Leonid Vladimirovich Zankov: system of developmental training

The Zankov system was introduced in Russian schools in 1995-1996 as a parallel system of elementary education. We can say that it corresponds to a rather high degree set forth in the Law of the Russian Federation on Education Principles. According to them, education must have a humanitarian character. In addition, it must ensure the development of the personality of each child.

The essence of Zankov's system

Today, the Zankov system is one of those that are allowed to be used, like other primary school programs. Let us briefly describe what its essence is. This system assumes that children must "get" knowledge. They should not simply be presented to students, as Zankov believed. Its system is aimed at the fact that the teacher asks a certain problem, and the children should solve it independently, naturally, under the guidance of the teacher. During the session, there is a dispute, a discussion in which a lot of opinions arise. Gradually, from them crystallizes knowledge. Intellectual movement, therefore, goes in the opposite order: not from simple to complex, but on the contrary.

Other features proposed by Zankov (his portrait is presented above) of the program include high speed of training, a lot of tasks for working out the material. This process is not easy. It should be as diverse and dynamic as possible. For example, schoolchildren often visit libraries, museums, exhibitions, and conduct a large extracurricular work. All this contributes to successful learning.

Now we will consider in more depth and in detail the methodology that Zankov proposed. His system today is very popular. However, often its principles are misunderstood. First, we briefly outline the ideas that Zankov proposed. Its system will be examined by us in general terms. Then we will talk about what mistakes modern teachers allow in realizing these principles.

The purpose of Zankov's system

So, Leonid Vladimirovich Zankov developed a popular method of elementary education. His system pursued the following goal - a high overall development of children. What did L. V. Zankov mean by this? A comprehensive development of the child's personality that affects the "mind" (cognitive processes), volitional qualities governing all activities ("will"), as well as moral and ethical qualities ("feelings") that manifest themselves in various activities. General development is the formation and qualitative transformation of the personality. These properties are the foundation for successful education in school years. After graduation they become the basis of creative work in various fields of activity. The development of the imagination helps to effectively solve problems in many areas. LV Zankov wrote that the process of learning when using this system least of all resembles a cold and measured perception of the material. He is imbued with a feeling that appears when a person is delighted with the treasury of knowledge that has been revealed to him.

In order to solve this problem, it was not possible to simply improve the existing primary school curricula. Therefore, in the 60-70s of the 20th century a new didactic teaching system was created. The core on which the whole educational process is built is the core and single basis of it. In brief, we will talk about each of them.

High level of difficulty

It was necessary to proceed from the fact that the existing school curricula were not saturated with educational material. In addition, the methods of teaching did not contribute to the manifestation of the creative activity of children. Therefore, the first principle was the principle of teaching students at a high level of complexity. This is most important in the Zankov system, since only the educational process, which provides ample food for the mind, can contribute to an intensive and rapid development. Under the difficulty is meant the tension of both the intellectual forces of a schoolboy and spiritual ones. When solving problems, intensive work of thought and development of imagination must take place.

The student must overcome the obstacles that arise during the course of cognition. In the Zankov system, the necessary tension is achieved through the use of analyzing observation and the problematic method of teaching, and not through the use of complex material.

The importance of a high level of difficulty

The main idea of this principle is to create a special atmosphere, in which intellectual activity of schoolchildren is observed. It is necessary to give them the opportunity to solve the tasks independently, and also to understand and be able to determine the difficulties that arise in the learning process. It is important to find ways to overcome these difficulties. This activity, according to Zankov, contributes to the fact that all available knowledge about the subject is activated. He also develops self-control, arbitrariness (that is, management of activities) and observance. At the same time, the emotional background of the learning process also increases. After all, every person likes to feel smart and able to achieve success.

Fast pace

L. V. Zankov opposed monotonous and monotonous exercises, as well as repeated repetition of the material. He introduced one more principle, the essence of which was to study at a rapid pace. Zankov's method implies a dynamic and constant change of actions and tasks.

The leading role of theoretical knowledge

L. V. Zankov did not deny that the primary school's task is to form computational, spelling and other skills. However, he was against "pulling", passive-reproductive methods. Zankov Leonid called for the students' skills to be formed as a result of a deep understanding of the science underlying the subject. So there was another principle, according to which the leading role should belong to theoretical knowledge. It was aimed at increasing the cognitive focus of primary education.

Consciousness of training

Equally important is the awareness of learning. Under it meant understanding the content of the material. The system of ZV Zankov expands this interpretation. The process of learning itself must be conscious. To this comes another principle, which Leonid Zankov proposed. Let's talk about him.

