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Tools of the Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education, 2/E
Elena Bodrova, Metropoliitan State College, Denver
Deborah Leong, Metropolitan State College of Denver

ISBN-10: 0130278041
ISBN-13: 9780130278043

Publisher: Merrill
Copyright: 2007
Format: Paper; 256 pp
Published: 09/20/2006

Suggested retail price: $30.99
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This text is designed for advanced Curriculum, Methods, and Issues courses in Early Childhood Education and Child and Family Studies departments. 

As the only text of its kind, this book provides in-depth information about Vygotsky's theories, neo-Vygotskians' findings, and concrete explanations and strategies that instruct teachers how to influence student learning and development.  Key changes to this edition include a new chapter on dynamic assessment, separate and expanded chapters on developmental accomplishments of infants and toddlers, preschool/kindergarten, and primary grades and on supporting those accomplishments, and elaborations of Vygotsky's ideas from neo-Vygotskians from Russia.

 

  • Written for the beginning student, the text provides a clear discussion of Vygotskian principles including...a historical overview and a complete chapter on the “Zone of Proximal Development,” (ZPD).
  • Each section of the book builds on the other...framework, strategies, and applications of the Vygotskian approach.
  • The work of Vygotsky is compared in a fair and balanced way with the work of Piaget.
  • Examples and activities have been class-tested in a variety of classroom environments including a Head Start program, private preschool, and in the Denver Public Schools.

  • NEW!  Organized as a set of concentric circles or a spiral--The content becomes more and more tightly focused as the book progresses. (Ex. pp xiii). 
  • NEW!  Introduces the major ideas in the Vygotskian approach--Compares and contrasts this view to perspectives that will be familiar to early childhood teachers and psychology students. (Ex. pp 9, 129).
  • NEW!  Contains a new section describing the Vygotskian approach to special education which contains additional strategies. (Ex. pp 24).
  • NEW!  Section II has been substantially reorganized--Now describes general strategies for approaching learning/teaching and specific tactics that can be used for scaffolding this process. (Ex. pp xiii, 37).
  • NEW!  The second edition expands the sections on the specific developmental features of children at specific ages: separate chapters on infants and toddlers, preschool and kindergarten, and the primary grades.  (Ex. pp 93, 111, 164). 
  • NEW!  A new chapter on dynamic assessment as an application of the zone of proximal development.   (Ex. pp 39).
  • NEW!  Research findings and practical applications from the neo-Vygotskian approach.

    • SECTION I        The Vygotskian Framework: The Cultural-Historical Theory of Development

     

    Chapter 1           Introduction to the Vygotskian Approach

    Chapter 2           Acquiring Mental Tools and Higher Mental Functions

    Chapter 3           The Vygotskian Framework and Other Theories of Development and Learning

     

    SECTION II       Strategies for Development and Learning

     

    Chapter 4           The Zone of Proximal Development

    Chapter 5           Tactics: Using Mediators

    Chapter 6           Tactics: Using Language

    Chapter 7           Tactics: Using Shared Activities

     

    SECTION III      Applying the Vygotskian Approach to Development and Learning in Early Childhood

     

    Chapter 8           Developmental Accomplishments and Leading Activity: Infants and Toddlers

    Chapter 9           Supporting the Developmental Accomplishments of Infants and Toddlers

    Chapter 10         Developmental Accomplishments and the Leading Activity: Preschool and Kindergarten

    Chapter 11         Supporting the Developmental Accomplishments in Preschool and Kindergarten

    Chapter 12         Developmental Accomplishments and the Leading Activity: Primary Grades

    Chapter 13         Supporting the Developmental Accomplishments in the Primary Grades

    Chapter 14         Dynamic Assessment: Application of the Zone of Proximal Development

     

    Epilogue

    Glossary

    References

    Author Index

    Subject Index

     

    Elena Bodrova is a senior researcher at Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) in Denver, Colorado.  Prior to her coming to the United States, she was a senior researcher at the Russian Center for Educational Innovations and the Russian Institute for Preschool Education.  She received her Ph.D. from the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, Moscow, Russia, and her M.A. from Moscow State University.  In addition to her work with Dr. Leong, she co-authored the book, For the Love of Words: Vocabulary Instruction That Works, Grades K-6 (Jossey-Bass) with Diane E. Paynter and Jane K. Doty.

     

    Deborah J. Leong is a professor of psychology and the director of the Center for Improving Early Learning (CIEL) at Metropolitan State College of Denver.  She received her Ph.D. from Stanford University and her M.Ed. from Harvard University.  In addition to her work with Dr. Bodrova, she is co-author with Oralie McAfee of Assessing and Guiding Young Children's Development and Learning (Allyn & Bacon) that is now in its fourth edition.

    This unique text provides in-depth information about major concepts and principles of the cultural-historical theory developed by Lev Vygotsky, his students and colleagues, as well as three generations of neo-Vygotskian scholars in Russia and in the West. Tools of the Mind enables teachers to arm young children with the mental tools necessary for learning.

     

    Concrete explanations and strategies on how to scaffold young children’s learning and development are provided throughout the text.  These are a product of 15 years of collaboration between the authors and early childhood teachers from diverse programs across the United States, most of which serve children from at-risk populations.

     

    Key changes to this expanded edition include:

    • Separate chapters on developmental accomplishments of infants and toddlers, preschoolers/kindergartners, and primary grade children, each followed by a chapter on supporting those accomplishments
    • Additional strategies for supporting children with special needs
    • A new chapter on dynamic assessment as an application of the zone of proximal development  
    • Research findings and practical applications from the neo-Vygotskian approach

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