Readiness to learn definition

Classroom differentiation: ability, readiness and interest

In the first part of our series on differentiation in the classroom, we identified seven learning profiles that teachers should be aware of. This profile differentiation allows teachers to give pupils of all strengths and weaknesses the best chance of learning.

As a key part of differentiation, teachers should establish their pupils’ readiness to learn, their learning interest and learning ability. Scoring learner profiles in these three areas arms teachers with the best strategy to teach a mixed-ability classes. Firstly, however, it is important to understand that readiness is not synonymous with a pupil’s ability, and both can influence his or her motivation, as well as external factors. In this post we breakdown these three principal profile differences and what a high, medium or low rating in each could translate to.

Readiness to learn

Learning readiness refers to how well equipped a pupil is to learn, including circumstantial and environmental factors. A student with a low readiness to learn may be encumbered by difficult personal circumstances in his or her life, or a lower emotional or physical maturity. It can point to external distractions or a personal barrier.

Medium scoring pupils may have medium or high ability and interest in learning, however for whatever reason, they may need some improvements in learning preparation. This can also be the result of changing personal circumstances. Teachers must work hard to engage this pupil to stop him or her becoming the invisible child.

A highly scoring student may be of an appropriate age to learn a new skill, and is unaffected by any distractions or personal problems. He or she is in a stable, suitable learning environment with a rich supply of learning resources.

Learning ability

The academic capability of a pupil generally dictates the pace at which he or she can learn. A student with lower ability and thus a slower pace of learning is by no means an indicator for future failings. A student with less ability may be less academically capable than his or her peers, but teachers should be aware this learner may excel in more specific areas.

Students with a medium ability score may find themselves less motivated to learn, particularly if they lack the confidence to perform in groups. While they may not be as reserved as low ability learners, these pupils may benefit from learning materials with progressively harder tasks to grow their confidence.

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A student with a high learning ability score may not present any immediate concerns for teachers or parents, but teachers must ensure this type of learner doesn’t become complacent. This type of pupil should still be given regular attention and assessment so his or her interests are constantly stimulated to avoid a lack of motivation.

Learning interest

Referring to the levels of motivation a pupil possesses to learn, learning interest will indicate how passionate learners feel about general and specialised subjects. A pupil with a low interest score could be feeling unmotivated due to his or her academic ability or disruptive external factors and circumstances. Teachers should assess his or her ability level to ascertain the situation that is impacting their motivation.

A medium-scoring pupil could be an averagely performing learner and lacking interest in achieving more. This pupil could be more introverted than their peers, and teachers should work on improving his or her confidence.

A highly motivated student, however, could be a high academic performer across all subjects, or a pupil with a specific passion for a specialist subject. This type of student should be encouraged to pursue his or her passion to prosper in future.

Once the implications of these three common learning conditions — readiness to learn, learning ability and learning interest — are fully understood, it is important for teachers to address their mixed-ability pupils using methods of differentiation. These methods are generally listed under seven principal categories, and we will address these in the third part of our series on differentiation in the classroom.

definition of readiness+to+learn by Medical dictionary

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§ 3.

Readiness for schooling

§ 3. Readiness for schooling

compliance with the requirements of life. In this sense, the problem of the readiness of preschoolers to study at school is of particular importance. The success of the subsequent education of children depends on its decision.

Preparing children for school is a complex task, covering all spheres of a child's life. Psychological readiness for school is only one of the aspects of this task, but within this aspect there are different approaches: The psychological readiness of the child for schooling is one of the most important outcomes of mental development during preschool childhood.

In the psychological dictionary, the concept of “readiness for schooling” is considered as a set of morpho-physiological characteristics of a child of senior preschool age, ensuring a successful transition to a systematic, organized school education.

VS Mukhina argues that readiness for schooling is a desire and awareness of the need to learn, arising as a result of the social maturation of the child, the appearance of internal contradictions in him, setting the motivation for learning activities [15].

