Children’s inability to successfully conserve by mass, liquid, quantity, etc. is an intriguing problem. Watch the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnArvcWaH6I (Links to an external site.)
Once you have watched the video, do the following:
– You can decide to use one of the tasks shown in the video (or both); create your own version of the task. You do not need to “reinvent the wheel,” and you can decide to conduct the task in the same way.
– Find a friend, roommate, or an adult (an adolescent may work too).
– Conduct the conservation task with this individual.
– Carefully observe the individual’s performance.
In a 2 to 3 page (double-spaced) essay, include answers to the following questions:
1) What is conservation? How do you know if a child passes this task? (1 points)
2) When the little boy is asked if there is more clay, what does he say when the experimenter “smashes” one of the clay balls into a “pancake”? (2 points)
3) When the little boy is asked which glass has more, what does he say when the experimenter pours the blue liquid into a more narrow cup? (2 points)
4) When you conducted your experiment with the adult (or adolescent), what were his/her answers? (5 points)
5) Based on the little boy’s answers and the adult (or adolescent) you experimented on, what can you conclude about their knowledge of conservation? Why did you come to this conclusion? (10 points)
Your essay should be between 2-3 pages, double-spaced. Title and references do not count toward the page total. Be sure to use at least one reference and one citation – your paper should be in APA style. It might be easy to incorporate the citation or citations when you make your conclusions about the little boy’s and your participant’s knowledge of conservation. Failure to do so will result in point reductions. Submit your essay to the appropriate Assignment folder. Note: The term is “conservation” and not “conversation.”
