ERIC Number: EJ1367308
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9266
EISSN: EISSN-2157-6009
Making a Fictitious Animal: 6-7 Year-Old Swedish Children's Meaning Making about Evolution during a Modelling Task
Journal of Biological Education, v56 n3 p323-339 2022
Whereas previous studies show that children are able to make meaning about evolutionary concepts within read-aloud contexts, little is known about how semiotic resources and interaction influence children's meaning making about evolution. This study investigates children's meaning making about evolutionary concepts during a modelling activity conducted after an interactive storybook read-aloud describing the evolution of a foraging trait of a fictitious mammal (the "pilose"). Forty children (13 groups) were videotaped as they produced a clay pilose model, while explaining how they thought their pilose would appear after inhabiting a 'future' environment (mountainous, snowy or forest). A multimodal analysis focused on how children demonstrated their meanings of seven evolutionary concepts described in the book. An eighth concept, 'adaptation to environment', was also often discussed. While all eight concepts emerged, the most frequent concerned survival and adaptation. The eighth concept appeared to serve as a synthesis of children's interpretation of the storybook that highlighted the visible consequences of evolution. The children engaged five interactional resources, dominated by the interactional resource of communicating the concepts in direct relation to their produced pilose models. The findings shed light on how children's representational and relational practices impact making meaning about evolution.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Animals, Task Analysis, Concept Formation, Evolution, Scientific Concepts, Teaching Methods, Semiotics, Story Reading, Forestry, Video Technology, Models, Environment, Animal Behavior, Biology, Early Childhood Education, Preschool Children, Art Products
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A