The purpose of this study was to investigate whether participation in sensorimotor activities by preschool children involving their own bodily balance while walking on a beam over the floor has an effect on their understanding of the mechanical equilibrium of a balance beam. The balance beam consisted of a horizontal stick balancing around its center of mass (middle point), while carrying equal-weight objects on either side of it. The study utilized a two-group design, and was conducted in three phases (pre-test, treatment and post-test). The results of the study provide evidence that there was such an effect, since the children (who participated in the sensorimotor activities) could select out of a number of objects those two with the same weight regardless of their shape, size or colour, in order to balance the stick. This effect also can be seen when a comparison is made with a second group of children, which had previously participated in a hands-on activity regarding the equilibrium of a similar balance beam, and which (children), therefore, had a definite advantage over the other children who had participated in the sensorimotor activity. A Chi Square Test showed no significant differences between the two groups on both an immediate and a delayed post-test, while the McNemar Test for the Significance of Change showed a statistically significant difference (that is, a negative change in performance between the first and the second post-test) only within the hands-on group. This difference represents evidence that the children from the sensorimotor group remembered better the rule they were applying (i.e., selecting equal-weight objects) in order to balance the beam.
This article presents and justifies a proposal for the priority of two activities in the early childhood curriculum, namely, those of "storytelling" and the "movement of objects". Given, on the one hand, the growing interest in science activities for very young children, and the notion of "developmental appropriateness" on the other, the concern about early experiences in physical science is both pressing and legitimate. In the light of such concern, the idea that children should simply participate in interesting activities or in activities that in general enrich their experiential background, needs to be reconsidered. Given that the construction of scientific knowledge involves the construction of relationships among concepts and ideas, and presupposes curiosity and affective imagination, science stories with a science content that captures the imagination of the child, and activities involving the movement of objects appear to be more pedagogically appropriate than other activities. Therefore they should be given priority in the curriculum.
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