The most complete concept of “readiness for school” is given in the definition of L.A. Wenger, by which he understood a certain set of knowledge and skills, in which all other elements should be present, although the level of their development may be different. The components of this set are primarily motivation, personal readiness, which includes the "internal position of the student", volitional and intellectual readiness [4].

L.I. Bozhovich called the new attitude of the child to the environment that arises when entering school “the internal position of the student”, considering this new formation as a criterion of readiness for schooling [3].

The main purpose of determining the psychological readiness for schooling is the prevention of school maladaptation. To successfully achieve this goal, various classes have recently been created, the task of which is to implement an individual approach to teaching in relation to children both ready and not ready for school in order to avoid school maladaptation.

Summary of preschool child development . By the end of preschool age, the child is in a certain sense a personality. He is well aware of his gender, finds his place in space and time. He is already oriented in family relations and knows how to build relationships with adults and peers: he has the skills of self-control, knows how to subordinate himself to circumstances, to be adamant in his desires. Such a child has already developed reflection. The most important achievement in the development of the child's personality is the predominance of the feeling "I must" over the motive "I want". By the end of preschool age, motivational readiness for learning at school acquires special significance.

One of the most important outcomes of mental development during preschool childhood is the child's psychological readiness for schooling. I.Yu. Kulachina identifies two aspects of psychological readiness - personal (motivational) and intellectual readiness for school. Both aspects are important both for the child's educational activity to be successful and for his speedy adaptation to new conditions, painless entry into a new system of relations [12].

Personal readiness for schooling. Formation of the internal position of the student. In order for a child to study successfully, he, first of all, must strive for a new school life, for "serious" studies, "responsible" assignments. The appearance of such a desire is influenced by the attitude of close adults to learning as an important meaningful activity, much more significant than the game of a preschooler. The attitude of other children also influences, the very opportunity to rise to a new age level in the eyes of the younger ones and equalize in position with the older ones. The desire of the child to occupy a new social position leads to the formation of his inner position. L.I. Bozhovich characterizes this as a central personality neoplasm that characterizes the personality of the child as a whole. It is this that determines the behavior and activity of the child and the whole system of his relations to reality, to himself and to the people around him. The schoolchild's way of life as a person engaged in a socially significant and socially valued business in a public place is perceived by the child as an adequate path to adulthood for him - he responds to the motive formed in the game "to become an adult and really carry out its functions" [31].

From the moment the idea of school in the child's mind acquired the features of the desired way of life, we can say that his inner position received a new content - it became the inner position of a schoolchild. And this means that the child has psychologically moved into a new age period of his development - primary school age. The internal position of a schoolchild in the broadest sense can be defined as a system of needs and aspirations of the child associated with the school, i.e. such an attitude towards school, when participation in it is experienced by the child as his own need (“I want to go to school!”). The presence of the student's inner position is revealed in the fact that the child resolutely renounces the preschool-play, individual-direct way of existence and shows a brightly positive attitude towards school-educational activity in general, and especially to those aspects of it that are directly related to learning.

Such a positive orientation of the child towards the school as towards the actual educational institution is the most important prerequisite for his successful entry into the school-educational reality, i.e. acceptance by him of the relevant school requirements and full inclusion in the educational process.

In addition to the attitude to the educational process in general, for a child entering school, the attitude towards the teacher, peers and himself is important. By the end of preschool age, such a form of communication between the child and adults as extra-situational-personal communication (according to M.I. Lisina) should take shape. An adult becomes an indisputable authority, a role model. Communication is facilitated in a lesson situation, when direct emotional contacts are excluded, when you can’t talk about extraneous topics, share your experiences, but you can only answer the questions posed and ask questions about the case yourself, after raising your hand. Children who are ready in this regard for schooling understand the conventions of educational communication and adequately, obeying school rules, behave in the classroom.

The class-lesson system of education presupposes not only a special relationship between the child and the teacher, but also specific relationships with other children. A new form of communication with peers takes shape at the very beginning of schooling.