Connections between parts of the material

Objects of close attention should be the links existing between parts of the material, the regularities of computational, grammatical and other operations, as well as the mechanism of the appearance of errors and their overcoming.

This principle can be discerned as follows. The younger schoolchildren have an important feature of the study of the material, which is that the activity of its analytical interpretation decreases at a rapid pace, if the pupils are forced to analyze several units of material in a series of lessons, carry out the same thought operations (for example, by changing the shape of the word to select To it the test words). Zankov's math is therefore very different from mathematics taught by other systems. After all, this is the subject most often studied on the same type of tasks, against which Leonid Vladimirovich is speaking. It is known that at this age children very quickly get bored of doing the same thing. As a result, the effectiveness of their work decreases, the development process slows down.

The system of LV Zankov solves this problem in the following way. In order not to "mark time", it is necessary to investigate the units of material in connection with others. Each section should be compared with others. It is recommended that the Zankov lesson be taught in such a way that students can find similarities and differences between different parts of the training material. They should be able to determine the measure of the dependence of the didactic unit on the others. The material should be interpreted as a logical interacting system.

Another aspect of this principle consists in increasing the capacity of time allocated for training, increasing the efficiency. This can be done, firstly, through integrated mastering of the material, and secondly, by the absence of separate periods in the program, designed to repeat the study previously studied, as in the traditional method.

Thematic blocks

Zankov's teaching system assumes that the material is arranged by the teacher into thematic blocks. They include units that closely interact with each other and depend on each other. Studying them simultaneously saves study time. In addition, it becomes possible to investigate units throughout a multitude of lessons. For example, with traditional planning, each of these two units is allocated 4 hours each. When they are combined into a unit, the teacher has an opportunity to touch each of them within 8 hours. In addition, by finding links with similar units, a repetition of the material traversed earlier is carried out.

Create specific learning conditions

We have already said that out-of-class work plays a big role in this system. But not only it. Zankov's laboratory staff, like the scientist himself, proceeded from the fact that certain learning conditions in the class favorably affect the development of all students, both weak and strong. Development in this case occurs individually. The pace of it can be different, depending on the abilities and inclinations of each particular student.

The current state of the Zankov system

More than 40 years have passed since the development of all these principles. Nowadays there is a need to comprehend these ideas from the point of view of modern pedagogy. Having studied the current state of the Zankov system, scientists came to the conclusion that the interpretation of certain principles was distorted in pedagogical practice.

Distortion of the value of "fast tempo"

"Rapid pace" began to be understood mainly as a reduction in time, which is allotted to mastering the material. However, pedagogical means and conditions, which Zankov used, were not carried out to the proper extent. And it was they who made the schooling more intense and easy.

Zankov proposed to intensify the process of studying objects due to the fact that didactic units were considered comprehensively. Each of them was represented in its various aspects and functions. Work consistently included the material that had been covered earlier. With the help of these funds, it was possible to abandon the "chewing" of the already known to students, which was traditionally practiced. Zankov tried to avoid repetitive repetitions, which lead to spiritual apathy and mental laziness, and therefore inhibit the development of the child. The words "fast paced" were introduced by him in opposition to this. By them is meant a qualitatively new organization of training.

Wrong understanding of the importance of theoretical knowledge

Another principle, according to which the leading role should be assigned to theoretical knowledge, is also often understood by teachers in a wrong way. The emergence of the need for this was also due to the nature of the techniques used in the mid-20th century. At that time, primary school was considered a special stage of school education. It had a so-called propaedeutic character. In other words, she only prepared the children for schooling in high school. The traditional system, proceeding from this, formed the necessary skills of working with the material, mainly reproductive way, that can be applied in practice. Zankov also opposed this purely practical way of assimilating the first knowledge of schoolchildren. He noted the cognitive passivity inherent in him. Zankov pointed to the need for conscious mastery of skills, based on the work with theoretical data on what is being studied.

Increased intellectual load

In the modern implementation of this principle, as the analysis of the state of the system has shown, there has been a skew in the direction of too early learning by the students of theoretical knowledge. At the same time, their comprehension through sensory experience is not developed at the proper level. This leads to the fact that the intellectual load increases significantly and unreasonably. In the classes where the Zankov system is being taught, they began to select the most prepared for the school. Thus, the conceptual foundations of the system were violated.

Today, English is especially popular for schoolchildren according to Zankov's method. This is understandable, because this language is very much in demand today, and traditional methods of teaching it do not suit everyone. However, one must understand that by choosing for your child English for schoolchildren in the Zankov system, you may be disappointed. The point is that this technique is not always used correctly. Modern teachers often distort the Zankov system. Russian language, mathematics, biology and other subjects are also taught by this method. The effectiveness of its use depends largely on the teacher.