1. By: Rudy Broe and Marie Bergez RB & MB

2. “The very essence of human memory is that human beings actively remember with the help of signs. It is a general truth that the special character of human behavior is that human beings actively manipulate their relation to the environment, and through the environment they change their own behavior, subjugating, it to their control. The very essence of civilization consists in the fact that we deliberately build monuments so as not to forget. In the monument, we see the most profound, most characteristic and most important feature which distinguishes human from animal memory.” RB & MB

3. - EX: (Read in Vygtosky and the Social Formation of the Mind – James Wertsch) - One student said took notes in one of Vygtosky’s ingenious and often spontaneous lectures and didn’t understand them untill years later -Generated great excitement in students and still today -Very respectable man -One of his goals was to develop a concrete way of dealing with the massive problems confronting the USSR – namely the psychology of education (massive illiteracy) -He did it all -Gave lectures -Conducted clinical work -Organized research activity -Wrote works late at night when finally quiet (2am)

4.  By the end of this presentation, viewers will have a greater understanding and appreciation for one of the greatest psychologists of the 20 th century – Vygotsky! › We will discuss who this man was › The theories he developed  Specifically dealing with the capabilities of higher and lower mental functions. › Show how our tests supported or refuted his theories on a child’s mental development RB & MB

5.  Lived from 1896 to 1934  Born in Czarist Russia  Jewish  Russian Psychologist  In 1917 became a teacher  1922 Stalin came to power  Died of tuberculosis  180 works  Works had a huge impact on educational psychology RB & MB

6.  -Believed that students need to demonstrate their knowledge by creating explanations and interpreting their work for others. Teachers served as coaches who encourage the student to formulate their own level of understanding. -Each student has a base level of knowledge known as the zone of proximal development but they can increase this knowledge by practicing what they know and adding onto it.  -Social interaction between the student, teacher, and other students reinforces their increase of knowledge. RB & MB

7.  Lower mental function : Elementary perception, memory, attention, and will. These do not disappear in a mature psyche but are structured and organized according to specifically human social goals and means of conduct.  Higher mental function : Memory, perception, and attention, to be studied in terms of how they are organized in concrete human activity, and how this organization changes as a function of social conditions and development. RB & MB

8.  “Elementary functions are said to be characteristic of purely animal, in contrast to human, psychological functioning. Elementary functions develop and mature as the organism develops physically”  “With human children, psychological development is not limited to the natural evolution of elementary mental functions with which it is endowed by nature. The child comes to develop higher mental functions which are distinctively human in kind.”  “The character of each psychological capacity is determined by the developing relations it bears to the others. As a child develops this system, so it’s innate, elementary functions are totally reconstructed or cease to exist all together.”  “From the outset, Vygotsky stressed how the creation of a sign vastly broadens the horizons of the human mind. Signs enable us to master our own psychological functioning.”  “We employ signs to draw attention, to aid recall, to represent problems in a way that facilitates their solution and so on. Hence, Vygotsky concluded, the key to the higher psychological functioning lies in the mediating role of the sign.” RB & MB

9.  --bullet 4---  Sings broaden horizons of human mind – seen in mnemonic devices (ROYGBV), the minds ability to remember is expanded  Signs aid in recall – they are key to higher psychological functioning  Signs have mediating role

10.  Psychological tools - mental artificial formations; master the natural behavior and cognitive process of an individual.  Mediation - human beings purposefully interpose tools between them and their environment, in order to modify it and obtain certain benefits.  Cognitive Development - a wide variety of thought processes and intellectual abilities.  Internalization – process of acceptance of set of norms established by people or groups which are influential to individual  Zone of Proximal Development – gap between actual competence level and potential development level RB & MB

11.  Vygotsky stressed the importance of a child’s previous experiences or prior knowledge in making sense of the present world.  "Learning, according to Vygotsky, always involves some type of external experience being transformed into internal processes through the use of language." RB & MB

12.  Younger children use a more primitive mental function, so they remember objects simply as images with no relation to other objects. If they use elementary mental functions they will not use a psychological tool. However, they will be able to remember more objects than older children because the lower mental function facilitates their ability to remember individual images.  Older children who use psychological tools to aid their memories will remember more objects than younger children who are relying on the type of memory available as a lower mental function. RB & MB

13. TTested a child’s mental capacity to retain images, and tested whether this capacity differed depending on the child’s stage of development. WWe tested seven first graders and seven fifth graders using twenty images that could be organized into five different groups and in each group four categories. CChildren attended HFN WWe performed two separate tests that required the children to memorize all twenty of the images; the second test incorporated a psychological tool. WWe scored the children based on the number of images remembered and the order the images were recalled in.

