Philosophy
To successfully function in school and beyond, children need to learn more than a set of facts and skills. They need to master a set of mental tools—tools of the mind.
The concept of "Tools of the Mind" comes from the work of Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky, He believed that just as physical tools extend our physical abilities, mental tools extend our mental abilities to enable us to solve problems and create solutions in the modern world
According to Vygotsky, until children learn to use mental tools, their learning is largely controlled by the environment: they attend only to the things that are the brightest or loudest and they can remember something only if has been repeated many times. AFTER children master mental tools, they can become in charge of their own learning by attending and remembering in an intentional and purposeful way. Similar to how using mental tools transforms children’s cognitive behaviors, they can also transform their physical, social and emotional behaviors. From being "slaves to the environment," children become "masters of their own behavior." As children are taught and practice an increasing number of various mental tools, they transform not only their external behaviors, but also their minds, leading to the emergence of higher mental functions.
Instruction should be based on a comprehensive theory of learning and development. Tools of the Mind is based on the Vygotskian approach.
The Vygotskian approach to learning and development is also known as the Cultural-Historical theory. The applications of this theory to education were developed by Lev Vygotsky in collaboration with his colleagues and students. New applications continue to be developed by later generations of Vygotskians in Vygotsky’s native Russia as well as in the West where Vygotsky's legacy can be found in contemporary interpretations of social constructivism and sociocultural theory. The major emphasis in the Vygotskian approach is on helping children acquire the tools of their culture. The Vygotskian approach to Early Childhood Education focuses on the activities and interactions that are the most beneficial for young children’s learning of their first "tools of the mind."
Teaching involves the act of identifying what a child knows and can do within the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and then providing the appropriate scaffolding.
The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is a Vygotskian concept that describes the area between a child's level of independent performance (what he/she can do alone) and this child’s level of assisted performance (what he/she can do with support). Skills and understandings contained within a child's ZPD are the ones that have not emerged yet and could emerge only if the child engages in interactions with knowledgeable others (peers and adults) or in other supportive contexts (such as make-believe play for preschool children). According to Vygotsky, the most effective instruction is the kind that is aimed not at the child's level of independent performance but is instead aimed at this child’s ZPD. This instruction does more than increase the repertoire of skills and understandings but actually produces gains in child development.
To aim instruction at the child's ZPD, the teacher needs to know not only what the child's developmental level is at the time, but also what skills and concepts will be next to develop. To know these, the teacher needs to understand the developmental trajectories for these skills and concepts.
Successful instruction within the child's ZPD involves making sure that the child will be eventually able to function independently at the same high level where he/she was previously able to function with adult assistance. Once this is accomplished, the teacher will start aiming instruction at the new ZPD.
Scaffolding is the term used to describe the hints, prompts, cues, and strategies that the teacher provides within a child's ZPD to ensure that the child does make the transition from performing with assistance to performing independently. In the beginning, when the child needs maximum assistance, the teacher provides the most scaffolding. As the child masters a new concept or skill, the teacher gradually removes scaffolding until the child can use the newly learned skill or concept independently. The Vygotskian approach provides a framework for designing appropriate scaffolding for young children.