History
The Tools of the Mind curriculum began in 1993 at Metropolitan State College of Denver when Dr. Elena Bodrova and Dr. Deborah Leong began working together in early childhood classrooms to improve children’s ability to learn and to teach educators new techniques for working with children. Dr. Bodrova came to the United States from Russia to work with Dr. Leong where she had worked with students and colleagues of Dr. Lev Vygotsky, the Russian researcher.
Drs. Bodrova and Leong have made their first priority to create instructional strategies that would work in U.S. classrooms with different cultural demands than existed in Russia where they were first developed. They crafted activities that teachers would be able to implement and that formed a coherent whole—with both a consistent theoretical framework and an internal logic.
In 1996, Drs. Bodrova and Leong collaborated on a book, Tools of the Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education. Today the book is recognized as a classic in its down-to-earth explanation of the Vygotskian approach and how it can be applied in classrooms. The second edition was published in 2007.
Tools of the Mind has been the subject of numerous research studies including ones funded by Early Reading First and the Institute of Education Services. In 2001, Tools was named an exemplary educational innovation by the International Bureau of Education, a UNESCO program. The November 30, 2007 issue of Science Magazine presents the results of research on cognitive control from a study conducted by the National Institute for Early Education Research. The program is currently housed at the Center for Improving Early Learning at Metropolitan State College of Denver.
Dr. Leong is a professor emeritus in the Psychology Department and directs Tools of the Mind/Center for Improving Early Learning at Metropolitan State College of Denver. Dr. Bodrova is a senior researcher at McRel.