P.Y. Galperin's Development of Human Mental Activity

Front matter

lrina Engeness

| P. Y. Galperin's Development of Human Mental Activity

Lectures in Educational Psychology

Preface

Several years ago, on the last day of a seminar on the scientific legacy of L. S. Vygotsky, I came across a bookstore in Moscow. Among other books in psychology, a book entitled P.Y. Galperin. Lectures in Psychology [Lekcii po psikhologii] (Galperin, 2002), edited by A. Podolskiy and his team and published in Russian for the commemoration of the centenary of Galperin’s birthday in 2002, caught my attention. The following day, on my way back to Oslo, I read the book of lectures, and such a detailed introduction to Galperin’s work considerably shaped my understanding of cultural-historical theory and affected my further research seeking to position it as an attempt to understand how to educate agentic and conscious learners in the twenty-first century. However, despite numerous reviews and discussions of the contributions of Piotr Galperin (1902-1988), that have been published subsequently (Arievitch, 2003; Arievitch & Haenen, 2005; Arievitch & Stetsenko, 2000; Stetsenko & Arievitch, 2002), his scientific legacy is still little known in the vast community of researchers. In these overviews, Galperin is introduced as an educational psychologist and a scholar who contributed to the further theoretical and experimental development of the cultural-historical activity theory (Haenen, 1996). However, due to limited translations, the holistic structure of Galperin’s conceptual thinking has remained undiscovered by a wide community of international scholars.

This volume is composed of eight seminal lectures that have been translated into English for the first time from the collection of Lectures in Psychology (Galperin, 2002). They comprise the Study of the Development of Human Mental Activity which is presented in full for the first time in English. A brief summary, written by the Editor, precedes each lecture. The translation of the lectures was a challenging endeavour and it required particular efforts and several rounds of discussions of the experts in order to understand Galperian thought and to convey it in English without changing its original meaning. The translations were first conducted by Prof. Irina Engeness and then discussed and validated with the team of experts: Prof. Anne Edwards, Prof. Andreas Lund and Dr. Gethin Thomas. In addition, other experts were invited to provide credibility to the translated materials. Professor Igor Arievitch, who is a native Russian speaker, expert in English and Galperin’s Ph.D.

vi Preface student, provided his feedback on the translated lectures. Professor Andrej Podolskiy, Galperin’s Ph.D. student, who collected and edited Lectures in Psychology in Russian also provided his feedback on the translated lectures. The comments of both Prof. Igor Arievitch and Prof. Andrej Podolskiy were carefully addressed in the revised drafts of the lectures. In addition to the collection of the translated lectures, the volume presents extended commentaries, which aim to position Galperin’s contributions to cultural-historical traditions and outline the implications and significance of Galperin’s legacy for contemporary educational research and practice.

The article that precedes the lectures, Devoted to the Matter of Science: The Life and Professional Career of Piotr Galperin, introduces Piotr Galperin to the readers and briefly presents the personal and professional milestones of his biography and scientific legacy.

In the article Freedom as a Pursuit of Human Development: P.Y. Galperin on the Historical Psychology of L. S. Vygotsky, Engeness and Zavershneva present and discuss Galperin’s speech The System of Historical Psychology of L. S. Vygotsky: Analytical Considerations, which he delivered at the internal conference and mourning gathering on 6 January 1935, in Moscow, dedicated to Vygotsky, who had died six months prior. The speech is a unique historical document that makes a considerable theoretical contribution by presenting a concise and consistent summary of the theory of consciousness Vygotsky outlined at the end of 1932. In doing so, Galperin’s speech exemplifies his profound understanding of Vygotsky’s theory. In the article, Engeness and Zavershneva discuss how the ideas central to Vygotsky’s theory, which Galperin outlined in his speech, were further elaborated in the legacy of Galperin presented in this volume.

Galperin’s Study of the Development of Human Mental Activity comprises eight seminal lectures. Although each lecture elaborates on a specific aspect of Galperin’s theory, they have to be read in a sequential order to follow Galperian thought unfolding his legacy.

