The work of the first laboratories of experimental psychology in the key of the pedagogical community at the beginning of the 20th century.

Kreitsberga Karina Andrisovna Teacher of history and social studies, Lyceum No. 273 named after L. Y. Gladysheva 196645, Russia, g. Saint Petersburg, ul. Polevaya, 35 kreuzbergakarina@gmail.com Other publications by this author

The pedological movement in Russia has strengthened and increased as a result of the organization of the first experimental laboratory in St. Petersburg. On October 24, 1901, Alexander Petrovich Nechaev created the first Russian center for the study of child development on the basis of the Pedagogical Museum of Military Educational Institutions in Solyanoy Lane. This institution, despite the fact that some research laboratories already existed, or were just being organized, was unique. The first experimental laboratories focused more on the study of society as a whole, trying to identify problems of development, pathology in the mental and psychological health of the individual. The Laboratory of Experimental Pedagogical Psychology emerged, first of all, as an effective scientific and methodological institution capable of helping and properly organizing the daily work of a teacher. This organization is possible only from the point of view of the laws of child development, which the center tried to analyze and formulate. The laboratory was supposed to help the teacher prepare to work with the changing consciousness of students. Based on the volume of various literature on psychology, issues related to it aroused great interest in society. Psychology, in turn, promised to find a solution for many pedagogical problems of that time. Economic, social, and spiritual changes required the search for new foundations for building a successful educational process. As a result of referring to the experience of the first laboratories of experimental psychology, it was possible to build a system of training teachers.

       Since the 60s of the XIX century, the teaching community has been trying to achieve independence. Since then, attempts have been made to organize pedagogical congresses. Initially, the issues addressed at these events related to the legal aspects of the teaching profession, methodological issues of teaching, the possibility of increasing the autonomy of pedagogical organizations, considered the possibility of exchanging experience. At the beginning of the XX century, meetings of teachers began to be considered as a socio-political event in the life of the state. The congresses of the pedagogical community were of particular interest in the period of 1905-1907. The key issues were school reform projects, vocational training. The All-Russian Teachers' Union was created. In the period from 1906 to 1916, 5 congresses were convened, whose activities concerned exclusively pedagogical psychology and experimental pedagogy, which will be discussed later.

One of the first experimental laboratories is the brainchild of V. M. Bekhterev.  In the autumn of 1885, the scientist created a laboratory at the clinic of mental and nervous diseases in Kazan. Given the speed of development of medicine, the successes achieved by scientists in the XIX century, it was necessary to analyze and consolidate the results obtained. Experimental psychology could cope with this task best of all. Following I. M. Sechenov, who was one of the first to talk about the success of using the experiment in psychiatry, Bekhterev also began working in this field. With the help of the work of the laboratory in Kazan, Vladimir Mikhailovich was able to start research in the field of neuropathology. Together with the university staff, scientific papers were prepared on measuring the speed of mental processes in people at different times of the day, human behavior as a result of hypnotherapy was studied, the boundaries of consciousness, memory volume, the influence of external conditions and environment on the quality of life and human behavior were investigated. It is in the laboratory of Kazan University that Vladimir Mikhailovich comes to the conclusion that memorization of material depends largely on the speed of sound signals, the novelty of the memorized material, external and internal stimuli. In his report, he writes: "The larger the size of the perceived groups, in other words, the more complex the representations, the fewer their number can simultaneously fit in consciousness; on the contrary, the smaller the size of the perceived groups, in other words, the less complex the individual representations, the more their number at a time fits in our consciousness."

