Knowledge in transition: Adults' developing understanding of a principle of physical causality

Perry, Michelle; Elder, Anastasia D.

doi:10.1016/s0885-2014(97)90033-2

Cited by 72 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Adults have previously been shown to produce gestures spontaneously in narrations (McNeill, 1992), in descriptions of how gears move (Perry & Elder, 1997;Schwartz & Black, 1996), and in teachers' descriptions of mathematics lessons (Goldin-Meadow & Singer, 2002;Goldin-Meadow, Kim, & Singer, 1999). The findings presented here go beyond identifying yet another context in which adults gesture.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Gesture offers insight into problem‐solving in adults and children

Garber

Goldin‐Meadow

2002

Cognitive Science

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When asked to explain their solutions to a problem, both adults and children gesture as they talk. These gestures at times convey information that is not conveyed in speech and thus reveal thoughts that are distinct from those revealed in speech. In this study, we use the classic Tower of Hanoi puzzle to validate the claim that gesture and speech taken together can reflect the activation of two cognitive strategies within a single response. The Tower of Hanoi is a well-studied puzzle, known to be most efficiently solved by activating subroutines at theoretically defined choice points. When asked to explain how they solved the Tower of Hanoi puzzle, both adults and children produced significantly more gesture-speech mismatches-explanations in which speech conveyed one path and gesture anotherat these theoretically defined choice points than they produced at non-choice points. Even when the participants did not solve the problem efficiently, gesture could be used to indicate where the participants were deciding between alternative paths. Gesture can, thus, serve as a useful adjunct to speech when attempting to discover cognitive processes in problem-solving.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Gesture offers insight into problem‐solving in adults and children

Garber

Goldin‐Meadow

2002

Cognitive Science

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“…They further suggest that situations where children engage in scientific inquiry without feedback from the teacher, relying only on the feedback received from their direct engagement with the problem or the interaction with their peer group may not suffice for adequate learning. Furthermore, Perry and Elder (1997) suggest that repeated encounters with a problem do not necessarily lead to improved understanding. In their research, they "only observed [that] improvement came immediately after instruction" (p. 154).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing conceptual understanding of mechanical advantage through the use of Lego robotic technology

Chambers

Carbonaro

Murray³

2008

AJET

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Science educators advocate hands on experiences and the use of manipulatives as important for children's conceptual development. Consequently, the utilisation of Lego robotic technologies in teaching and learning has become more prevalent in school science classrooms. It is important to investigate their value as educational tools, particularly their role in helping children develop conceptual understanding of scientific principles. The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of robotic technology with elementary age children, specifically focusing on the children's conceptual development concerning gear function and mechanical advantage. Our results indicate the robot sessions helped develop the students' understanding of gear function in relation to direction of turning, relative speed, and number of revolutions. However, when we examine the children's understanding around the concept of mechanical advantage, we still see the majority of children unable to provide an accurate explanation. The children had difficulty explaining the reasons underpinning their gear arrangement choices for making their robots fast or powerful. The results suggest that providing students with physical experiences is not enough for students to "discover" the relationship of gears to a vehicle's power and speed. A guided inquiry instructional approach is important during the early stages of developing a conceptual understanding of mechanical advantage. IntroductionRooted in constructivist theories of learning, science educators advocate hands on experiences and the use of manipulatives as important for children's conceptual development. In concert with this notion, the use of simple robotic building technologies (e.g. LEGO Mindstorms) in teaching and learning has become more prevalent in school science and technology classrooms. It is important to investigate their value as educational tools, particularly their role in helping children develop conceptual understanding of scientific principles. The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of robotic building technology with elementary age children, specifically focusing on the children's conceptual development about gears in a problem solving context. Children in a Year four classroom (8 to 9 years of age) were asked to build a LEGO Mindstorms robot and, through manipulation of the gear configuration, to examine the function of gears with respect to: a) direction of turning, b) relative speed, c) the number of revolutions, and d) mechanical advantages concerning the principles of power and speed. Of particular interest, and the focus for this paper, is the children's conceptual development and understanding concerning

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“…Goldin-Meadow & Sandhoff, 1999). For example, they can be used as an index to assess children's problem-solving abilities (Church & Goldin-Meadow, 1986;Perry & Elder, 1996;Schwartz & Black, 1996;Garber, 1997) and they can assist a student to recall information (e.g. Kelly & Church, 1998).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%