Whether Age Affects the Response of the Children in Terms of the Scientific Issues of the Earth - Research Paper Example

Research Report Name Institution Date Executive Summary The research was conducted to determine if age or the more of question affects the response of the children in terms of the scientific issues of the earth. A positive response was considered scientific while a negative response was considered non-scientific. The younger children aged between 5 and 6 provided more nonscientific response as compared to the older children aged between 8 and 9. The method of questioning however had no impact on the response of the children. The mental model indicates that the scientific response is influenced by age. Experience as well as learning influences the acquisition of the scientific knowledge. The children have their own belief with based on their experience and this influences their reasoning. The children easily believe what they have learnt from the adults and hence the scientific response from the older children. The beliefs of the children usually changes in relation to culture and what they learn as they grow up. Introduction Children have a varied response when it comes to the scientific issues. Some of the children have an understanding of the earth based on the scientific facts while others do not. The basic understanding of the scientific concepts among the children varies with age. Previous research carried out among the children with regards to the shape of the earth indicates that there is a varied understanding of the earth. Some of the children believe that the earth is flat; few understand it is spherical while other believes that people could fall over if the earth was spherical (Vosniadou & Brewer, 1992). Depending on the response of the children a correct answer is considered scientific while an incorrect answer regarding the earth is considered non-scientific. The results are useful in creating an understanding of the scientific knowledge regarding the earth among the children. A research was carried out among children 168 who were grouped in to two categories based on their age. The children between the age of 5 and 6 were categorized as younger while those between the age of 8 and 9 were categorized as older. 79 of the children were male while 89 were female. 71 children were under the category of younger while 97 were under the category of older children. Open questions and forced choice questions were the mode of question used during the research. The scientific knowledge of the young children is usually low. This can be attributed to their low levels of experience. The thinking of young children is usually overshadowed by their own beliefs (Carey, 1995). The children in most cases create their own theories with regards to various scientific issues. The young children believe that the earth is flat. It is difficult for them to imagine that the earth is round. The younger children will argue that people are likely to fall over if the earth is round. This can also be attributed to their lack of scientific knowledge on gravity. However with the acquisition of knowledge, the children start acquiring scientific knowledge from their teachers as well as the adults. The interpretations of the observations among the children usually change when they acquire knowledge and skills (Diakidoy & Kendeou, 2001). An explanatory framework is required in order to ensure that the children change their beliefs. However, it is important to note that despite the explanatory framework, the observations of the children do not change (Nobes, Martin & Panagiotaki, 2005). This is because the observations look more realistic to the children as compared to the explanations. This is also considering that the explanations in most instances do not provide tangible evidence. The radical restructuring of the existing theories, concepts and beliefs of the children is responsible for the learning of scientific knowledge (Nobes, et al, 2003). This has not taken place among the younger children and hence their response which was mainly non-scientific. However restructuring has taken place among the older adults and hence their scientific response. This is also an indication that the scientific knowledge is greatly influenced by age. The children are usually theory free before they acquire any scientific knowledge about the earth (Gopnik & Wellman, 2012). This means that their belief is based on direct observation and not any scientific theory. However, the influence of culture easily overrides the belief that the children have. It is for this reason that the older children are able to easily believe on the scientific theories and explanation and ditching their own beliefs. The mental model theory also indicates that the children easily belief what they are told by the adults as opposed to their own beliefs. The ideas of the children about the earth are culturally communicated and it does not have any scientific explanations. The mental theory also indicates that the children have the potential of creating their own theories in various domains (Schoultz, et al, 2001). However, the children in most cases are unable to construct scientific theories with regards to the earth as a result of their intuitions. According to the mental theories, the younger children have strong intuitions as compared to the older children (Vosniadou, Skopeliti & Ikospentaki, 2004). The strong intuition is responsible for the development of mental models among the children which influences their scientific knowledge. As a result of the intuitions the children will provide responses according to how they understand the different issues. The mental model theories indicate that the intuitions are robust among the younger children despite the exposure to the information from different sources including the media. It is only during late childhood that the children begin to provide consistent scientific response. The mental model also indicates that the children believe in ideas that they are never taught as a result of basing their reasoning on direct observations. The cultural influences usually start changing the beliefs of the children during the late childhood period (Mills, 2013). This