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Ravanis, K. Charalampopoulou, C. Boilevin, J.-M. & Bagakis, G. (2005). La construction de la formation des ombres chez la pensée des enfants de 5-6 ans: procédures didactiques sociocognitives. Revue de Recherches en Éducation: Spirale, 36, 87-98.
Abstract
Cette recherche porte sur le rôle de l’intervention didactique dans la déstabilisation des représentations spontanées de la formation de l’ombre par les élèves de l’école maternelle. La résistance de ce système de représentation spontané aux tentatives de déstabilisation a été étudiée sur deux groupes d’enfants d´âge de 5 à 6 ans, dont l’un (groupe expérimental) participe à des interactions didactiques visant à créer chez les sujets un modèle précurseur tandis que l’autre (groupe contrôle) suit les activités scolaires traditionnelles. Dans toutes les tâches étudiées, les progrès entre le pré-test et le post-test ont été plus marquants pour les sujets du groupe expérimental, au niveau de la prévision et de l’explication des phénomènes liés à la formation des ombres.
Mots clés : Didactique de la Physique, représentations des élèves, formation des ombres, stratégies didactiques, école maternelle
... After sets of activities proposed during six months, a majority of children (approximately 7 out of 10) do consider that 'a shadow is formed when an object does not allow light to pass' (Gallegos-Cázares, Flores-Camacho, and Calderón-Canales 2009; 64). However, other qualitative and quantitative researches with preschool children (Dumas Carré et al. 2003, Ravanis et al. 2005Herakleioti and Pantidos 2016) come to the conclusion that the main difficulties in young children's thinking are linked to their understanding of the interactions between light and opaque objects. Children tend to attribute to shadows the properties of an object and do not recognise the role played by light. ...
... This map, inspired by the work of Canedo-Ibarra et al. (2010) on flotation, illustrates the transitions from the enumeration of different elements where shadows are seen as objects to a relational system defining a precursor model on shadow formation. In a controlled experimental context, it has been previously demonstrated that young children (aged 5-6) are capable of building knowledge within a precursor model that allows them to describe, explain and predict the phenomenon of shadow formation (Ravanis et al. 2005). As a result, the present study was driven by the following research question: ...
... It therefore allows young children (ages 5-6) to describe, explain and predict physical phenomenon, giving them access to scientific reasoning. This first general conclusion confirms the results of previous studies (Ravanis et al. 2005;Gallegos-Cázares, Flores-Camacho, and Calderón-Canales 2009;Herakleioti and Pantidos 2016). ...
ABSTRACT
Background: This work is based on the idea that young children benefit from early introduction of scientific concepts. Few researches describe didactical strategies focusing on physics understanding for young children and analyse their effectiveness in standard classroom environments.
Purpose: The aim is to identify whether didactical strategies referring to a precursor model can be used to help children construct explanation of physical phenomena.
Sample: We present results that test children’s capacity (aged 5-6) to build knowledge within a precursor model in order to describe, explain and predict the phenomenon of shadow formation.
Design and methods: The teaching intervention’s efficiency is tested in a standard classroom setting. Data were collected through individual interviews, using identical tasks before and after the teaching intervention.
Results: The analysis of children's ideas shows that the use of a constructivist didactical strategy referring to a precursor model of shadow formation by teachers has a positive effect on children’s understanding and ability to identify shadows as a physical phenomenon.
Conclusion: Such results support the importance of science teaching in preschools. In particular, the didactical strategy focuses children’s attention to a critical aspect of their understanding and destabilizes their previous representations. It has implications for preschool teacher professional development.
... In another didactical intervention, by means of socio-cognitive conflicts, the constitution of a model for the understanding of the formation of shadows as a result of obstructing light was achieved. Moreover , they predict the position where shadow is projected and also they correspond the number of shadows to the number of light sources (Ravanis, Charalampopoulou, Boilevin & Bagakis, 2005). These types of research attempts--although they are of an experimental nature and need an effectiveness test in class situations--use the science education research tradition. ...
