Children’s Astronomy. Shape of the earth, location of people on earth and the day/night cycle according to polish children between 5 and 8 years of age

JAN AMOS JELINEK

Abstract

This article presents findings with regard to mental models of the shape of the earth, location of people on earth and the day/night cycle, established on the basis of statements of 49 polish children aged from 5 to 8 years. During the interviews, the children made moving representations of the day and night sky and explained the position of and mutual relations between the earth, sun and moon using self-made plasticine models. The article establishes a high degree of similarity with the Vosniadou and Brewer models and states that children's astronomical knowledge mainly comes from extracurricular sources of information.

Keywords

Shape of the earth, location of people on earth, the day/night cycle, mental models, children

Full Text:

PDF

References

Barnett, M., Wagner, H., Gatling, A., Anderson, J., Houle, M., & Kafka, A. (2006). The impact of science fiction film on student understanding of science. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 15(2), 179-191.

Carey, S. (2007). Conceptual differences between children and adults. Mind & Language, 3(3), 167-181.

Diakidoy, I. A., Vosniadou, S., & Hawks, J. D. (1997). Conceptual change in astronomy: Models of the earth and of the day/night cycle in American-Indian children. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 12(2), 159-184.

diSessa, A. (1998). Knowledge in pieces. In G. Forman & P. Pufall (Eds.), Constructivism in the Computer Age (pp. 49-70). New Jersey, Unites States of America: Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers.

Gopnik, A., & Wellman, H. M. (1992). Why the child`s theory of mind really is a Theory. Mind & Language, 7(1/2), 145-171.

Jelinek, J. A. (2016). Theories explaining astronomical phenomena at children and adults. Edukacja Biologiczna i Środowiskowa, 1(58), 41-48.

Jelinek, J. A. (2019). The effectiveness of peer tutoring in the field of teaching basic astronomical concept among older preschoolers and young pupils. A quantitative analysis. Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Humanitas Pedagogika, 19, 147-158.

Kampeza, M., & Ravanis, K. (2009). Transforming the representations of preschool-age children regarding geophysical entities and physical geography. Review of Science, Mathematics and ICT Education, 3(1), 141-158.

Kampeza, M., & Ravanis, K. (2012). Children`s understanding of the earth`s shape: an instructional approach in early education. Skholê, 17, 115-120.

Klein, C. (1982). Children's concepts of the Earth and the Sun: A cross cultural study. Science Education, 65(1), 95-107.

Mali, G., & Howe, A. (1979). Development of earth and gravity concepts among Nepali children. Science Education, 63(5), 685-691.

Nobes, G., Martin, A., & Panagiotaki, G. (2005). The development of scientific knowledge of the Earth. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 23(1), 47-64.

Nobes, G., Moore, D., Martin, A., Clifford, B., Butterworth, G., Panagiotaki, G., & Siegal M. (2003). Children’s understanding of the earth in a multicultural community: mental models or fragments of knowledge? Developmental Science, 6(1), 72-85.

Nussbaum, J., & Novak, J. (1976). An assessment of children’s concepts of the earth utilizing structural interviews. Science Education, 60(4), 535-550.

Özsoy, S. (2012). Is the Earth flat or round? Primary school children’s understandings of the planet Earth: The case of Turkish children. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4(2), 407-415.

Panagiotaki, G., Nobes, G., & Banerjee, R. (2006). Is the world round or flat? Children’s understanding of the earth. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 3(2), 124-141.

Saçkes, M. (2015). Kindergartners’ mental models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for instructional practices in early childhood classrooms. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 15(4), 997-1006.

Samarapungavan, A., Vosniadou, S., & Brewer, W. (1996). Mental models of the Earth, Sun and Moon: Indian children’s cosmologies. Cognitive Development, 11(4), 491-521

Straatemeier, M., van der Maas, H., & Jansen, B. (2008). Children’s knowledge of the earth: A new methodological and statistical approach. Journal Experimental Child Psychology, 100(4), 276-296.

Vosniadou, S. (2013). Conceptual change in learning and instruction. The Framework Theory Approach. In S. Vosniadou (Ed.), International Handbook of Research on Conceptual Change (pp. 11-30). New York, Unites States of America: Routledge.

Vosniadou, S., & Brewer, W. (1989). A cross-cultural investigation of children’s conceptions about the earth, the sun, and the moon: Greek and American data. In H. Mandl, E. DeCorte, N. Bennett & H. F. Friedrich (Eds.), Learning and instruction: European research in an international context (pp. 605-629). Oxford, United Kingdom: Pergamon.

Vosniadou, S., & Brewer, W. (1992). Mental Models of the Earth: A study of conceptual change in childhood. Cognitive Psychology, 24(4), 535-585.

Vosniadou, S., & Brewer, W. (1994). Mental Models of the Day/Night Cycle. Cognitive Science, 18(1), 123-183.

Vosniadou, S., Skopeliti, I., & Ikospentaki, K. (2004). Modes of knowing and ways of reasoning in elementary astronomy. Cognitive Development, 19(2), 203-222.


DOI: https://doi.org/10.26220/rev.3345

View Counter: Abstract | 688 | times, and PDF | 343 | times



Re S M ICT E | ISSN: 1792-3999 (electronic), 1791-261X (print) | Laboratory of Didactics of Sciences, Mathematics and ICT, Department of Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education - University of Patras.

Pasithee | Library & Information Center | University of Patras