How Do Five- to Six-Year-Old Children Interpret a Burning Candle?
Many studies have been conducted in recent years on the explanations given by preschool-age children about different natural phenomena. Nonetheless, very few studies have actually focused on the important domain of matter and its transformations. Specifically, the field of chemical reactions remains...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-05-01
|
| Series: | Education Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/11/5/213 |
| _version_ | 1797535429214339072 |
|---|---|
| author | Vanessa Sesto Isabel García-Rodeja |
| author_facet | Vanessa Sesto Isabel García-Rodeja |
| author_sort | Vanessa Sesto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many studies have been conducted in recent years on the explanations given by preschool-age children about different natural phenomena. Nonetheless, very few studies have actually focused on the important domain of matter and its transformations. Specifically, the field of chemical reactions remains unexplored. This qualitative study aims to investigate the explanations of twenty-two 5- to 6-year-old children about combustion, while at the same time evaluating the effect of prior experience with science activities on their interpretations. For this study, the following experiment was proposed: burning a candle inside an inverted vessel. The following data collection tools were used: a Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) strategy and audio and video recordings. The children’s explanations were analysed using classification frameworks, which had been developed in previous studies. The results of this study suggest that young children tend to provide naturalistic explanations about combustion. This finding is an indicator that young children are able to construct mental representations within this conceptual domain. Likewise, the results indicate that children who are used to engaging in inquiry-based activities may be more likely to establish a relationship with previous learning experiences to interpret other natural phenomena. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:45:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7b1a4d33545a40408bb6b1b4a923c023 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:45:20Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b1a4d33545a40408bb6b1b4a923c0232023-11-21T18:09:26ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022021-05-0111521310.3390/educsci11050213How Do Five- to Six-Year-Old Children Interpret a Burning Candle?Vanessa Sesto0Isabel García-Rodeja1Department of Applied Didactics, Faculty of Education, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 A Coruña, SpainDepartment of Applied Didactics, Faculty of Education, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 A Coruña, SpainMany studies have been conducted in recent years on the explanations given by preschool-age children about different natural phenomena. Nonetheless, very few studies have actually focused on the important domain of matter and its transformations. Specifically, the field of chemical reactions remains unexplored. This qualitative study aims to investigate the explanations of twenty-two 5- to 6-year-old children about combustion, while at the same time evaluating the effect of prior experience with science activities on their interpretations. For this study, the following experiment was proposed: burning a candle inside an inverted vessel. The following data collection tools were used: a Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) strategy and audio and video recordings. The children’s explanations were analysed using classification frameworks, which had been developed in previous studies. The results of this study suggest that young children tend to provide naturalistic explanations about combustion. This finding is an indicator that young children are able to construct mental representations within this conceptual domain. Likewise, the results indicate that children who are used to engaging in inquiry-based activities may be more likely to establish a relationship with previous learning experiences to interpret other natural phenomena.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/11/5/213preschool childrenexplanationsprecursor modelsnatural phenomenacombustion |
| spellingShingle | Vanessa Sesto Isabel García-Rodeja How Do Five- to Six-Year-Old Children Interpret a Burning Candle? Education Sciences preschool children explanations precursor models natural phenomena combustion |
| title | How Do Five- to Six-Year-Old Children Interpret a Burning Candle? |
| title_full | How Do Five- to Six-Year-Old Children Interpret a Burning Candle? |
| title_fullStr | How Do Five- to Six-Year-Old Children Interpret a Burning Candle? |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Do Five- to Six-Year-Old Children Interpret a Burning Candle? |
| title_short | How Do Five- to Six-Year-Old Children Interpret a Burning Candle? |
| title_sort | how do five to six year old children interpret a burning candle |
| topic | preschool children explanations precursor models natural phenomena combustion |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/11/5/213 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vanessasesto howdofivetosixyearoldchildreninterpretaburningcandle AT isabelgarciarodeja howdofivetosixyearoldchildreninterpretaburningcandle |