111 RONALD C. GOOD

Conversations with Children: Their Interpretation of Causality

This paper was written for use in the science education program for prospective elementary school teachers at Florida State University. Dr. Good is Assistant Professor of Science Education at FSU.

An early book by Piaget, The Child's Interpretation of Physical Causality contains many conversations with children about objects and events in their environment. The following paper represents some recent (1971) conversations with children that include but a few topics because of the space required to present a comprehensive view of the wide variation of children's conceptions of causality. You are encouraged to pursue the technique with children.

Talking with children can be a fascinating and rewarding process, especially when the objective is to find out how they think. Adults are usually so preoccupied trying to teach, they seldom really listen to children. This paper contains some conversations with children about physical causality. What they think ahout the world around them obviously influences what they are capable of understanding in science investigations. If children are available to you, perhaps you might want to talk with some of them to find out what they think about such things as:

airplanes, cars, birds, clouds, air, trees, television, names, refrigerators, light, fire, rain, snow, telephones, etc. The art of talking with children to find out about their thinking abilities takes practice and a perceptive ness that requires real concentration on the part of the questioner. The following interviews were conducted by preservice elementary school teachers.

1. Jim, five years:
Q: Do you think it's going to rain?
A: Yes, because I brought my raincoat.
Q: Is there any other way you know it is going to rain?
A: Yes, when the clouds move away.

2. Kathy, six years:
Q: How does a television work?
A: You have to plug it in and it works.
Q: Is that all?
A: something comes in through the wall to make it go.
Q: How does it go?
A: The picture is made by people inside the set. They don't live in there, they only come out at special times. They make sound when you turn the knob. When you turn the knob it tells them to be quieter or louder.

3. Regina, six years:
Q: How does a television work?
A: you have to plug it in the wall.
Q: And then how does it work?
A: The picture is made by people inside the set. They change costumes for each show

4. Tom, seven years:
Q: Where does the sun come from?
A: Up in the sky.
Q: Does the sun move?
A: No, it looks like it but we are moving.
Q: What about at night, what happens?
A: It goes behind the mountains.
Q: Does it move?
A: Yes.
Q: How?
A: Well, the sun gets too hot on some glasses and it is pushed, but sometimes it goes by itself.
Q: Where is the sun today? (overcast day)
A: Behind the mountains (there are no mountains)
Q: Why?
A: Cause it didn't want to come out today, it was tired.
Q: Does the sun rest very often?
A: Just at night and on days like this.

5. Tina, seven years:
Q: What makes the rain come down?
A: Cod makes the rain. I think he's up there and he pours the water down.
Q: Where does the rain come from?
A: The sky.
Q: Why do we need rain?
A: Grass, flowers and some people drink it.
Q: Can it rain while the sun shines ?
A: No, cause the sun dries it up.
Q: Can it rain at night ? A: Yes, cause there's a hole over my bed and the rain comes down and tickles me.

6. Pat, seven years:

Q: When do you think the first airplane was made ?
A: A real long time ago, before I was born.
Q: What makes it fly?
A: The wind.
Q: How does the wind do that ? A: It lifts the plane up.
Q: Why doesn't the wind lift you up ? A: I'm too heavy.
Q: Are you heavier than the plane ?
A: No, but it's meant to fly, I'm not.

7. Pat, seven years:
Q: How do clouds get in the sky ?
A: God made them.
Q: Why did he do that ?
A: So it could rain.
Q: What do they do when it rains ?
A: They turn black and blue.
Q: Why do they turn colors ?
A: God makes them change colors so that people know when it's going to rain.
Q: What does a cloud feel like ?
A: Like smoke.
Q: Could you walk on one ?
A: No.
Q: Why not ?
A: They're up too high.
Q: You wouldn't fall through ?
A: No.

8. Cecelia, eight years:
Q: Is the sun far away ?
A: Yes.
Q: Would you say it was farther than that tree ?
A: Yes, you can't touch it.
Q: Where does the sun go at night ?
A: In the clouds. It stays in the sky but the moon comes out and it's not bright.
Q: What makes the sun move ?
A: The clouds.
Q: How?
A: They push it.
Q: How did the sun get its name ?
A: It named itself and it shines and then everyone knew to call it sun.

9. Paul, eight years:
Q: Where do trees come from ? A: The ground.
Q: Why do they have branches and leaves ?
A: Birds wouldn't have anyplace to build their nests.
Q: Why do some trees lose their leaves ?
A: So new ones can grow.

10. Debbie, nine years:
Q: Where did the sky come from ?
A: Cod.
Q: Can you touch it ?
A: If you go way over there you could.
Q: Have you ever touched it ?
A: No.
Q: Why is it blue sometimes and gray at other times ?
A: The sun makes it blue and the clouds make it gray.
Q: Why do we have a sky ?
A: So clouds can float somewhere.

11. Charles, twelve years:
Q: Where do stars come from ?
A: From the light in the moon.
Q: Why do you think they are in the sky ?
A: Cause they are.
Q: What are they made of ?
A: Light.
Q: What happens to them during the day ?
A: They go under the clouds and go away.
Q: Do you think they move ?
A: Yes, if they would stay in one place, it would he too crowded.
Q: How far away are they ?
A: 1,000 miles.
Q: Why does a star "twinkle" at night ?
A: Because of the light.
Q: Where do you think they got their name ?
A: Baby Jesus.

12. Norma, eleven years:
Q: Where do stars come from ?
A: From the moon.
Q: Why do you think they are in the sky ?
A: Cause they come out every night.
Q: What are they made of ?
A: Silver.
Q: What happens to them during the day ?
A: They go away to the moon.
Q: Do you think they move ?
A: Yes, they go away in the daytime. How far away do you think they are ?
A: 60 miles.
Q: Why does a star twinkle at night ?
A: Cause they get darker. Where do you think they got their name ?
A: The moon gave it to them.

The majority of these conversations were with children who were from families in the lower socio-economic bracket in the community.

It is interesting to look at science texthooks for elementary schools and concepts as energy changes, conservation, work, atoms and molecules and other equally abstract things that are supposed to be "learned" by children in first grade.

What nonsense this must be for children who attribute causality to God or some equally mysterious The children in the previous interviews were not capable of thought. Their explanations reflected pre-logical thinking that concerned with internal consistency or other thought strategies required for logical thought. Reality is in the mind of the individual and it cannot be superimposed from the outside by those who hold a different conception of reality.

5/21s/95