Personal readiness for school also includes a certain attitude towards oneself. Productive learning activity implies an adequate attitude of the child to his abilities, work results, behavior, i.e. a certain level of development of self-consciousness.

Intellectual school readiness . Intellectual readiness for schooling is associated with the development of thought processes - the ability to generalize, compare objects, classify them, highlight essential features, and draw conclusions. Intellectual readiness presupposes that the child has an outlook, a stock of specific knowledge. The child must possess a systematic and dissected perception, elements of a theoretical attitude to the material being studied, generalized forms of thinking and basic logical operations, semantic memorization. Intellectual readiness also involves the formation of the child's initial skills in the field of educational activities, in particular, the ability to single out a learning task and turn it into an independent goal of activity.

VVDavydov believes that a child should master mental operations, be able to generalize and differentiate objects and phenomena of the surrounding world, be able to plan their activities and exercise self-control. At the same time, a positive attitude to learning, the ability to self-regulate behavior and the manifestation of strong-willed efforts to complete the tasks are important [9].

In domestic psychology, when studying the intellectual component of psychological readiness for school, the emphasis is not on the amount of knowledge acquired by the child, but on the level of development of intellectual processes. That is, the child must be able to highlight the essential in the phenomena of the surrounding reality, be able to compare them, see similar and different; he must learn to reason, to find the causes of phenomena, to draw conclusions.

Volitional readiness for schooling . Already at preschool age, the child is faced with the need to overcome the difficulties that arise and to subordinate his actions to the set goal. This leads to the fact that he begins to consciously control himself, control his internal and external actions, his cognitive processes and behavior in general. This gives reason to believe that the will arises already at preschool age. Of course, volitional actions of preschoolers have their own specifics: they coexist with unintentional, impulsive actions that arise under the influence of situational feelings and desires.

LS Vygotsky considered volitional behavior to be social, and he saw the source of the development of children's will in the child's relationship with the outside world. At the same time, the leading role in the social conditioning of the will was assigned to his verbal communication with adults. In genetic terms, L.S. Vygotsky considered will as a stage of mastering one's own behavioral processes. First, adults regulate the behavior of the child with the help of the word, then, assimilating the content of the requirements of adults, he gradually begins to regulate his behavior with the help of his own speech, thereby making a significant step forward along the path of volitional development. After mastering speech, the word becomes for preschoolers not only a means of communication, but also a means of organizing behavior.

According to L.S. Vygotsky and S.L. Rubinshtein, the emergence of a volitional act is prepared by the previous development of the preschooler's voluntary behavior. In modern scientific research, the concept of volitional action is interpreted in different aspects. Some psychologists consider the choice of a motive leading to a decision and setting a goal to be the initial link, while others limit volitional action to its performing part. A.V. Zaporozhets considers the transformation of known social and, above all, moral requirements into certain moral motives and qualities of a person that determines her actions, the most significant for the psychology of will.

One of the central questions of the will is the question of the motivational conditionality of those specific volitional actions and deeds that a person is capable of at different periods of his life. The question is also raised about the intellectual and moral foundations of the volitional regulation of a preschooler.

During preschool childhood, the nature of the volitional sphere of the personality becomes more complex and its share in the general structure of behavior changes, which is manifested mainly in the growing desire to overcome difficulties. The development of the will at this age is closely related to the change in the motives of behavior, subordination to them.

The appearance of a certain volitional orientation, the promotion of a group of motives that become the most important for the child, leads to the fact that, guided in their behavior by these motives, the child consciously achieves the goal, without succumbing to distracting influence. He gradually masters the ability to subordinate his actions to motives that are significantly removed from the purpose of the action, in particular, motives of a social nature. He has a level of purposefulness typical of a preschooler.

At the same time, although volitional actions appear at preschool age, the scope of their application and their place in the child's behavior remain extremely limited. Studies show that only the older preschooler is capable of long-term volitional efforts.

