Development of visual and effective thinking in preschool children

Adviсe

Why do you need imaginative thinking?
Imaginative thinking in a child
Imaginative thinking in an adult
A set of techniques and methodologies for the development of imaginative thinking in an adult

The lack of imaginative thinking cannot be called the scourge of civilization, but many people will confidently say about themselves: “Yes, I have little imagination.” At this stage, we should stop and clarify right away: figurative thinking and imagination are fundamentally different psychological processes.

What is imagination? Imagination is unique and modified images that arise at the right moment from figurative memory. The average person usually does not share the concepts of imaginative thinking and imagination and actively uses the latter to solve stressful situations, restore emotional balance and spiritual harmony, obtain a positive mood, interesting interaction with the outside world in the person of colleagues, acquaintances, and friends. But imaginative thinking remains overboard, sleeps peacefully on the bottom of human possibilities and understands, dear, that a person is not even aware of its existence and the need to extract it.

However, imaginative thinking is not a characteristic genetically inherent in a person: everyone receives fantasy, creativity and imagination at the beginning of their life’s journey, and the task of a particular person is to develop his own creative abilities.

Visual-figurative thinking is a type of thinking characterized by reliance on ideas and images.

The functions of figurative thinking are associated with the representation of situations and changes in them that a person wants to obtain as a result of his activities that transform the situation.

A very important feature of imaginative thinking is the establishment of unusual, incredible combinations of objects and their properties. Speech is actively involved in visual-figurative thinking, which helps to name the sign and compare the signs.

Those. Visual-figurative thinking helps solve tasks mentally, without the participation of practical actions. The right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for this type of thinking.

Stages of development of a child's thinking

Modern psychologists identify three main stages in the development of a child’s thinking:

visually effective;
visual-figurative;
conceptual (logical) thinking.

Visual and effective thinking is characteristic mainly of children of primary preschool age. However, already in the fourth year, visual-figurative thinking begins to form , and then logical thinking develops.

At the beginning of the preschool period, babies need physical contact with objects. Over time, the need to touch everything with your hands disappears, and children focus on imagining the image in their mind. The visual-figurative way of thinking becomes active and basic by the age of 5-6 years.

But, unfortunately, not all children develop visual-figurative thinking properly. If you see that it is quite difficult for your child to imagine something in his mind, then do not delay, start actively developing this type of thinking. Otherwise, the child will experience difficulties in school. In particular, it will be difficult for him to solve problems , as well as any tasks of a creative nature.

Development of thinking in young children from visual-effective to visual-figurative.

Early age is the period from one year to 3 years. At this time, the most important changes occur in the mental development of children - thinking is formed, the motor sphere is actively developing, and the first stable personality traits appear. Thinking during this period is associated with perception - establishing connections between objects and acting with them. Behavior and consciousness are entirely determined by what the child sees here and now.

The first thought processes arise in a child as a result of learning the properties and relationships of the objects around him in the process of perceiving them and acting with them. In objective activity, during the transition from manual operations to instrumental ones in the process of mastering social ways of using things, the emergence of intellectual activity—visual and effective thinking—occurs. The initial stage of the development of thinking - its visual and effective form - is manifested in the fact that the child practically manipulates things and grasps the connections between them.

How does a child’s thinking develop? The first manifestations of visual-effective thinking can be observed at the end of the first - beginning of the second year of life. As the child masters walking, his encounters with new objects expand significantly. Moving around the room, touching objects, moving them and manipulating them, the child constantly encounters obstacles, difficulties, looks for a way out, making extensive use of trials, attempts, etc. in these cases. In actions with objects, the child moves away from simple manipulation and moves on to object-play actions that correspond to the properties of the objects with which they are acting: for example, he does not knock the stroller, but rolls it; he places the doll on the crib; puts the cup on the table; stirs in a saucepan with a spoon, etc. By performing various actions with objects (feeling, stroking, throwing, examining, etc.), he practically learns both the external and hidden properties of objects, discovers some connections that exist between objects. So, when one object hits another, noise arises, one object can be inserted into another, two objects, having collided, can move away in different directions, etc. As a result, the object becomes, as it were, a conductor of the child’s influence on another object, i.e. Effective actions can be performed not only by directly influencing an object with the hand, but also with the help of another object - indirectly. As a result of the accumulation of some experience in its use, an object is assigned the role of a means by which the desired result can be obtained. A qualitatively new form of activity is being formed - instrumental, when the child uses auxiliary means to achieve a goal.

Children become familiar with auxiliary objects primarily in everyday life. Children are fed, and then they themselves eat with a spoon, drink from a cup, etc., and begin to use auxiliary aids when they need to get something, secure it, move it, etc. The child’s experience gained in solving practical problems is consolidated in methods of action. Gradually, the child generalizes his experience and begins to use it in various conditions. For example, if a child has learned to use a stick to bring a toy closer to him, then he gets out the toy that has rolled under the closet with the help of another one that is suitable in shape and length: a toy-shovel, a net, a stick, etc. Generalization of the experience of activity with objects prepares the generalization of experience in words, i.e. prepares the child for the formation of visual and effective thinking.

