Relational Concepts
RRP: AUD $42.50 + p&p.
Institution Price: AUD $63.75

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Relational Concepts

Language, thinking and pedagogy and the spatial metaphor of time

By Shirley O'Neill.
ISBN: 978-1-921214646 A5 180pp
AUD $42.50 + p&p.

About

This monograph is for researchers and teachers. It argues for a strengthened cross-curriculum approach to teach and scaffold children's understanding of spatial concepts. Research and pedagogical interludes illustrate how teachers frequently use the spatiotemporal terms 'before' and 'after' in the language of instruction, yet at the same time these are relational concepts that need to be taught. The centrality of the acquisition of spatial knowledge and conceptualisation of space to children's development of spatial reference frames and spatial reasoning is highlighted.

  • Connects research, language and pedagogy
  • Introduces the train-language scenario as a way of testing children's understanding of the relational concepts of 'before' and 'after'.
  • Illustrates the complex nature of the application of 'before' and 'after' and how the usage of these terms may impact on pedagogical talk, learning and assessment.
  • Differentiates between the teaching of 'object' concepts and the more abstract 'relational concepts'.

Pedagogical interludes demonstrate the relevance of relational concepts to the teaching of literacy, numeracy and the study of life cycles and how a project-based approach can involve children in working with spatiotemporal concepts and formulating temporal relations through authentic learning experiences.

Proudly published by Post Pressed

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Contents

  • Acknowledgements
  • Foreword
    • Chapter 1 - Understanding relations in space and time
  • Our need to talk about and understand time and space
  • Testing comprehension of 'before' and 'after'
  • The abstractness of time
  • Metaphor duality and time perception
  • Contradiction in applying 'before' and 'after' as a requirement of metaphor differentiation and indicator of cognitive difficulty
  • Pedagogical interlude 1
  • Influence of environment on our perception of space
  • Influence of environment on our linguistic reference to space
  • Canonical encounter and referential communication
  • Correlation of P-space and L-space
  • Space-Time dependency, perception and language acquisition
  • Pedagogical interlude 2
    • Chapter 2 - Relational concept development
  • Approaches to concept formation
  • Nelson's conceptual model and relational concept theory
  • Application of Nelson's theory
  • Exploration of concept formation of 'before' and 'after' based on Nelson's theory
  • Implications for conceptual metaphor
  • Pedagogical interlude 3
    • Chapter 3 - Temporal metaphor and metacognitive processing
  • Approaches to the study of time and spatio-temporal terms
  • Research into spatial/temporal 'before' and 'after' and related terms
  • Reversibility and coordination of perspectives for moving-ego and moving-time metaphors
  • Spatial reference frames, spatial reasoning and scaffolding in comprehending object and event relations
  • Linguistic and semantic considerations in comprehending object and event relations
  • A mediation process for the comprehension of spatial/temporal 'before' and 'after' sentences
  • Pedagogical interlude 4
    • Chapter 4 - Research on the train-landscape scenario
  • Experiencing the spatial metaphor of time
  • Methodology
  • Application of metaphors and the role of orientation
  • Application of 'before' and 'after'
  • Year one children's performance on FCCT 2D compared with that of preschoolers
  • Application of terms
  • Markedness
  • Metaphors
  • Within group comparisons on the FCCT 2D
  • Discussion
  • Spatial/temporal reference frames and viewpoint
  • Conceptualisation of 'before' and 'after'
  • Conceptual Metaphor
  • Conclusions
  • Pedagogical interlude 5
     
    • References

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