Is the earth flat or round? Primary school children’s understandings of the planet earth: The case of Turkish children
Keywords:
Drawings of earth, children’s drawings, children’s conceptions of planet EarthAbstract
The purpose of this study is to explore primary school children’s understandings about the shape of
the Earth. The sample is consisted of 124 first-graders from five primary schools located in an urban
city of Turkey. The data of the study were collected through children’s drawings and semi-structured
interviews. Results obtained from the drawings showed that only one third of the participants have
drawn scientifically acceptable images of the earth. However, the subsequent semi-structured
interviews revealed that more children have scientific knowledge about the shape of the Earth. The
results also revealed that cartoons, story books and daily life experiences are the reasons for children’s
misconceptions.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Abrams, R. (1997). Proceedings of “From misconceptions to constructed understanding”: The Fourth
International Misconceptions Seminar [On-line]. Available: http://www2ucsc.edu/ mlrg/
proc4abstracts.html. 02/03/2012.
Arnold, P., Sarge, A., & Worrall, L. (1995). Children’s knowledge of the earth’s shape and its gravitational
field . International Journal of Science Education, 17, 635-642.
Ausbel, D. P. (1968). Educational Psychology: A Cognitive View. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
Inc.
Ball, M., & Smith, G. (1992). Analyzing and visualizing data. London: Sage.
Banks, M. (2001). Visual methods in social research. London: Sage.
Bar, V. (1989). Children’s views about the water cycle. Science Education, 73, 481-500.
Brewer, W., Hendrich, D., & Vosniadou, S. (1987). A cross-cultural study of children’s development of
cosmological bodies: Samoan and American data. In Paper presented at the Third International
Conference on Thinking (Honolulu, U.S.).
Caramazza, A., McCloskey, M. & Green, B. (1981). Naïve beliefs in “sophisticated” subjects:
Misconceptions about trajectories of objects. Cognition, 9, 117-123.
Clement, J. (1982). Student’s preconceptions in introductory physics. American Journal of Physics, 50,
66-71.
Coates, E. (2002). ‘I forgot the sky!’ Children’s stories contained within their drawings. International
Journal of Early Years Education, 10(1), 21-35.
Collins, A. & Gentner, D. (1987). How people construct mental models. In Cultural models in language
and thought, D. Holland and N. Quinn (Eds.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., 243.
Cuthbert, A. J. (2000). Do children have a holistic view of their internal body maps? School Science
Review, 82(299), 25-32.
Driver, R., & Easley, J., (1978). Pupils and paradigms: a review of literature related to concept
development in adolescent science students. Studies in Science Education, 5, 61-84.
Dove, J. E., Everett, L. A., & Preece, P. F. W. (1999). Exploring a hydrological concept through children’s
drawings. International Journal of Science Education, 21(5), 485-497.
Duit, R. & Treagust, D. (1998). Learning in science-from behaviourism towards social constructivism
and beyond. In International Handbook of Science Education, ed. B. Fraser and K. Tobin, Dordrecht,
The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic, 3-26.
Edens, K. M. & Potter, E. (2003). Using descriptive drawings as a conceptual change strategy in
elementary science. School Science and Mathematics, 103, 135-144.
Gilbert, J. K., Osborne, R. J., & Fensham, P. J. (1982). Children’s science and its consequences for
teaching. Science Education, 66(4), 623-633.
Golomb, C. (1992). The Child’s Creation of a Pictoral World. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Gunstone, R. F. (1990). Children’s science: a decade of developments in constructivist views of science
teaching and learning. The Australian Science Teachers Journal, 36(4), 1990.
Hayes, D., Symington, D., & Martin, M. (1994). Drawing during science activity in the primary school.
International Journal of Science Education,16, 265-277.
Haslam, F. & Treagust, D. F. (1987). Diagnosing secondary students’ misconceptions of photosynthesis
and respiration in plants using a two-tier multiple choice instrument. Journal of Biological
Education, 21(3), 203-211.
Hewson, M. G. & Hewson, P. W. (1983). Effect of instruction using prior knowledge and conceptual
change strategies on science learning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 20(8), 731-743.
Henriques, L. (2002). Children’s ideas about whether: A review of the literature. School Science and
Mathematics, 102(5), 202-215.
