Abstract
The paper deals with the problems of students’ everyday conceptions of the day/night cycle and seasonal changes and the influence of teaching on these conceptions. Students of regular state schools and an alternative Waldorf school were compared. Textbook analysis was carried out and 276 schoolchildren from grades 3–9 were questioned in written form. Children’s explanations and illustrations were analyzed and compared with those found in the textbooks. The results showed that students need much more guidance in learning contemporary explanations of astronomical phenomena in school. It was shown that textbooks used in regular schools provide confusing and misleading information that is misinterpreted by children. It was shown that regular school students relied for their answers more on verbal facts taught in school, but Waldorf school students gave more simple descriptive answers.
Résumé
La recherche traite les problèmes de la conception que les élèves ont en apprenant le cycle jour/nuit et les changements de saisons; il traite aussi de l’influence de l’enseignement sur leur conception. Les élèves des écoles d’Etat ordinaires et d’une école Waldorf furent comparées. Une analyse de manuels fut réalisée et 276 élèves des classes 3–9 furent questionnés à l’écrit. Les explications et les exemples donnés par les élèves furent analysés et comparés avec ceux des manuels. Il en résulte que les élèves ont besoin de plus de direction en apprenant les notions des phénomènes astronomiques. Il résulte aussi que les manuels utilisés dans les écoles ordinaires provoquent chez les élèves la confusion et l’incompréhension. Les élèves des écoles ordinaires se basent en répondant sur les faits verbaux enseignés à l’école mais les élèves de l’école Waldorf donnent des réponses descriptives plus simples.
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The writing of this paper was supported by a grant from the Estonian Science Foundation (grant no. 3993).
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Kikas, E. The influence of teaching on students’ explanations and illustrations of the day/night cycle and seasonal changes. Eur J Psychol Educ 15, 281–295 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173180
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173180