The role of spatial and spatial-temporal analysis in children's causal cognition of continuous processes.

ABSTRACT: Past research has largely ignored children's ability to conjointly manipulate spatial and temporal information, but there are indications that the capacity to do so may provide important support for reasoning about causal processes. We hypothesised that spatial-temporal thinking is central to children's ability to identify the invisible mechanisms that tie cause and effect together in continuous casual processes, which are focal in primary school science and crucial to understanding of the natural world. We investigated this in two studies (N = 107, N = 124), employing two methodologies, one shorter, the other more in depth. Further tasks assessed spatial-temporal (flow of liquid, extrapolation of relative speed, distance-time-velocity), spatial (two mental rotation, paper folding), verbal

SUBMITTER: Dundar-Coecke S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7392260 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature