 .-- 400 p.

7. Psychology reader. Psychology of Memory / Ed. Yu.B. Gippenreiter and V.Ya. Romanova. - 3rd ed. - M .: 2002 .-- 816 p.

The associative-reflex theory of learning as the basis of traditional learning. Finding ways to improve traditional teaching.

Activity learning theory. Problem learning theory. The theory of the phased formation of mental actions. Theory learning activities.

The concept of the concept (theory) of learning.

Under the concept (theory) of learning is understood as a set of generalized provisions or a system of views on understanding the essence, content, methodology and organization of the educational process, as well as the characteristics of the activities of teachers and trainees in the course of its implementation.

To date, there are two main theories of learning: associative (associative-reflex) and activity.

Associative-reflex theory of learning.

The associative-reflex theory of learning took shape in the 17th century. Its methodological foundations were developed by J. Locke, who proposed the term "association". Final design the associative theory of learning received in the classroom system of Ya. A. Komensky.

The basic principles of this theory:

o the mechanism of any act of learning is the association;

o any teaching is based on clarity, i.e. relies on sensory cognition, therefore, the enrichment of the student's consciousness with images and ideas is the main task of educational activity;

o visual images are not important in themselves: they are necessary insofar as they ensure the advancement of consciousness towards generalizations based on comparison;

o The main method of associative learning is exercise.

Associative theories underlie the explanatory-illustrative teaching that dominates the modern traditional school. This is largely the reason that school graduates do not receive a full-fledged education, they do not develop experience creative activity, the ability to independently acquire knowledge, readiness to freely engage in any managerial field of activity.

In the 20th century: of enduring pedagogical significance is the idea of ​​such a structure of teaching that would take into account the "zone of proximal development" of the individual, focusing not on the current level of development, but on the tomorrow that the student can achieve with the help and under the guidance of the teacher (L. S. Vygotsky).

For mental development (D.N.Bogoyavlensky and N.A.Menchinskaya), even a complex and mobile system of knowledge is not enough. Students must master mental operations, with the help of which knowledge is assimilated and operated. H.A. Menchinskaya pays attention to the development of learning, which is characterized by generalization of mental activity, independence and flexibility of thinking, semantic memory, communication between visual-figurative and verbal-logical components of thinking. The development of learning, according to N.A. Menchinskaya, is a way to increase the efficiency of the process of assimilating knowledge and learning in general.



L.V. Zankov (TORTT) proposed a fairly effective concept of increasing the developmental function of traditional education. His didactic system, focused on younger students, gives a developmental effect when working with adolescents and older students, while observing the following principles: high level difficulty (subject to a clearly distinguishable measure of difficulty); fast pace of study of the material (of course, within reasonable limits); the principle of the leading role of theoretical knowledge; students' awareness of the learning process

The search for ways to improve learning, which are based on associative theories, is aimed at identifying ways and conditions for the development of cognitive independence, activity and creative thinking students. The experience of educators-innovators is indicative:

o enlargement of didactic units of assimilation (P. M. Erdniev, B. P. Erdniev);

o intensification of training based on the principle of visibility (V.F.Shatalov, S.D.Shevchenko, etc.);

o advanced training and commenting (S.N. Lysenkova);

o increasing the educational potential of the lesson (E.N. Ilyin, T.I. Goncharova, etc.);

o improving the forms of organizing training and interaction between teachers and students in the classroom (I.M. Cheredov, S.Yu. Kurganov, V.K.Dyachenko, A.B. Reznik, N.P. Guzik, etc.);



o individualization of training (I.P. Volkov and others).

2.Theories based on the activity approach: the theory of problem learning (A.M. Matyushkin, M.I. Makhmutov, etc.), the theory of the stage-by-stage formation of mental actions (P.Ya. Galperin, N.F. Talyzina, etc.), the theory of educational activity (V.V. Davydov, D.B. Elkonin and others). I

2.1 Problem Learning Theory relies on the concepts of "task" and "action", i.e. on what fully characterizes the activity approach.

Problem situation- This is a cognitive task, which is characterized by a contradiction between the students' knowledge, skills, attitudes and requirements. The meaning of a cognitive task is that it causes students to strive to independently search for its solution by analyzing the conditions and mobilizing their knowledge. A cognitive task evokes activity when it relies on previous experience and is the next step in the study of a subject or in the application of a learned law, concept, technique, method of activity.