Lecture 1: The Development of Mental Actions and the Orienting Basis of Actions introduces the Study of the Development of Human Mental Activity. Galperin argues that to plan an action, it is necessary to create an image of an action. Any human action has a binary structure comprised of orienting and executive parts. Therefore, planning an action should include the creation of both its orienting and the executive parts. The orienting part comprises two subsystems, motivational and operating the latter of which consists of four components: (i) constructing an image of the present situation; (ii) revealing the potential of the individual components of the present situation to the learners; (iii) planning the future action; (iv) facilitating the action in the course of its execution. These four components are not only complex, but also different. However, they are similar in the presence of images of one kind or another: an image of the present situation, an image of the plan of action, or an image of the action that is being executed. In summary, Galperin argues that there are two types of images: images of the surrounding reality and images of ideal actions. These two types of images constitute the two main components of human orienting activity. Galperin proceeds to discuss the formation of ideal actions by

Preface Vii outlining three premises: (i) ideal is the material transferred to the human mind and transformed in it; (ii) ideal actions have to be created, and it is important to create a material action from which an ideal action could be derived and (iii) not all actions can be transferred to the ideal or mental plane. Galperin explains the difference between the ideal and mental plane as follows: the mental plane belongs to the person reflecting the surrounding reality, and the ideal plane might comprise a person's reflections and perceptions. Galperin proceeds by investigating the actions that can be completely transferred to the mental plane of a person. He argues that the development of actions that can be transferred to the mental plane is of primary significance in overcoming the situation in pedagogy, where teachers educate learners by simply explaining target concepts. By following such an approach, the entire process of learning remains “behind the wall" and invisible to learners. Instead, Galperin argues that the process of learning should be deployed and revealed to learners by identifying the following two steps: (1) The qualities and requirements of the future learning process should be accurately identified. These qualities of the action can be used as criteria for the assessment of the action. The desired learning outcome of the action should also be identified and (2) A system of conditions to ensure the desired properties of the action should be selected under which students cannot help mastering the action and, in doing so, learning how to complete other tasks. This system of conditions is labelled the phases of the development of mental actions. Galperin elaborates in detail on the three large and interrelated subsystems that comprise the above-mentioned system of conditions. Galperin's detailed elaboration of the second subsystem to achieve the desired properties of the action is the topic of lecture 2.

Lecture 2: The Phases of the Development of Mental Actions focuses on the executive part of the action, which comprises three subsystems: (1) the conditions for constructing the action (a scheme of the orienting basis of the action); (ii) the acquisition of the desired properties of the action and (iii) the transfer of the original external action to the mental plane of the learner and the transformation of the action into a new psychological process. Galperin elaborates in detail the first and the second subsystems of the executive part of the action. Galperin points out that to create a scheme of the orienting basis of the action, the action should be visualised, and the outcome of the action with its particular characteristics should be identified. The desired outcome of the action should be divided into the elements (units) presented in the order of their execution or performance. Galperin emphasises the properties of the initial materials and the tools of the action, which can be divided into primary tools, auxiliary tools and control tools. Galperin elaborates on the desired properties of the action such as: (i) rationality—the learner's ability to identify the action’s objective and significant relationships; (ii) generalisation—the learner’s ability to identify the significant conditions among the variety of conditions in which he or she operates; (iii) consciousness of the action—the learner’s ability to give a verbal report of the action; (iv) criticality—the comparison or verification of the selected criteria for an assessment of the action in relation to reality; (v) measure of the mastery of the action—whether the action can be performed by the learner using the initial material resources or whether it can be viii Preface performed verbally in symbolic form, or mentally and how quickly it can be performed. Later, Galperin turns his attention to the primary properties of the action: (1) The nature of the object with which the action is performed; (2) Developing the units of the action; (3) The measure of the differentiation of the action; (4) The timely parameters and (5) The power characteristics of the action. Finally, Galperin poses a question about how to develop the desired properties of the action. The detailed answer to this question is the topic of lecture 3.

