Kindergartners’ Mental Models of the Shape of the Earth

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine kindergarten children’s conceptual understandings of the shape of the
earth and the characteristics of the cognitive representations they constructed. A total of 20 Kindergarten children participated in
the study (age range 60 to 72 months), including 11 boys and 9 girls. A multi-dimensional interview protocol, developed based
on previous studies, was used to collect the study data and children were individually interviewed. Children’s responses were
analyzed using the model identification methodology. Results demonstrated that while a large proportion of children had naïve
models of the earth, none of the children had synthetic models. Some children had a unique mental model of the earth, doughnut
(simit), which is not exhibited by children from US and Western European countries. The findings of this study support the
assumption that children’s conceptual understandings of the shape of the earth may be represented as internally consistent mental
models.