Research Unit in Physics Education University of Udine, Italy - www.fisica.uniud.

it/URDF/

Exploring children’s spontaneous ideas of

magnetic and gravitational fields
hands on exhibits

Francesca Bradamante Marisa Michelini

Research Unit in Physics Education University of Udine, Italy

 Research Unit in Physics Education University of Udine, Italy - www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/

Learning problems related to field concept

• Action at a distance (Bar, Galili, Borghes & Gilbert)

• Graphic representations of field and the role of field lines
(Greca & Moreira, Rainson & Viennot, Saverlsber, Tornkvist et al.)

• Field lines and trajectories (Tornkvist et al.)

• Dissociation between weight, free-fall and gravitational field
(Galili, Bar, Andersson, Ruggero et al.)

• Earth shape and their relationship with gravitational field

(Nussbaum, Novak , Arnold Vosniadou)

• Connection between gravity and magnetism

Research Unit in Physics Education University of Udine, Italy - www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/

Informal context

helps to activate

spontaneous thinking

Connection between:
- common experience
- scientific knowledge

spontaneous ideas of 2 groups of 74 children (age 5-9)

 Research Unit in Physics Education, University of Udine - www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/

Spontaneous /commonsense ideas

• the background knowledge and the base for

conceptual change
• important in planning teaching strategies on
physics

Therefore we must:
• identify how these ideas are constructed and their role on learning process
• study the schemes of representations of reality
 Research Unit in Physics Education University of Udine, Italy - www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/

The purpose of this work is:

is
• To investigate basic elements of learning path in order to construct field
concept (magnetic and gravitational)
• To recognize on which level children set themselves :
- descriptive
- interpretative :
- local or global?
- contingent or efficient?

• And in particular:
- to find how and when the interaction between masses is recognized as a global,
in order to overcome the local point of view.
- to analyze the role of an analogical objectual model in the interpretation of
gravitational phenomenology
- to explore learning sequences
 Research Unit in Physics Education University of Udine, Italy - www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/

The semi structured interviews

1. A) children’s predictions about the behaviour of a system that interacts with both
fields (gravitational / magnetic) and in:
- static situation
Free-fall Interaction iron fillings / magnet

- dynamic situation
use of Eddington model Ball on the slide

B) Compare children’s predictions with their observation and motivation of that

behaviour
force / gravitational field force / magnetic fiel

2. Represetnation of magnetic field by iron filings disposition

Drawings for gravitational field
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Methods of analysis
 Research Unit in Physics Education University of Udine, Italy - www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/

1) The interaction in static situations

Gravitational field:
- system behaviour is known (daily experience of free-fall)
- children’s drawings

Magnetic field:
- magnet interaction with ferromagnetic (and not) materials
- field lines constructed by field probes:
iron filings, compass, steel ball
 Children’s drawings
Age all 9-10 7-8 5-6

radial simmetry 48% 64% 50% 29,2%

exportation of 23% - 30% 37%

local point

Local 20% 16% 20% 29%

representation in
the global system
cinematic view of 7% 20% 0 0
the process

Flat Earth 13 % 0 0 37,5%

Models of Earth shape

(Nussbaum, Vosniadou)

Children’s Nussabum Vosniado Baxter Merle E.Masclet F.B.,M.M.

conception 10 age u 9/10 age 9/10 age 9-10 age 9-10
Israele Grade 3/5 England France France Italy
USA

50 % 7,5 % 17 % 8,5 % 26% 16%

12 % 25 % - - - -

20 % 7,5 % 83 % 47 % 40% -

18 % 50 % - 44 % 33% 84%
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Children
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Children’s interpretation of free-fall on the Earth:

Earth

A1 Because you let it 43,5%

A) Contingent cause: 61,0% A2 Because it’s heavy 11,0%
A3 Because it can fall down / because it is
so the nature of the ball ! 6,5 %

B) Lack of local properties 19,6% Because there isn’t magnetism / Because

there isn’t the magnet
(idea of equilibrium) Because there isn’t gravitational force

C1) 4,3 % gravity animate entity C1: Because gravity attracts objects with
smaller mass.
C2) 6,5 % gravitational force animate C2: Because gravitational force attracts
entity all things

D) Property of a specific system 6,5% Because Earth attracts objects

E) Interaction between masses 2,2 % Because the bigger mass attract small one
 Research Unit in Physics Education, University of Udine - www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/
Children’s explanations of gravity / gravitational force
1) leading character of the Earth 34%
(that do or has something)
2) Balancing element
reverse gravity
3) Atmosphere’s property
4) magnetic property (magnet)
5) primitive concept of force
6) interaction between masses
7) primitive concept of field
(space property)
Earth attracts objects down.
It’s the force on the Earth that allow us to
keep our feet on the ground..
It’s something that hold up the world!
16%
It’s the thing that hold up everything on space…
also planets!
14%
Gravitational force is a sort of (instead of is
produced by) big magnet that take our feet glued on
12% the Earth.
Gravity is a strong magnet that attracts everything
towards the center of the Earth.
10% It’s something that attracts / It’s something that pull.
It’s the capacity to attract objects with smaller
7% mass
It’s the attractive force between two masses
7% It’s the thing that hold up on air objects
Gravitational force is something like air
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Interaction magnet – iron fillings

