Visual Modelling as Means for Cognitive and Emotional Development of Children: International Perspectives (Early Childhood Research and Education: An Inter-theoretical Focus, 8)

This book acquaints readers with the principles and the possibilities of using visual models in the education of young children. Educational projects that use visual models as effective psychological tools that allow the child to develop abilities are very limited. Visual models can be used as a means for cognitive development, regulation of behavior, organization of productive activities, and for solving creative problems. The research in the field of cognitive development of preschoolers was greatly influenced by the works of L.S. Vygotsky, J. Piaget, and their followers. L.S. Vygotsky understood the general line of the development of children’s consciousness as the transition from social plane to psychological one and related it to the mastering of cultural means, such as visual models. L. A. Venger considered a child's drawing as a visual model of an object; in construction activity, the child creates models of real structures from various blocks. All this served as the necessary basis for the use of visual models in the organization of educational processes in preschool institutions. Visual models can contribute to the enrichment of play activity and the development of thinking, visual-spatial activity, as well as the development of imagination. Studies have also identified the benefits of using visual models in work with children with special needs.

This book provides a great resource for students, specialists, practitioners and researchers.

Nikolay Veraksa is an internationally well-known expert in child psychology and education. He works as a professor at the Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia, and is a leading researcher at the Federal Scientific Center of Psychological and Multidisciplinary Research. He is also the Head of the UNESCO Care and Education in Early Years Chair in Russia. His interests are connected with cultural-historical psychology and its development and implication in education. He is an author and co-author of more than 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals and author of more than 20 books. He is also an editor of special issues in journals, such as International Journal of Early Years Education, Frontiers in Psychology and European Early Childhood Education Research Journal.