Transition from Play to Learning in the Course of Literary Reading in the System of Developmental Education by D.B. Elkonin and V.V. Davydov

Background. The article touches upon the acute psychological and pedagogical issue of the child's transition from preschool play to school education.

Objective. The goal is to show the possibility of such a transition in the process of teaching the author's course of developmental teaching in literature, aimed at educating a cultured reader capable of conducting a dialogue with the author, mediated by a literary text. In order to do this, the child has to master practically the interconnected positions of the author and the reader, as well as the auxiliary positions the "critic" and the "theorist".

Study Participants. 27 students of the Moscow school № 91 took part in the classes, held over two years (in the first and second grades) according to the programme "Literature as a subject of the aesthetic cycle" by G.N. Kudina and Z.N. Novlyanskaya.

Methods. The analysis of the psychological content of different types of children's play as a source of prerequisites for artistic development was applied along with the qualitative analysis of lesson protocols during classes ensuring the transition from play to learning.

Results. The article provides a brief psychological description of the mentioned positions. The difference between a game aimed at mastering conceptual content — and a game that develops into the creation of an artistic image is shown. The stages of development of children's play from subject-procedural to "directing" and the prerequisites for artistic development that a child acquires in each of them are considered. The stages of the child's gradual transition from the position of a participant in the game to the position of the author and reader (viewer) are described. The protocols of classes in the first and second grades are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the moments of generation of the artistic concept, the task of the child's transition to the character's point of view, the appearance of a viewer absent in a regular game, and a discussion of the results of the game.

Conclusions. It is shown that under appropriate conditions, the game becomes a space for a smooth transformation of gaming activity into educational activity and introduces the child into the position of the author and reader of works of art. This outlines the path of such a transition from play to learning, in which the cognitive and emotional experience of a preschooler acquired in the game is not devalued, but is included in further development.

References

Bakhtin, M.M. (1979). Aesthetics of verbal creativity. Moscow: Iskusstvo Publ. (In Russ.)

Bakhtin, M.M. (2003). Collected works: in 7 vol. Vol. 1. Philosophical aesthetics of the 1920s. Moscow: Russkie slovari Publ. (In Russ.)

Bugrimenko, E.A. (2004). Sign and position in the experimental genetic method. Voprosy psikhologii, (1), 80–91. (In Russ.)

El'konin, B.D. (2019). «Scaffolding is about overcoming an effective action, direct achievement and building an action mode». Sovremennoe doshkol'noe obrazovanie = Preschool Education Today, (2), 4–7. (In Russ.)

Filippova, E.V. (1996). Taking on a role and moving from playing to learning activities. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 1(3), 85–93. (In Russ.)

Guruzhapov, V.A. (1999). How to Teach Children to Understand Fine Art. Essays on the Psychology of Generating Meaning in Paintings and Graphics. Moscow: My i mir Publ. (In Russ.)

Kudina, G.N., Novlyanskaya, Z.N. (2002). Literary reading. Methodical manual for the 2nd grade of a four-year elementary school. Moscow: Oniks Publ. (In Russ.)

Kudina, G.N., Novlyanskaya, Z.N. (2003). Literary reading. Methodical manual for the 1st grade of a four-year elementary school. Moscow: Oniks Publ. (In Russ.)

Kudina, G.N., Novlyanskaya, Z.N. (2006). Literary reading. The program is for grades 1-4. Literature. The program is for grades 5-11. Moscow: Oniks Publ. (In Russ.)

Melik-Pashaev, A.A., Novlyanskaya, Z.N. (2022). The psychology of artistic creation. Moscow: Moscow Univ. Press. (In Russ.)

Novlyanskaya, Z.N. (2010). Teaching and creativity. Moscow; Obninsk: IGSOTsIN Publ. (In Russ.)

Novlyanskaya, Z.N. (2020). Co-creation of understanding. On a literature course in the developmental education system. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 25(4), 71–80. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/pse.2020250407

Novlyanskaya, Z.N. (2024). Collective creative etude in developing literary education. Theoretical and experimental psychology = Theoretical and Experimental Psychology, 17(4), 182–199. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.11621/TEP-24-39

Novlyanskaya, Z.N. (2025). The role of play in a child's artistic development during the transition from preschool to school childhood. Iskusstvo v shkole = Art at School, (2), 2–6. (In Russ.)

Poluyanov, Yu.A. (1998). The relationship between educational activities and children's creativity in fine art classes. Voprosy psikhologii, (5), 94–101. (In Russ.)

Smirnova, E.O., Sokolova, M.V. (2013). The right to play: a new commentary on article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 18(1), 5–10. (In Russ.)

Tsukerman, G.A. (2016). Play and learning: the meeting of two leading activities. Kul'turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya = Cultural-Historical Psychology, 12(2), 4–13. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2016120201

Vinogradov, L.V. (2008). Collective music-making. Musical activities with children from 5 to 10 years old. St. Petersburg: Agentstvo obrazovatel'nogo sotrudnichestva Publ, Obrazovatel'nye proekty Publ; Moscow: Research Institute of School Technologies Publ. (In Russ.)

Zaporozhets, A.V. (1966). Play and child development. In: A.V. Zaporozhets, A.P. Usova, (eds.). Psychology and pedagogy of preschool children's play. Moscow: Prosveshchenie Publ. (In Russ.)