AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY ON THE FORMATION OF DESIGNING AND MAKING ACTIVITY IN MIDDLE GRADE SCHOOL-CHILDREN

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of training program concerned with the designing and making (DM) activities and to discus s possibilities of organizing technical constructive activity in middl e grade school children. Based on the theory of A. N. Leont'ev we can consider that the DM activity consists of the four components: (1) Goa l formation, (2) Designing and drawing, (3) Construction, (4) Control and regulation. The teaching program consisted of 5 stages (21 steps i n all). Six third grade school children who had not yet acquired Eucli dian concepts of space received the experimental individual training f or 3-4 months. As the results of training, it was found that all of ch ildren could acquire not only Euclidian concepts, but also independent DM activity, in which they could design and make the three-D objects and products from card board intended by themselves creatively and acc urately. This study suggests that organizing DM activity in children a rouses high motivation to activity and is very effective in promoting their learning and development.