Creating a simple electric circuit with children between the ages of five and six

Vasiliki Kada,Konstantinos Ravanis

doi:10.15700/saje.v36n2a1233

Abstract

This paper presents a study of how preschool-aged children go about creating and operating a simple electric circuit (wires, light bulb, and battery), and how they view the elements that comprise it, particularly how they view the role of the battery. The research involved 108 children aged between five and six, who were individually interviewed. The results of the study show that the children have already begun to form representations which link the battery, the light bulb and the wires to electrical functions, and that the majority of children are able, with or without help, to successfully create a simple electric circuit. Moreover, their involvement in the process of creating and operating such a circuit leads many children not only to a comprehensive viewing of the circuit, but also to the creation of a pre-energy thought-form in which the battery is acknowledged as the distribution source of an entity which is responsible for the luminescence of the light bulb. Keywords: preschool-aged children; representations; simple electric circuit

Highlights

Theoretical Framework In the context of science education and the various branches of psychology that have to do with learning and the epistemology of knowledge, an important research topic is the study of students’ representations of entities and phenomena from the natural world, as well as natural sciences concepts (Coleman, Stears & Dempster, 2015)
With regard to preschoolers, a wide range of studies have shown that these representations are not conscious, are dominated by a persistent focusing on the objects, their properties and functions, and are apt to change in different circumstances (Fleer, 1996; Fragkiadaki & Ravanis, 2015; Hadzigeorgiou, 2002; Herakleioti & Pantidos, 2015; Kambouri, 2015; Panagiotaki & Ravanis, 2014)
Despite these difficulties, when children aged between five and six become involved in teaching activities geared to overcoming the obstacles created by their representations, researchers observe cognitive progress, and the creation of thought-forms which display stability in different situations and compatibility with certain aspects of natural science models that have been created for the education of older children (Canedo-Ibarra, Castelló-Escandell, García-Wehrle & Morales-Blake, 2010; Delserieys, Jégou & Givry, 2014; Gallegos Cázares, Flores-Camacho & Calderón Canales, 2009; Ntalakoura & Ravanis, 2014)

Summary

Introduction

Theoretical Framework In the context of science education and the various branches of psychology that have to do with learning and the epistemology of knowledge, an important research topic is the study of students’ representations of entities and phenomena from the natural world, as well as natural sciences concepts (Coleman, Stears & Dempster, 2015). In working with children of this age, and trying to transform their representations into thought-forms compatible with the natural sciences thought-forms used in school, this study will attempt, during an initial phase, to register and classify these representations Such an orientation would allow researchers to understand the way in which children, even in early childhood, begin to tackle the natural sciences, and would create insight into the conditions for effective teaching environments, built around pupils’ actual difficulties (Stears & Gopal, 2010). Such a prospect would allow natural sciences education to contribute to the dissemination in society of a scientific culture, while helping to shape children with positive attitudes and good performances. This would facilitate the selection of executives with a strong scientific and technological background, which in turn would lead to economic growth (Boilevin & Ravanis, 2007)

Methods

Results

Conclusion