In our increasingly technological society,
professional careers require ever-greater levels of scientific knowledge
and technical literacy. Unfortunately, our school curricula have lagged
in introducing fundamental principles and methods of science and mathematics
to young students. This is due in part to the influence of a line of scientific
study that emphasizes the limitations of preschool children's abilities
in these arenas. In contrast, Dr. Rochel Gelman, a cognitive scientist
and educator at UCLA who is funded by the NSF, has focused on what young
children do know about number concepts and the difference between the
way animate and inanimate objects move. Her seminal work on the early
acquisition of knowledge makes use of innovative procedures, ones that
are suited to research with young children. It offers insight into the
kind of learning environments needed to encourage and support children's
achievement of science and math proficiency. While not its primary intention,
Dr. Gelman's research yields important new information for educators as
to how they can best provide children with the basic knowledge, language
and tools of science and math.
In extensive work with preschoolers funded through NSF's SBER (Social, Behavioral & Economic Research) division, Dr. Gelman and her colleagues conduct their research experiments using procedures that build in hands-on activities that require skills relevant to science, such as careful observation, measuring, predicting and testing hypotheses. Examples include number games, the use of measuring instruments, exploring the difference between animals and artifacts as well as young children's ability to distinguish between drawings, writings, and numbers.
For many years Dr. Gelman has conducted ongoing NSF-funded research on early childhood knowledge and the mechanisms of learning. Contrary to previous (and still popular) assumptions that young children know little about abstract concepts until age 6 or 7, Gelman's research has shown that preschoolers as young as infants are interested in abstractions. For example, three-year old children can already use information in pictures of unfamiliar statues of animals to determine which among these can move on their own accord. The studies show that people actually can develop abstract classification concepts at a very early age. By indicating a more sophisticated level of knowledge than previously thought, Dr. Gelman's research again has important implications for early childhood education.
In other studies with preschoolers, Dr. Gelman explores the kinds of knowledge children have when starting math and science lessons, and why some early knowledge acts as a barrier to learning. Young children who know a great deal about the counting numbers often misread the fraction 1/2, for example, as one plus two, or they say that "is more than" because 4 is more than 2. Why the fuss about fractions? Because understanding fractions requires a conceptual shift for most children, to the realization that rational numbers are a different kind of number than the counting numbers. When learners do understand that fractions are rational numbers, they are in a position to measure quantities, interpret graphs, and relate these to understanding a range of ideas within and beyond the realms of math and science. This research on fractions also offers insights into the nature of children's conceptual reasoning and informs efforts to create more effective school curricula.
With funding from NSF's Learning and Intelligent Systems (LIS) initiative,
Dr.Gelman and other experts at UCLA -- psychologists, biologists, chemists
and linguists -- and Los Angeles high school math and science teachers
are collaborating on projects about learning in complex environments.
The projects integrate theoretical analyses and experimental efforts with
participating L.A. high school students. Complementary research by Dr.Gelman
considers how we learn in circumstances where data is rich and potentially
confusing, and also investigates the role of culture in the evolution
of learning.
Dr. Gelman and colleagues' work not only elucidates better understanding of the process of learning, but also has broad implications for artificial-intelligence educational systems. The emerging science of learning and its practical applications will continue to help educators, parents and policy makers engineer improved education reform. As NSF's lead coordinator of LIS, Luther S. Williams, has said, "The reasons for which we undertake these research initiatives are both practical and strategic to our society and economy."
For more information please see:This research is supported by the Human Cognition and Perception Program and the Learning and Intelligent Systems Initiative.Hartnett, P. M., & Gelman, R. (1998). Early understandings of number: paths or barriers to the construction of new understandings? In A. Demetriou (Ed.) (1998). Cognitive development: Steps en route to developmental cognitive science. Special issue. Learning and Instruction: The Journal of the European Association for Research in Learning and Instruction.4,
Gelman, R. & Durgin, F. & Kaufman, L. (1995). Distinguishing animates from inanimates. In D. Sperber, D. Premack, & A. Premack, (Eds.), Causality and Culture: Oxford, Eng: Plenum Press.
Carey, S. & Gelman, R. (Eds.). (1991). The Epigenesis of Mind: Essays on Biology and Cognition. Hillsdale, NJ:, Erlbaum Associates.
Gelman, R. (Guest editor) of a special issue for 1990, March Issue of Cognitive Science entitled: "Structural Constraints on Cognitive Development."
Gelman, R. & Gallistel, C. R. (1978). The Child's Understanding of Number. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Second printing, 1985. Paperback issue with new preface, 1986. Translated into Japanese (1989) and Italian (1988).
http://www.psych.ucla.edu/Faculty/Gelman/