Problematic situations can be classified within the framework of any academic subject in the direction of acquiring new (knowledge, methods of action, the possibility of applying knowledge and skills in new conditions, changing attitudes); by the degree of difficulty and severity (depending on the preparedness of the students); by the nature of the contradictions (between everyday and scientific knowledge).

In a problem situation, the very fact of its vision by students is important, therefore it must be distinguished from problematic issues, for example: why does a nail sink, but a ship made of metal) does not?

Student activities in problem learning involves passing next steps:

o discretion of the problem, its formulation (for example, 2 + 5x3 = 17; 2 + 5хЗ = 21);

o analysis of conditions, separation of the known from the unknown;

o putting forward hypotheses (options) and choosing a solution plan (or based on known methods, or the search for a fundamentally new approach);

o implementation of the solution plan;

o search for ways to check the correctness of actions and results.

Depending on the degree of teacher participation in the independent search for a student, several levels of problem learning are distinguished. The first level is characterized by the participation of the teacher in the first three stages; for the second - on the first and partly on the second; for the third, who approaches the activity of a scientist, the teacher only directs the research search.

Teacher activity in problem learning is as follows:

o finding (thinking over) a way to create a problem situation, busting possible options her decisions by the student;

o Leadership in student discernment:

o clarification of the problem formulation;

o assisting students in analyzing conditions;

o help in choosing a solution plan;

o consulting in the process of solving;

o help in finding ways of self-control;

o analysis of individual errors or general discussion of the solution to the problem.

Problem-based learning promotes the development of mental abilities, independence and creative thinking of students, it provides the strength and effectiveness of knowledge, since emotionally by its nature, it causes a feeling of satisfaction from knowledge. At the same time, it has limitations in its application, since it is uneconomical, although it can be used at all stages of explanatory and illustrative learning. In its pure form, problem-based learning at school is not organized, and this is understandable: a significant part of knowledge must be assimilated based on traditional teaching methods (factual information, axioms, illustrations of phenomena, etc.).

2.2. The theory of the phased formation of mental actions, developed by P.Ya. Galperin and developed by N.F. Talyzina mainly concerns the structure of the process of assimilation of knowledge. The success of assimilation in accordance with this theory is determined by the creation and understanding by the student of an indicative basis for actions, a thorough acquaintance with the very procedure for performing actions. The authors of the concept in an experiment found that the ability to control the learning process is significantly increased if students are consistently guided through five interrelated stages:

o preliminary acquaintance with the action, with the conditions for its implementation:

o formation of actions in the material (or materialized using models) form with the deployment of all operations;

o the formation of an action in the external plane as an external speech;

o formation of action in inner speech;

o transition of action into deep curtailed thinking processes.

The mechanism for the transition of actions from the external to the internal plan is called interiorization.

This theory gives good results if it is really possible to start with material or materialized actions in teaching. About Us better side has proven itself in the training of athletes, operators, musicians, drivers and specialists of other professions, its use in schools is limited by the fact that learning does not always begin with subject perception.

2.3. Learning theory proceeds from the teachings of L.S. Vygotsky about the relationship between learning and development, according to which learning its leading role in mental development is carried out, first of all, through the content of the acquired knowledge. The authors of the theory emphasize that the developmental nature of educational activity is associated with the fact that its content is theoretical knowledge. However, the educational activity of schoolchildren should be built not as a scientist's knowledge, which begins with an examination of the sensually-concrete variety of particular types of movement of an object and leads to the identification of their general internal basis, but in accordance with the way of presenting scientific knowledge, with the way of ascent from the abstract to the concrete. (V.V. Davydov).

In accordance with the theory of learning activity, students should form not knowledge, but certain types of activities, in which knowledge is included as a certain element. “Knowledge of a person is in unity with his mental actions (abstraction, generalization, etc.), - writes V. V. Davydov, - therefore, it is quite permissible by the term“ knowledge ”to simultaneously denote both the result of thinking (reflection of reality) and the process its receipt (ie mental actions) "(Davydov VV Problems of Developmental Learning: Experience of Theoretical Experimental psychological research... - M., 1986. - S. 147.)

