Using the model of microcosm in elementary school making ‘visible’ the invisible particles of matter
Published:
Jul 21, 2022
Keywords:
Conceptual change science education explanations model of microcosm macroscopic phenomena
Abstract
Numerous studies support the educational model of microcosm as a useful tool for understanding and interpreting macroscopic phenomena. Consequently, an international attempt is made to apply educational approaches of this model or of the particulate nature of matter, as most commonly reported in the international bibliography. However, introducing the model of microcosm seems to be a difficult and long-lasting issue as it involves non-intuitive ideas and it refers to a scale that students are unable to understand using their senses. For this reason, a worldwide effort to find the best educational approach for students as young as possible is currently attempted. In this study, an intervention was implemented, attempting to introduce the model of microcosm to primary education by applying analogies, sequential enlargements of objects, simultaneous macroscopic and microscopic imaging and dynamic simulations of microcosm, in order to address the difficulties of the non-intuitive ideas and especially of the invisible particles that compose matter. The research was focused on whether primary school students were capable, after the proposed intervention, of understanding this model and apply it in the explanation of macroscopic phenomena. The sample consisted of 50 students in the 5th grade. The results showed that students of this age are in a position to understand the model of microcosm thus, additionally facilitating the understanding and explanation of the macroscopic phenomena (e.g. physical change).
Article Details
- How to Cite
-
Gikopoulou, O. (2022). Using the model of microcosm in elementary school making ‘visible’ the invisible particles of matter. Psychology: The Journal of the Hellenic Psychological Society, 27(1), 86–111. https://doi.org/10.12681/psyhps.30683
- Section
- SPECIAL SECTION
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The journal PSYCHOLOGY adopts a Platinum open-access policy. Submission, processing or publication costs are waived by the Hellenic Psychological Society. Papers published in the journal PSYCHOLOGY are licensed under a 'Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International' licence. The authors reserve the copyright of their work and grant the journal the right of its first publication. Third-party licensees are allowed to use the published paper immediately after publication as they wish, provided they retain the defined by the license copyright formalities, regarding the reference to its author(s) and its initial publication in the journal PSYCHOLOGY. Moreover, any adjusted work should be shared under the same reuse rights, so with the same CC license.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Andersson, B. (1990). Pupils’ conceptions of matter and its transformations (age 12-16). Studies in Science Education, 18, 53-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057269008559981
Αποστολάκης, Ε., Παναγοπούλου, Ε., Σάββας, Στ., Τσαγλιώτης, Ν., Μακρή, Β., Πανταζής, Γ., Πετρέα, Κ., Σωτηρίου, Σ., Τόλιας, Β., Τσαγκογέωργα, Α., & Καλκάνης, Γ., (2006). "ΦΥΣΙΚΑ - Ερευνώ και Ανακαλύπτω" - "SCIENCE – [I Research and I Discover", Ε΄ και Στ’ Δημοτικού - Βιβλίο Μαθητή - Τετράδιο Εργασιών - Βιβλίο Δασκάλου], Υπουργείο Εθνικής Παιδείας και Θρησκευμάτων, Παιδαγωγικό Ινστιτούτο, Οργανισμός Εκδόσεως Διδακτικών Βιβλίων.
Ardac, D., & Akaygun, S., (2005). Using Static and Dynamic Visuals to Represent Chemical Change at Molecular Level. International Journal of Science Education, 27(11), 1269-1298. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 09500690500102284
Beveridge, M., (1985). The Development of young children understanding of the process of evaporation. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 55, 84-90. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1985.tb02611.x
Βλάχος, Ι. Α. (1999). Εποικοδομητική προσέγγιση της διδασκαλίας της σωματιδιακής δομής της ύλης στην Πρωτοβάθμια Εκπαίδευση. [Αδημοσίευτη Διδακτορική Διατριβή], Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών.