is as a result of learning some of the scientific from the adults. It is at this stage that the children start learning and believing on the ideas that they are being taught by the adults. The scientific knowledge gained by the children usually change how they perceive issues and hence leading to scientific reasoning. The early understanding of concepts by the children is usually based on casual explanatory systems which tend to influence their perceptions and observations (Wellman & Gelman, 1998). Aims To determine whether the responses are independent of the age group and method of data collection. Hypotheses The younger children are more likely to provide non-scientific response as compared to the older children as most of the younger children have little understanding of the scientific concepts. The method of questioning may not influence the response of the children as the response is mainly dependant on their scientific knowledge and understanding of the earth. Method Participants The participants were 168 children, of whom 79 were male and 89 were female. The children were recruited from two age groups; a ‘younger’ group of 71 who were aged between 5 and 6, and an ‘older’ group of 97 who were aged between 8 and 9. The children were recruited and interviewed by students enrolled in PSY2231 Developmental Psychology. Materials and Design Children were assigned to one of two modes of questioning based on Panagiotaki, Nobes and Banerjee (2006). One mode used open questions, whereas the other used forced-choice questions. The interview schedule for each mode of questioning is shown in Appendix A (no need to actually include this!). Procedure Once informed consent was acquired from parents or guardians, children were interviewed in individual sessions. Data were coded according to a highly simplified scheme adapted from Panagiotaki, Nobes and Banerjee (2006). If the child answered all the questions correctly, he or she was classified as having a ‘Consistent Scientific’ model of the earth. Incorrect answers resulted in the child’s responses being coded as ‘Inconsistent or non-scientific’ model. Results Relationship between method of data collection and type of response was not significant. However, the relationship between age and type of response was significant, c2 (1, N=168) = 19.125, p = 0.000 Table 1 Frequencies of responses coded as Scientific vs. Inconsistent/non-scientific by Younger and Older age group. Outcome Scientific Inconsistent/non-scientific Total Age Younger Observed freq (Expected freq) 19 (33) 52 (38) 71 (71) Older Observed freq (Expected freq) 59 (45) 38 (52) 97 (97) Total Observed freq (Expected freq) 78 (78) 90 (90) 168 (168) The findings suggest that the children’s responses were not related to the method of questioning adopted. However their responses did seem to be related to their age. Children in the younger group made more responses that were classified as inconsistent or non-scientific, and fewer scientific responses, whereas children in the older group made more scientific responses and fewer inconsistent or non-scientific responses. Discussion It was expected that 33 responses from the younger children will be scientific while 38 would be non-scientific. However, the research indicates that 19 responses were scientific while 52 were non scientific. The discrepancies can be attributed to the methods that were used to come up with the data. The data from the research indicates that the level of understanding scientific concepts by the younger children is quite low. Among the older children, it was expected that 45 children would provide a scientific response while 52 would provide a non-scientific response. However after the research, 59 children provided a scientific response while 38 provided a non-scientific response. The results therefore confirm the first hypothesis which indicates that more young children are likely to provide non-scientific responses as compared to the older children. The group was faced with challenges during the estimation as members had different views when it came to the estimation of the figures. Some of the members had even proposed the use of averages with regards to the expectations that each of the members had estimated. According to the intuitive theories, the intuitive understanding of the world is based on the everyday experience (Panagiotaki, Nobes & Banerjee, 2006). The young children have little experience as compared to the older children. This is because they have lived for long and have therefore gained more experience regarding the world. The daily experience may also involve the issues that the children have learnt over time as it has a direct impact on the scientific knowledge. The findings of the research indicate that the response was related to age and not the mode of questioning that was used. The children in the older group made more scientific responses as compared to the younger children. The significance of the results was found to be (2 (1, N=168) = 19.125, p = 0.000. According to the naïve theories, naïve physics is made up of certain phenomenological principles which are related to everyday experience. The principles are however diverse in terms of their superficial characteristic. This was therefore responsible for the diverse responses among the younger and older children. The younger children have a tendency of making conclusions based on what they observe as compared to the use of systematic thinking and analysis (Hayes, Goodhew, Heit & Gillan, 2003). The process of scientific knowledge acquisition is also a factor that can be used to explain the differences in the response of the younger children and the older children. The knowledge of children is fragmented and nonsystematic. The learning process usually takes place through the unification and collection of the fragmented knowledge. This means that the knowledge of the younger children are still fragmented as they have not learnt a lot, However, the knowledge of the older children is has been unified as a result of the learning process that has began. The restructuring of the scientific knowledge also takes place as the unification of the knowledge continues (Carey, 1995). This enables the children to relate