                Further, the scientist notes that the memorization process is also influenced by the individual's attitude to the learning material, whether it corresponds to the moral position of the student himself, whether fatigue is great, what is the mental state of the subject at the time of learning.  Similar results will later become the basis for the construction of numerous pedological experiments that were implemented in Soviet schools in the 20s and 30s of the XX century. Having moved to St. Petersburg, the scientist continues his research and for this purpose creates a laboratory at the Military Medical Academy in 1894. Vladimir Mikhailovich in many works speaks about the need for interaction of experimental psychology with other scientific branches, which were also engaged in the study of man. He seeks to realize his idea in the creation of a completely new institute that would be able to study a person in many ways. Medicine, criminology, pedagogy and many other fields of scientific knowledge had to build the foundation of a new approach to the study of the changed time and changing human consciousness. The main task of the future institute, according to Vladimir Mikhailovich, is to comprehensively study and understand human nature, having developed the concept of completely different methods of work based on experiment and integration. Soon, Bekhterev presented his idea at the First All-Russian Congress on Pedagogical Psychology in St. Petersburg in 1906 ^[1], and already in 1907 a Psychoneurological Institute was opened in St. Petersburg, whose activities were also closely related to the pedological experiment.

The laboratory at the Clinic of Nervous and Mental Diseases of Kharkiv University, which was organized in 1885, also belongs to the founders of experimental methods for the study of human health. The emergence of this organization is closely connected with the name of Pavel Ivanovich Kovalevsky. After completing the Ekaterinoslav Theological Seminary in 1869, the scientist showed interest in natural science. This was an important moment on the path of professional development. Pavel Ivanovich continued his education at Kharkiv University at the Faculty of Medicine. Starting from the second year, his scientific research is conducted in the laboratory of the Department of General Pathology, under the supervision of I. N. Obolensky. Nervous and mental diseases were the main interest of the future scientist. In 1874, the university was graduated with the degree of a doctor and the title of a county doctor. As a result of high-quality scientific activity during his student years, Pavel Ivanovich was left at the faculty to prepare a doctoral dissertation on psychiatry on the topic "On changes in skin sensitivity in melancholics". The dissertation research was soon brilliantly defended. While working on the text of the study, Kovalevsky was in the position of a supernumerary resident of the department of the mentally ill of the Kharkiv Provincial Zemsky Hospital (Saburova dacha). The beginning of P. I. Kovalevsky's service was overshadowed by the organization of the daily life of the mentally ill. The specialist was amazed and puzzled by the essence of the treatment process. A warden with a whip was placed over each madman. At any slightest resistance, the whip was used for its intended purpose. If more effective measures were needed, the mentally ill could be chained or shackled. Pavel Ivanovich was able to completely change the previous work of this organization. P. I. Kovalevsky proposed to involve all patients in physical labor, for which it was necessary to create special workshops. The result of the scientist's activity was a change in the attitude towards crazy people. Now they have become patients and have the opportunity to be called "sick". After successfully defending his doctoral dissertation and undeniable success in professional activity in practice, the doctor becomes a professor of the Department of Psychiatry  Kharkiv University ^[2]. Pavel Ivanovich went down in history as one of the leading specialists in the field of neuropathology of the first half of the XX century. He was able to successfully investigate various speech and writing disorders. The diagnosis proposed by the author was of great interest to pedologists. On the basis of observations, such disorders as dysphasia (pathological acceleration or deceleration of speech, incoherence) and anarthritic ("jumping speech", ambiguity) were revealed disorders. Various writing disorders were also studied. Similar studies of the scientist were later actively used by pedologists. The new generation of children who grew up according to the laws of the revolution and the Civil War were completely different. Educators and teachers needed to understand how to teach a young audience.  First of all, the guys needed to be prepared for school, motivated, and taught the simplest rules of existence in a team. Such tasks had to be solved against the background of absolute poverty in all spheres of human life. To obtain the results, it was necessary to understand the problems of the child, often associated with various kinds of deviations, including in the psyche of the educated. Specialists used all possible and available studies that can help in solving this issue. As mentioned above, Pavel Ivanovich did not study the Institute of childhood, his profile was different, but, nevertheless, his work was relevant for various kinds of specialists. His approach to the study of the causes of mental illness, which were explained by scientists with the help of heredity, is interesting. Predisposition to mental illness, according to his hypothesis, is hereditary. It is possible to help a predisposed patient only with the help of competent educational influence and the creation of a favorable social environment around such a person. It was from his pen that the first guide to psychiatry came out, which has become indispensable for many generations of doctors.  The work of P. I. Kovalevsky in the field of historical science is particularly interesting. The scientist first resorted to the method of historical analysis as a result of the study of the "psychological portrait" of personalities of the past. The result of the analysis was a work in two volumes entitled "Psychiatric sketches from history".  Pavel Ivanovich developed topics related to the history of Ukraine, the conquest of the Caucasus, considered the history of Russia from the standpoint of nationalism.  The scientist has written more than 300 books. P. I. Kovalevsky in 1877 organized the first independent Department of Psychiatry and Neurology in Ukraine at Kharkiv University. The practical part of the educational process was carried out in the Kharkiv Provincial Zemstvo Hospital, but since it was located outside Kharkiv, which made the educational process difficult, students soon began to practice in a private hospital and. I'm Platonova. Subsequently, an experimental laboratory was also organized there. Since 1889, Pavel Ivanovich has been the dean of Kharkiv University.  Then he tries himself as rector, but already at the University of Warsaw. The activity of the scientist at this university continues until 1897. In the summer of 1896, V. I. Kovalevsky suffered a serious illness, after which he was forced to resign from office. The professional life of a scientist does not end there. A few years later, in 1903, he became the head of the Department of Psychiatry at Kazan University. After three years of experience in Kazan, the specialist ends up in St. Petersburg. As a lecturer. His course was called "Forensic Psychopathology", and was taught at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University. The scientist also worked as a senior doctor of the psychiatric department of the Nikolaev military Hospital in St. Petersburg. Pavel Ivanovich was engaged in publishing activities, during the Civil War he was the chief doctor of a military detachment in the Red Army. At the end of his life, he emigrated to Belgium, where he continued his research until his death ^[3].