Βοσνιάδου, Στ., (2019). Η Θεωρία Πλαισίου και οι εκπαιδευτικές Επιδράσεις της. Στο Ν. Κυριακοπούλου & Ε. Σκοπελίτη (Επ.) Νόηση και Μάθηση υπό το Πρίσμα της Εννοιολογικής Αλλαγής, Σύγχρονες έρευνες και Προβληματισμοί, (σελ. 19-34). Gutenberg.
Βοσνιάδου, Στ., (2006). Περιβάλλοντα Μάθησης που Διευκολύνουν την Αναδιοργάνωση των Ιδεών για Μάθηση στις Φυσικές Επιστήμες. Στο Σ. Βοσνιάδου (Επ.) Σχεδιάζοντας Περιβάλλοντα Μάθησης Υποστηριζόμενα από τις Σύγχρονες Τεχνολογίες, (σελ. 253-268). Gutenberg.
Bouwma - Gearhart J., Stewart J., & Brown K., (2009). Student Misapplication of a Gas-like Model to Explain Particle Movement in Heated Solids: Implications for curriculum and instruction towards students' creation and revision of accurate explanatory models. International Journal of Science Education, 31(9), 1157-1174. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690902736325
Carey, S. (1985). Conceptual Change in Childhood. MIT Press.
Clement, J. (2013). Roles for explanatory models and analogies in conceptual change. In S. Vosniadou (Ed.), International handbook of research on conceptual change, Second Edition, (pp. 412-446). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203154472
Γκικοπούλου Ο., (2013). Εννοιολογική Αλλαγή στις Φυσικές Επιστήμες [Αδημοσίευτη Διδακτορική Διατριβή], Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών.
Δρόλαπας, Αν., Γκικοπούλου Ο., & Καλκάνης, Γ. Θ. (2017). Ανάπτυξη λογισμικού ανεξαρτήτου πλατφόρμας για τη διδασκαλία μικροσκοπικών φαινομένων της ύλης στην πρωτοβάθμια και δευτεροβάθμια εκπαίδευση. Στο Δ. Σταύρου, Αιμ. Μιχαηλίδη, & Αθ. Κοκολάκη (Επ.) Γεφυρώνοντας το Χάσμα μεταξύ Φυσικών Επιστημών, Κοινωνίας και Εκπαιδευτικής Πράξης - Πρακτικά 10ου Πανελλήνιου Συνεδρίου Διδακτικής των Φυσικών Επιστημών και Νέων Τεχνολογιών στην Εκπαίδευση, (σελ. 340-345). ΕΝΕΦΕΤ. http://synedrio2017.enephet.gr
Driver, R,. Guesne, E., & Tiberghien, A. (1994). Οι ιδέες των παιδιών στις Φυσικές Επιστήμες. Τροχαλία.
Eshach, H., & Fried, M., (2005). Should science be taught in early childhood ? Journal of Science Education and Technology, 14 (3), 315–336. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-005-7198-9
Gikopoulou, R. & Vosniadou, S. (2006, June 14-17). Categorizations of Substances in Relation to Explanations of Changes in the State of Matter. In the 5th European Symposium on Conceptual Change. University of Stockholm, Sweden. http://www.ccsig2006.su.se
Gikopoulou R. & Vosniadou S. (2012, September 1-4). Designing Learning Environments for Teaching Theory of Matter in Primary school. In the 8th International Conference on Conceptual Change, University of Trier, Germany.
Griffiths, A., & Preston, K., (1992). Grade-12 Students’ misconceptions relating to fundamental characteristics of atoms and molecules. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 29, 611-628. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660290609
Harrison, A. G., & Treagust, D. F., (2000). Learning about atoms, molecules and chemical bonds: a case study of Multiple model use in grade 11 chemistry. Science Education, 84(3), 352-379. https://doi.org/10.1002/ (SICI)1098-237X(200005)84:3<352::AID-SCE3>3.0.CO;2-J
Johnson, P. (1998). Progression in children’s understanding of a ‘basic’ particle theory: a longitudinal study. International Journal of Science Education, 20(4), 393-412. https://doi.org/10.1080/0950069980200402
Jones, R., (2009). Νανόκοσμος - ο υπέροχος άγνωστος κόσμος της φύσης. Εκδόσεις ΚΑΠΟΝ.