Lecture 3: The Conditions for the Development of the Properties of the Action. The Phases of the Development of the Action elaborates on the measures needed to achieve the desired properties of the action. For example, consciousness of the action is achieved by the learner orienting his or her action to the identification of the important relationships between the features of the target problem. To achieve the consciousness of the action, the teacher must fully deploy the action so that the learner is able to trace what happens within each unit of the action and how the transition from one unit to the next unit occurs. Galperin argues that if a learner can trace this process, then the action acquires the meaning of a generic and not merely a subjective process. The second measure in the formation of consciousness of the action is separating the essential from the inessential aspects of the action and, finally, the third measure concerns the presentation of the action as an external process.

Galperin describes how other desired properties of the action can be achieved (i.e. the generalisation, rationality, criticality and the measure of the mastery of the action). For example, to achieve the generalisation of the action, particular attention is given to the significance of introducing a general scheme to learners, which should be actively used to solve systematically selected problems. By employing this scheme, learners identify the key features of the target concepts and the essential relationships between them. However, the main idea is that the scheme should not be memorised but understood by learners. Generalisation happens in the process of applying this scheme to a wide range of problems. To develop rationality/awareness of the action, as the ability to present a verbal report of the action, learners complete the action through talking. The degree of the mastery of the action can be achieved by eventually merging the small individual units of the action into bigger units and subsequently into one continuous process. Establishing the rhythm of the action is an important indicator of the mastery of the action: when the rhythm is fully established, then the speed of the action can be increased. Finally, Galperin turns to the third subsystem: the transformation of the action into mental action which happens through six consecutive phases or forms of activity: (1) motivation; (2) orientation; (3) materialised action; (4) communicated thinking; (5) dialogical thinking and (6) acting mentally. Galperin proceeds by describing the formation of the motivational basis of the action and how learning emerges in each of the other phases (2-6) is presented in detail in lecture 4.

Lecture 4: The Process of Internalisation. Theoretical and Practical Implications of the Study on the Phases of the Development of Mental Actions offers exhaustive descriptions of the phases or forms of learners' activities in the process of the development of mental actions.

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Creating the orienting basis of the action is achieved by developing a generalised scheme of the action. By applying the scheme as a guiding tool, a person who has never been previously exposed to the task, completes it in one step at a time. A learner’s ability to complete the task correctly on multiple occasions can indicate that the scheme of the orienting basis of the action is complete. The orienting scheme can be created by the teacher and offered to learners for them to use. By using this scheme, learners are able to solve various tasks, and the process creates a specific attitude toward learning: mastering the target concept becomes a means for achieving the personal success of each individual learner. The orienting scheme can also be constructed by learners under the guidance of a teacher. Moving step-by-step under the guidance of a teacher, learners identify the characteristic features of the target concept, and in doing so, create a complete scheme of the orienting basis of the action. When the scheme of the orienting basis has been created, it can be applied by learners to solve various problems.

In the materialised form of an action, learners engage in and interact with material or materialised objects that carry the meanings encapsulated in these objects. In the materialised form, the action can be fully deployed and slowed down so that its every step can be traced by the learners. Galperin argues that the desired properties of the action can be developed in the materialised form. Gradually, the material or materialised support is removed, and learners perform the action in the form of externalised social speech (communicated thinking).

In the phase of communicated thinking, for the first time, the action takes the form of an ideal action performed with images of the material or materialised objects. Learners do not talk about the action, but they complete the action through talking. When the action in the phase of communicated thinking systematically demonstrates accuracy and the required speed, the action is transferred to the fifth phase, dialogical thinking.

In the phase of dialogical thinking, by visualising the material or materialised objects that the learners interacted with previously, the action is performed by silent speech or talking to oneself.

Finally, in the sixth phase, the action is performed in hidden speech, which Galperin refers to as acting mentally. In this phase, artificial fragmentation into individual units is suspended, and the action acquires its natural flow. In this phase, the maximum automation of the action can be achieved.

