Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood

Sackes, Mesut

Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood

Mesut SAÇKES (Balıkesir Üniversitesi, Balıkesir, Türkiye)

Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri

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Yıl: 2015 Cilt: 15 Sayı: 4 Sayfa Aralığı: 997 - 1006 Metin Dili: İngilizce İndeks Tarihi: 29-07-2022

Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood

Öz:

This study aims to examine kindergarten children's mental models of the day and night cycle and provide implications for pedagogical practices targeting space science concepts in early childhood classrooms. A total of 46 kindergartners participated in the study, their age ranging from 60 to 75 months, including 22 boys and 24 girls. Semi-structured interviews involving three tasks (verbal explanations, model manipulation, and model labeling) were conducted to collect the study data and children were individually interviewed. The data were analyzed using the model identification methodology. The results demonstrated that more than half of the children had naïve mental models of the day and night cycle with the distance model being the most common naïve model held by the children. A total of eight children held synthetic models of the day and night cycle while only six children held a scientific model of the day and night cycle. The findings of this study suggest that children possess limitations in verbally providing causal explanations. The use of models during the interviews helped children in expressing their ideas in a more competent manner, thereby overcoming their limitations in producing verbal explanations. Implications for pedagogical practices to support learning of the day and night cycle in early childhood classrooms are provided

Anahtar Kelime:

Konular: Eğitim, Eğitim Araştırmaları

Belge Türü: Makale Makale Türü: Araştırma Makalesi Erişim Türü: Bibliyografik

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APA	Sackes M (2015). Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood. , 997 - 1006.
Chicago	Sackes Mesut Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood. (2015): 997 - 1006.
MLA	Sackes Mesut Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood. , 2015, ss.997 - 1006.
AMA	Sackes M Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood. . 2015; 997 - 1006.
Vancouver	Sackes M Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood. . 2015; 997 - 1006.
IEEE	Sackes M "Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood." , ss.997 - 1006, 2015.
ISNAD	Sackes, Mesut. "Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood". (2015), 997-1006.

APA	Sackes M (2015). Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri, 15(4), 997 - 1006.
Chicago	Sackes Mesut Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri 15, no.4 (2015): 997 - 1006.
MLA	Sackes Mesut Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri, vol.15, no.4, 2015, ss.997 - 1006.
AMA	Sackes M Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri. 2015; 15(4): 997 - 1006.
Vancouver	Sackes M Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri. 2015; 15(4): 997 - 1006.
IEEE	Sackes M "Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood." Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri, 15, ss.997 - 1006, 2015.
ISNAD	Sackes, Mesut. "Kindergartners' Mental Models of the Day and Night Cycle: Implications for Instructional Practices in Early Childhood". Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri 15/4 (2015), 997-1006.