their daily experience with some of the scientific concepts. The children in most cases reconcile the scientific knowledge from the adults. The adults in terms of the scientific knowledge may be teachers. The older children have gained some scientific knowledge and information from their teachers and hence the high number of scientific response. However most of the younger children are still in their early stages of education and have not gained much of the scientific knowledge. The younger children therefore interpret the scientific issues in accordance with the existing conceptual structures. The younger children in most instances operate under the constraints of certain presuppositions (Gopnik, 2012). This is based on their daily activities and experiences. The younger children in most cases base their thinking on what they see. However, most of the scientific issues goes beyond observations and requires some reasoning. This has not fully developed among the younger children as compared to the older children and hence influencing their answers. An example is the assumption that the earth is flat. Most of the younger children believe that the earth is flat simply because it is how they see it. However this is not the case as the earth is actually spherical. Such information requires some learning of basic science. Most of the older children have such knowledge as they have learnt about basic scientific concepts. The scientific knowledge of the younger children is limited as they have not learnt most of the scientific issues and their level of reasoning is still low (Gellatly, 1997). This may have contributed to the differences in terms of the response of the children. Regarding the second hypothesis, the results indicate that the method of questioning does not influence the response of the children with regards to the scientific and non scientific responses (Newcombe & Siegal, 1996). The younger children despite being provided with forced choice questions still provided the same answers which is dependent on what they believe in. The same is applicable for the older children as they still provided the same response which is related to what they have learnt. The only difference between the younger children and the older children is that the older children have some scientific knowledge of the earth while the younger children do not. This can still be explained by the mental model which indicates that the misconceptions are as a result of the strong constraints (Siegal & Surian, 2004). The results also indicate that the response of both the younger and older children was not affected by their sex. Both boys and girls provided the same response in accordance with their categories. This is an indication that the younger children believe in the same things regardless of their sex (Panagiotaki, 2003). The same applies to the older children as they have learnt the same information regardless of their sex. The results therefore indicate that the cognitive development of all the children is the same depending on their age. The experience of the children is also a factor that influences their response. The response of the children change with time as a result of the knowledge and experience gained over the years. References Vosniadou, S., & Brewer, W. (1992). Mental models of the earth: A study of conceptual change in Childhood. Cognitive Psychology, 24, 535–585. Panagiotaki, G., Nobes, G. & Banerjee, R. (2006). Children’s representations of the earth: A methodological comparison. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 24, 353–372. Hayes, B., Goodhew, A., Heit, E., & Gillan, J. (2003). The role of diverse instruction in conceptual Change. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 86, 253–276. Gopnik, A. (2012). Scientific thinking in young children: Theoretical advances, empirical research, and policy implications. Science, 337(6102), 1623-1627. Mills, C. M. (2013). Knowing when to doubt: Developing a critical stance when learning from others. Developmental psychology, 49(3), 404. Gopnik, A., & Wellman, H. M. (2012). Reconstructing constructivism: Causal models, Bayesian learning mechanisms, and the theory. Psychological bulletin, 138(6), 1085. Siegal, M., & Surian, L. (2004). Conceptual development and conversational understanding. Trends in Cognitive Science, 8(12), 534–538. Nobes, G., Martin, A., & Panagiotaki, G. (2005). The development of scientific understanding of the earth. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 23, 47–66. Carey, S. (1995). On the origin of causal understanding. In D. Sperber, D. Premack, & A. J. Premack (Eds.), Causal cognition (pp. 268–301). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Diakidoy, A., & Kendeou, P. (2001). Facilitating conceptual change in astronomy: A comparison of the effectiveness of two instructional approaches. Learning and Instruction, 11, 1–20. Nobes, G, et al. (2003). Children’s understanding of the earth in a multicultural community: Mental models or fragments of knowledge? Developmental Science, 6(1), 74–87. Schoultz, J. et al. (2001). Heavenly talk: Discourse, artifacts and children’s understanding of elementary astronomy. Human Development, 44, 103–118. Vosniadou, S., Skopeliti, I., & Ikospentaki, K. (2004). Modes of knowing and ways of reasoning in elementary astronomy. Cognitive Development, 19(2), 203–222. Wellman, W., & Gelman, S. (1998). Knowledge acquisition in foundational domains. In D. Kuhn & R. Siegler (Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology (5th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 523–573). New York: Wiley. Carey, S. (1995). On the origin of causal understanding. In D. Sperber, D. Premack, & A. J. Premack(Eds.), Causal cognition (pp. 268–301). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gellatly, A. (1997). Why the young child has neither a theory of mind nor a theory of anything else. Human Development, 40, 32–50. Newcombe, P., & Siegal, M. (1996). Where to look first for suggestibility in children’s memory. Cognition, 59, 337–356. Panagiotaki, G. (2003). Is the earth flat or round? Knowledge acquisition in the domain of astronomy. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Sussex, UK. Read More

