Elena Bodrova, Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning
Elena Bodrova is a Principal Researcher working at Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning based in Colorado. She is a well renowned educational specialist who has been very instrumental in the advancement of current teaching practices in early childhood development and the teaching practices in the classroom. One of Dr. Elena Bodrova’s most notable works is the Tools of the Mind program, which was adopted from Luria’s theories of brain development as well as Vygotskian and post-Vygotskian theories of learning. Dr. Bodrova has co-authored and written several articles in early child development and approaches to learning styles demystifying the aspects of literacy, inclinations, self-regulation, attitudes, and play in brain development (Bodrova & Leong, 2006). Elena Bodrova has extensive experience in her field of work. She began applying Lev Vygotsky’s theory in Russia at the Institute of Preschool Education before relocating to the US first as a visiting professor at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, then to Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning, Colorado where she is based currently.
One of the most influential works developed by Elena Bodrova that affected the teaching practices in the classrooms was Tools of the Mind program, which was done in collaboration with Deborah J. Leong. The book enabled future education specialists/ teachers to use the concept of teaching as a method that equips young children with essential mental tools needed for their learning development (Bodrova & Leong, 2006). The implied mental tools are deemed to be manifested in a cycle. In this cycle, the ideas are first learned through observation from others; they are then adapted, get modified and transformed by the learner and then finally the changed ideas are cast on to others, forming a cycle of idea tradeoffs between the learner and their environment (Bodrova & Leong, 2006). Elena Bodrova’s works usually offer real examples and concrete explanations on the application of Russian Vygotsky’s and neo-Vyotskians’ theories and findings that could be adopted in the American context. These works have been influential in presenting classroom teachers with practical strategies that can help adequately influence the learning and development process of students in the current and future times (Bodrova, 2008).