Development of Euclidean geometric knowledge and use of maps

Abstract

We run an experiment in order to examine 60 Colombian children’s performance on a task that evaluates the use of ‘pure’ geometric maps for locating objects in a 3D space; the task was adapted from Spelke, Gilmore y McCarthy (2011). The experiment aimed to investigate whether or not the children were able to use geometric maps depicted in 2D as representations of real 3D spaces. The experiment also aimed to explore possible changes in the sensitivity to and the use of the Euclidean geometric properties represented on the maps –length, angle and direction-, among three groups of age: four, six and eight-year olds. We aimed at establishing whether there are intergroup differences in the way the three age groups use the three Euclidian properties to locate objects in space, and whether there are differences within the properties. Findings indicated an effect of the age on the children’s performance; the sensitivity to the three properties showed a statistically significant change between the four and the six-year old. Although sensitivity to properties was improved between the six and the eight-year old, we did not find significant changes between these groups of age. We did not find an effect of the type of property on the performance; neither an interaction of property by age. Findings also indicated within-group changes for each property: For the four year-old children the sensitivity to the length was influenced by the condition ‘equal’ or ‘unequal’, the sensitivity to the angle changed depending on the condition ‘acute’, ‘obtuse’ or rectangle’, and being sensitive to the ‘above-below’ sense was significantly different that being sensitive to the ‘left-right’ sense. We established distinctions wi h previous findings and outlined some implications for education.