For children a preliminar idea of FIELD concept is

an idea of POWER
“This power is so strong that can cross objects…”

Guide function of magnet:

5% children spontaneously consider the phenomenology in movement
“If you move the magnet … they move”
When explicitly requested:
94% recognise the “guiding” role of the magnet
“They follow it as if it were a guide”
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Children’s interpretation of magnetic interaction

Magnet as source of magnetic field or “There is magnetic field”
magnetism as energy “There is an energy, the magnetism”
(intuitive idea of field) 42% “There are magnetic waves”

“The force comes from the magnet”

Magnet as source of force 54 % “The force comes from the iron”

The air as a medium of magnetic interaction 4% “There is the air that moves them”

• In gravitational field children don’t understand completely the process

• In the case of magnetic field:
- they understand the process
- they interpret correctly the role of the magnet in the process of attraction
- they recognize it as source of magnetic field / force
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Construction and interpretation of magnetic field lines

- 94% recognize the magnet as the agent of iron filing distribution

- guide function of the magnet

“There are some circles”

“A little house”
Pure representative dimension 75% “The mountains”
“You have made an hexagon”

“it is the route to arrive to the grey”

Trajectory 17% “It follows the route to arrive to the magnet”

Field lines related to iron filing distribution “It follows magnetic field, the nearer line of force
8% “We can see magnetic field”
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2) Dynamic situation
The analogical model of The slide
gravitational field

In both cases when we pass to dynamic situations we are able to recognize:

- the interaction
- the source : membrane / magnet
- the interactor : ball
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The model
represent for the children the space [see Einsteins’ proposal for rapresentation
of the space] at two separate alternatives ways:
a) small distance from Earth (free fall)
b) planetary level (interaction between masses)

When we considered ball

motion on the region of
field represented by the
model then childrens pass
from local to global vision.
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Children find these trajectories in the gravitational field

1) the ball falls on the Earth
2) the ball is deviated by the Earth but “runs
away”
3) the ball can go round the Earth with elliptic or
semi-circular orbits.
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Children’s interpretations of ball trajectories in magnetic field

"It follows the line up to here (the magnet’s

1) Field lines = trajectories 68% pole),…
"The magnet attracts the ball and the ball
attaches itself to the magnet. It goes
straight when the ball is close enough to
2) Rectilinear or curvilinear trajectories the magnet and the magnet has enough
without following field lines 21% strength to attract the ball …"
“It attaches itself to the magnet with a curve
but not following the lines.
3) The magnet deviates the trajectory of the “The ball falls with velocity: The magnet
ball (considers both the magnetic field attracts it but it keeps going on”
and the initial velocity) 7%

4) The magnet repels the ball 3%

5) no action of the magnet on trajectory 1% ... it goes down parallel to the adhesive tape.
1) Field lines = trajectories 68% 2) Rectilinear or curvilinear trajectories 21%

3) Correct 7% 4) magnet repels the ball 3% 5) no action of the magne 1%

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Conclusions
Informal context allow the study of cognitive processes and to find some basic
elements of possible learning path:

• children remark analogy in the phenomenology and connect gravitational

and magnetic phenomena (before its treatment on school)
• magnetic phenomena :
- allows pupils to recognize that the space on the surroundings of a magnet has some
properties that can be detected by the interactions with field probes
- these interactions are easily recognizable with a property of space since they are
different in every point
- allow the comprehension of reciprocity of interaction
- are useful to recognize the process of interaction in static situations
• gravitational field lends itself to understand the role of initial conditions
– Children interpret a phenomenology as local and global (like the model considered)
– Children representation are always partial and can evolve towards a more global vision, by comparing and
using didactic strategies.
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• Model : connection between local vision of Earth gravitational

field and the vision related to gravitational properties of every
mass interacting with another one.

The model represent for the children

the space [see Einsteins’ proposal for
rapresentation of the space] at two
separate alternatives ways:
a) small distance from Earth (free fall)
b) planetary level (interaction between
masses)
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With regard to learning problems considered:

• action at a distance:
- we confirm children’s concept of limited sphere of gravitational field action
- use of air also as a reference of a physic space or a space region (not only medium)
- magnetic phenomenology facilitates field and field lines representation (children
recognize the magnet as the source of magnetic force or field)
- in the case of the gravitational field the situation is not so clear

• shape of the Earth and its gravitational field: pupils show no serious difficulty
- with the spherical shape of the Earth
- disposition of human figures all around

• we confirm pupils’ difficulty in distinguishing the concept of - trajectory

- field lines
• Static and dynamic situations:
- children often dont recognize the role of - initial conditions
- the field
- gravitational fields seems to facilitate the comprehension of initial conditions
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Perspectives of research:

The following step would be to explore the use of the model, besides
as a connection with intuitive elements, also in order to give:

• a more clear idea of space

• a more clear idea of gravitational field
• a more clear idea of gravitational potential
Research Unit in Physics Education, University of Udine - www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/

Thank you!