... Mais dans le cadre de la Didactique des Sciences Physiques, le problème des représentations occupe aussi une place importante. Cette importance est d´ailleurs reconnue par le grand nombre de travaux consacrés à l´étude des représentations spontanées des élèves par rapport à certaines notions physiques (Weil-Barais, 1985 ; Driver, Squires, Rushworth & Wood Robinson, 1994 ; Koliopoulos, Tantaros, Papandreou & Ravanis, 2004 ; Tiberghien, 2008) Cependant, il est aujourd´hui admis que ces connaissances primitives du sujet s´avèrent très résistantes à l´enseignement scientifique tel qu´il se pratique à l´école (Weil-Barais & Lemeignan, 1990)Tiberghien, Delacote, Ghiglione & Matalon, 1980; Piaget & Inhelder, 1981; Andersson & Kärrqvist, 1982 Andersson & Kärrqvist, , 1983 Guesne, 1984 Guesne, , 1985 Osborne & Black, 1993; Feher & Rice, 1988; Ravanis, 1996; Dumas Carré, Weil-Barais, Ravanis & Shourcheh, 2003; Ravanis, Charalampopoulou, Boilevin & Bagakis, 2005; Dedes & Ravanis, 2007, 2009 Chen, 2009). ...
The child has representations about physical concepts and phenomena and these representations play role in the learning experience. For the physicist, the shadow is an entity dependent on the prevention of light by opaque objects. Data of relevant researches show that 5 -15 years old children have incompatible representations with the scientific once. In this research we study the representations of ten years old children about the formation of shadows. One hundred twenty primary school children (62 female and 58 male) participated in this study. Directive individual interview was the technique we used in our research. The research results show that the majority of children of 10 years cannot spontaneously construct representations for the shadows consistent with the scientific model.
... Un tel type d'interprétation apparaît avec une fréquence stable dans les recherches de didactique de la Physique ayant un rapport avec la lumière. La ressemblance de forme entre l'ombre et l'obstacle, en particulier dans les cas où la source lumineuse se trouve à une grande distance de l'objet, associée à l'incapacité de reconnaissance de la lumière en tant qu'entité dans l'espace, induisent la pensée intuitive à comprendre l'ombre comme une propriété des objets (Anderson & Smith 1983 ; Guesne 1984 ; Langley, Ronen & Eylon, 1997 ; Piaget & Inhelder, 1981 ; Ravanis, Charalampopoulou, Boilevin & Bagakis, 2005 ; Tiberghien, Delacote, Ghiglione & Matalon, 1980). Dans notre cas, l'exposition des sujets à un résultat lumineux inattendu (Tâche 1b) a perturbé la stabilité de leurs structures mentales et a réintroduit au premier plan un schéma interprétatif analogue, avec néanmoins le transfert de ladite propriété des corps de l'objet-obstacle à la source. ...
This research, carried out in Greece on pupils aged 12-16, focuses on the transformation of their representations concerning light emission and image formation by extended light sources. The instructive process was carried out in two stages, each one having a different, distinct target set. During the first stage, the appropriate conflict conditions were created by contrasting the subjects’ predictions with the results of experimental situations inspired by the History of Science, with a view to destabilizing the pupils’ alternative representations. During the second stage, the experimental teaching intervention was carried out; it was based on the geometrical optics model and its parameters were derived from Kepler’s relevant historic experiment. For the duration of this process and within the framework of didactical interactions, an effort was made to reorganize initial limited representations and restructure them at the level of the accepted scientific model. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated two weeks later, using experimental tasks which had the same cognitive yet different empirical content with respect to the tasks conducted during the intervention. The results of the study showed that the majority of the subjects accepted the model of geometrical optics, i.e. the pupils were able to correctly predict and adequately justify the experimental results based on the principle of punctiform light emission. Educational and research implications are discussed.
... This kind of interpretation exhibits a constant frequency of occurrence in studies conducted in the Weld of didactics with respect to light. The schematic resemblance between shadow and obstacle, especially in cases where the light source lies at a great distance from the object and in conjunction with the inability to recognise light as an entity in space, lead intuitive thought towards comprehending shadows as properties of objects (Piaget and Inhelder 1971; Anderson and Smith 1983; Guesne 1984; Feher and Rice 1988; Langley et al. 1997; Ravanis et al. 2005). In the case at hand, exposing the subjects to an unexpected light result (Task 1b) disarranged the stability of their mental structures and recalled a similar interpretive scheme, transferring, however, this particular property of the objects from the object-obstacle to the source. ...
This study investigates the effectiveness of a teaching conflict procedure whose purpose was the transformation of the representations
of 12–16-year-old pupils in Greece concerning light emission and shadow formation by extended light sources. The changes observed
during the children’s effort to destabilize and reorganise their representations towards a model that was compatible with
the respective scientific model were studied using three groups of pupils belonging to different age groups. The methodological
plan implemented was based on input from the History of Science, while the parameters of the geometrical optics model were
derived from Kepler’s relevant historic experiment. The effectiveness of the teaching procedure was evaluated 2weeks after
the intervention. The results showed that the majority of the subjects accepted the model of geometrical optics, i.e. the
pupils were able to correctly predict and adequately justify the experimental results based on the principle of punctiform
light emission. Educational and research implications are discussed.
RESUMO: Este trabalho foi resultado de uma pesquisa conduzida com 63 crianças de 8 - 10 anos de uma escola pública de Minas Gerais, que está inserida em uma pesquisa longitudinal ainda em curso. Nosso objetivo era identificar invariantes operatórios utilizados pelas crianças em uma situação que envolvia a formação de cores e sombras, por meio de experimentos com projetor. Acompanhamos as soluções propostas pelas crianças e seus registros gráficos. Usamos a Análise de Conteúdo de Bardin e realizamos a identificação dos invariantes operatórios com base na Teoria dos Campos Conceituais. As conclusões indicam que crianças concebem as cores como intensidades distintas de claridade e escuro. Nossa contribuição original é o uso da Teoria dos Campos Conceituais para interpretar o processo conceitualização de cor em crianças.
Background
This work is based on the idea that young children benefit from early introduction of scientific concepts. Few researches describe didactical strategies focusing on physics understanding for young children and analyse their effectiveness in standard classroom environments.
Purpose
The aim is to identify whether didactical strategies referring to a precursor model can be used to help children construct explanation of physical phenomena.
Sample
We present results that test children’s capacity (aged 5-6) to build knowledge within a precursor model in order to describe, explain and predict the phenomenon of shadow formation.
Design and methods
The teaching intervention’s efficiency is tested in a standard classroom setting. Data were collected through individual interviews, using identical tasks before and after the teaching intervention.
Results
The analysis of children's ideas shows that the use of a constructivist didactical strategy referring to a precursor model of shadow formation by teachers has a positive effect on children’s understanding and ability to identify shadows as a physical phenomenon.
Conclusion
Such results support the importance of science teaching in preschools. In particular, the didactical strategy focuses children’s attention to a critical aspect of their understanding and destabilizes their previous representations. It has implications for preschool teacher professional development.
L'éducation scientifique se caractérise aujourd'hui par de fortes préconisations venant de diverses institutions. Cela se traduit par la valorisation de l'enseignement scientifique dans de nombreux pays, notamment en France et en Grèce, et ce, dès le plus jeune âge. Pourtant, les contextes scolaires sont bien différents dans ces deux pays. Le travail de recherche présenté questionne la généricité d'une ingénierie didactique concernant la formation des ombres à l'école maternelle. L'intervention didactique, fondée sur une approche sociocognitive, est organisée afin de déstabiliser les représentations des enfants et de conduire à la construction d'un modèle précurseur pour la formation des ombres. Les résultats de l'étude menée auprès d'élèves de 5-6 ans montrent que l'intervention didactique ne produit que partiellement les mêmes effets. Cela permet de discuter les conditions de généricité d'une telle ingénierie didactique en questionnant notamment l'importance de la formation des enseignants..