The development of objective activity and its “verbalization” in a child occurs with the active participation of the people around him. Adults set certain tasks for the child, show ways to solve them, and name actions. The inclusion of a word denoting the action being performed qualitatively changes the thought process of a child, even if he does not yet speak spoken language. The action designated by the word acquires the character of a generalized method of solving a group of homogeneous practical problems and is easily transferred to other similar situations. By being involved in the child’s practical activities, speech, even if only audible at first, as if from the inside, rebuilds the process of his thinking. Changing the content of thinking requires its more advanced forms, and already in the process of visual-effective thinking, the prerequisites for visual-figurative thinking are formed.

At a young age, profound changes occur both in the content and in the forms of visual and effective thinking. Changing the content of children's visual-effective thinking leads to a change in its structure. Using his generalized experience, the child can mentally prepare and foresee the nature of subsequent events.

Of particular importance for the formation of visual and effective thinking are actions that in psychology are called correlative. We are talking about actions with two or more objects, when it is necessary to take into account and correlate the properties of different objects - shape, size, hardness, location, etc. Already at the end of the infancy period, the child begins to perform actions with two objects - strings, places one on top of the other, folds, etc. However, in these actions he does not yet take into account the property - does not select and select the desired object in accordance with the shape, size, does not try arrange objects in a certain order. It is characteristic that the “content” of most toys, pyramids, cubes, inserts, and nesting dolls is aimed at developing correlative actions—selecting and connecting objects or their parts in accordance with shape and size. Of course, actions with them should be regulated and directed by the result that should be obtained (for example, a finished pyramid or nesting doll). For this, a one-year-old child needs the help of an adult, a kind of training. Correlating actions are performed in different ways depending on how to teach. If a child simply imitates an adult, i.e. performs the same actions with the same objects, he can get the result only in his presence and with direct demonstration. Therefore, it is important that the child learns to identify the necessary properties of objects, so that he himself selects and connects the parts in the required order. It is important to first interest him in the toy, to stimulate the desire to act. Initially, these actions are performed only through practical tests, because the child is not yet able to visually compare the size and shape of an object. Only some repeated action with a toy can convince him of the failure of his attempts. Only in this way will he understand that it is necessary, for example, not to squeeze in a part, but to try on until the necessary one is found. Toys - pyramids, cubes, nesting dolls - seem to themselves suggest which part is suitable. That's why they are called auto-didactic (or self-learning). With the help of external indicative actions, the child will sooner or later get the result.

How to develop visual-figurative thinking?

In this case, various games and exercises will come to the rescue.

The most effective way to develop visual-figurative thinking is activity that allows you to translate your plans into reality. For kids, this is, first of all, any types of construction and all kinds of didactic games aimed at developing thinking and imagination. Let us consider in more detail the techniques that promote the development of imaginative thinking.

The formation and development of visual-figurative thinking is facilitated by:

passing labyrinths;
tangram game;
unfinished drawings;
solving a Rubik's cube;
tasks to find absurdities;
solving puzzles and riddles;
tasks to find and restore the missing element;
design;
exercises to develop interhemispheric connections;
reading with further analysis of the characters of the main characters;
exercises aimed at developing creative imagination;
comparison exercises, search for differences;
using games with rearranging sticks (matches);
solving droodles;
compiling stories or fairy tales based on a given beginning, or, conversely, inventing the ending of a story;
describing an object from memory;
retelling what you read;
exercises with inventing associations.

Remember how in the poem by Yu. Moritz “What is it like?”

A willow is rustling on the mountain, A bee is ringing on a willow, Striped like a zebra.

Sometimes water fills our boat, A star swims in the depths, Silver like a fish.

There are maples and oaks in the grove, And under them there are mushrooms, Each mushroom looks like an umbrella.

A young month has come out, The sky seems like water, A cloud seems like a wave , The moon looks like a wooden boat.

How similar everything is! So, I probably look like someone too!

I went and shouted to the goats, ducks, sheep and dragonflies: - Who do I look like?

The white goat turned, smiled like a goat, and said like a human: “Don’t you see for yourself?”

You are kinder than a calf, More cheerful than a kid, You are still just a child, But you look like a person!

Thus, the ability to imagine objects in the mind, move them, and perform various manipulations are the most important means of developing a child’s abilities and his mental activity. Developed visual-figurative thinking can be compared to the foundation of all mental activity of a child.

Even in the works of Aristotle, the importance of developing this type of thinking was noted. Creating a mental image helps a person to be result-oriented, strive to achieve what is planned, control his own actions and anticipate their consequences. It helps to activate the creative potential inherent in every person. Anyone who has developed visual-figurative thinking is able to think and remember information much faster.