Moral readiness for schooling . The moral formation of a preschooler is closely connected with a change in the nature of his relationship with adults and the birth of moral ideas and feelings in them on this basis, which L. S. Vygotsky called internal ethical instances.

DB Elkonin connects the emergence of ethical authorities with a change in the relationship between adults and children. He writes that in children of preschool age, in contrast to early childhood, a new type of relationship develops, which creates a special social situation of development characteristic of this period.

In early childhood, the child's activities are carried out mainly in cooperation with adults; At preschool age, the child becomes able to independently satisfy many of his needs and desires. As a result, his joint activity with adults, as it were, disintegrates, along with which the direct fusion of his existence with the life and activities of adults also weakens.

However, adults continue to be a constant attraction center around which a child's life is built. This creates in children the need to participate in the lives of adults, to act according to their model. At the same time, they want not only to reproduce individual actions of an adult, but also to imitate all the complex forms of his activity, his actions, his relationships with other people - in a word, the whole way of life of adults.

In the conditions of everyday behavior and communication with adults, as well as in the practice of role-playing, a preschool child develops a generalized knowledge of many social norms, but this knowledge is still completely unconscious of the child and is directly soldered to his positive and negative emotional experiences. The first ethical instances are still relatively simple systemic formations, which are the embryos of moral feelings, on the basis of which already quite mature moral feelings and beliefs are formed in the future.

Moral instances generate moral motives of behavior in preschool children, which can be stronger in their impact than many immediate needs, including elementary needs.

A.N.Leontiev, on the basis of numerous studies conducted by him and his colleagues, put forward the position that preschool age is the period in which for the first time a system of subordinate motives arises that create the unity of the personality, and that for this reason it should be considered, as it is expressed "the period of the original, actual make-up of the personality. " The system of subordinate motives begins to control the child's behavior and determine his entire development. This position is supplemented by data from subsequent psychological studies. In preschool children, firstly, not just subordination of motives arises, but their relatively stable out-of-situation subordination. At the head of the emerging hierarchical system are motives mediated in their structure. In preschoolers, they are mediated by patterns of behavior and activities of adults, their relationships, social norms, fixed in the relevant moral instances.

The emergence in a child by the end of preschool age of a relatively stable hierarchical structure of motives turns him from a situational being into a being with a certain internal unity and organization, capable of being guided by stable desires and aspirations associated with the social norms of life he has learned. This characterizes a new stage, which allowed A.N. Leontiev to speak of preschool age as a period of "initial, actual, personality type. "

The path of knowledge that a child from 3 to 7 years old goes through is enormous. During this time, he learns a lot about the world around him. His consciousness is not just filled with individual images, ideas, but is characterized by a certain holistic perception and comprehension of the reality surrounding him.

Psychological studies show that during preschool childhood, a child already develops self-esteem. Of course, not the same as in older children, but not the same as in young children. In preschoolers, the emerging self-esteem is based on their accounting of the success of their actions, the assessments of others, and the approval of their parents.

By the end of preschool age, the child is already becoming aware of himself and the position he currently occupies in life. Consciousness of one's social "I" and the emergence on this basis of internal positions, i.e. a holistic attitude towards the environment and oneself, generates corresponding needs and aspirations, on which their new needs arise, but they already know what they want and what they strive for. As a result, the game ceases to satisfy him by the end of this period. He has a need to go beyond his childhood way of life, take a new place available to him and carry out real, serious, socially significant activities. The impossibility to realize this need generates a crisis of 7 years. A change in self-consciousness leads to a reassessment of values. The main thing is everything that is related to educational activities (first of all, marks). In a crisis period, changes occur in terms of experiences. Conscious experiences form stable affective complexes. In the future, these affective formations change as other experiences accumulate. Experiences acquire a new meaning for the child, connections are established between them, the struggle of experiences becomes possible.

Personal readiness for school is expressed in relation to the child's school, teachers and educational activities, it also includes the formation in children of such qualities that would help them communicate with teachers and classmates.