Καλκάνης, Γ., (2006). Δυναμικές Προσομοιώσεις του μικρόκοσμου. Ανακτήθηκε από: http://micro-kosmos.uoa.gr (τα ΦΥΣΙΚΑ Ε΄και Στ΄ Δημοτικού).
Καλκάνης, Γ., (2007)., Πρωτοβάθμια ΕκΠαίδευση στις-με τις Φυσικές Επιστήμες (Ι. οι Θεωρίες, ΙΙ. τα Φαινόμενα), ΕκΠαιδευτικό Εργαστήριο Φυσικών Επιστημών, ΕκΠαιδευτικές Τεχνολογίες και οι Εφαρμογές τους (Ι. το Εργαστήριο, ΙΙ. οι Τεχνολογίες). Αθήνα.
Kalkanis, G., (2013). From the Scientific to the Educational: Using Monte Carlo Simulations of the Microkosmos for Science Education by Inquiry. In: Tsaparlis G., Sevian H. (eds) Concepts of Matter in Science Education. Innovations in Science Education and Technology (vol 1, pp. 301-315). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5914-5_14
Lee, O., Eichinger, D.C., Anderson, C.W., Berkheimer, G.d., & Blakeslee, T.D., (1993). Changing middle school students’ conceptions of matter and molecules, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 30(3), 249-270. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660300304
Löfgren, L., & Hellden, G. (2009). A Longitudinal Study Showing how Students use a Molecule Concept when Explaining Everyday Situations. International Journal of Science Education, 31(12), 1631–1655. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690802154850
McCloskey, M.(1983). Intuitive Physics. Scientific American, 248(4), 122-130. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0483-122
Merritt, J., Krajcik J. (2013) Learning Progression Developed to Support Students in Building a Particle Model of Matter. In: Tsaparlis G., Sevian H. (eds) Concepts of Matter in Science Education. Innovations in Science Education and Technology (vol 19, pp.11-45). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5914-5_2
Nakhleh, M., & Samarapungavan, A., (1999). Elementary school children’s beliefs about matter. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 36, 777-805. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2736(199909)36:7<777::AID-TEA4>3.0.CO;2-Z
Nakhleh, M., Samarapungavan, A., & Saglam, Y., (2005). Middle School Students’ Beliefs about Matter. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 42(5), 581-612. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20065
Nussbaum, J., (1985). Η σωματιδιακή μορφή της ύλης στην αέρια κατάσταση. Στο Driver R. et al. (Επ.) Οι ιδέες των παιδιών στις Φυσικές Επιστήμες (σελ. 180-207). Τροχαλία.
Osborne, R., & Cosgrove, M., (1983). Children’s’ conceptions of the changes of the state of water. Journal of research in Science Teaching, 20, 825-83. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660200905
Papageorgiou, G., & Johnson, P., (2005). Do Particle Ideas Help or Hinder Pupils’ Understanding of Pehnomena?, International Journal of Science Education, 27(11), 1299-1317. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690500102698
Papageorgiou, G., Johnson, P., & Fotiades, F., (2008). Explaining melting and evaporation below boiling point. Can software help with particle ideas?, Research in Science & Technological Education, 26(2), 165-183. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635140802037336
Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B., (1974). The child’s construction of quantities. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291700057068
Pozo, R.M.D. (2001). Prospective teachers’ ideas about the relationships between concepts describing the composition of describing the composition of matter. International Journal of Science Education, 23(4), 353-371. https://doi.org/10.1080/095006901300069084
Pozo, J., & Crespo, M. (2005). The embodied nature of implicit theories: The consistency of ideas about the nature of matter. Cognition and Instruction, 23(3), 351-387. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532690xci2303_2
Smith, C.L. (2007). Bootstraping Processes in the Development of Students’ Commonsense Matter Theories: Using Analogical Mappings, Thought Experiments and Learning to Measure to Promote Conceptual Restructuring, Cognition and Instruction, 25 (4), p. 337-398. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370000701632363
Smith, C., Carey, S., Wiser, M. (1985). On differentiation: A case study of the development of the concepts of size, weight and density. Cognition, 21, 177-237. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277(85)90025-3
