International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education
Editors: A/Prof John Lidstone, Queensland University of Technology and Prof Joseph P. Stoltman, Western Michigan University
Book Review Editor: Dr Sarah Witham Bednarz, Texas A & M University
Editorial Assistant: Donna Bennett, Australia
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Volume: 11 Number: 1 Page: 5–14
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The Influence of Direct Experience on Children's Ideas about the Formation of the Natural Scenery
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Mustafa Cin and Hakkı Yazıcı
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The relationship between 8-year-old children's ideas about the formation of the waterbased landscape features (a river, a lake and the sea) and their direct experience of these features is investigated
in this study. In order to determine the extent of the influence of the physical environment on understanding, two groups of children living in different geographical environments were chosen and their
understanding of the selected features was compared. Eighty primary children were interviewed about the features. No statistical test was used because of the nature of the data. Children's responses were
categorised and interpreted so that comparisons could be made. The results tended to support the idea that the direct experience of the natural features has no influence on children's conceptual understanding.
The results also showed that the children held a number of alternative conceptions relating to the formation of the water-based landscape features prior to the experience of formal instruction. The implications
of these findings for teaching are discussed.
© Multilingual Matters 2002
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