Discussing the problem of readiness for school, D. B. Elkonin put the formation of the necessary prerequisites for educational activity in the first place. Analyzing these premises, he and his collaborators singled out the following parameters: the ability of children to consciously subordinate their actions to rules that generally determine the mode of action; ability to focus on a given system of requirements; the ability to listen carefully to the speaker and accurately perform tasks offered orally; the ability to independently perform the required task according to a visually perceived pattern.

D.B. Elkonin believes that a child’s readiness for schooling involves “growing” a social rule, that is, a system of social relations between a child and an adult [31].

EE Kravtsova argues that at the turn of preschool and primary school age, a new type of communication between children appears, which is essential for the success of subsequent education of children at school [11].

These parameters of the development of voluntariness are part of the psychological readiness for school; teaching in the preparatory class is based on them.

Thus, the high demands of life on the organization of upbringing and education intensify the search for new, more effective psychological and pedagogical approaches aimed at bringing teaching methods in line with the psychological characteristics of the child. Therefore, the problem of the psychological readiness of children to study at school is of particular importance, since the success of the subsequent education of children at school depends on its solution.

How to determine if a child is ready for school

The whole truth about how to choose a backpack for a first grader.

Articles
How to determine if a child is ready for school

According to the standards, children at the age of 6 can already go to school, but in practice this figure is very conditional and parents need to focus not so much on the actual age of the baby, but on his readiness to start learning. Some children show this readiness in less than 6 years, while others reach this phase of development by 7-8 years.

In order for the child to study with interest, have time to learn new information and feel comfortable in the school environment, it is very important to correctly determine the right moment. In our article, we will consider in detail the types of readiness for school, factors that affect development, methods for testing readiness, and also give advice from experienced child psychologists on preparing a child for school.

Basic types of school readiness

The concept of readiness for school is a combination of different factors and personal characteristics of the child. And this is not at all about the fact that a child should know a certain number of letters or numbers by a certain age. The main types of readiness for learning include physical, psychological and social readiness.

Physical readiness

The level of physical development is determined by evaluating a number of criteria. First of all, basic biological indicators are evaluated (height, weight, performance, the work of the digestive and urinary systems, etc.).

Next, the health status of the baby is assessed. It is for this that all future first-graders undergo a medical examination before school. Particular attention is paid to the work of the auditory and visual systems. According to certain doctor's indications, a delay in the child's going to first grade may be offered.

Physical readiness also includes self-service skills. A child who is ready to start school should be able to tie his shoelaces, change clothes, wash his hands, use the toilet, use cutlery, keep his workplace in order, as well as his own cleanliness and tidiness.

For high-quality education at school, it is important to have a sufficient level of development of fine motor skills of the hands. The child should be able to hold a pencil and a pen in his hand, operate with small objects, draw straight lines, and so on.

The overall coordination of movements when running, jumping, bending is also assessed.

Physical fitness allows the child to quickly adapt to new conditions. To do this, it is important for parents to accustom him to the regimen from an early age, to instill a love for sports and an active lifestyle.

Psychological readiness

The concept of psychological readiness also includes several aspects at once.

Mental readiness. Before starting school, it is necessary to determine whether the child has a sufficient level of knowledge about the world around him, how he learns new information, whether he has a craving for new knowledge, how stable his attention and memory are.
Social readiness. The social readiness of a child can be determined by the following criteria. He should be able to start a conversation with peers, while the first grader needs to be able to both keep up the conversation and listen to the interlocutor. It is important that the kid understands the social hierarchy in the school community and knows that it is necessary to listen and follow the instructions of teachers in the classroom.
Emotional readiness. It is determined by the level of the child's expectation of going to school, his desire to learn something new and achieve results, organization, independence and restraint.

The emotional component of readiness is considered a key one, because even if at the time of entering school the child does not have sufficient theoretical and practical knowledge, but there is a desire and will to get them as soon as possible, then the training will be productive and will take place in a positive way.

