In the course of reforming the education system, much attention is currently paid to the implementation of the activity approach. The bottom line is that the child is a full, active participant in the educational process.
When familiarizing a preschooler with the outside world, research activity and activity come to the fore. Curiosity and the desire for knowledge are put at the forefront in the implementation of preschool education programs. In the conditions of a huge information flow, the availability of all kinds of resources and the ease of finding a solution to any problem, a child should want to learn new things.
Cognitive and research activity of preschoolers is the natural state of children. Think back to yourself as a child - maybe someone dismantled their parent's watch, trying to understand the essence of the mechanism. A little researcher with a screwdriver in his hands is a natural and normal phenomenon for children of both school and kindergarten age.
Research createsconditions for mental development, then smoothly turning into self-development. An experienced teacher knows and understands that this process should not be interfered with, it is enough just to direct it in the right direction.
Many domestic psychologists tend to think that research activity is the highest form of development of cognitive activity, when the child does not randomly try to understand what works, but purposefully, trying to plan the result, goes to the intended goal.
The structure of search activity is as follows:
- a task transmitted from an adult or put forward by the children themselves, requiring a solution;
- analysis of conditions conducive to solving the task (this operation can be performed by children both independently and with the help of an adult);
- putting forward hypotheses about the occurrence of the problem and ways to solve it;
- the choice of verification methods and the verification of methods for solving the problem itself;
- conclusions, results, analysis;
- new tasks and their discussion.
Research activities are carried out according to the following algorithm:
- formulation of the problem;
- definition of the topic, setting goals and objectives;
- hypothesizing;
- developing an action plan;
- direct experiment to confirm or refute the hypothesis put forward;
- analysis of implemented activities, conclusions, further development of ways to solve the problem.
Research activity of schoolchildren and preschoolers, however, like all people, involves action according to the above algorithm.
As for interests and topics for research, older preschoolers prefer experiments in which causal relationships are visible. So, in the form of a game (and the leading activity at this age is the game), thinking develops. The main task of an adult is to try to interest the child in an unusual experience or effect, to give the preschooler the opportunity to conduct an experiment.
