The transformation of children’s mental representations of 5-6 year olds for coagulation: precursor models through a storytelling approach

Abstract

Abstract The current study presents the results of a qualitative research on the mental representations of children aged 5-6 years regarding the coagulation of everyday materials. Initially, children’s representations on coagulation of butter and chocolate were studied in a pre-test through three different tasks. Subsequently, a teaching intervention was implemented based on a storytelling approach, which is embedded in a socio-constructivist perspective with the aim of establishing a precursor model in children’s thinking about coagulation. Finally, in a post-test, children’s representations after the teaching intervention were studied. The results of the research showed that children have made significant progress in the post-test as the majority of them recognize cooling as a factor in the coagulation of the above materials.