14.  The first graders will score higher on the first test and the fifth graders will score lower than the first graders.  When given a psychological tool on the second test, the fifth graders will remember more of the images than the first graders.  In general, children who use our psychological tool to mediate memory will remember more objects than children who do not use our psychological tool.  More older children than younger children will use a psychological tool.  More older children than younger children will apply the psychological tool they were taught. RB & MB

17.  First Test › Placed 20 images in front of child › Asked child to remember images and told them they would need to recall them after a minute. › Looked at pictures for 1:00 minute. › Recorded images child recalled.  Second Test › Placed 20 images in front of child › Explained our psychological tool › Child organized the pictures using our psychological tool › Looked at pictures for 1:00 minute › Recorded images child recalled RB & MB

18. First GradeFifth Grade ChildTest #1How RememberedChildTest #1Reason Remembered Cole Age: 7 13 Because I can't stuff a lot in my brain. When I saw things, I remembered the things I wanted. Natalie Age: 10 13 I tried to connect animals to homes and famililes. Emmanuel Age: 7 17I just looked at them. Tracey Age:10 17 I would use key words to remember all the stuff. (Haystack: hay and polar bear.) Kevin Age: 7 17 I look at them and I memorize and I didn't stop. Katrina Age: 10 17Just looked at the pictures. Gabriel Age: 6 22I looked at them twice Lauren Age: 10 24Every animal had a little animal. Vanessa Age: 6 13 I saw when you took away and I remembered it. Soomin Age:10 25 I remembered they were familiar pictures. (last year did a similar thing) Gloria Age: 6 12 Pointing at the pictures helped me remember. Mellissa Age: 10 27 I tried to look at the image of the whole thing and the names of the things in my head. John Age: 7 23 Because I can remember anything. It takes a lot of confidence to do this. Myriah Age: 10 32Just looked at the pictures. RB & MB

19. Round 1 – Interesting subject RB & MB

20.  First grades saw images individually › looked up and down the rows in order not finding connection  5/7 Fifth graders demonstrated having higher mental functions by creating their own psychological tools to organize the photos.  First graders showed no signs of using psychological tools, nor did they explain a pattern in which they remembered.  Fifth graders remember more overall. RB & MB

21.  None of the children moved the images  Some in the first grade and fifth grade made connections between pictures  Instances in both classes where child remembered fewer images than their classmate but ended up with the same total  Only fifth graders were able to recall a category in order  First had a lower total score than the fifth graders  First had only one less 3 point RB & MB

22. First GradeFifth Grade ChildTest #2How RememberedChildTest #2Reason Remembered Cole Age: 7 27 Yes, your way helped because I thought of them. Natalie Age: 10 40 Yes, your way helped. It's more organized. I can just remember one and then remember the rest. Emmanuel Age: 7 28 Yes, your way helped because I had more experience. Tracey Age:10 40 Yes, your way helped because I could remember the category, what animal it was and the rest would follow. Kevin Age: 7 36 Yes, your way helped because I saw what they eat, what they like, and how they grow. Kartrina Age: 10 40 Yes, your way helped me remember which went with which. Gabriel Age: 6 39 Yes, your way helped. I just looked at the top animal and I looked at them across. I knew what they were eating. Lauren Age: 10 40 Yes, your way helped because I could think of the relation. I started with the mom every time. Vanessa Age: 6 40 Yes, your way helped. First I figure them out because I looked at them. Soomin Age:10 40 Yes, your way helped because they were different animals, with baby, and different home and food. The colors and familiar animals helped. Gloria Age: 6 40 Yes, your way helped. Because I looked at the pictures and remembered the mom first. Mellissa Age: 10 39 Yes, your way helped because once I memorized the items in the category I could remember what went with what. John Age: 7 40 Yes, your way helped. By looking at the pictures and putting them together I memorized them. Because it has a lot of information in your head and you keep it in there. Myriah Age: 10 40 Yes, your way helped because it told me that they lived in one place, ate the something, and were the same animal. RB & MB