From the theory of learning activities the deductive-synthetic logic of building the educational process follows, which is realized when it takes into account the following:

All concepts that constitute a given academic subject
or its main sections, should be learned by children by
consideration of the conditions of their origin, thanks to which they
become necessary (i.e. concepts are not given as ready-made
knowledge);

The assimilation of knowledge of a general and abstract nature precedes acquaintance with more particular and specific knowledge, the latter must be deduced from the abstract as from their basis; this follows from the attitude towards clarifying the origin of concepts and corresponds to the requirement of ascent from the abstract to the concrete;

When studying the subject-material sources of those or
students of other concepts, first of all, must discover a genetically original, universal connection that determines the content and structure of the entire object of these concepts. For example, for the object of all the concepts of school mathematics, such a universal connection is the general ratio of quantities; for school grammar - the relation of form and meaning in a word;

this connection need to reproduce in special subject,
graphic or letter models
allowing to study its properties in "pure form". For example, children can depict general relationships of quantities in the form of letter formulas for further study of the properties of these relationships; the structure of the word can be depicted using special graphic schemes;

In schoolchildren, it is necessary to specially form such object-related actions by means of which they can reveal in the educational material and reproduce in models the essential connection of the object, and then study its properties. For example, in order to clarify the connection underlying the concepts of integers, fractional and real numbers, children need to form special actions to determine a short ratio of quantities;

Students should gradually and timely transition
from objective actions to their execution in the mental plane
(according to V.V. Davydov).

The implementation of these conditions, according to the supporters of the theory of educational activity, is the most important way of forming the theoretical thinking of students as an important ability of a creative person.

Opponents of the authors of the theory of learning activity point to the absolutization of the deductive-synthetic path of cognition and, accordingly, the diminution of the role of the logic of the educational process from the particular to the general. Modern didactics does not accept the same narrow interpretation of knowledge, that is, only as an element of activity, since the theory of educational activity does not take into account the general logic of constructing the goals and content of education, where the formation of knowledge is singled out as a special important goal... It is not taken into account that knowledge exists objectively not only in the consciousness of the individual, but also in the form of information stored in books, "computer banks", etc., which becomes the property of the individual in the process of cognitive activity.

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3. Education and development/ Ed. L.V. Zankova. - M., 1975.

4. Slastenin V.A., Kashirin V.P. Psychology and pedagogy. - M .: Publishing Center "Academy", 2001.

In accordance with this theory, didactic principles have been formulated, the vast majority of teaching methods have been developed. At the heart of associative-reflex theory of learning are the identified I.M.Sechenov and I.P. Pavlov patterns conditioned reflex activity of the human brain. According to their teachings, during life in the human brain there is a constant process of formation of conditioned reflex connections - associations. The associations formed are a kind of experience, a person's life baggage. The individuality of each individual depends on which associations will be stable and fixed in consciousness. On the basis of the doctrine of the physiology of mental activity, well-known Russian scientists, psychologists, teachers S.L. Rubinstein, A.A. Smirnov, Yu.A. Samarin, P.A. Shevarev, and others have developed an associative-reflex theory of learning. Briefly, the meaning of this theory can be expressed by the following provisions.

1. The assimilation of knowledge, the formation of skills and abilities, the development of personal qualities of a person - there is a process of education in his mind of various associations: simple and complex.

2. The acquisition of knowledge, the formation of skills and abilities, the development of abilities (ie the process of forming associations) has a certain logical sequence and includes the following stages:

    perception teaching material;

    its comprehension, brought to the understanding of internal connections and contradictions;

    memorization and preservation in memory of the studied material;

    application of the learned in practice.

3. The main stage of the learning process is the active mental activity of the student in solving theoretical and practical learning problems.

4. The highest result in training is achieved when a number of conditions are met:

    formation of an active attitude to learning on the part of trainees;

    presentation of educational material in a certain sequence;

    demonstration and consolidation in exercises of various methods of mental and practical activity;

    application of knowledge for educational and service purposes, etc.

The characteristic features of the associative-reflex theory of learning are:

    focus on enhancing cognitive activity;

    focus on the mental development of students;

    the formation of students' independent creative thinking.

This is realized through the use of active, including game, forms of learning, which allow students to accumulate various professional associations and develop intellectual abilities.

