A New Application for Children's Websites: Providing a Context for Developing Concrete Operational Thinking Features (Classification, Seriation, Conservation and Reversibility) from the Perspective of Piaget's Theory

Document Type : مقالات پژوهشی

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Library and Information Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

2 Master's student in library and information sciences from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

3 Professor of Psychology Department of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Abstract

According to Jean Piaget, a child can construct and develop his cognition while interacting with objects and individuals. By providing interactive concrete objects, Children's websites can have educational and entertaining roles in children's congnitive development. Based on Piaget's, cognitive development consists of three stages. Since children at Concret Operational Stage (COS), i.e. 7-11 years old, are interested in using electronic and web-based devices, if websites provide concrete operationsl experiences and deal with thinking challenges, they are suitable tools for enhancing their congnitive development.
This paper attempts to investigate the extent to which the children's websites are capable of providing a context for developing concrete operational thinking abilities in children. A qualitative research was performed for this study. Survey and content analysis were methods of this study. Eleven Farsi websites and a sample of 30 English websites, which are selected through systematic random sampling from the list of "Great Websites for Children", are considered as population of this research. A check list was the instrument for data gathering. Four fundamental features of concrete operational thinking, i.e, Classification, Seriation (Ordering), Conservation and Reversibility, provide the basis for designing the checklist. The experts' ideas were investigated to ensure the validity of the checklist. Its reliability was controlled by a pretest.
Findings indicate that the children's websites are moderately capable in enhancing classification and conservation skills in children; they are not well designed in fostering seriation (ordering) and reversibility. It can be concluded that such tools are not well prepared to provide 7-11 aged children with the opportunity to develop their cognitive abilities.

Keywords


 
American Library Association (2008). Great Web Sites for Kids: Selection Criteria. Retrieved Oct. 18, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/ greatwebsites/greatwebsitesforkids/greatwebsites.cfm
Bilal, D. (1999). Web search engines for children: A comparative study and performance evaluation of Yahooligans!, Ask Jeeves for Kids, and Super SnooperProc. In Proceedings of ASIS Annual 1999, Information Today, 70-83.
Dugan, A. (2006). Assessing the Validity and Reliability of a Paper-and-pencil Piagetian Test. In 2nd Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects. Wichita, KS: Wichita State University, 144-145
Gelderblom, J. H. (2008). Designing Technology for Young Children: Guidelines Grounded in a Literature Investigation on Child Development and Children's Technology. (Doctoral dissertation, University of South Africa, 2008). Retrieved June 08, 2009 from ProQuest database.
Gilutz, Sh., & Nielsen, J. (2002). Usability of Websites for Children: 70 Design Guidelines. Retrieved Dec. 30, 2008 from http://www.NNgroup.com/reports/kids
Grover, S. (1986). A Field Study of the Use of Cognitive-Developmental Principles in Microcomputer Design for Young Children. Journal of Educational Research, 79, 325-332. Retrieved June 08, 2009 from EBSCO database.
Kuiper, E., Volman, M., & Terwel, J. (2005). The web as an information resource in K-12 education: Strategies for supporting student in searching and processing information. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 285-328.
Large, A., & Beheshti, J. (2005). Interface Design, Web Portals, and Children. Library Trends (Fall), 54(2).
Large, A., Beheshti, J., Nesset, V., & Bowler, L. (2006). Web portal design guidelines as identified by children through the processes of design and evaluation. Retrieved Dec. 16, 2009 from http://eprints.rclis.org/archive/00008034
Piaget, J. (1970). Piaget's Theory. In P. Mussen, Carmichael's manual of child psychology. New York: John Wiley and Sons. vol. 1, 703-732.
Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1969). The psychology of the child. (Translated by Helen Weaver). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Skeele, R., & Stefankiewicz, G. (2002). Blackbox in the Sandbox: The Decision to Use Technology with Young Children with Annotated Bibliography of Internet Resources for Teachers of Young Children. Educational Technology Review, 10(2), 9-95. Retrieved Sep. 09, 2008 from http://www.editlib.org/ p/9264
Stufflebeam, D. L. (2000). Guidelines for Developing Evaluation Checklist: Checklist Development Checklist (CDC). Evaluation Checklists Project. Retrieved Dec. 30, 2008 from www.wmich.edu/evalctr/checklists
CAPTCHA Image