 In 1895, a psychological laboratory appeared at the psychiatric clinic of Moscow University, which carried out its activities under the leadership of S. S. Korsakov.  After graduating from the Medical faculty at the University in 1875, Sergey Sergeyevich received the degree of Doctor of Medicine here in 1887. As a dissertation, the scientist defended his work entitled "On alcoholic paralysis".  At the time of writing the study, S. S. Korsakov was engaged in the study of nervous and mental diseases. The experience gained during this time helps the scientist to determine his specialization. In 1893 he became a professor of psychiatry at Moscow University. In the same year, his work "The Course of Psychiatry" was published ^[4]. In his research, Sergey Sergeevich notes the need for the prevention of diseases of various kinds. To do this, it is necessary to properly organize working conditions, provide decent food, eliminate unfavorable living conditions. S. S. Korsakov paid special attention to the care of mother and child.  In the "Course of Psychiatry" he talks about the intrauterine development of the fetus, about the proper care of the baby and about the upbringing of an already growing child.  Sergey Sergeevich focuses on those observations that have long been known in medicine, and which became relevant at the beginning of the century more than ever. It is proved that the abnormal state of parents during conception leads to various deviations. For example, the drunkenness of one of the parents, as the scientist notes, sometimes leads to the idiocy of the child. Continuing research of this kind, the scientist notes: "The mother's fright, which occurred after the moment of conception, was also noted as the cause of the child's idiocy. It was noted that the children, who developed through 8-9 months after the siege of Paris in 1870, were distinguished by special frailty, a tendency to convulsions and character oddities ("enfants du siede – children of the siege")" ^{[5, p. 431]}. Sergey Sergeevich continues to give numerous examples of various conditions that can harm a person's mental health in at the very beginning of his life. The scientist draws attention to all the processes that a child goes through during the prenatal and postpartum period. S. S. Korsakov warned about the importance of the initial physical development of the child. For example, the use of poppy milk, which was given to children to normalize sleep, led to strong mental changes. If we talk about the later development of the child, it is worth noting that proper upbringing reduces the tendency to mental illness. The scientist gives advice to specialists working in the field of youth education: "The main task of an educator thinking about how to protect a pupil from mental illness should be the development of firm guiding habits and principles that could show him the way in difficult circumstances, the development of aspirations for work available to him, the correct assessment of his strength and duties and the ability to self-control, the ability to own one's attention and suppress the arising impulses in the field of lower instincts, - the development of common sense and age-appropriate self-sufficiency is combined with the harmonious development of physical forces" ^{[5, p. 432]}. Further, the author identifies three "bad sides of moral education". Firstly, too harsh upbringing. Secondly, bad upbringing due to excessive wealth of the pupil. And thirdly, as a result of the disproportionate development of children's minds with their age. Each type of S. S. Korsakov accompanies with a list of possible deviations, problems, tries to offer a solution.  Interested in the opinion of the scientist about the contemporary school: "Modern high school has not yet found the right seb? real sample: and it's not just us, it's everywhere you wrote that Western Europe: everywhere complaining about school protalina, the fact that secondary education is given with difficulty that often unto the school children, to this capable and active, become dull, one-sided, quickly disappearing, falling in his spirit, unto needing constant support and unto the same time angry protiv their teachers" ^{[5, p. 434]}. In the psychological laboratory of S. S. Korsakov, various experiments were conducted to study the mental components of human existence.

       Of particular importance are the works of G. I. Rossolimo. In 1909, at Moscow University, the specialist presented his work on the study of quantitative studies of mental processes in normal and pathological conditions. Next year his work "Psychological Profiles" is published. Grigory Ivanovich is interesting to us in the framework of this article, in connection with the organization in 1911 of a clinic for nervous diseases of childhood. During the revolution, it was transferred to Moscow University. On the basis of this clinic, many experiments were implemented, which teachers and pedologists paid attention to in the 20-30s. For example, giftedness tests that allowed psychological diagnostics of children ^[6]. Valuable is the work of Grigory Ivanovich "A plan for the study of the child's soul in a healthy and painful state", published in 1909. In it, the author describes the need to study the child comprehensively, to work with teachers, parents and doctors together ^[7]. Not a little attention is paid to the questionnaire study of the environment and the condition of the student.   Each section (family, school, heredity, etc.) assumes a list of questions clarifying the situation of a particular child. A supplement to this work is the 1917 work "Psychological Profiles" ^[8]. The author identifies 11 psychological testing criteria – will, attention, accuracy and strength of perception, visual memory, memorization of speech, numbers, information processing (understanding), etc. Assessment for each criterion occurred on a 10-point scale. After the diagnosis, all the results were recorded on the graph – after analyzing the data, the average height of the psychological profile was formed. Grigory Ivanovich justified his method: "The center of our main interest ... is to determine, with the help of a psychological profile study, the height of backwardness, that is, the degree of backwardness, or rather, the strength of students' psychomechanics, and to achieve this main goal of ours, we tried to use all the points of view mentioned as a measure of testing our method. The results were obtained: we could trace a fairly complete correspondence between the profile indicators, on the one hand, and the medical and pedagogical characteristics given to the distribution by educational institutions, on the other" ^[9].   This method helped to distribute students to specialized institutions, according to the scale of mental development. Thus, the work of the teacher himself could be aligned with the student with a focus on the zone of closest development within a homogeneous class. Also, G. I. Rossolimo suggested testing preschool children, but not in order to immediately send them to special schools, but in order to identify growth points and those directions that will help the child cope with existing problems. 

Many specialists have worked on the creation of diagnostic materials that allow assessing the abilities of students in different fields. Interesting work was also carried out at the University of Dorpat with the arrival of Emil Kraepelin. On September 6, 1887, the scientist delivered a speech in which the goals facing the direction he was implementing were voiced. The main thing is that it is impossible to achieve these goals without close interaction with experimental psychology. During his five-year stay at the university, Emil Kraepelin manages to create a psychological laboratory. The experience gained during his stay in Dorpat will allow the scientist to propose a method of counting in 1895, which will be an excellent diagnosis in determining the threshold of fatigue and working capacity of students. This technique was very popular in the 20-30s and was constantly supplemented by other specialists (an increase in arithmetic operations, etc.). Vladimir Fedorovich Chizh takes the place of E. Kraepelin. His main activity was the creation of a psychological theory of personality and the study of individuality. In 1891, V. F. Chizh was appointed professor at the Department of Mental Diseases of the University of Dorpat. By this time, the theoretical basis of the problems of personality and individuality had already been created by scientists. The continuation was numerous articles considering the biological justification of some psychological processes. The work "Pedagogy as an art and as a science" is interesting. In it, the author notes "A true teacher is imbued with the idea that every student has the makings for good and good; if these makings do not develop, then education is to blame for this. Whoever treats children "scientifically", i.e. objectively, cannot be a teacher, because he can no longer be an enthusiast who loves his child and his students" ^[10].

Ardalion Ardalionovich Tokarsky also began his journey within the walls of the University of Dorpat. In 1880, he graduated from the gymnasium in Saratov and entered this higher educational institution. Literally a year later, he transferred to Moscow University. After its completion in 1885, he began working in the laboratory of nervous and mental diseases. A year later, he accepts S. S. Korsakov's invitation and works with him. This cooperation was fruitful, but not long. In 1887, A. A. Tokarsky entered the psychological clinic of Moscow University as a resident, and in 1895 became the director of this institution. During this time, he managed to complete an internship abroad with leading specialists (he studied with V. Wundt, J. M. Charcot and others), in 1893 he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine.  The main direction of his scientific activity is the study of the problems of hypnosis and suggestion, the analysis of mental life from the point of view of the totality of reflexes of the brain. A. A. Tokarsky also paid attention to the research of hypnotism in pedagogy. At the beginning of the article "Hypnotism in Pedagogy", he reflects on the topic of bias towards hypnosis treatment. Especially in relation to children. Many considered hypnotherapy as something that deprives a person of will and makes him dependent and suggestible to various influences, both positive and negative. The scientist proves the opposite. In relation to children, A. A. Tokarsky notes the possibility of refusing hypnotization and suggests using only suggestions in the waking state ^{[11, pp. 83-112]}. The specialist also analyzes a lot of statements that contrast the teacher, educator and specialist in the field of experimental psychology. There was an opinion that a hypnotized child who obeys discipline by suggestion loses the properties of a human personality. With the destruction of a vice in a child, it is possible to destroy him himself, thereby turning him into a "little monkey" ^{[11, p. 91]}. A. A. Tokarsky says that such a technique helps the teacher not to abandon the task of re-educating the student's personality, but invests a new weapon more capable of helping to combat the vices of his wards.  Hypnosis has been used to solve many problems, such as bedwetting, fright, theft, masturbation, a tendency to lie and others. It was necessary to apply this method only in special cases, in particular where the usual pedagogical techniques did not work. Ardalion Ardalionovich describes situations in which hypnotherapy was used to stimulate the brain, perseverance, attention development, etc. The data became interesting to teachers, but were not actively implemented by pedologists themselves.

Laboratories of experimental psychology, most often, arose at medical faculties or clinics.  The exception was the laboratory of Nikolai Nikolaevich Lange.  After graduating from the Faculty of History and Philology of St. Petersburg University, he was left to serve at the Department of Philosophy. This is followed by an internship abroad, in which the scientist manages to work at the V. Wundt Institute of Psychology. Having received advanced knowledge about the psychological sciences, Lange N. N. himself presents very interesting research in the field of the study of attention. The scientific work of this period will be reflected in the book devoted to the theory of volitional attention, which will be published in Odessa in 1893. The same topic will allow the specialist to defend his doctoral dissertation. Soon Nikolai Nikolaevich was appointed to Odessa. He starts working at the Department of Philosophy of Novorossiysk University. Here he deals with the problems of attention, the development of perception, thinking and memory. He manages to deduce the "law of perception", which will explain the peculiarities of the perception process. When getting acquainted with a new object, an object, we go through various stages of assimilation of ideas about it. The acquaintance begins with the general sensory perception and proceeds to a more detailed and meaningful one.    In 1896, he managed to organize an experimental psychological laboratory. This activity contributed to the improvement of the results of university teaching of psychology. "As a university lecturer, I was convinced that studying psychology only theoretically brings very weak results. Without psychological seminaries and laboratories, our listeners often take out of the audience only the knowledge of words and schemes, as if it is not about the phenomena of their own soul, but about the psyche of some unknown inhabitants of the planet Mars" ^[12]. In the official documents of the Novorossiysk University, the laboratory was listed as an educational and auxiliary institution at the Faculty of History and Philology and occupied part of the physiological laboratory. Officially, N. N. Lange was refused every time he sent a petition. Only by attracting private funds, the laboratory was able to exist. At first, classes in general and experimental psychology courses were held in the laboratory, and later on pedagogical studies of psychological processes. N. N. Lange paid much attention to the study of willpower. The scientist associated the concept of "will" as an impulse with movement. Thus, this mental process inextricably entails movement and is psychomotor, however, like any mental processes. The connection of will with movement, an attempt to explain this connection and to see cause-and-effect interactions, will be developed in pedagogical experiments.   

Another prominent representative of this time is Ivan Alekseevich Sikorsky. Specialist in the field of work with mentally retarded children and child psychopathology. He devoted his young years to studying at the Kiev-Sofia Theological College and the Kiev Theological Seminary. After he passed the exams at the First Kiev Gymnasium in 1862, he entered the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the Kiev University of St. Vladimir. A year later, the student decided to transfer to the medical faculty. It was there that he graduated in 1869. Three years later, the defense of a doctoral dissertation on the topic "On the lymphatic vessels of the lungs" follows. In 1873, Ivan Alekseevich finds himself in St. Petersburg and starts working at the clinic of mental Diseases at the Military Medical and Surgical Academy as a private assistant professor. For several years he has been working at the Academy, combining appointment to the position of an official on special assignments under the head of the Main Directorate of Military Educational Institutions. This is followed by a number of proposals to take senior positions in various psychiatric hospitals, but the scientist is not attracted by these prospects. I. A. Sikorsky decided to return back to Kiev. It was decided to organize a department on mental and nervous diseases at Kiev University. In 1885, the scientist was appointed professor at this institution. The scientist is engaged in the study of children's mental pathologies, speaks of the need for a comprehensive approach to the study of childhood. Already in 1882, his work "On the treatment and upbringing of underdeveloped, backward and feeble-minded children" was published.  In 1889, a monograph "On stuttering" was published, which will be in demand outside of our state. In it, he not only analyzes the problems of stuttering in detail, but also offers a medical and pedagogical method of treatment. In 1904, Ivan Alekseevich founded a Medical and Pedagogical Institute for mentally underdeveloped, retarded and nervous children.  The work of this institution can be called unique, as it was aimed at educating problem children and trying to socialize them. In 1912, he also founded the Institute of Child Psychopathology. Ivan Alekseevich wrote that the art of education and psychiatric art have common ground and something in common. Both directions are focused on the human soul. According to Sikorsky, what education does not finish, psychiatry has to finish. The scientist believes that "irregularities" in a person's character and in his abilities begin at an early time, in the first months and years of life. All this leads to the peculiarities of the mental makeup of an adult, although previously it was assumed that these problems are innate and cannot be corrected ^[13].  In his book "Psychological foundations of Education and Training", the scientist disputes this point and suggests a medical and pedagogical impact that helps to change the situation. This idea attracted pedologists and many architects of the "new world" in the 20s.

Another key figure is Georgy Ivanovich Chelpanov. The formation of his scientific interests took place at the Historical and Philological Faculty of Novorossiysk University in Odessa. He was greatly influenced by the philosopher and psychologist N. Ya. Grot. In 1890, Georgy Ivanovich moved to Moscow and began working at the Department of Philosophy of Moscow University. Two years later, the scientist went to work at Kiev University. The professional activity of this period helps G. I. Chelpanov to form as a scientist. At the university, he organizes the work of a psychological seminary. The scientist is convinced that students should conduct experimental, independent scientific work. Already in 1907, the specialist went to work at Moscow University. Since that time, he has been publishing works on the problems of psychology, philosophy and pedagogy. The Psychological seminary continues its work at Moscow University. The number of participants during the "Moscow period" has grown many times. G. I. Chelpanov decided to create a Psychological Institute of Moscow University.  This is followed by various business trips, the purpose of which was to see psychological laboratories organized in Europe and the USA. Georgy Ivanovich also researched the field of pedagogical works, but his view of psychological studios at schools was radically different from other representatives of the academic environment. "My arguments against psychological laboratories in high school... simple and few. For the management of these laboratories, specially trained persons are needed. Our psychology teachers with higher historical and philological education cannot be considered persons specially trained for experimental psychological research. The conclusion is clear by itself" ^[14]. G. I. Chelpanov paid much attention to the discussion of Marxist psychology and tried to present a new ideological space. The scientist argued a lot with N. N. Lange, G. I. Rossolimo. But, within the framework of our research, a dispute with A. P. Nechaev is of particular interest. G. I. Chelpanov tried to prove that "teacher-psychologist" is an impossible formula for serious research. In 1909, at a meeting of one of the conferences, Georgy Ivanovich drew attention to the glaring methodological errors in the experiments set by teachers. Many teachers, after G. I. Chelpanov's speeches, began to take a cooler attitude to the work of Nechaev and his laboratory. In the collection of articles for 1912, devoted to psychology and school, you can find a recording of a lecture by Georgy Ivanovich Chelpanov on the interaction of experimental psychology and school. An interesting phenomenon was noted by the scientist in connection with the publication of N. E. Rumyantsev. Back in 1906, within the framework of the first All-Russian Congress on pedagogical psychology, the question of teaching experimental psychology at school was decided, an attempt to introduce this subject and make it mandatory for study. To do this, it was planned to organize whole offices for experimental activities. Following the Congress it was decided that: "If the teacher znakomy sh experimental psychology, it seems quite reasonable acquisition of school collection of the most necessary appliances and consistent use of experiments unto as illustrations of the General provisions of psychology, but considered it mandatory for all teachers unto currently not recognized as possible" ^[15].  We are talking only about introductory classes with children. As a result of this statement, after a while, an article by N. E. Rumyantsev comes out, which lists equipment for psychological classrooms of secondary schools. Georgy Ivanovich carefully reads the text of the article and notes the following: "On perfumy Congress it was about the offices for the teaching of psychology unto the high school, and now talking about the offices for isslow mental abilities of pupils unto the high school. This was already a new thought" ^{[16, p. 173]}.  Rumyantsev describes the result of Lazursky's work, who compiled a list of the simplest psychological devices and tables for the study of individual personality traits. All this will allow teachers to make their work more effective by individualizing the educational process. And the study of the personality and characteristics of students is possible only with the help of the functioning of psychological offices. Teachers gladly began to study the methods of experimental psychology. They tried to introduce them into their work, but as the second congress of pedagogical psychology showed, they could not carry out a full–fledged study. Georgy Ivanovich notes that this is natural, since the connection between theoretical psychology and experimental psychology is that it is impossible to engage in experimental activities without deep theoretical knowledge. Summarizing, the scientist states: "From here it was concluded that it is not advisable to arrange classrooms for experimental psychological research, because teachers are not prepared to produce this kind of research" ^{[16, p. 175]}.

It is worth noting that the recommendations that pedologists gave in the 20-30s in methodical letters were already partially implemented at the very beginning of the XX century. Reports on the work of school institutions clearly demonstrate the interest of teachers in work, interest in the profession. Young specialists were eager to understand the reasons for the lack of success and were ready to get acquainted with new appropriate ways of teaching and implement them in life. Also, since the beginning of the XX century, information about the sanitary and hygienic condition of educational institutions, about the health of students and measures to improve their physical fitness have become mandatory. The reports also began to add information about the environment from which the child was enrolled in education (urban or rural, etc.) ^[17].  All this will become the main points of pedological experiments. Many of the problems faced by teachers could be solved by involving pedological research. Therefore, already at the beginning of the century, there were many disputes about how best to prepare a teacher, help him cope with emerging problems in teaching, what conditions should be created for learning. However, it turned out to be very difficult to create a universal specialist “pedologist”.