This paper concerns a study about a precursor model on Light and Its Interactions with Transparent or Opaque Objects for 10-11 year old students. The characteristics of this precursor model are transformed into goals from the activities of the concept of the precursor model. Conducting five sessions with 32 pupils of a terminal class of a public primary school in France, we have tried to (a) drive pupils' thought to the scientific model by using the precursor model and (b) observe if the pupils adopt the appropriate language for light's phenomenon .Finally a particular attention is given to the communication between the teacher and the kids for noticing if the teacher can adopt his teaching methods to the ones that we propose.
World’s discovery and verbal interactions in nursery school : constructing together an object for scientific investigation
School moments of “world’s discovery” in nursery school are generally focused on familiar objects. These “school moments” are inevitably linked with other moments (in school or out of school) which contain the same objects. This paper reports an analysis of verbal interactions between pupils and teacher during a learning sequence about rubber skin balloon in nursery school (4-5 years). This analysis shows the progressive transformation of studied object in “object for scientific investigation”. This progressive transformation with strong discursive dimension requires a change of perspective on both daily world’s objects and ordinary school objects.
Beyond modularity attempts a synthesis of Fodor's anticonstructivist nativism and Piaget's antinativist constructivism. Contra Fodor, I argue that: (1) the study of cognitive development is essential to cognitive science, (2) the module/central processing dichotomy is too rigid, and (3) the mind does not begin with prespecified modules; rather, development involves a gradual process of "modularization." Contra Piaget, I argue that: (1) development rarely involves stagelike domain-general change and (2) domain- specific predispositions give development a small but significant kickstart by focusing the infant's attention on proprietary inputs. Development does not stop at efficient learning. A fundamental aspect of human development ("representational redescription") is the hypothesized process by which information that is in a cognitive system becomes progressively explicit knowledge to that system. Development thus involves two complementary processes of progressive modularization and progressive "explicitation." Empirical findings on the child as linguist, physicist, mathematician, psychologist, and notator are discussed in support of the theoretical framework. Each chapter concentrates first on the initial state of the infant mind/brain and on subsequent domain-specific learning in infancy and early childhood. It then goes on to explore data on older children's problem solving and theory building, with particular focus on evolving cognitive flexibility. Emphasis is placed throughout on the status of representations underlying different capacities and on the multiple levels at which knowledge is stored and accessible. Finally, consideration is given to the need for more formal developmental models, and a comparison is made between representational redescription and connectionist simulations of development. In conclusion, I consider what is special about human cognition by speculating on the status of representations underlying the structure of behavior in other species.
In this paper we present the results of a research on the study of preschool children representations connected with the phenomenon of flotation/immersion of solid bodies in the water. We initially approach this problem through the relevant bibliography and we discuss the terms under which children can form in their thought a scientifically compatible precursor model of flotation / immersion. Based on research planning and in the framework of individual interviews we asked the children to predict the possible flotation or immersion of cubes made from different materials and of different sizes. After they had carried out their experiments we asked them to compare the experimental results with their initial predictions and give their explanations. On analysing children’s answers we realized that several children were led to both the construction of a precursor model based on the material’s nature and a general qualitative upgrade of reasoning
This article deals with the different didactic strategies used for the initiation of preschool children to the natural sciences. There is a reference to the general characteristics of the activities that are based either on the empiricist theoretical approach or the theory of Piaget regarding cognitive development. Some facts from the neo‐piagetian, socioconstructive and vygotskian perspectives for learning are presented. Within this framework a new sociocognitive approach is put forward for the development of activities concerning the natural sciences in the kindergarten. An activity concerning the understanding of gasification is presented and used as an example of the sociocognitive perspective.
History of Early Childhood Education presents a thorough and elegant description of the history of early childhood education in the United States. This book of original research is a concise compendium of historical literature, combining history with the prominent and influential theoretical background of the time. Covering historical threads that reach from ancient Greece and Rome to the early childhood education programs of today, this in-depth and well-written volume captures the deep tradition and the creative knowledge base of early care and education. History of Early Childhood Education is an essential resource for every early childhood education scholar, student, and educator.