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The purpose of this study was to explore Saudi children's ideas about astronomical bodies, drawing from the theoretical perspective of social-cultural learning. A socio-cultural perspective was adapted in an effort to recognise scientific knowledge as one aspect of various co-existing types of natural world knowledge. This is considered fundamental when acknowledging that Saudi children live by their own framework when describing their surroundings and natural phenomena, utilising their everyday culture, life experiences and theological knowledge base. Hence, a socio-cultural model of learning in science education can provide for a more holistic approach to Saudi children's education. A naturalistic approach was employed. This study was carried out across two phases, using interviews and classroom observation methods. In Phase 1, 30 children, aged between 6 and 9 years old (1st, 2nd and 3rd grades), from six primary schools (two schools for each grade) in the north of Saudi Arabia, participated in semi-structured interviews, supported by the creation of drawings and models, in order to explore the multi-faceted nature of children's understanding. In Phase 2, classroom observations were carried out in the same primary schools as Phase 1 with the aim of examining the position of children as knowledge-producers and in the view of themselves as inhabitants of the Earth. The results showed that Saudi children shaped their thinking about the Earth from different perspectives. Physical conceptions (e.g., the Earth is circle), terrestrial conceptions (e.g., the Earth is place where we can live, sleep and eat) and metaphysical conceptions (e.g., the Earth is created only for worship) were identified. The findings suggest that social interaction with teachers—mainly through dialogue—is most suitable when investigating and analysing the everyday perspectives of children from a social dimension, with such an approach providing the opportunity to encourage children to learn as the Earth's 'inhabitants'. Moreover, the various instruments utilised—including language as a cultural tool through which children are able to discuss and think together, as well as the use of other physical artefacts, including the globe—are recognised as fundamental, with children's learning not only dependent on age. In this vein, it may be stated that children's thinking and learning in relation to the Earth begins externally through social interactions, both with people and tools. xii Based on the findings, some implications for science educators in general, and Saudi Arabia in particular, are highlighted. It is argued that the misconception of local values and beliefs in the learning of science is an important goal for science education in an international context.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Communication Disorders, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-73).

Six studies were conducted to investigate young children's earliest insights into the interpretive nature of knowing, or the formation of what has been called an "Interpretive Theory of Mind." This insight was operationalized as the ability to recognize that two persons exposed to precisely the same information can, nonetheless, end up holding sharply different opinions about what is the self-same reality. All of the studies made use of a set of pictures fitted with covers such that most of the underlying picture was hidden, leaving only an ambiguous set of lines visible through a small viewing window. The key question asked concerned subjects' understanding that other persons who have not seen the full picture but only the restricted view, and who know nothing about the full contents of the picture, are all nevertheless free and able to hold different beliefs about what is depicted in this restricted view. An important feature of this procedure is that it can assess both subjects' understanding of simple false belief as well as their understanding of the interpretive possibilities that such stimuli afford. This feature was exploited to demonstrate that young persons who appreciate that beliefs can be false—an achievement that is commonly taken to mark the point of entry into a theory-like understanding of mental life—cannot always be counted on to also appreciate that different interpretations of the same stimulus are possible. By exploring children's reactions to inherently ambiguous stimuli that, by design, easily lend themselves to misinterpretation, it is possible to distinguish between a theory of mind that rests entirely on notions of false belief (i.e., one that views the mind as a recording device capable only of mistakes of ignorance), and a more complex appreciation of the mind's more active capacity for constructively interpreting—and so misinterpreting—reality. What these studies reveal is that an interpretive theory of mind is different from, and later arriving than, an appreciation of the possibility of false belief, and, contrary to competing claims, this interpretive theory actually makes its first appearance during, but not before, the early school years.

Research paper (M.A.) -- Cardinal Stritch College -- Milwaukee, 1970. / A research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education (Reading Specialist). Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-77).

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1987. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: N. Dale Bryant. Dissertation Committee: Dorothy Strickland. Bibliography: leaves 84-87.

This study investigated the effects of metaphor on children's comprehension of expository text. Forty-six seventh-grade students read either the metaphorical or the literal versions of two texts each containing eight targets, that is, metaphors or their equivalent literal phrases. One text, "Polar Bears," described a topic familiar to the students while the other, "Wombats," described an unfamiliar topic. After reading each text, students orally recalled as much information as possible, and then answered oral probe questions. Students who read the metaphoric versions of the texts also completed a written recognition-of-meaning test as an additional measure of metaphor comprehension. There was no difference between students' comprehension of the metaphoric texts and their comprehension of the literal texts. There was, however, a facilitative effect for metaphor on students' comprehension of target information when the topic of the text was unfamiliar. Students were able to recall the information conveyed by the metaphors and to recognize the correct interpretations of the metaphors better from the unfamiliar text than from the familiar metaphoric text. Students' ability to answer factual questions based on the metaphors, however, was no different from the familiar text than it was from the unfamiliar text. This finding was interpreted as demonstrating an effect of a kind, for topic significantly affected the other measures of probed recall in favour of the familiar topic. The different findings of the free recall and recognition of meaning measures, and the probe recall measures regarding target comprehension were likely due to the different task constraints of these sets of measures. It was noted that there is a need for further research on the relationship and nature of these widely-used measures of comprehension. It was concluded that although metaphors appear with some frequency in basal readers, metaphor is not a troublesome aspect of language which children need to be taught to analyze and to interpret. If children are experiencing difficulties comprehending texts containing metaphors, they will likely benefit from curriculum activities designed to develop their vocabulary, their experience with language and literature, and their knowledge of the world. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

Six studies were conducted to investigate young children's earliest insights into the interpretive nature of knowing, or the formation of what has been called an "Interpretive Theory of Mind." This insight was operationalized as the ability to recognize that two persons exposed to precisely the same information can, nonetheless, end up holding sharply different opinions about what is the self-same reality. All of the studies made use of a set of pictures fitted with covers such that most of the underlying picture was hidden, leaving only an ambiguous set of lines visible through a small viewing window. The key question asked concerned subjects' understanding that other persons who have not seen the full picture but only the restricted view, and who know nothing about the full contents of the picture, are all nevertheless free and able to hold different beliefs about what is depicted in this restricted view. An important feature of this procedure is that it can assess both subjects' understanding of simple false belief as well as their understanding of the interpretive possibilities that such stimuli afford. This feature was exploited to demonstrate that young persons who appreciate that beliefs can be false—an achievement that is commonly taken to mark the point of entry into a theory-like understanding of mental life—cannot always be counted on to also appreciate that different interpretations of the same stimulus are possible. By exploring children's reactions to inherently ambiguous stimuli that, by design, easily lend themselves to misinterpretation, it is possible to distinguish between a theory of mind that rests entirely on notions of false belief (i.e., one that views the mind as a recording device capable only of mistakes of ignorance), and a more complex appreciation of the mind's more active capacity for constructively interpreting—and so misinterpreting—reality. What these studies reveal is that an interpretive theory of mind is different from, and later arriving than, an appreciation of the possibility of false belief, and, contrary to competing claims, this interpretive theory actually makes its first appearance during, but not before, the early school years. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

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