Kempton, W. (1987). Two theories of home heat control. In Cultural models in language and thought, D.
Holland and N. Quinn (Eds.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., 222.
Knoff, H. M. & Prout, H. T. (1985). Kinetic Drawing System for family and school: A handbook. Los Angeles:
Western Psychological Services.
McCloskey, M. & Kargon, R. (1988). The meaning and use of historical models in the study of intuitive
physics. In Ontogeny, phylogeny, and historical development, S. Strauss (Ed.), Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 49.
Moline, S. (1995). I see what you mean: Children at work with visual information. York, ME: Stenhouse
Publishers.
Naglieri, J. A. (1988). Draw-a-Person: A quantitative scoring system. New York: Psychological
Corporation.
Nobes, G., Moore, D., Martin, A., Clifford, B., Butterworth, G., Panayiotaki, G. et. al. (2003). Children’s
understanding of the earth in a multicultural community: Mental models or fragments of
knowledge? Developmental Science, 6(1), 72-85.
Novak, J. (1987). Proceedings of the Second International Seminar: Misconceptions and Educational
Strategies in Science and Mathematics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, Department of Education.
Nussbaum, J. (1979). Children’s conceptions of the Earth as a cosmic body: A cross age study, Science
Education, 63, 83-93.
Nussbaum, J. & Novak, J. D. (1976). An assessment of children’s concepts of the Earth utilizing
structured interviews, Science Education, 60,535-550.
Osborne, R. J. (1983). Towards modifying children’s ideas about electric current, Research in Science
and Technological Education, 1, 73-82.
Osborne, R. J. & Wittrock, M. C. (1983). Learning science: A generative process, Science Education, 67(4),
489-508.
Panagiotaki, G., Nobes, G. & Potton, A. (2009). Mental models and other misconceptions in children’s
understandings of the Earth, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 104, 52-67.
Posner, G. J., Strike, K. A., Hewson, P. W. & Gertzog, W. A. (1982). Accommodation of a scientific
conception: Towards a theory of conceptual change, Science Education, 66(2), 211-227.
Reith, E. (1997). Drawing development, In Child development in art, A. M. Kindler (Ed.), Virginia: National
Art Education Association, 59.
Rennie, L. J. & Jarvis, T. (1995). Children’s choice of drawings to communicate their ideas about
technology, Research in Science Education, 25, 239-252.
Samarapungavan, A., Vosniadou, S. & Brewer, W. (1996). Mental models of the Earth, Sun and Moon:
Indian children’s cosmologies, Cognitive development, 11, 491-521.
Schilling, M., McGuigan, L. & Qualter, A. (1993). The primary science and concept exploration (SPACE)
project, Investigating, 9, 27-29.
Schoultz, J., Säljö, R., & Wyndhamn, J. (2001). Heavenly talk: Discourse, artifacts, and children’s
understanding of elementary astronomy. Human Development, 44, 103-118.
Shuell, T. (1987). Cognitive psychology and conceptual change: implications for teaching science,
Science Education, 71, 239-250.
Siegal, M., Butterworth, G. & Newcombe, P. A. (2004). Culture and children’s cosmology. Developmental
Science, 7, 308-324.
Sneider, C. & Pulos, S. (1983). Children’s cosmographies: Understanding the Earth’s shape and gravity,
Science Education, 67,205-221.
Straatemier, M., van der Maas, H.L.J., & Jansen, B. R. J. (2008). Children’s knowledge of the earth: A new
methodological and statistical approach. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 276-296.
Stromment, E. (1995). Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my! Children’s conceptions of forests and their
inhabitants, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 32, 683-698.
van Meter, P. (2001). Drawing construction as a strategy for learning from text, Journal of Educational
Psychology, 93,129-140.
Vosniadou, S. & Brewer, W. (1990). A cross-cultural investigation of children’s conceptions about the
Earth, the Sun and the Moon: Greek and American data. In Learning and instruction, M. Heinz, E.
Corte, N. Bennet and H. Friedrich (Eds.). Oxford: Pergamon, 605.
Vosniadou, S. & Brewer, W. (1992). Mental models of the Earth: A study of conceptual change in
childhood, Cognitive Psychology, 24, 535-585.
Vosniadou, S. & Brewer, W. (1994). Mental models of the day/night cycle. Cognitive Science, 18, 123-184.