Galperin points out that some phases or forms of the action can be rearranged or restructured. However, he recommends following the suggested sequence of the phases when particularly introducing new concepts to learners.

Finally, Galperin elaborates on the method of psychological research as a method for studying the development of psychological phenomena with the required properties. Galperin argues that to examine the phenomenon, the phenomenon must be created. He continues his argument by criticising the notion of epiphenomenalism or mechanical materialism and indicates that to develop human consciousness, a system of opportunities should be created by designing external and internal human activities.

x Preface

At the end of the lecture, Galperin discusses the psychological grounds of achieving and underachieving students. He points out that underachieving students do not need extra time for tuition, but they do need specific interventions that are aimed at compensating missed phases of the actions that students need to master.

Lecture 5: Psychological Grounds of the Development of Ideal Actions and Concepts starts by reminding that the development of mental actions comprises two parts, orienting and executive, and both are transferred to the learner’s mental plane.

The orienting part of the action has a guiding function that is needed to perform the action; therefore, the executive part of the action is connected to the orienting part. The orienting part includes four main purposes or tasks: (i) evaluating the present situation; (ii) identifying the potential of the objects present in the situation for meeting the actual needs of the learner; (iii) creating a plan for the action and (iv) controlling the action’s execution according to the created plan.

The development of mental actions begins in the materialised form during learners’ interactions with material or materialised resources, followed by the transfer of the action to communicated thinking, where for the first time the action acquires the form of an objective thought. During these transformations, the action is transferred to the learner’s mental plane where the action undergoes further changes. Galperin argues that researchers should not study phenomena as such, but rather the ontological grounds, as well as the causes and the processes, that underlie these phenomena. He suggests that psychological phenomena should be understood as internal actions that have been transformed from external actions with objects. How the actions are performed indicates whether they have been developed correctly.

The discussion of the development of mental actions is continued by considering the development of concepts. Galperin indicates that concepts constitute one of the two main forms of reflecting on the real world; the second form is sensory images. It is indicated that the development of concepts is central to learning in school and higher education. Galperin concludes that the development and generalising of concepts in learners happens gradually. By applying the concept in various situations, learners enrich it with features that are derived from their everyday life experiences. However, because such concepts lack structure, the essential (scientific) and inessential (everyday life features) are given equal weight, and students struggle to identify the primary and secondary features of the concept.

Galperin argues that the development of scientific concepts is possible in 6 and 7-year-old students by identifying the characteristic features of the target concept and introducing them to the learners. First, learners must identify the presence or the absence of the characteristic features of the target concept in the object they are interacting with and then determine whether the object belongs to the target concept. Second, the characteristic features of the target concept must be presented to the learners on an orienting card and arranged in a column where each feature is under its number. Third, different tasks should be offered to learners (based on the principle of contrast), such as subject-specific, logical and psychological tasks. By following this approach, learners develop an understanding of the target scientific concept. The learning process happens quickly without memorisation, and the learners are able to apply the target concept in various situations.

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Lecture 6: Development of Sensory Images presents a case study of the development of sensory images in learners by tasking them with the analysis of mediaeval Armenian churches. Both the target and control groups participated in the study. In the control group, the students were presented with photographs of typical examples of mediaeval Armenian architecture. The students had to compare and contrast the photographs to identify the characteristic features of Armenian churches and outline the differences and similarities between Armenian and other churches. In the target group, the phases of the development of mental actions were applied. The learners were introduced to the functions of Armenian churches: (i) temples of religion, (ii) places for public meetings and (iii) fortresses to protect the city's inhabitants from enemy attacks. The construction of the churches and the building materials used were also explained to the students. They were also introduced to the historical circumstances of the construction of Armenian churches. In analysing this information, the students identified the characteristic features of mediaeval Armenian churches. When the students had identified the characteristic features of Armenian churches, these features were presented to them on cards in a distinct order. The learners analysed the images of the churches by using the list of characteristics and then concluded whether the church was Armenian or not.

