I have an experiment for all of my friends to try! You will need a child between the ages of 7 and 12, two beakers, two different shaped glasses (one tall & skinny, one short & wide), and a liquid (preferably blue). Begin by filling both beakers with the blue liquid. (be sure they have the same amount of liquid in each). Ask the child if the beakers have the same amount of liquid in them. Pour one liquid into the tall and skinny glass, and then the other liquid into the short and wide glass. Ask the child if the beakers have the same amount of liquid in them. A child who cannot conserve would answer "No, there is more in the tall thin glass". In contrast, a child who has the ability to conserve would answer "yes, they have the same amount in each". Conservation tasks like this one test a child’s ability to see that some properties are conserved or invariant after an object undergoes physical transformation. Conservation itself is defined as: the ability to keep in mind what stays the same and what changes in an object after it has changed aesthetically. One who can conserve is able to reverse the transformation mentally and understand compensation. This phenomena is outlined in the concrete operations stage of my cognitive development model. I hope that all of your subjects were able to answer "yes"!
Posted on: Thu, 08 Aug 2013 03:10:14 +0000
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