White, B. Y. & Frederiksen, J. R. (1986). Intelligent tutoring systems based upon qualitative model
evolutions, Proceedings of the Fifth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, (Philadelphia, PA).
White, R. & Gunstone, R. (2000). Probing Understanding. London: Falmer Press.
International Misconceptions Seminar [On-line]. Available: http://www2ucsc.edu/ mlrg/
proc4abstracts.html. 02/03/2012.
Arnold, P., Sarge, A., & Worrall, L. (1995). Children’s knowledge of the earth’s shape and its gravitational
field . International Journal of Science Education, 17, 635-642.
Ausbel, D. P. (1968). Educational Psychology: A Cognitive View. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
Inc.
Ball, M., & Smith, G. (1992). Analyzing and visualizing data. London: Sage.
Banks, M. (2001). Visual methods in social research. London: Sage.
Bar, V. (1989). Children’s views about the water cycle. Science Education, 73, 481-500.
Brewer, W., Hendrich, D., & Vosniadou, S. (1987). A cross-cultural study of children’s development of
cosmological bodies: Samoan and American data. In Paper presented at the Third International
Conference on Thinking (Honolulu, U.S.).
Caramazza, A., McCloskey, M. & Green, B. (1981). Naïve beliefs in “sophisticated” subjects:
Misconceptions about trajectories of objects. Cognition, 9, 117-123.
Clement, J. (1982). Student’s preconceptions in introductory physics. American Journal of Physics, 50,
66-71.
Coates, E. (2002). ‘I forgot the sky!’ Children’s stories contained within their drawings. International
Journal of Early Years Education, 10(1), 21-35.
Collins, A. & Gentner, D. (1987). How people construct mental models. In Cultural models in language
and thought, D. Holland and N. Quinn (Eds.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., 243.
Cuthbert, A. J. (2000). Do children have a holistic view of their internal body maps? School Science
Review, 82(299), 25-32.
Driver, R., & Easley, J., (1978). Pupils and paradigms: a review of literature related to concept
development in adolescent science students. Studies in Science Education, 5, 61-84.
Dove, J. E., Everett, L. A., & Preece, P. F. W. (1999). Exploring a hydrological concept through children’s
drawings. International Journal of Science Education, 21(5), 485-497.
Duit, R. & Treagust, D. (1998). Learning in science-from behaviourism towards social constructivism
and beyond. In International Handbook of Science Education, ed. B. Fraser and K. Tobin, Dordrecht,
The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic, 3-26.
Edens, K. M. & Potter, E. (2003). Using descriptive drawings as a conceptual change strategy in
elementary science. School Science and Mathematics, 103, 135-144.
Gilbert, J. K., Osborne, R. J., & Fensham, P. J. (1982). Children’s science and its consequences for
teaching. Science Education, 66(4), 623-633.
Golomb, C. (1992). The Child’s Creation of a Pictoral World. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Gunstone, R. F. (1990). Children’s science: a decade of developments in constructivist views of science
teaching and learning. The Australian Science Teachers Journal, 36(4), 1990.
Hayes, D., Symington, D., & Martin, M. (1994). Drawing during science activity in the primary school.
International Journal of Science Education,16, 265-277.
Haslam, F. & Treagust, D. F. (1987). Diagnosing secondary students’ misconceptions of photosynthesis
and respiration in plants using a two-tier multiple choice instrument. Journal of Biological
Education, 21(3), 203-211.
Hewson, M. G. & Hewson, P. W. (1983). Effect of instruction using prior knowledge and conceptual
change strategies on science learning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 20(8), 731-743.
Henriques, L. (2002). Children’s ideas about whether: A review of the literature. School Science and
Mathematics, 102(5), 202-215.
Kempton, W. (1987). Two theories of home heat control. In Cultural models in language and thought, D.
Holland and N. Quinn (Eds.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., 222.
Knoff, H. M. & Prout, H. T. (1985). Kinetic Drawing System for family and school: A handbook. Los Angeles:
Western Psychological Services.
McCloskey, M. & Kargon, R. (1988). The meaning and use of historical models in the study of intuitive
physics. In Ontogeny, phylogeny, and historical development, S. Strauss (Ed.), Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 49.
Moline, S. (1995). I see what you mean: Children at work with visual information. York, ME: Stenhouse
Publishers.
