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| Paper: |
Initiating Young Children into Basic Astronomical Concepts and Phenomena |
| Volume: |
424, Proceedings of the 9th International Conference of the Hellenic Astronomical Society |
| Page: |
493 |
| Authors: |
Kallery, M. |
| Abstract: |
In the present study we developed and implemented three units of activities aiming at acquainting very young children with basic astronomical concepts and phenomena such as the sphericity of the earth, the earth’s movements and the day/night cycle. The activities were developed by a group composed of a researcher/facilitator and six early-years teachers. In the activities children were presented with appropriate for their age scientific information along with conceptual tools such as a globe and an instructional video. Action research processes were used to optimize classroom practices and to gather useful information for the final shaping of the activities and the instruction materials. In these activities the adopted approach to learning can be characterized as socially constructed. The results indicated awareness of concepts and phenomena that the activities dealt with in high percentages of children, storage of the new knowledge in the long term memory and easy retrieval of it, and children’s enthusiasm for the subject. |
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