A Study On The Cognitive Development Of The Concept Of Light In Children Aged 5-6

The acquisition of scientific concept in pre-school lays a foundation for the formal acceptance of science education in the later stages of children.The cognitive characteristics of children's scientific concept are obtaining more attention among scholars.According to Piaget's cognitive development theory,5-6 years old children's specific thinking gradually matures and abstract thinking sprouts.Characteristics and influencing factors of scientific concept at this stage need further research.Based on the theory of system theory and cognitive development,this study systematically developed a comprehensive understanding of the concept of light among children aged 5 to 6 years.Research of the cognitive status of preschool children's perception of light effective and "independent+fusion" demonstration experiments were designed,based on the fundamental nature of light,for 31 children aged from 5 to 6 in a township kindergarten.Interviews were taken through phenomenon display,guidance,and interviews(with 9 topics),using Piaget's clinical interview method and phenomenon analysis method.The main content of this research are as follows:(1)expoloring the level of understanding of light concept of preschool children aged 5-6 years;(2)analyzing the characteristics and influencing factors of light concept formation process;and(3)summarizing the experience that is beneficial to science education.According to the theory of Tytler and Peterson,children's cognitive level of light concept is divided into three levels:phenomenon description,relationship expression,and concept understanding,with three aspects:children's judgment,understanding,and expression,In the process of acquiring scientific concepts,five characteristics of 5-6 years old children's cognition were present:a)the reversibility of thinking is developing,which is based on the specific thinking;b)the comprehensive of thinking sprouts;c)children's perception is relative;d)preschool children use logical thinking methods of inductive deduction;and f)children's perceptual cognition and rational cognition are significantly different.At the same time,the main factors affecting Chinese children's development processes are:a)TV became the major manner for children to obtain extracurricular information;b)the role of peers was not present,while children were inclined to obtain knowledge passively and directly,with lack of peer interaction;and c)children did not use religion to explain things that are unknown and not understood.(3)According to the research process and results,following summaries which benefit to the experience of science education:a)science education should be based on the systematic system of science,which conforms to the law of scientific cognition;b)science and child-oriented should taken into account in scientific learning,that is,use anthropomorphic language and avoid abstract terminology;c)multiple types of experiments should be applied in science education,not only the operational experiments,but also the demonstrating experiments,which help children construct their own scientific concepts;d)appropriate scientific experiments should be selected and designed,the items and degree of experiment should be controlled and adapt to the proper cognitive level of preschool children;and e)parents should guide children's scientific exploration behavior correctly,they should use life phenomena to actively encourage preschool children's scientific exploration behavior and reduce the dependence of electronic products.The characteristics and innovations of this paper are as follows.(1)A unique perspective on the systematic study of the formation of children's scientific concepts around the basic nature of a physical concept.This perspective was different from the traditional "scientific cognition research focused on a certain phenomenon."(2)An "independent + fusion" demonstration of experimental measurement scheme was designed,and propose cross-statistical and research forms.The research method can deeply,comprehensively and effectively explore children's cognition of light concept at aged 5.5-,with a synergy of qualitative and quantitative research,it also distinguished different cognitive levels and corresponding children in the same age group.Using the methods of "independence+fusion" experiment and clinical interview,this study identified three levels of light concept cognition among preschool children,generalized five cognitive characteristics and three types of influencing factors,and offered five effective strategies for preschool scientific education.The study results can also be used as effective implementation strategy of formal science education in the later period of childhood,and promote scientific and technological literacy of adolescent.