The interpretations of the observations among the children usually change when they acquire knowledge and skills (Diakidoy & Kendeou, 2001).  An explanatory framework is required in order to ensure that the children change their beliefs. However, it is important to note that despite the explanatory framework, the observations of the children do not change (Nobes, Martin & Panagiotaki, 2005). This is because the observations look more realistic to the children as compared to the explanations. This is also considering that the explanations in most instances do not provide tangible evidence.

The radical restructuring of the existing theories, concepts, and beliefs of the children is responsible for the learning of scientific knowledge (Nobes, et al, 2003).  This has not taken place among the younger children and hence their response was mainly non-scientific.  However, restructuring has taken place among the older adults and hence their scientific response.  This is also an indication that scientific knowledge is greatly influenced by age.  The children are usually theory-free before they acquire any scientific knowledge about the earth (Gopnik & Wellman, 2012). This means that their belief is based on direct observation and not any scientific theory. However, the influence of culture easily overrides the belief that the children have.  It is for this reason that older children are able to easily believe in scientific theories and explanations and ditching their own beliefs.  The mental model theory also indicates that the children easily believe what they are told by the adults as opposed to their own beliefs. The ideas of the children about the earth are culturally communicated and it does not have any scientific explanations. The mental theory also indicates that the children have the potential of creating their own theories in various domains (Schoultz, et al, 2001). However, the children in most cases are unable to construct scientific theories with regards to the earth as a result of their intuitions.

According to the mental theories, the younger children have strong intuitions as compared to the older children (Vosniadou, Skopeliti & Ikospentaki, 2004).  Strong intuition is responsible for the development of mental models among children which influences their scientific knowledge.  As a result of the intuitions, the children will provide responses according to how they understand the different issues.  The mental model theories indicate that the intuitions are robust among the younger children despite the exposure to information from different sources including the media.  It is only during late childhood that the children begin to provide a consistent scientific response.  The mental model also indicates that the children believe in ideas that they are never taught as a result of basing their reasoning on direct observations.  The cultural influences usually start changing the beliefs of the children during the late childhood period (Mills, 2013). This is as a result of learning some of the scientific from the adults. It is at this stage that the children start learning and believing in the ideas that they are being taught by the adults. The scientific knowledge gained by the children usually changes how they perceive issues and hence leading to scientific reasoning.  The early understanding of concepts by the children is usually based on casual explanatory systems which tend to influence their perceptions and observations (Wellman & Gelman, 1998).

Aims
To determine whether the responses are independent of the age group and method of data collection.

Hypotheses
The younger children are more likely to provide a non-scientific response as compared to the older children as most of the younger children have little understanding of the scientific concepts.
The method of questioning may not influence the response of the children as the response is mainly dependant on their scientific knowledge and understanding of the earth.

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