Kindergarten and Primary School Children’s Everyday, Synthetic, and Scientific Concepts of Clouds and Rainfall

Malleus, Elina; Kikas, Eve; Marken, Tiivi

doi:10.1007/s11165-016-9516-z

Cited by 24 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…In this way, children's depictions have been utilised to explore, to name some recent relevant projects, their perceptions of the environment [15]; their understanding of different topics related to plant life [16,17], and animals [18,19]; and, also, to study their comprehension of issues linked to earth sciences [13,[20][21][22], as well as health subjects [23,24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study on the Spontaneous Representation of Animals in Young Children’s Drawings of Plant Life

et al. 2018

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Previous research indicates that complex biological concepts may be successfully introduced in preschool age, provided that suitable educational interventions are designed for the initial stages of education. In this regard, there is evidence that a basic understanding of the issue of the ecological interactions among organisms may be achieved in the preschool years. With this in mind, this research project tests the assumption that recognising the fact that plants and animals are not isolated creatures, but live engaged in constant interactions in nature, may begin to be understood in early education. To that end, this study examines the content of free drawings that a sample of 328 children aged four to seven years of age, undertook when explaining their understanding of plant life. Data regarding the type and frequency of the depictions of animals found in the children's graphic explanations on flora is collected and read in conjunction with participants' gender and academic level. The results show that a substantial proportion of the children in the sample spontaneously drew illustrations of animals in their graphic explanations concerning vegetable life and, more significantly, some pictures show plants and animals engaged in clear contact. This is the case, despite the fact that the drawing activity had been focused solely on the issue of plant life and no indication linked to depicting other kinds of living things mentioned during the activity. The conclusions discuss the data collected in connection with the growing number of research projects that study the question of how young children begin to embrace the fundamental biological concepts that pave the way to the understanding of natural phenomena and make the public capable of making responsible choices when it comes to sustainability issues.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study on the Spontaneous Representation of Animals in Young Children’s Drawings of Plant Life

et al. 2018

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“…First, do students in high, average, and low interest groups differ in their everyday, synthetic, and scientific answers? An earlier study showed that, in general, younger students tend to give more synthetic answers than scientific or everyday answers (Malleus, Kikas & Marken, 2017). However, synthetic answers have not been found to be directly related to self-rated student interest.…”

Section: Objectives and Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Prior studies have shown that synthetic knowledge about the water cycle is common in students of various ages ( Ben-Zvi Assaraf & Orion 2005;Cardak, 2009;Malleus, Kikas & Marken, 2017;Thompson & Logue, 2006;Varelas, Pappas, & Rife, 2006). Our study sought to describe the effects of interest (as rated by teachers) on eighth-grade students' knowledge and how student knowledge changes during and after an ordinary classroom lesson.…”

Section: Objectives and Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…rainfall), students must still create abstract relations between different concepts to accurately describe a given phenomenon. As a result, children may form everyday knowledge that refers to perceptions of the visible world based on everyday observations and experiences (Hannust & Kikas, 2007;Malleus, Kikas & Marken, 2017;Kikas, 2003;Wiser & Amin, 2001). For example, students may compare cloud formation to steam in the bathroom after showering (Thompson & Logue, 2006), or may describe evaporation as steam escaping when a pot is boiling (Varelas, Pappas, & Rife, 2006).…”

Section: Learning and The Development Of Everyday And Synthetic Knowlmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, without such exposure, students may be prone to the development of additional synthetic knowledge (Diakidoy, Vosniadou, & Hawks, 1997;Hannust & Kikas, 2007). Describing synthetic knowledge related to cloud formation and rainfall study has also shown that different types of synthetic knowledge is evident already in kindergarteners and elementary school students' answers (Malleus, Kikas & Marken, 2017). Changes may be gradual and occur between different subtypes of synthetic knowledge (Diakidoy & Kendeou, 2001), and some subtypes of synthetic knowledge may be more persistent than others (González, 1997).…”

Section: Learning and The Development Of Everyday And Synthetic Knowlmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Student Knowledge About the Water Cycle and Its Change in Different Interest Groups

Malleus¹,

Kikas²

2019

JED

Self Cite

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This study describes the role of interest in eighth-grade students’ (N=183) knowledge formation. Student knowledge was measured through open-ended questions at three time points: once before and twice after specific topics had been taught in a regular 45 min geography lesson. Student interest level was assessed using teacher ratings. Student answers to seven open-ended questions were coded and placed into one of three categories: everyday, synthetic, or scientific knowledge. Results showed that higher interest was related to providing fewer everyday and more synthetic answers. However, student answers changed similarly in all interest groups as measured before and after learning. The content of student answers tended to change as a result of the lesson, but these changes reflected the formation of new synthetic knowledge.

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Teachers’ Choices: Are they the Right Books for Science Instruction?

Broemmel¹,

Rearden²,

Buckner³

2021

The Reading Teacher

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In the 21st century, amidst the widespread adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards, many elementary teachers find it challenging to consistently incorporate science instruction. Although the research literature indicates that using science‐based content in the literacy block has the potential to improve student achievement in both areas, the process of identifying high‐quality picture books can be challenging. Thus, the authors analyzed the annual Teachers’ Choices lists from 2000‐2019, identifying 134 science‐based books to determine their potential for integration with literacy instruction. Findings suggest the majority are engaging and provide accurate science content pertaining primarily to life science. Narrative and non‐narrative information texts dominate the selections, and science‐based biographies appear for the first time. Overall, the analysis indicates that the Teachers’ Choices books can be used as a resource for identifying high‐quality, science‐based picture books useful for introducing challenging science content in elementary classrooms.

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Kindergarten and Primary School Children’s Everyday, Synthetic, and Scientific Concepts of Clouds and Rainfall

Cited by 24 publications

References 62 publications

A Study on the Spontaneous Representation of Animals in Young Children’s Drawings of Plant Life

A Study on the Spontaneous Representation of Animals in Young Children’s Drawings of Plant Life

Student Knowledge About the Water Cycle and Its Change in Different Interest Groups

Teachers’ Choices: Are they the Right Books for Science Instruction?

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