Making connections: A qualitative study of science learning in five- and six-year-old children

"In a six-month qualitative study, science learning in a group of five- and six-year-old children was investigated in the context of ""minds-on"" science activities. The concept of ""intellectual alertness,"" originally articulated by Duckworth (1987), was further defined as a highly personal, multi-faceted set of qualities with both cognitive and affective dimensions. It is proposed that the intellectual alertness of each child consists of a number of different but identifiable elements, the ""sum total"" of which is unique to each child. In the course of the study, a number of alternative conceptions related to children's perceptions of living things were also identified and described. The findings of the study indicate that both the conceptions and reasoning of the children in the study are far more complex than might have been expected from previous studies. The study also points toward the potential usefulness of prolonged qualitative studies in the investigation of the reasoning and evolving conceptions of young children."

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Schroeder, Michael Wayne

Contributors dc:contributor

• Clift, Renée T.

• Education, Early Childhood
• Education, Educational Psychology
• Education, Sciences

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 1996 Schroeder, Michael Wayne

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

9780591088472
AAI9702659
(UMI)AAI9702659

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/22093