23.  Fifth Grade:  Our way organized the information for all of them according to their responses.  If they could remember one, the rest would come back to them.  Soomin: told us a story once again, this time even MORE detailed than the first ( There is a polar bear that lives in the North Pole) Explained how the colt changed color from white to brown. Shows that he retains higher mental functioning through the way he can connect the images using colors and outside locations.  Melissa: (Possible that she did say “bone” but was saying the words quickly so we had to ask her to repeat what she had said.)  Lauren: Always started with the Mom, the way we taught it.  Reason for asking how remembered:  Focus not on “product of development but on process by which higher forms established”

24. Round 2 – Interesting Subject RB & MB

25.  Most of the children would scan vertically or horizontally up and down the rows.  Most of the children said that they used our method and that it helped a lot.  Fifth graders demonstrated higher mental functions because they understood the relationship between the images and were able to recall them.  5/7 First graders showed the ability to use the psychological tool, even though not all of them could explain that it was the reason for remembering. RB & MB

26. First Grade ChildTest #1How RememberedTest #2How Remembered Cole Age: 7 13 Because I can't stuff a lot in my brain. When I saw things, I remembered the things I wanted. 27 Yes, your way helped because I thought of them. Emmanuel Age: 7 17 I just looked at them. 28 Yes, your way helped because I had more experience. Kevin Age: 7 17 I look at them and I memorize and I didn't stop. 36 Yes, your way helped because I saw what they eat, what they like, and how they grow. Gabriel Age: 6 22 I looked at them twice 39 Yes, your way helped. I just looked at the top animal and I looked at them across. I knew what they were eating. Vanessa Age: 6 13 I saw when you took away and I remembered it. 40 Yes, your way helped. First I figure them out because I looked at them. Gloria Age: 6 12 Pointing at the pictures helped me remember. 40 Yes, your way helped. Because I looked at the pictures and remembered the mom first. John Age: 7 23 Because I can remember anything. It takes a lot of confidence to do this. 40 Yes, your way helped. By looking at the pictures and putting them together I memorized them. Because it has a lot of information in your head and you keep it in there. RB & MB

27. Fifth Grade ChildTest #1Reason RememberedTest #2Reason Remembered Natalie Age: 10 13 I tried to connect animals to homes and families. 40 Yes, your way helped. It's more organized. I can just remember one and then remember the rest. Tracey Age:10 17 I would use key words to remember all the stuff. (Haystack: hay and polar bear.) 40 Yes, your way helped because I could remember the category, what animal it was and the rest would follow. Kartrina Age: 10 17 Just looked at the pictures. 40 Yes, your way helped me remember which went with which. Lauren Age: 10 24 Every animal had a little animal. 40 Yes, your way helped because I could think of the relation. I started with the mom every time. Soomin Age:10 25 I remembered they were familiar pictures. (last year did a similar thing) 40 Yes, your way helped because they were different animals, with baby, and different home and food. The colors and familiar animals helped. Mellissa Age: 10 27 I tried to look at the image of the whole thing and the names of the things in my head. 39 Yes, your way helped because once I memorized the items in the category I could remember what went with what. Myriah Age: 10 32 Just looked at the pictures. 40 Yes, your way helped because it told me that they lived in one place, ate the something, and were the same animal. RB & MB

28.  Put pictures in same order every time  Could have pushed them to remember more  Tested more children  Tested children from public school  Tested more boys in fifth grade  Given the test in a less distracting place  The first test we gave, we allowed the girl to look at the picture for a 1:30  Not allowed for an extra minute at the end of the second test to review the images  Waited longer to give the second test RB & MB

29.  Our hypothesis was not proven to be completely correct  The first graders did not recall more images than the fifth graders on the first test as we had predicted  Both the first and fifth graders remembered more on the second test when we assumed only the fifth graders would recall more with our psychological tool  More older children than younger children did apply the psychological tool (Hypothesis correct!)  More older children knew to apply a psychological tool when we did not tell them one ( Hypothesis correct!)  In general, the children who used our psychological tool to mediate memory remembered more objects than the children who did not use our psychological tool.  The majority of the children we tested fit into the higher mental functioning group because most of them demonstrated the ability to understand and use our tool. RB & MB

30.  Soomin remembered the pictures with his own psychological technique of putting the picture into a story. If we had more fifth grade boy subjects, would they have had similar mental functions?  Are these children GT students and would testing public school children bring back lower results? RB & MB

31. Rousseau Locke Vygotsky RB & MB NatureNurture Kant Piaget Montessori Khirallah

32. RB & MB