At the end of the learning process, the students in both the target and control groups were able to identify Armenian churches. However, in the control group, the students’ ability to recognise Armenian churches was unstable: the students were unsure about their analysis, and they could not justify or explain their answers. A different situation was observed in the target group: the students could explain their answers, which they expressed with confidence. Galperin concludes that when they are exposed to spontaneous comparing and contrasting, learners develop conceptual understanding; however, the process of learning remains unstructured and invisible to them. Learners in the control group could identify the characteristics of the target concept; however, they demonstrated uncertainty in their choices. In addition, the learners were unable to justify and explain their answers, and they did not develop an understanding of the learning process.

Galperin proceeds by discussing a method of psychological research. He argues that a system of psychological conditions should be created to develop actions with the required properties. In the absence of such a system, the development of the desired phenomenon cannot be ensured. Galperin points out that human mental activity has material grounds and originates in a real external process. The transfer of the external process to the mental plane of the learner is also a real process that can be traced. If we do not ensure the successful transfer of the activity from the external to the internal plane, a psychological action with the desired properties cannot be developed in learners.

Lecture 7: Development of Physical Actions discusses the process of the development of physical actions, which are also referred to as motor skills. The focus is on the development of physical actions in which the executive part remains on the external plane, and the orienting part undergoes development by transferring through speech to the mental plane of the learner. Galperin argues that physical actions can be developed by employing two types of orientation: incomplete and complete.

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In an incomplete orientation, which Galperin termed the first type of orientation, a learner acts by trial and error, and after numerous trials, some may appear to be successful. The development of a psychical action in the first type of orientation comprises two phases: first, a learner seeks an action that leads to a successful outcome; second, a learner directs his or her efforts to improve this action. Galperin describes this approach to mastering physical actions as unconscious and not understood because the relationships between the action and the external conditions remain unrealised by the learner. The result of such a process is that in a group of students, there is always a wide variety in their academic achievements. Moreover, the developed actions are sensitive to any changes in the conditions of the actions: learners do not achieve similar results after several attempts. In traditional education, these variations are explained according to learners’ individual abilities. Galperin argues that learning is a psychological process, and therefore, to examine learning, one needs to explore its psychological grounds. These grounds comprise learners ' orientation in the learning process.

The complete orientation, which Galperin terms the second type of orientation, might offer another approach to developing a physical action. In the learning process after the complete orientation, students utilise the orientation scheme created by the teacher to develop an action; hence, unnecessary trials and mistakes should not occur. Most learners develop the desired action, and there are almost no variations among their achievements. Galperin summarises that when a complete orienting basis of the action is offered, the action is performed correctly by students in the first attempt, and the skills developed during this action are stable and can be transferred to other situations. By using a complete orientation, students develop a positive attitude towards the process of learning by engaging in the learning process, not by trial and error, but consciously. Galperin concludes that in developing learners’ conscious skills, the duality between skills and knowledge disappears. Finally, Galperin describes the process of the automation of action through the formation of bigger units of the action and then by merging all units into one continuous flow of the action.

Lecture 8: Psychological Grounds of the Process of Automation starts by referring to the previous lecture, in which the process of skill development was considered. Galperin describes the internal process of skill development as the transformation of the unfolded and divided into units of action in one indivisible process. After the automation of the action is achieved, the learner performs the action by (i) recognising the situation and (ii) performing the action according to the image of the action he or she has developed. This process is termed acceptance of the action. However, from a psychological perspective, Galperin describes the acceptance of the action as the development of an image or a model of an action. He emphasises that skill development should not be understood as a process of memorising the action's structure by subsequently repeating and improving it. Instead, skill development involves the processes of transformation and change that can be developed gradually in learners. During these transformations, the actions performed by learners undergo considerable change. To develop an action, the following steps may be followed: (1) the model of an action has to be identified and