Within the framework of psychological readiness, it is also important to mention motivational maturity. The task of parents is to build communication on the topic of school in such a way that the child would like to go there to gain new skills and knowledge, and not to receive, for example, a new backpack and beautiful stationery.

If you notice that your child has the wrong motives for schooling, then you need to work on it. To do this, it is important to describe to the child in detail all the nuances of schooling, to tell why people study, how it happens, what are the positive aspects of the regime. The main thing is to do everything without emotions, so that the child receives just the necessary information without too much emotional coloring. In no case do not intimidate the child with school.

Special readiness

For successful entry into the educational process, it is important for a child to have some practical skills and theoretical knowledge.

Graphic skills. The child should be able to properly hold a pencil or pen in his hand and be able to draw even horizontal and vertical lines, simple geometric shapes (circle, square, triangle), hatch and sketch without going beyond the objects.
Perception of space. A future first grader should know and be able to apply such concepts as "high - low", "right - left", "far - close".
Thinking skills. You can determine the level of development of figurative thinking by asking the child to describe a picture or write a story about himself.
Knowledge about the surrounding world. This category includes knowledge about the seasons, some plants, days of the week, flowers, your city, family, etc.
Physical skills. The child needs to know basic physical exercises (squats, forward and side bends, circular movements of the arms, etc.).
Computing skills. He must be able to count within ten and know the composition of the number within ten, for example, understand that the number 4 can be added from 2 + 2 or 3 + 1.
Reading. By the first grade, it is recommended that the child knows from 10 letters, from which he could compose and read syllables or words.

The level of special readiness for school depends on many factors, in particular, on the availability of additional training sessions in the kindergarten and on the regularity of classes at home.

Tests to determine the readiness of the child for school at different levels

Questionnaire from J. Chapey

To determine the level of preparation, as well as to identify weaknesses, a questionnaire for parents from the American psychologist J. Chapey will help. Each of the questions below can be answered "yes" or "no". If, as a result, the majority of your answers are positive, then the child is quite ready to start school. If only 20% or less of the responses were positive, then certain gaps in experience and knowledge need to be addressed.

Basic empirical experience. Did your child visit shops, banks, pharmacies with you? Has the baby been to institutions such as a museum, theater, library? Does he have a hobby?
Physical development. Can your child sit quietly at the table for a while? Does he have good eyesight? Hearing? Can he play ball?
Emotional development. Does your child interact with peers? Does he evaluate himself as a person who can independently solve certain problems? Does he respond positively to changes in his usual routine or way of life?
Speech development. Can your baby name the objects around him? Can he describe what he saw? Does he form sentences and phrases correctly? Does he pronounce words clearly?
Cognitive development. Can the child compare shapes and sizes? Will he manage to decompose a series of pictures into a semantic sequence? Can he put together a puzzle (puzzle) of 15 or more elements? Will he retell the story, keeping the sequence of events?
Communication skills. Does he easily engage in play with unfamiliar children? Can you listen carefully to a story? Can you follow the line?

Social readiness test

Read the statements below to your child. Place a “+” next to each sentence with which he agrees. If as a result you get 8 or more pluses, then the baby has a high level of social and psychological readiness. 4-8 points is the average level, up to 4 - low.

At school I will be able to meet new children and make friends with them. I wonder what lessons we will learn. I dreamed of going to school even earlier. At school it will be much more interesting than in the garden / at home. I will invite the whole class to my birthday party. I wonder what they will give us for breakfast and lunch at school. All my friends go to school and I want too. I will study the best. It's good that the school has holidays. I want lessons to last longer than breaks.

Tips for parents to prepare their children for school

Strengthening the readiness of the child for school can be done in simple ways that are organically integrated into everyday life. Thus, he receives and trains the basic physical and psychological skills, without perceiving the tasks as a learning process.

Useful walks. During your daily walks on the street, talk about various topics. Discuss the features of the weather on this day, draw the child's attention to changes in nature associated with the change of seasons, count objects (cars on the road, trees in the park, benches, etc.