The Zankov system was introduced in Russian schools in 1995-1996 as a parallel system of primary education. We can say that it corresponds to a fairly high degree to the principles set forth in the Law of the Russian Federation on Education. According to them, education should have a humanitarian character. In addition, it must ensure the development of the personality of each child.
The essence of the Zankov system
Today, the Zankov system is one of those that are allowed to be used, like other elementary school programs. Let's briefly talk about what its essence is. This system assumes that children must "get" knowledge. They should not simply be presented to students, as Zankov believed. Its system is aimed at the fact that the teacher sets a certain problem, and the children must solve it on their own, naturally, under the guidance of the teacher. During the lesson, there is a dispute, a discussion in which many opinions appear. Gradually, knowledge crystallizes out of them. Intelligent movement, suchThus, it goes in the reverse of the traditional order: not from simple to complex, but vice versa.
Other features of the program proposed by Zankov (his portrait is presented above) include a high learning rate, a lot of tasks for working through the material. This process is not easy. It should be as varied and dynamic as possible. For example, schoolchildren often visit libraries, museums, exhibitions, and a lot of extracurricular work is carried out. All this contributes to successful learning.
Now let's take a closer look at the methodology proposed by Zankov. His system is very popular today. However, its principles are often misunderstood. First, we briefly characterize the ideas that Zankov proposed. Its system will be considered by us in general terms. Then we will talk about what mistakes modern educators make in implementing these principles in practice.
The purpose of the Zankov system
So, the popular method of primary education was developed by Leonid Vladimirovich Zankov. His system pursued the following goal - the high overall development of children. What did L. V. Zankov mean by this? Comprehensive development of the child's personality, which affects the "mind" (cognitive processes), volitional qualities that control all activities ("will"), as well as moral and ethical qualities ("feelings") that are manifested in various activities. General development isformation and qualitative transformation of personality traits. These properties are the foundation of successful education in school years. After graduation, they become the basis of creative work in various fields of activity. The development of imagination contributes to effective problem solving in many areas. L. V. Zankov wrote that the process of learning when using this system least of all resembles a cold and measured perception of the material. He is imbued with a feeling that appears when a person is delighted with the treasury of knowledge that has opened to him.
To solve this problem, it was impossible to simply improve the existing primary school programs. Therefore, in the 60-70s of the 20th century, a new didactic system of education was created. Its core and single foundation are the principles on which the entire educational process is built. Let's briefly talk about each of them.
High difficulty
It was necessary to proceed from the fact that the school programs that existed at that time were not saturated with educational material. In addition, teaching methods did not at all contribute to the manifestation of the creative activity of children. Therefore, the principle of teaching schoolchildren at a high level of complexity became the first principle. This is most important in the Zankov system, since only an educational process that provides abundant food for the mind can contribute to intensive and rapid development. Difficulty refers to the tension of both the intellectual and spiritual forces of the student. When solving problems, intensive work of thought and development ofimagination.
The student must overcome the obstacles that arise in the course of learning. In Zankov's system, the necessary tension is achieved through the use of analytical observation and problem-based teaching, rather than through the use of complex material.
Meaning of high difficulty level
The main idea of this principle is to create a special atmosphere in which the intellectual activity of schoolchildren is observed. It is necessary to give them the opportunity to independently solve the tasks set, as well as to understand and be able to identify the difficulties that arise in the learning process. It is important to find ways in which these difficulties can be overcome. This type of activity, according to Zankov, contributes to the fact that all existing knowledge about the subject is activated. It also develops self-control, arbitrariness (that is, the management of activities) and observation. At the same time, the emotional background of the educational process also increases. After all, everyone loves to feel smart and able to succeed.
Fast pace
L. V. Zankov opposed monotonous and monotonous exercises, as well as multiple repetitions of the material covered. He introduced another principle, the essence of which was to study at a fast pace. Zankov's technique implies a dynamic and constant change of actions and tasks.
Leading role of theoretical knowledge
L. V. Zankov did not deny that the task of the elementary school is to formcomputing, spelling and other skills. However, he was against "coaching", passive-reproductive methods. Zankov Leonid called for the fact that students' skills should be formed as a result of a deep understanding of the science underlying the subject. Thus, another principle appeared, according to which the leading role should belong to theoretical knowledge. It was aimed at increasing the cognitive focus of primary education.
Consciousness Learning
No less important is the conscientiousness of learning. It meant understanding the content of the material. The system of L. V. Zankov expands this interpretation. The learning process itself must also be conscious. Another principle, proposed by Leonid Zankov, adjoins this. Let's talk about him.
