Abstract
Spatial thinking is a cognitive ability developed in the daily routine, which can be systematised through a number of different school subjects, in particular Geography. The comprehension of the spatial thinking concept and the investigation of how it can be developed in a systematised way is a central theme in contemporary education, comprising the broad range of languages that can be used to represent space. Here, we analyse the different ways in which geographic knowledge can broaden spatial thinking. For this, we consider three fundamental aspects of early childhood education in Brazil: (i) the conception of the child as a subject, endowed with the right to spatial knowledge; (ii) spatial thinking as an interdisciplinary field that is fundamental for geographic education, and (iii) the didactic sequence as a teaching method. We developed a sequence of activities with 4–6 year-old children, considering their concept of location and the spatial notions of ‘on’ and ‘under’, in the context developing life on the planet surface and what may exist underground. Our theoretical basis was the studies of Vygotsky on the role of speech in conceptual construction, and we evaluated the interactions of the children through their words and gestures, using graphs to support our analysis, which was based on a qualitative approach. The concepts of location, condition, connection and map were presented from the perspective of a child, with spatial representations expressed in different ways. The four aspects—concept, ability, representation and knowledge—of spatial representation composed the activities and the references used to develop spatial thinking, focusing on geographic knowledge. We conclude that the development of spatial concepts through contextualised activities and the cultivation of intentionality allows the child to adopt ways of thinking that will support other perspectives on spatial knowledge, which will provide the child with a network of meanings. Words play a critical role in the construction of the concept, given that they give substance to a thought or a generalisation. By dialoguing with others, the child learns new words and meanings.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
The author recommends Almeida and Almeida (2012) for an overview of the history of School Cartography in Brazil.
- 2.
Research funded by the São Paulo State Research Foundation—FAPESP.
- 3.
This chapter discusses different perspectives and insights from those already presented in the thesis.
References
Almeida, R. D., & Almeida, R. A. (2012). Theoretical approaches and future prospects of school cartography in Brazil. Revista Brasileira De Cartografia, 64(6), 833–844.
Azevedo, R. (2007). Você me chamou de feio, sou feio mas sou dengoso. Moderna.
Catling, S. (1978). The elements of the map. Classroom Geographer (pp. 2–10).
Carvalho, A. M. P., & Tinoco, S. C. (2006). O ensino de Ciências como ‘enculturação’. In: D. B. Catani, & P. P. Vicentini (Eds.), Formação e autoformação: saberes e práticas nas experiências dos professores. Escrituras.
Castellar, S. M. V. (2018). Cartography, spatial thinking and the study of cities in geographical education. Boletim Paulista De Geografia (BPG), 99, 332–353.
Carvalho, A. M. P. de. (2011). Uma metodologia de pesquisa para estudar os processos de ensino e aprendizagem em salas de aula. In: F. M. T. Santos dos, & I. M. A. Greca (Eds.), pesquisa em ensino de ciências no Brasil e suas metodologias (2nd ed., pp. 13–47). Injuí: Ed. Injuí.
Gersmehl, P. J. (2008). Teaching geography. Guilford Press.
Juliasz, P. C. S. (2017). O pensamento espacial na Educação Infantil: wma relação entre Geografia e Cartografia. Tese (Doutorado em Educação) Faculdade de Educação, Universidade de São Paulo.
Juliasz, P. C. S. (2018). Spatial thinking in preschool education: The construction of geographic knowledge. Boletim Paulista De Geografia (BPG), 99, 231–250.
Juliasz, P. C. S. (2012). Tempo, espaço e corpo na representação espacial: uma contribuição para a educação infantil. Dissertação (mestrado em Geografia). Instituto de Geociência e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista
Juliasz, P. C. S., & Almeida, R. D. (2012). The spatial notions of the cultural universe of childhood. In: L. Zentai, & J. J. Reyes Nunez (Eds.), Maps for the future: Children, education and internet (pp 243–254). Springer.
Manning, M. & Granströn, B. (2007). Debaixo da cama: uma viagem ao centro da Terra. Ática.
Martins, I. (2011). Dados como diálogo: construindo dados a partir de registros de observação de interações discursivas em salas de aula de ciências. In: F. M. T. Santos,. Dos, & I. M. A. Greca (Eds.), pesquisa em ensino de ciências no Brasil e suas metodologias.(2nd ed., pp. 297–321). Injuí: Ed. Injuí.
Moraes, J. V. (2012). Teoria e prática da Geografia escolar: alfabetização e enculturação científica. In: S. M. V. Castellar, L. S. Cavalcanti de, & H. C. Callai(Eds.), Didática da geografia: aportes teóricos e metodológicos. Xamã.
Moreira, R. (2011). Pensar e ser em geografia. Ed. Contexto.
Parellada, C., & Castorina, A. (2019). Una proposta de diálogo entre la psicología del desarrollo y la cartografia crítica. Cad. Pesquisa, 49(171), 244–262.
Pérez Esteve, P., Piñero Peleteiro, M. R., & Tirado Jiménez, C. (1998). Enseñar y aprender el espacio geográfico: un projecto de trabajo para la comprensión inicial del espacio: orientación teórica y práxis didáctica. Nau Libres.
Piaget, J.,& Inhelder, B. (1993). A representação do espaço na criança. Artes Médicas.
Santos, J. R. (2000). A Pirilampéia e os dois menino de Tatipurum. Ática
Trepat, C. (1997). Cartografia y categorización del espacio: Una propuesta de secuencia procedimental. Íber Didáctica Da Las Ciencias Sociales, Geografia e História, 13, 07–18.
Vygotsky, L. S. (2009). A construção do pensamento e da linguagem. Editora WMF Martins Fontes.
Vygotsky, L. S. (2012). Thought and language. MIT press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Juliasz, P.C.S. (2021). The Role of Language in the Construction of Spatial Thinking in Early Childhood Education. In: Vanzella Castellar, S.M., Garrido-Pereira, M., Moreno Lache, N. (eds) Geographical Reasoning and Learning. International Perspectives on Geographical Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79847-5_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79847-5_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-79846-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-79847-5
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)