Designing Science Learning in the First Years of Schooling. An intervention study with sequenced learning material on the topic of ‘floating and sinking'

Leuchter, Miriam; Saalbach, Henrik; Hardy, Ilonca

doi:10.1080/09500693.2013.878482

Cited by 57 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…It has been noted that younger children tend to rely more on visual aspects in their reasoning about physical events rather than on conceptual factors, with trends towards making use of more conceptual knowledge at later ages (e.g. Hast & Howe, 2012;Leuchter, Saalbach, & Hardy, 2014). The salience of the visual element of an incline (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

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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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%

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

Hast

2014

JEDP

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“…Siegel, Esterly, Callanan, Wright, & Navarro (2007) suggested 4 levels of parents' explanations related to sink-or-float task: (1) no information, (2) other property explanation (e.g., texture, shape, function/identity), (3) density-relevant explanations (e.g., material kinds, weight, size, insides, relates to water), and (4) density explanation. Leuchter, Sbach, & Hardy (2014) suggested that misconceptions commonly involve a one-dimensional focus on salient features such as objects' weight, size, or shape. Student explanations are bound in physical…”

Section: Hypotheses Of the Progression Related To Buoyancy Conceptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By examining the means of multiple choice tests, Schneider and Hardy (2013) determined that two main component processes of knowledge reconstructing students' knowledge about the concepts of floating and sinking are fragmentation and integration of the knowledge. Leuchter, Sbach, & Hardy (2014) expanded and implemented a one-year science learning program, complete with structured learning materials for preschool and elementary school students, to support conceptual change particularly in students' understanding of the concepts of floating and sinking and improving their scientific reasoning.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a Four-level Learning Progression and Assessment for the Concept of Buoyancy

Seounghey

Song

Kim

et al. 2017

EURASIA J MATH SCI T

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Despite its complexity in science, sinking and floating is a phenomenon about which students of almost all grades develop personal theories, using a variety of conceptual elements such as weight, volume, shape, and density, prior to classroom teaching. Here, we distribute students from elementary to high school according to the levels of their achievement on the learning progression regarding the buoyancy phenomenon. We suggest four levels of learning progression for buoyancy concept. We developed a 13-item, open-ended, and short essay type questionnaire to evaluate students' learning progression of buoyancy concept based on two different contexts. We evaluated the validity and reliability of the new instrument for measuring buoyancy learning progression using a series of rigorous statistical tests. Participants of this study were students in grades 3-12 (N = 1,017). A series of analyses including internal consistency analysis (Cronbach alpha), confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling, and Rasch analysis for item fit and person/item reliability revealed that the instrument met the quality benchmark. Furthermore, our findings revealed that students' abilities in two different contexts were differentiated. Finally, we discuss the four levels of learning progression, concept assessment items developed, and some implications based on the findings.

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“…Even in a relatively simple everyday situation involving the free fall of an object there can be so many relationships constructed by children (e.g., relationships between time and speed, between height and speed, between height and time, between height and force exerted the moment the object hits the ground) that a reorganization is imperative if scientific understanding is the goal. Yet this does not imply that children cannot be helped to organize their thinking by constructing relationships or linkages among concepts that have some coherence (see Eschach & Fried, 2005;Leuchter et al, 2014;Trundle & Sackes, 2015). It does not follow that children cannot be helped to construct understanding by participating in appropriately designed activities that deliberately engage them in relational thinking.…”

Section: Final Commentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The message that a science educator had sent to the educational community is a case in point: "determining what is appropriate physics for first graders is not trivial" (Hammer, 1999: p. 799). Indeed, given the growing interest in science activities for young children, even those in preschool education (e.g., Chaille & Britain, 2003;Fleer, 2009Fleer, , 2013Hong & Diamond, 2012;Kamii & DeVries, 1993;Kokoski & Downing-Leffler, 1995;Landry & Foreman, 1999;Leuchter, Saalbach, & Hardy, 2014;Peacock, Smith, & Kirkby, 1994;Waite-Stupiansky, 1997) the concern about what constitutes an appropriate physical science activity for a young child is a realistic one and should be seriously considered.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Construction of Scientific Knowledge at an Early Age: Two Crucial Factors

Anastasiou¹,

Kostaras²,

Kyritsis³

et al. 2015

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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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Designing Science Learning in the First Years of Schooling. An intervention study with sequenced learning material on the topic of ‘floating and sinking'

Cited by 57 publications

References 19 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

Developing a Four-level Learning Progression and Assessment for the Concept of Buoyancy

The Construction of Scientific Knowledge at an Early Age: Two Crucial Factors

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