Our Research
To determine various individuals' understanding of what causes the wind, a random sample of twenty nine people were interviewed, ranging in age from four to eighty nine years old. Our questions were designed to be simple and unambiguous, with some alternative wording (*) that could be used if clarification was needed, particularly with younger children. A prop of a toy windmill was used to encourage young children to participate and focus their attention on the questions. Each person was asked the initial question and prompted by the additional questions if needed. Responses were captured on video.
The responses were then analyzed in order to ascertain whether there were any common patterns of misconceptions and whether these patterns aligned with any of those previously found in the research literature.
To determine various individuals' understanding of what causes the wind, a random sample of twenty nine people were interviewed, ranging in age from four to eighty nine years old. Our questions were designed to be simple and unambiguous, with some alternative wording (*) that could be used if clarification was needed, particularly with younger children. A prop of a toy windmill was used to encourage young children to participate and focus their attention on the questions. Each person was asked the initial question and prompted by the additional questions if needed. Responses were captured on video.
The responses were then analyzed in order to ascertain whether there were any common patterns of misconceptions and whether these patterns aligned with any of those previously found in the research literature.
Questions
1. What causes the wind?
*What do you think makes the wind blow?
2. What causes the wind to change speed?
*Why does the wind blow harder sometimes?
© Copyright 2009 Free Thinkers. All Rights Reserved.
