Kids And Questions Research

Introduction:

A) Broad discussion of topics: Discuss Kristin's thesis

1. Evolution and understanding of it

Macro vs. Micro

VIST framework

Darwin/Mayr

2. Tools-language

Open vs. Close ended questions

How vs. why questions

Best way of asking to reveal causal framework

-explain causal framework: Essentialism (Gelman), Teleology (Keleman), Bloom, and Theory of Mind

Ultimate Cause (natural)

Why questions

Proximate cause

How questions

3. Children's and adults understanding of biology/evolution/metamorphosis

Evans

Species-proximity to humans

Mayr

4. Natural kinds vs. artifacts

5. Creationist-God...wanted, created, gave, made

Naturalistic-need, adaptations, evolve, growth

Intelligent design- intention, purposeful

B) Rationale for this study

1. Give close-ended questions to younger children so they can understand the broad questions and because they may not be able to ellaborate or communicate well enough.

Hood/Bloom: When children start answering causal questions of parents and when they start asking questions of their own.

C) Hypothesis

(still being established...have to wait until finished coding Kristin's data to predict the results of mine)

Method

subjects: 20-25

Age: 5 and 6 years

Gender: 1/2 male and 1/2 female

open-ended questions

-divided into how and why

- questions taken from coding results of previous study done by Krisitn

- analyzed and took the most typical explanations

Present the most frequent of those close-ended questions presented to older age group with 1 explanation per pattern :

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