How do gifted elementary students perceive Earth’s shape and gravity?

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions, knowledge levels, and mental models of gifted 2nd and 3rd-grade elementary students regarding the shape of the Earth and gravity concepts. The data for the study, which was qualitative research, was collected through interviews with the students. The study participants were 80 students taught in a Science and Arts Center (SAC) affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in the Mediterranean region. According to the research results, it was found that 3rd-grade students have four different mental models, while 2nd-grade students have five different mental models. It was found that students had difficulty in establishing a relationship between their ideas about the shape of the earth they live in and what they have learned and that their knowledge obtained from different sources was contradictory. The results of the study were compared with research findings in the relevant literature and it was found that gifted students had more scientific mental models than students in the same age group who were not classified as gifted.