Children's Understanding of the Shape of the World

by Stella Vosniadou

This book analyses the development of children’s cosmological knowledge in the context of general theories of cognitive development. Examining children’s understanding of the earth, based on naïve mental models or counter-intuitive scientific facts, offers a unique insight into the development of scientific knowledge as innate or culturally acquired. After reviewing the revolutionary changes that have occurred over the years in our understanding of the cosmos, this book explores the complex networks of beliefs that provide the background to cognitive development and the learning of science. Based on infant studies of naïve physics, the book examines the ways in which our cognitive system and cultural context interact. It goes on to explore the problems of learning science from a constructivist perspective and the role of mental models in physical reasoning. Finally, the author outlines the nature of the relationship between cognitive development and conceptual change which has implications for education and the learning of science. Children’s Cosmologies offers a new scholarly perspective to those in the fields of developmental psychology and education. It is ideal reading for researchers and upper level students of psychology, philosophy and the history of science.

200 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

Stella Vosniadou (Greek: Στέλλα Βοσνιάδου) is Professor of Education in the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work at Flinders University. In previous academic appointments she served as Professor of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Athens, Greece, and as a Senior Research Associate at the Center for the Study of Reading, University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, USA.
Her area of research is learning, conceptual development and conceptual change. A large part of her work has focused on investigating how students learn science and mathematics, what are the difficulties they face in this process and how they can overcome these difficulties. She has developed educational interventions to promote students’ learning of science as well as their metacognition, executive function skills and self-regulated learning. In recent years, Prof. Vosniadou has been studying the classroom environments and teacher practices that can promote independent and self-regulated learning.
Vosniadou’s research on conceptual change is known internationally as evidenced by the number of citations to her published work. The Google scholar citation index shows 22,364 citations, h-index 61, i10 index 118. In recognition of her research contribution, she received the Society for Research in Child Development Distinguished International Contributions to Child Development Research Award in 2011. She has written numerous books and monographs, is often invited to give keynotes and invited addresses, and has published more than 150 articles and book chapters. Her books/ articles have been translated in Greek, French, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese.
Professor Vosniadou’s collaborative work has received more than 15 million in research funding, from, among others, the US National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the European Science Foundation, and the European Commission. Her recent research is funded by a DISCOVERY grant from the Australian Research Council with the title Teaching how to learn: Promoting self-regulated learning in STEM classes. (2018-2022).