Guide for Students: Strategies for Teaching Heat Concepts in Early Education

Part A Science Research: Topic: Heat

The science concept that has been chosen for this assessment is heat. The reason for choosing this topic is that the concept of heat in early childhood is often misunderstood and misconception, as children think of “heat” as a particular thing, rather than considering it or thinking about it as a process or mechanism (Luce & Callanan, 2020). The concept of heat has been defined by Britannica Kids (n.d.-b), which says that heat is an interaction of energy between two systems which happens under certain specific conditions. This interaction of heat or transfer of heat occurs from a body of a hotter state to a body of a colder state. 

There are three basic modes of transfer of heat, known as heat conduction, convection and radiation. 

Conduction

The mechanism of heat conduction has been defined by Ghassemi and Shahidian (2017), as the process of transfer of heat through the medium of a matter, which can either be solid, liquid or gas. Moreover, the authors have also mentioned that this transfer of energy happens from highly active or excited particles to less active and less moving particles. Furthermore, this report has also presented a common example of heat conduction, which is the transfer of heat from the walls of a vein which has a higher temperature to the outside surface. 

Convection

According to Britannica Kids (n.d.-a), convection is known as the travelling of heat from one place to another in fluids or gases. This happens when the fluid is heated, and the molecules start moving from one place to another and also produce current. This is because the molecules that are heated move to the topmost surface of the liquid, while the molecules which are cooler, reside at the bottom. This occurs in a cyclic process and is known as convection current. 

Radiation

The Phenomenon of radiation is the transfer or emission of heat from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature. This emission of heat from one medium to another results in a loss of energy. According to Pahl et al. (2022), children usually think of heat radiation when they see a stove, and they have this perception that heat is radiated from the stove. This is when children see their parents or elders burning a stove and heating water on the stove, the difference in temperature and the boiling of the water makes them believe that the heat is radiated from the stove. 

Melting due to heat:

The concept of melting due to heat among children of early years, or primary grades has been defined by Ioannou et al. (2023) as a process of liquefaction of a substance when constant heat is provided to that substance. As a result, the states of the matter changes from solid to liquid, therefore, this transition of change of state of matter to liquid is known as melting. Therefore, this indicates that the potential reason of melting is the exposure of the substance to heat.

Boling due to heat:

According to Britannica Kids (n.d.-c), when water is heated constantly, the temperature rises above 100 degrees, as a result of which the water starts to boil, which can be seen in the form of bubbling of water. Children have this concept of boiling, as they observe this in their surroundings, such as boiling of water while making tea.

Evaporation due to heat:

Evaporation of heat is the change of state of a matter from liquid to gas. According to Ioannou et al. (2023) it has been found that the children aged between 6 to 8 years have this concept in their mind, that when the water starts to boil, a steam is generated, which leads to the decrease of the quantity of water as a result of evaportaion.

Measurement of heat:

According to Gerhátová et al. (2021), the instrument used to measure the extent of heat temperature is a thermometer, and it is usually the only instrument known by children to measure heat. It has been further mentioned that children use their hands to measure the extent of heat. Moreover, according to Melita et al. (2022), a calorimeter is also an instrument which is used to measure the capacity of heat.

Part B Preparing to Investigate a Child’s Thinking: