Proposal view
| Proposal Type: | Individual Paper |
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| Domain: | Knowledge Acquisition and Expertise in Specific Domains |
| SIG: | Conceptual Change |
| Type | Submitted Paper |
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| Paper Details |
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| Title | Conceptual and situational factors in children's understanding of the earth |
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| Abstract | The aim was to link different contexts in a learning situation by describing children’s understanding of the earth in relation to conceptual frameworks, situation and culture. Semi-structured interviews were accomplished with fifty-eight children, mainly between six and eight years old, in the presence of visual representations of the earth. Group 1 was interviewed with a globe, group 2 with a satellite photo of the earth, group 3 with one globe and three pictures showing different aspects of the earth, and group 4 was interviewed while they were producing their own drawings of the earth. In spite of the information given in the different visual representations of the earth, many children expressed conceptions of the earth that deviated from the culturally accepted concept. Also some children, who themselves drew pictures of the earth in line with conventional ways of depicting the earth, expressed alternative conceptions. The difficulties the children encountered are described from a conceptual point of view as differentiating between the astronomical conceptual framework of the earth and the common sense framework of the earth nearby, from a physical point of view as relating different perspectives from where the earth can be seen, and from a cultural point of view as interpreting different modes of depiction. Additionally, the children’s understanding of the relevance of different explanations in the situation was considered. The interaction between the conceptual and cultural factors in children’s understanding of the earth entailed that an alternative interpretations of mode of depiction in a representation could support an alternative conception of the earth. Practical relevance of the study is that cultural knowledge, for example knowledge of the conventions for depicting in a particular subject area, should be recognized as part of a science curriculum. |
| Summary | Aims The roles of conceptions and cultural contexts in learning have been disputed by constructivists and socio-cultural oriented researchers. One area, where this discussion has been accentuated, is research concerning the child’s conception of the earth, where the importance of conceptual frameworks and cultural artefacts has alternatively been given precedence. The aim of this study was to link these different contexts and describe children’s understanding of the earth in relation to conceptual frameworks, physical situations and cultural contexts. Methodology Fifty-eight children, mainly between six and eight years old, were interviewed in the presence of visual representations of the earth. The children were divided into four groups. In each group the children were interviewed individually in the presence of different visual representations of the earth. Group 1 was interviewed in the presence of a globe. Group 2 was interviewed in presence of a poster with a satellite photo of the earth. Group 3 was interviewed in the presence of one globe and three pictures showing different aspects of the earth. Group 4 was interviewed while they were producing their own drawings of the earth. The interviews were semi-structured and open for the children’s own interests. Themes focussed were ‘What is this?’ in relation to the pictures and models or in the drawing group: ‘Do you know what the earth is?’, and ‘Have you seen the real earth?’ These themes were elaborated according to what was appropriate in the different groups with special attention to the relation between what the earth looks like from different perspectives. The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed together with notes about what took place during the interviews. Findings In spite of the information given in the different visual representations of the earth, many children expressed conceptions of the earth that deviated from the culturally accepted concept. Also some children, who themselves drew pictures of the earth in line with conventional ways of depicting the earth, expressed alternative conceptions. The difficulties the children encountered are described from a conceptual point of view as differentiating between the astronomical conceptual framework of the earth and the common sense framework of the earth nearby, from a physical point of view as relating different perspectives from where the earth can be seen, and from a cultural point of view as interpreting different modes of depiction. Additionally, the children’s understanding of the relevance of different explanations in the situation was considered. The interaction between the conceptual and cultural factors in children’s understanding of the earth entailed that an alternative interpretations of mode of depiction in a representation could support an alternative conception of the earth. Examples of this were the children who withheld that the countries shown on the surface of a globe was in fact inside the real earth. This implies that the model was interpreted as produced to highlight important inner characteristics by showing them on the outside. Children’s understanding of the relevance of explanations in a situation with a picture of the earth as seen from space appeared to often make it hard to recognize the earth as nearby surrounding. Some children that acknowledged the earth both as a planet in space and as nearby surroundings even so showed difficulties to relate the perspectives from which the earth could be seen. Theoretical and educational significance of the research In relation to a conflict between constructivist and socio-cultural theory in educational research these results support a view where conceptions in the individual are linked to the cultural context by the individuals’ understanding of the situation. Practical relevance of the study is that cultural knowledge, like for example knowledge of the conventions for depicting in a particular subject area, should be recognized as part of a science curriculum. Also that children’s understanding of the relevance of different explanations in a situation should always be taken into account, when their knowledge is judged. |
| Keywords | Conceptual change Conceptual understanding Science education |
| Appendices | |
| Authors | ||||||
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| Name | Surname | Institution | Country | EARLI Number | Presenting | |
| Karin | Ehrlen | Stockholm University, Department of Education | Sweden | karin.ehrlen@ped.su.se | * | |