Preface xiii presented to the learners; (ii) the model of the action should be divided into individual manageable units with specific characteristics (secondary structure). The secondary structure of each unit should be recognised by the learners. This structure assists learners in performing the action. The characteristics of the entire action comprise the primary structure, which also has to be presented to the learners. Understanding the primary structure is crucial in the process of action automation. Galperin summarises that (1) when action automation happens, learners do not need to examine the situation, but to recognise the situation that was introduced previously. The learners’ performance of the action is controlled by comparing the actual flow of the action with the image of the action developed by the learners; (ii) in automated actions, the detailed orientation of learners is substituted by the recognition of the situation and the comparison of its specific characteristics with the action's generalised orientation. The control of the action's performance happens by comparing the actual flow of the action with its imaginary model. When the action becomes automated, it acquires expressiveness, which has a double meaning: (i) it is directed to the outside world and (ii) it connects the acting person with other people. Finally, Galperin summarises his study of the development of human mental activity and identifies other psychological phenomena that warrant study, such as attention, thinking, creative thinking, memory, dreams, feelings and will.

In the article that follows Galperin’s lectures, Demands and Realities: Significance and Implications of Galperin's Legacy for Learning and Teaching in 21st Century, Engeness, Thomas, and Podolskiy discuss the central ideas in the Study of the Development of Human Mental Activity and outline the implications of Galperin's conceptual foundations for educational practice and research.

Galperin's lectures presented in this volume were originally delivered to the students at Moscow State University in the 1960s—80s. According to Podolskiy (Galperin, 2002), these lectures were held in a special atmosphere, which he claimed combined sophisticated intelligence and true democracy. Podolskiy described Galperin as a revolutionary thinker who created a new paradigm of scientific and psychological thinking about the problems of developmental psychology, teaching and learning and identified qualitatively new directions in research and practical work in these fields.

This volume is intended to be of interest to readers concerned with the theoretical framings of learning and development, educational practitioners, and those who work within cultural-historical traditions. I hope that the Study of the Development of Human Mental Activity will present Galperin's thinking in some detail to a wider audience and will introduce one of the most fascinating concepts in educational and developmental psychology in the twentieth century.

Sincerely Professor Irina Engeness

Faculty of Education, Ostfold University College, Halden, Norway xiv Preface

Arievitch, I. (2003). A potential for an integrated view of development and learning: Galperin's contribution to sociocultural psychology. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 10(4), 278—288.

Arievitch, L, & Haenen, J. (2005). Connecting sociocultural theory and educational practice: Galperin's approach. Educational Psychologist, 40(3), 155—165.

Arievitch, L, & Stetsenko, A. (2000). The quality of cultural tools and cognitive development: Gal’perin’s perspective and its implications. Human Development, 43(2), 69-92.

Galperin, P. Y. (2002). Lectures in psychology. Moscow: Knizhnyy Dom Universitet.

Haenen, J. (1996). Piotr Galperin: Psychologist in Vygotsky's footsteps. Commack, NY: Nova Science.

Stetsenko, A., & Arievitch, I. (2002). Teaching, learning and development: A post-Vygotskian perspective. In G. Wells & G. Claxton (Eds.), Learning for life in the twenty-first century: Sociocultural perspectives on the future of education (pp. 84—87). London: Blackwell.

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to thank the contributors and the co-authors of the articles included in this book. I am endlessly grateful to Prof. Andrej Podolskiy, for granting his permission to translate the lectures and co-authoring the article in this book. I would like to thank Dr. Gethin Thomas for being a discussion partner to brainstorm the significance and implications of Galperin’s legacy for coach education and co-authoring the article. I am grateful to Dr. Ekaterina Zavershneva for engaging in a thorough analysis of Galperin’s speech and co-authoring the article in this book. I would like to thank Prof. Igor Arievitch, who read the translated lectures and provided his valuable feedback. Finally, a big thank you to Prof. Anne Edwards and Prof. Andreas Lund, who encouraged me to translate Galperin’s lectures, supported me and participated in the discussions about the content of the first four lectures in this book.

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Devoted to the Matter of Science: The Life and Professional Career of Piotr Galperin