The theory of the phased formation of mental actions and concepts

The effective assimilation of knowledge, the formation of skills and abilities, the development of intellectual qualities depends not only on the cognitive activity of students, but on the accumulation of specific techniques and methods of professional activity. In this regard, training based on the theory of the phased formation of mental actions and concepts ... Well-known psychologists A. N. Leontiev, P. Ya. Galperin, D. B. Elkonin, N. F. Talyzina and others took an active part in the development of this theory. The main provisions of the theory of the gradual formation of mental actions and concepts are: 1. The idea of ​​the fundamental commonality of the structure of the internal and external human activity. According to this idea, mental development, like the assimilation of knowledge, skills, abilities, occurs through internalization, i.e. a gradual transition of "material" (external) activity into an internal, mental, plan. As a result of this transition, external actions with external objects are transformed into mental ones. At the same time, they are generalized, verbalized, reduced, become ready for further development, which may exceed the capabilities of external activities. 2. The provision that any action is a complex system, consisting of several parts:

    indicative (managing);

    executive (working);

    control and indicative.

Tentative part of the action ensures that all the conditions necessary for the successful completion of a given action are reflected. The executive part carries out the specified transformations in the action object. The controlling part monitors the progress of the action and, if necessary, provides the correction of both the tentative and the executive part of the action. In various actions, all of the listed parts are necessarily present and have a different specific weight. 3. Each action is characterized by certain parameters:

    the form of commission;

    a measure of generality;

    a measure of unfolding;

    a measure of independence;

    a measure of development, etc.

4. The quality of the acquired knowledge, skills and abilities, concepts, the development of mental abilities depend on the correctness of creation indicative framework for action (OOD). OOD - a textually or graphically designed model of the action being studied and a system of conditions for its successful implementation. An example of the simplest DTE is an instruction manual for a device, an operating card used when adjusting various engine systems. It usually details when, what, where, and how to do it.

5. In the process of teaching fundamentally new knowledge, practical skills, the theory of the stage-by-stage formation of mental actions identifies several stages:

First step- motivational. In the course of it, the trainees develop the necessary cognitive motivation, which allows them to successfully master any action. If this motivation is absent, then the head of the lesson must form the trainees' internal or external motivation, ensuring their inclusion in joint training activities with the officer. On second stage there is a preliminary acquaintance with the action, i.e. building in the mind of the trainee an orientation basis. At this stage, it is very important that completeness and accuracy of orientation is achieved, the final learning outcomes to be achieved are clearly shown and assimilated.

On third stage trainees perform a material (materialized) action in accordance with the educational task in an external material, expanded form. They receive and work with information in the form of various material objects: models, devices, diagrams, models, drawings, etc., checking their actions against written instructions. This stage allows the student to master the content of the action (all operations) and the rules for their implementation. The teacher, in this case, monitors the correctness of each operation included in the action. It is very important to notice the trainee's mistake in a timely manner and correct it in order to prevent the subsequent fixation of the wrong action.

On fourth stage after performing several actions of the same type, the need to refer to the instructions disappears and the function of the orienting basis is performed by the student's external speech. Pupils pronounce aloud the action, the operation that they are currently mastering. In their minds there is a generalization, reduction of educational information, and the performed action begins to be automated.

On fifth stage, which is called the stage of silent oral speech, the trainees pronounce the performed action, the operation to themselves. The mentally spoken text does not have to be complete, the trainees can pronounce only the most complex, significant elements of the action, which contributes to its further mental collapse and generalization. At the final, sixth, stage the approximate part of the action is so automated that speaking to oneself begins to slow down the performance of the action. Pupils automatically perform the practiced action, even without mentally controlling themselves, whether it is being performed correctly. This indicates that the action has decreased, passed into the internal plan and the need for external support has disappeared. Consequently, the formation of the action is completed.

The effectiveness of training based on the theory of the gradual formation of mental actions and concepts depends on the observance of a number of conditions:

    a specific description of the end result of the action and its characteristics;

    selection of tasks and exercises that ensure the formation of the desired action;

    precise determination of the order of performance of all executive and indicative operations included in the action;

    the correctness and completeness of the indicative basis.

The results of the studies carried out indicate that best results training based on this theory are obtained in the training of specialists, whose activities are sufficiently algorithmic and amenable to a detailed description. A high result in training is possible, first of all, due to a clear and generalized demonstration of the sample - how to perform specific actions. This saves time on finding a solution to the problem, leads the trainee to the shortest path to achieving the educational goal, and allows for algorithmic thinking.