Naglieri, J. A. (1988). Draw-a-Person: A quantitative scoring system. New York: Psychological
Corporation.
Nobes, G., Moore, D., Martin, A., Clifford, B., Butterworth, G., Panayiotaki, G. et. al. (2003). Children’s
understanding of the earth in a multicultural community: Mental models or fragments of
knowledge? Developmental Science, 6(1), 72-85.
Novak, J. (1987). Proceedings of the Second International Seminar: Misconceptions and Educational
Strategies in Science and Mathematics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, Department of Education.
Nussbaum, J. (1979). Children’s conceptions of the Earth as a cosmic body: A cross age study, Science
Education, 63, 83-93.
Nussbaum, J. & Novak, J. D. (1976). An assessment of children’s concepts of the Earth utilizing
structured interviews, Science Education, 60,535-550.
Osborne, R. J. (1983). Towards modifying children’s ideas about electric current, Research in Science
and Technological Education, 1, 73-82.
Osborne, R. J. & Wittrock, M. C. (1983). Learning science: A generative process, Science Education, 67(4),
489-508.
Panagiotaki, G., Nobes, G. & Potton, A. (2009). Mental models and other misconceptions in children’s
understandings of the Earth, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 104, 52-67.
Posner, G. J., Strike, K. A., Hewson, P. W. & Gertzog, W. A. (1982). Accommodation of a scientific
conception: Towards a theory of conceptual change, Science Education, 66(2), 211-227.
Reith, E. (1997). Drawing development, In Child development in art, A. M. Kindler (Ed.), Virginia: National
Art Education Association, 59.
Rennie, L. J. & Jarvis, T. (1995). Children’s choice of drawings to communicate their ideas about
technology, Research in Science Education, 25, 239-252.
Samarapungavan, A., Vosniadou, S. & Brewer, W. (1996). Mental models of the Earth, Sun and Moon:
Indian children’s cosmologies, Cognitive development, 11, 491-521.
Schilling, M., McGuigan, L. & Qualter, A. (1993). The primary science and concept exploration (SPACE)
project, Investigating, 9, 27-29.
Schoultz, J., Säljö, R., & Wyndhamn, J. (2001). Heavenly talk: Discourse, artifacts, and children’s
understanding of elementary astronomy. Human Development, 44, 103-118.
Shuell, T. (1987). Cognitive psychology and conceptual change: implications for teaching science,
Science Education, 71, 239-250.
Siegal, M., Butterworth, G. & Newcombe, P. A. (2004). Culture and children’s cosmology. Developmental
Science, 7, 308-324.
Sneider, C. & Pulos, S. (1983). Children’s cosmographies: Understanding the Earth’s shape and gravity,
Science Education, 67,205-221.
Straatemier, M., van der Maas, H.L.J., & Jansen, B. R. J. (2008). Children’s knowledge of the earth: A new
methodological and statistical approach. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 276-296.
Stromment, E. (1995). Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my! Children’s conceptions of forests and their
inhabitants, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 32, 683-698.
van Meter, P. (2001). Drawing construction as a strategy for learning from text, Journal of Educational
Psychology, 93,129-140.
Vosniadou, S. & Brewer, W. (1990). A cross-cultural investigation of children’s conceptions about the
Earth, the Sun and the Moon: Greek and American data. In Learning and instruction, M. Heinz, E.
Corte, N. Bennet and H. Friedrich (Eds.). Oxford: Pergamon, 605.
Vosniadou, S. & Brewer, W. (1992). Mental models of the Earth: A study of conceptual change in
childhood, Cognitive Psychology, 24, 535-585.
Vosniadou, S. & Brewer, W. (1994). Mental models of the day/night cycle. Cognitive Science, 18, 123-184.
White, B. Y. & Frederiksen, J. R. (1986). Intelligent tutoring systems based upon qualitative model
evolutions, Proceedings of the Fifth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, (Philadelphia, PA).
White, R. & Gunstone, R. (2000). Probing Understanding. London: Falmer Press.
Downloads
Published
2017-08-23
How to Cite
Özsoy, S. (2017). Is the earth flat or round? Primary school children’s understandings of the planet earth: The case of Turkish children. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 4(2), 407–415. Retrieved from https://iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/207
Issue
Section
Articles
