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52: Camels carry water in their humps. The limited influence of information provided by Science teachers on children’s prior beliefs

Recent empirical studies have shown that much of the knowledge acquired during childhood comes not only from the own activity of the child but also from the information received from different sources of testimony (Harris, 2012; Robinson & Einav, 2014). However, there are few studies in the trust-in-testimony paradigm that have explored the role of a central figure during the school years: the teacher. The objective of this research was to study to what extent previous ideas are modified as a result of the information provided by an expert teacher and, in case of change, if it remains over time. For this purpose, in a first session we tested prior knowledge of 96 children from 4th and 6th grades on concepts in natural sciences (i.e., Do the camels carry water in their humps?). In a second session two weeks later, their science teachers collaborated as confederate, pretending to have elaborated a text that included descriptions of scientific concepts tested in the first session. Each text was tailored for each participant, according to his/her previous responses. For example, if the participant had given erroneous responses in items 1 and 2, but a correct response in item 3, the teacher’s text included the correct responses for items 1 and 2, and an erroneous response for item 3. In a third session, one month later, children were assessed again to determine whether the information provided by their teachers (session 2) produced a long-term effect (note: at the end of the study all children were informed of the true objective and given the correct information). The results showed that, in session 2, most of the children assumed the information provided in the teacher’s text disregarding their prior ideas. However, a month later (session 3), children tended to return to their previous beliefs (i.e., camels carry water in their humps). These data reveal the strength of the prior knowledge, and the limited influence of teachers’ testimony to change prior beliefs constructed by the child.

Author(s):

Silvia Guerrero    
Facultad de Educación (Toledo) - Universidad de Castilla-La Macha
Spain

Ileana Enesco    
Facultad de Psicología - Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Spain

Natalia Pérez    
Facultad de Educación (Toledo) - Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
Spain