Another strong side of the theory of the gradual formation of mental actions and concepts lies in the implementation of strict control over the process of mastering knowledge, timely correction of errors, and organization of self-control on the part of the trainee to pass each stage of mastering a professional action.

A clear orientation in the performance of a particular action contributes to the formation of students' confidence in their abilities, which is especially important for those students who are lost in ordinary conditions and cannot cope with solving educational problems. At the same time, it should be emphasized that there are many professional creative actions for which it is difficult and sometimes impossible to create an indicative basis. Learning according to a strictly defined instruction reduces the opportunities for the student's creativity in the process of mastering a professional action and, to a certain extent, contributes to the formation of mental stereotypes.

The pioneer in the study of human memory was the German scientist Hermann Ebbinghaus, who was the first to study the processes remembering and forgetting... Ebbinghaus experimented on himself. The main idea of ​​the method was to memorize meaningless lists of words or syllables. The goal that the scientist set himself was to study the formation and preservation in memory of new associations that are not associated with existing ones (or not dependent on them). Therefore, he used meaningless syllables, considering them free from any semantic associations. Ebbinghaus memorized lists of such syllables until he could reproduce them accurately. After a while, he did a check. The quantitative measure of forgetting was the number of additional repetitions required to restore the correct reproduction of the lists. This made it possible to judge how much of the memorized material was retained in memory.

One of the important discoveries of Ebbinghaus was that if the list is not very large (of 7 or fewer syllables), then it can be memorized from one reading. If the list of syllables is increased over 7, then the time for memorization increases dramatically. Therefore, 7 elements that can be memorized at once are called the volume of short-term memory.

Another discovery by Ebbinghaus was that the amount retained material depends on the time span from memorization to verification. It turned out that with an increase in this time, the amount of forgotten material increases. The graph in Fig. 12.2 shows that at first forgetting happens very quickly, and then its speed decreases more slowly and becomes constant.

Such simple experiments it was possible to study the influence of some factors affecting the characteristics of memory. For example, at lower rates of presentation of syllables, memorization is faster. The ease of memorizing this element depends on the place it occupies in the row. The number of errors during reproduction of the middle elements of the series is greater than the first or the last ones (Fig. 12.3). This phenomenon is called positional effect, and it takes place for rows of any length exceeding the volume of short-term memory.

In subsequent studies, many variants of the tests arose, which were first proposed by Ebbinghaus as method of "memorizing rows". For example, when studying memory, they often use paired association method... In this case, each element of the list is a complex consisting of two parts: for example, BOOK - 7, etc. After memorizing such pairs, the subject must name, upon presentation of the 1st element, the 2nd element of the pair. One of the supposed advantages of the paired association method is that one element can be viewed simultaneously as a stimulus (part 1) and as a response (part 2). According to some theorists, the method of "memorizing rows" makes it possible to directly study the associations between stimulus and response. In fact, not everything is so simple here. The subjects often change the elements to facilitate memorization in some way peculiar to them, for example, the element CAT-M to CAT - MOUSE. In this case, what is remembered is not at all what is contained in the initial association KOSHKA-M.

Another method is free recall: the subject can reproduce the elements in any order. With free recall, a positional effect is observed (see Fig. 12.3). We will return to this phenomenon later.

The next method is - recognition test... It differs from others in the form of verification: the subject is presented with words and asked to say whether he recognizes them as elements of the initial series. In other words, the subject does not remember the entire series, but only recognizes it. The test subject must answer "yes" or "no" to the presentation of each next element. Another form of recognition test is the method forced choice... The subject is presented not one, but simultaneously two or more elements. One of them is on the original list, and the rest are not. The subject must determine which item was on the original list. You can present two elements at the same time - this will be a two-alternative choice, three elements - a three-alternative choice, etc. This test is one of the multiple choice options. Sometimes all words are presented as printed on paper, and the subject emphasizes recognizable words... For example, a subject who was previously presented with the DAK-7 element can be presented with a number of elements during the test with a proposal to choose one: DAK-? (5, 8, 7, 1).

In addition to those listed, there are many tests that are used in the study of human memory. For more detailed information on them, you can refer to the corresponding manuals.