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The goal of this article is to discuss diagnostic criteria that are directly observable and at the same time allow to judge with sufficient reliability whether learning is activity-based not only in its project, but also in its implementation - in a cooperative child-adult action. Only one criterion is proposed here: children's initiative aimed at discovering and appropriating new concepts. In an attempt to elucidate the blurred meaning of such terms as “activity-based education”, “student as an agency (initiator) of learning activity” the authors suggest revising the subject matter behind these words, and for this purpose to visit the lessons and highlight the events that manifest children's learning initiative. The evidence from the literacy lessons taught according to the Elkonin’s ABC primer shows how the guesses and questions by individual students reveal to the observer that the students relate the concept mastered here and now and the concepts that belong to the same system but have not been discussed as yet in the classroom. Such transcending beyond the scope of the task as initially set by the teacher, discloses children's efforts to construct the concepts that outstrip the teacher's plan by several hours, weeks, and even months. As a rule, such initiatives are accompanied by expressed emotions of joy, surprise, pleasure, inspiration, interest, signifying their personal meaning for children.
Zuckerman et al. (Tue,) studied this question.