Therefore, even in preschool age, it is necessary to develop the child’s visual and figurative thinking using the above techniques, and you can also train figurative thinking with special exercises.

Imaginative thinking in an adult

Before repairing your own consciousness, we suggest assessing: how are things going with imaginative thinking? A simple test will allow you to objectively identify the degree of development of imaginative thinking: take any of the pictures (the complexity of it depends on your self-confidence) and literally look at it for a minute, trying to note the location of the lines, the color scheme - the main tones and shades, the play of light and shadow, the storyline etc. Do you realize that you have noted for yourself everything that is depicted? – close your eyes and mentally, in detail, reproduce in your mind the picture that you previously observed, achieving its clarity in your head.

If the restoration of the remembered image went without problems, everything is fine with imaginative thinking, and your task is to maintain it at the proper level. If the picture in your mind never takes on clear forms, remains blurred or partially filled in, it’s worth working on your imaginative thinking: it is recommended to repeat similar trainings with memorizing an image using one example at least six times until a clear picture is obtained.

Are we complicating the task? Instead of a picture with a clear plot, offer your own imaginative thinking an abstraction of patterns, dots, color lines - remember and recreate it mentally. The vagueness of the image can be “edited” gradually, consistently paying attention to specific features: shapes and colors, textures, sizes, etc. Such imaginative thinking training, games and exercises for brain development are useful for maintaining the tone of brain activity throughout life.

Exercises for the development of visual-figurative thinking

In addition to visual-figurative thinking, these tasks will contribute to the development of the child’s logic and speech.

Exercises will bring great benefits if you do them for a while. The optimal time to complete each task is 2 minutes.

Find two identical teapots out of the six shown in the picture. The rest have their own differences in the pattern.

Answer

Teapots G and D are painted the same.

Find two identical pictures of a train with carriages.

Answer

B and F

One hat out of eight available was purchased from the store. What hat did you buy?

Answer

Hat E was purchased

Which vase has a different design from the others?

Answer

Vase - A. On the left in the middle it is missing a white star.

Each of the five butterflies has one difference from the others. It is necessary to find these differences.

Answer

Butterfly A has a black topmost pattern. Butterfly B does not have a right antennae. Butterfly B does not have a tail in its left wing. Butterfly G has no white circle in the lower part of the right wing (in its center). Butterfly D has an additional black circle in the upper part of the left wing.

Each picture of a motorcyclist differs in one element from the rest. Find these differences.

Answer

A - number 61, B - gray boots, C - one stripe on the jacket, D - the front wheel is missing a fender, E - an exhaust pipe of a different color.

The picture shows six kites. You need to find two identical ones.

Answer

B and D

Each snowman differs in one way from the rest. Find these differences.

Answer

Snowman A is a slightly shorter broom handle. Snowman B - no bottom button. Snowman B - one end of the scarf is missing. Snowman G - smaller mouth. Snowman D - two stripes on the scarf are different from the others.

One top out of eight was purchased at the store (top part of the picture). Find which top is missing at the bottom of the picture.

Answer

We bought a spinning top

All the pictures are rotated differently, but their pattern (except for one star) is the same. Determine which of the stars also differs from the others in its pattern.

Answer

The star is G. Its point is closer to the black triangle.

Each of the presented figures has its own difference from the others. Find them.

Answer

A - a crow with one wing, B - there is not enough straw in the scarecrow's left leg, C - a black patch on his pants, D - a black tie on his neck, D - the scarecrow has no nose.

At first glance, the tasks may seem simple. But it is not so. If a child has poorly developed visual-figurative thinking, then it will be quite difficult for him to complete these exercises, especially in 2 minutes.

But! What is trained, develops. Performing these exercises also contributes to the development of logical thinking, observation, speech, spatial imagination and speed of reaction. Also play games with your child that develop his thinking.

Recommended author's books:

Tangram in riddles

A wonderful book-game for development:

logic;
imagination;
spatial thinking;
attention;
visual-figurative thinking;
intelligence;
perseverance.

In the book you will find:

interesting riddles;
about 70 figures to build at different levels of complexity;
game template;
creative tasks.

The book will be of interest to preschoolers and primary schoolchildren. I especially recommend it to children who have problems with math.

Labyrinths

Working with labyrinths is difficult to overestimate. Labyrinths help you concentrate, maintain attention, and perfectly train your memory and reading technique. Maze exercises are essential for children who have learning difficulties.

"Rebuslandia" Learning to solve puzzles

The ability to solve puzzles will be useful to a child from the first days of school, starting with mastering the alphabet.

The book contains tasks of varying difficulty levels, but they are all developmental in nature. The book will be of interest to both preschoolers and primary schoolchildren.