Smith, C. & Wiser, M. (2013). Learning and Teaching about Matter in Elementary Grades: What Conceptual Changes Are Needed?. In Vosniadou S. (Ed). International Handbook of Research on Conceptual Change, 2nd edition (pp. 159-176). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203154472
Snir, J., Smith, C., Raz, G., (2003). Linking phenomena with competing underlying models: A software tool for introducing students to the particulate model of matter. Science Education, 87, 794-830. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.10069
Stavy, R., Stachel, D., (1985). Children’s ideas about “solid” and “liquid”. European Journal of Education, 7, 407-421. https://doi.org/10.1080/0140528850070409
Treagust, D. F., Chandrasegaran, A. L., Zain, A. N. M., Ong, E. T., Karpudewan, M., & Halim, L. (2011). Evaluation of an intervention instructional program to facilitate understanding of basic particle concepts among students enrolled in several levels of study. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 12(2), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1039/C1RP90030G
Vosniadou, S., (2006). The conceptual change approach in the learning and teaching of mathematics: An introduction., In Novotna J., Moraova H., Kratka M. & Stehlinkova N. (Eds). Proceedings, 30th conference of the international Group of Psychology and Mathematics Education, vol. 1, (pp. 155-159). PME.
Vosniadou, S. & Brewer, W.F. (1992). Mental Models of the Earth: A study of conceptual change in childhood. Cognitive Psychology, 24, 535-585. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285(92)90018-W
Vosniadou, S., & Brewer, W.F. (1994). Mental Models of the day/night cycle. Cognitive Science, 18, 123-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/0364-0213(94)90022-1
Vosniadou, S., & Vamvakousi, X., (2006). Examining Mathematics learning from a conceptual change point of view: Implications for the design of learning environments. In L. Verschaffel, F. Dochy, M. Boekaerts & S. Vosniadou (eds), Instructional psychology: past, present and future trends – fifteen essays in honour of Erik De Corte (pp. 55-72). Elsevier.
Vosniadou, S., Vamvakousi, X., Skopeliti, E., (2008). The Framework Theory Approach to the Problem of Conceptual Change. In S. Vosniadou (Ed.), International Handbook of Research on Conceptual Change (pp. 3-34). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203874813
Vosniadou, S., & Verschaffel, L. (2004) . Extending the conceptual change approach to mathematics learning and teaching. Learning and Instruction, 14, 445 –451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2004.06.014
Vosniadou, S., & Mason, L. (2012). Conceptual Change induced by Instruction: A Complex Interplay of Multiple Factors. In K. R. Harris, S. Graham & T. Urdan (Editors-in-Chief), APA Educational Handbook, Vol. 2, Individual Differences and Cultural and Contextual Factors (pp. 221-246). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13274-000
Wiser, M., Frazier, K., & Fox, V. (2013). At the Beginning Was Amount of Material: A Learning Progression for Matter for Early Elementary Grades. In Tsaparlis G.& Sevian H. (Eds), Concepts of Matter in Science Education. Springer Series Innovations in Science Education and Technology, vol. 19 (pp. 95-122). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5914-5
Wiser, M., & Smith, C., (2008). Teaching about matter in grades K-8: When should the atomic-molecular theory be introduced?, In Vosniadou S. (Ed). International Handbook of Research on Conceptual Change. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203874813
Wiser, M., & Smith, C., (2013). Learning and Teaching about Matter in the Middle School Years: How Can the Atomic-Molecular Theory be Meaningfully Introduced? In S. Vosniadou (Ed.), International handbook of research on conceptual change, Second Edition, (pp. 177-194). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203154472
Yezierski, E. J., & Birk, J. P. (2006). Misconceptions about the particulate nature of matter. Journal of Chemical Education, 83 (6), 954–960. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed083p954
