Children's responses to anomalous scientific data: How is conceptual change impeded?

Chinn, Clark A.; Malhotra, Betina A.

doi:10.1037/0022-0663.94.2.327

Cited by 149 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The children tested in this study largely demonstrated the belief that the heavy ball would fall faster than the light ball, with no significant variation across ages, mapping onto extensive research (Baker et al, 2009;Chinn & Malhotra, 2002;Hast & Howe, 2013a, b;Nachtigall, 1982;Sequeira & Leite, 1992;van Hise, 1988). At the same time, the children mostly expressed that the light ball would roll faster along the horizontal than the heavy ball, again mostly matching previous work (Hast & Howe, 2013a, b;Howe, 1991, as cited in Howe, 1998Inhelder & Piaget, 1958).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have illustrated that children across a wide range of ages are more likely to predict a heavy object to fall faster than a lighter object (Baker, Murray, & Hood, 2009;Chinn & Malhotra, 2002;Hast & Howe, 2013a, b;Nachtigall, 1982;Sequeira & Leite, 1992;Van Hise, 1988). Other research has demonstrated that when it comes to reasoning about motion along horizontals children tend to predict a lighter object to be faster than a heavier one (Hast & Howe, 2013a, b;Howe, 1991, as cited in Howe, 1998Inhelder & Piaget, 1958).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the Shift in Children’s Incline Motion Predictions: Fragmentation and Integration of Knowledge as Possible Contributors

Hast

2014

JEDP

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Recent research with primary school children has indicated that while younger children believe a light ball will roll down an incline faster than a heavy ball-matching their beliefs about horizontal motion-older children believe the heavy ball will roll down faster-matching their conceptions about fall. Tentative suggestions regarding the cause of this age shift were made, but no clear conclusion could be reached. The present research aimed to resolve this issue by addressing the subjectivity of children's predictions. Children (N = 210) aged 5-11 completed a paper-based task where the trajectories of a heavy and a light ball needed to be contrasted for three motion dimensions-horizontal, fall and incline-to address how trajectory predictions compare. The findings suggest that a declining salience of the horizontal dimension in the reasoning process appears to contribute to the age-related shift. It is proposed that these developmental changes in making predictions about object motion can be explained on the basis of fragmentation and knowledge integration. The importance of this work lies in contributing towards clearer models of how commonsense theories of motion develop across childhood. This, in turn, bears implications for curriculum structures and teaching approaches in primary science.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Shift in Children’s Incline Motion Predictions: Fragmentation and Integration of Knowledge as Possible Contributors

Hast

2014

JEDP

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“…Examples of abilities that changed during primary school age concerned predicting from hypotheses (Ruffman et al 1993), testing ideas through experimentation (Penner and Klahr 1996), learning from new, contradictory evidence (Chinn and Malhotra 2002), and verifying ideas (Bullock and Ziegler 1999). These abilities are involved in productive tutoring, so it is important to examine whether children of such a young age can manage to tutor the agent.…”

Section: Our Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Teachable Agent Game Engaging Primary School Children to Learn Arithmetic Concepts and Reasoning

Pareto

2014

Int J Artif Intell Educ

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In this paper we will describe a learning environment designed to foster conceptual understanding and reasoning in mathematics among younger school children. The learning environment consists of 48 2-player game variants based on a graphical model of arithmetic where the mathematical content is intrinsically interwoven with the game idea. The environment also features teachable agents, which are computer programs that can be taught and behave according to their knowledge. Thus, the environment provides both learning-by-doing (playing the game) and learning-byteaching (teaching the agent to play). It differs from other learning-by-teaching systems 1) by targeting basic mathematics and primary grade students; 2) by using teachable agents as an extension to educational games in order to leverage engagement, reflection and learning; and 3) by using an agent-driven question dialogue to challenge students' mathematical thinking, to role-model learner behaviour and to transfer game knowledge to out-of-game mathematics. The teachable agent game is described and evaluated in an authentic classroom study enrolling 443 students from 22 classes in 9 schools. Students range from 2 nd to 6 th grade of mainstream classes and 7 th to 8 th grade for students with difficulties in mathematics. Part of the study was designed as a quasiexperimental study with controls; part was designed to examine students' change in mental models of arithmetic before and after game play. All students took pre-and post mathematics tests. The 314 playing students used the game and taught their agents during regular math-classes for three months, whereas the control classes attended standard instruction and took the tests. A questionnaire was distributed at the end of the study to investigate students' perceptions and performances of the agent-tutoring task. Results show that 1) there is a significant learning gain for playing students compared to controls, 2) the learning environment can engage children in advanced mathematical thinking in early education, 3) young primary students can act as successful tutors. Thus, we conclude that teachable agents in educational games can help achieve deeper levels of learning that transfer outside the game. This idea combines the motivational power of games with the reflective power of a teachable agent asking thoughprovoking, deep questions on the learning material during game play.

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“…Chinn and Malhotra (2002) examined the role of encoding evidence, interpreting evidence, generalization, and retention as possible impediments to correcting misconceptions. Over four experiments, they concluded that the key difficulty faced by children is in making accurate observations or properly encoding evidence that does not match prior beliefs.…”

Section: Encodingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Emergence of Scientific Reasoning

Morris¹,

Croker²,

Masnick³

et al. 2012

Current Topics in Children's Learning and Cognition

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Children's responses to anomalous scientific data: How is conceptual change impeded?

Cited by 149 publications

References 45 publications

Exploring the Shift in Children’s Incline Motion Predictions: Fragmentation and Integration of Knowledge as Possible Contributors

Exploring the Shift in Children’s Incline Motion Predictions: Fragmentation and Integration of Knowledge as Possible Contributors

A Teachable Agent Game Engaging Primary School Children to Learn Arithmetic Concepts and Reasoning

The Emergence of Scientific Reasoning

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