Links between pieces of material
The objects of close attention should be the connections that exist between the parts of the material, the patterns of computational, grammatical and other operations, as well as the mechanism for the appearance of errors and their overcoming.
This principle can be revealed as follows. Primary schoolchildren have an important feature of studying material, which is that the activity of its analytical comprehension decreases rapidly if students are forced to analyze one or another unit of material for several lessons in a row, to carry out the same type of mental operations (for example, by changing the form of a word, select test words to it). Zankov's mathematics is therefore very different from mathematics taught by other systems. After allit is this subject that is most often studied on the same type of tasks, which Leonid Vladimirovich opposes. It is known that at this age, children very quickly get tired of doing the same thing. As a result, the efficiency of their work decreases and the development process slows down.
L. V. Zankov's system solves this problem in the following way. In order not to "stagnate", it is necessary to study the units of material in connection with others. Each section must be compared with the others. It is recommended to conduct a lesson according to the Zankov system in such a way that students can find similarities and differences between different parts of the educational material. They should be able to determine the degree of dependence of the didactic unit on the others. The material should be thought of as a logical interacting system.
Another aspect of this principle is to increase the capacity of training time, increasing efficiency. This can be done, firstly, through the comprehensive mastering of the material, and secondly, through the absence in the program of separate periods intended for repeating the previously studied, as in the traditional methodology.
Thematic blocks
Zankov's learning system assumes that the material is assembled by the teacher into thematic blocks. They include units that closely interact with each other and depend on each other. Studying them at the same time saves study time. In addition, it becomes possible to explore units over many lessons. For example, in traditional study planningeach of the two such units is allocated 4 hours. When they are combined into a block, the teacher has the opportunity to touch each of them for 8 hours. In addition, by finding links with similar units, the material covered earlier is repeated.
Creating certain learning conditions
We have already said that extracurricular activities play a big role in this system. But not only she. The employees of Zankov's laboratory, like the scientist himself, proceeded from the fact that certain conditions of learning in the classroom have a favorable effect on the development of all students, both weak and strong. The development takes place on an individual basis. Its pace may be different, depending on the abilities and inclinations of each individual student.
Current state of the Zankov system
More than 40 years have passed since the development of all these principles. Nowadays, there is a need to comprehend these ideas from the point of view of modern pedagogy. After examining the current state of the Zankov system, scientists came to the conclusion that the interpretation of some principles was distorted in pedagogical practice.
Distortion of the meaning of "fast tempo"
"Fast pace" began to be understood mainly as a reduction in the time allotted for mastering the material. However, the pedagogical means and conditions that Zankov used were not carried out to the proper extent. But it was they who made the education of schoolchildren more intense and easier.
Zankov proposed to intensify the process of studying subjects due to the fact thatdidactic units were considered comprehensively. Each of them was presented in its different aspects and functions. Previously studied material was constantly included in the work. With the help of these means, it was possible to abandon the "chewing" already known to students, which was traditionally practiced. Zankov sought to avoid monotonous repeated repetitions, which lead to spiritual apathy and mental laziness, and therefore hinder the development of the child. The words "fast pace" were introduced by him in opposition to this. They mean a qualitatively new organization of learning.
Misunderstanding the meaning of theoretical knowledge
Another principle, according to which the leading role should be given to theoretical knowledge, is also often misunderstood by educators. The emergence of the need for this was also due to the nature of the methods used in the middle of the 20th century. At that time, elementary school was considered a special stage of school education. It had a so-called propaedeutic character. In other words, she only prepared the children for high school. The traditional system, based on this, formed in the child - mainly through reproductive means - the necessary skills to work with the material, which can be applied in practice. Zankov, on the other hand, opposed such a purely practical way of mastering the first knowledge by schoolchildren. He noted his inherent cognitive passivity. Zankov pointed out the need for conscious mastery of skills, which is based on working with theoretical data about what is being studied.
Increase in intellectual load
In the modern implementation of this principle, as shown by the analysis of the state of the system, there has been a bias towards too early assimilation of theoretical knowledge by schoolchildren. At the same time, their comprehension with the help of sensory experience is not developed at the proper level. This leads to the fact that the intellectual load increases significantly and unreasonably. In the classes where the Zankov system is taught, they began to select the most prepared for school. Thus, the conceptual foundations of the system were violated.
Today, English is especially popular for schoolchildren using the Zankov method. This is understandable, because this language is in great demand today, and not everyone is satisfied with the traditional ways of teaching it. However, you need to understand that if you choose English for schoolchildren according to the Zankov system for your child, you may be disappointed. The fact is that this technique is not always used correctly. Modern teachers often distort the Zankov system. Russian language, mathematics, biology and other subjects are also taught by this method. The effectiveness of its use largely depends on the teacher.
