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In this empirical study we analyse how children (aged four- to six-years-old) through communicative engagement with their teachers around their own drawings are supported in developing representational insight, that is, going from indicative sign-making to symbolic understanding. Theoretically, the analysis is informed by a sociocultural perspective, particularly Vygotsky’s work on concept development. The empirical data consist of approximately five hours of video observations of teacher–child communication in preschool. The activities analysed were designed by the teachers according to two different principles for facilitating discernment of the conventional meaning of symbols: contrast and induction. While one design is seen to be more powerful than the other in supporting children’s symbolic development, these patterns are, in the study and in everyday early childhood practice, intertwined with other communicative features such as establishing intersubjectivity. The implications for research and educational practice are discussed.

The article gives an overview of improving the methodology for developing elementary mathematical representations in preschool pedagogy and in preschool special education concerning the formation of mass perception. The authors describe the history methodology development in preschool education including the task for forming such measuring skills in children as an orientation in the mass of objects. Theoretical review made it possible to elucidate the under-development of the methodology for forming elementary mathematical representations in preschool children with intellectual disabilities. The article reveals the content of the methodology for corrective and pedagogical work on the formation of a mathematical function like understanding the mass of objects in preschool children with intellectual disabilities (mental retardation). It is based on the theory of the stage-by-stage formation of mental actions by P. Ya. Galperin. The methodology presupposes eight stages, each of which uses its own set of methods and techniques of training and a set of illustrative and handout material. The authors offer fragments of tasks on the formation of this understanding in preschool children with intellectual disabilities in the mass of objects at each stage of education. The methodology is implemented within the framework of the educational field “Cognitive Development” in classes on the formation of elementary mathematical representations. The introduction of the methodology in correctional and educational process of special (correctional) preschools in Ufa showed its effectiveness.

This article discusses the spatial representations that are required to teach a child to count, write, draw, read – all the processes that are based on establishing relations between objects and phenomena, their sequence, and hence their spatial relationships. Spatial concepts are essential for the formation of higher mental functions: praxis, gnosis, speech and writing, memory and thinking. The complex mechanisms of spatial representations start to form in early childhood. Formation of spatial representations is related to the use of different systems of orientation in space (the visible and imaginary). Neuropsychology has always been a practical science. Authors offer a theoretically sound practice games and exercises that promote the formation and development of spatial representations, which can be useful for specialists and for parents of preschoolers.

The article is devoted to the following question: how children of preschool age reflect developments in the surrounding world. Cyclic representations are understood as means of representation, which allow the child to reflect the structure of development: the transformation of the object into its opposite and return to the starting point, but at a new stage. Cyclic representations allow the child to see patterns recurrence occurring of the processes, to see non-randomness in the sequence of events. This article describes the tasks aimed at the formation of cyclic representations of the older preschoolers. Examples of specific tasks, “traps” that define the problem situations, as well as the cases in which children solve the problem situations are presented. Testing of tasks was carried out in 2013-2014 in preschool establishments of Moscow №1602 and №2523.

The article describes the tasks aimed at the development of cyclic representations of the older preschoolers. In each case, the description is given by a single scheme: formulation of the problem, a description of a specific task, an example of how children cope with this task. Objectives for action of dialectical transformation are proposed: children learn to establish relationships between opposites, detect transformation of objects and phenomena within the daily cycle (during the transition from day to night and vice versa). The authors show how to build a dialogue with the child in the course of solving problems and how to stimulate children’s thinking. The main goal is to create a situation in which children can discover the cyclic structure in the world, solving all sorts of problems in the course of the discussion, the project activity or writings stories.

The article is devoted to the following question: how do children of the senior preschool age reflect the processes of development in the world. Cyclic representations, allowing the child to reflect the structure of the development (the transformation of the object into its opposite and return to the starting point, but at a new stage) are understood as means of reflection of developmental processes. Cyclic representations allow the child to see patterns of the processes occurring around him repeatability, to see the nonrandomness of a sequence of events. The paper describes the results of studies of cyclic representations of older preschoolers on the examples of making stories and solving problems. These studies show that, although the children are immersed in the cyclical processes of the world, presentation of these processes to the children is fragmented as they are not organized into a coherent structure.

The paper presents the results of research devoted to mental representations functioning in preschool age. The results of studies of the formation of the metacognitive knowledge and understanding of emotions show the need to create conditions for the development of child mental representations. The experience of designing and creating educational situations, aimed at developing children’s ideas about the cognitive and emotional processes is described. Most important aspects of the content of the work and the methods of its implementation are highlighted. It is shown that in the work on the formation of children’s mental representations in verbal techniques can be used. The advantages of active learning methods (games and experiments) are shown. Evidence of the effectiveness of the work, indicating the possibility of formation of children’s mental representations are described.

The paper analyzes the difficulties in learning mathematics in preschool children. Key components of mathematical thinking are outlined. The difficulties in learning mathematics are analyzed on the concrete examples. It is shown that the spatial analysis and synthesis of thought is of paramount importance for successful mastery of mathematics. Difficulties in learning arithmetic operations in children are connected with spatial immaturity. Another essential component of mathematical operations is a well-developed thinking and arbitrary visual perception, which form the concept of geometric shapes. The programs of neuropsychological correction, which include a motor and cognitive correction are discussed.