THE FORMATION OF SHADOWS - THE CASE OF THE POSITION OF A LIGHT SOURCE IN RELEVANCE TO THE SHADOW - Volume 3 - Issue 3 2010

Oct 15, 2026

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Study investigates fifth-grade pupils’ mental representations of how shadows form, focusing on difficulty understanding the position of a light source relative to the shadow before formal school instruction. Data come from interviews with 212 pupils using four tasks that assess hypothetical situations. Findings highlight misconceptions related to causal understanding and anticipation of shadow position, emphasizing the need for teaching interventions in Physics Education for Natural Sciences.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

The Theoretical Framework

Representations and misconceptions in Physics Education

Piagetian framework for shadow formation

Decentration, projective space, and coordination of perspectives

Prior research on children’s ideas about shadows

Volume 3, Number 3, 2010 THE FORMATION OF SHADOWS: THE CASE OF THE POSITION OF A LIGHT SOURCE IN RELEVANCE TO THE SHADOW Konstantinos Ravanis, Konstantinos Zacharos, Angeliki Vellopoulou Abstract: The study of pupils’ representations of physics concepts and phenomena constitutes a central part of Science Education research, as they play a decisive role in teaching. In the study presented here, we investigate 212 fifth grade pupils’mental representations of the formation of shadows, before they were taught about it in school. The empirical data was gathered through an interview using four tasks which involved the evaluation of hypothetical situations. The research data included representations that cause difficulty in the comprehension of the position of a light source in relevance to the shadow. Key words: Formation of shadows, light source, pupils’mental representations 1. The Theoretical Framework The study of representations of pupils of all ages and school levels within the context of Physics Education points to the need for the creation of special teaching interventions in a wide spectrum of subjects in the teaching of the Natural Sciences (Ravanis, 1999; Ergazaki, Komis & Zogza, 2005; Kampeza, 2006; Koliopoulos et al., 2009) . These representations, which are often in contradiction to the explanations given by Physics in regard to these phenomena, are referred to in literature as ideas, misconceptions, preconceptions or alternative conceptions. The problem of the formation of shadows is critical in the learning and teaching of Geometrical Optics because “developing a qualitative explanation of shadow formation requires a complex synthesis of knowledge including: • light as an entity produced by a light source; • light as an entity propagated in space; • reflection and absorption of light as it interacts with an object; • shadow formation as an area of darkness that varies in intensity according to how much light is reflected from the area into the eye; and • the role of the eye as a receptor”(Parker, 2006, p. 1551) . In this paper we will study the mental representations of ten-year-old children about the formation of shadows by point light sources and an object in the shape of a stick. The children’s explanations ofthe natural phenomena are neither arbitrary nor casual estimations; they result from a series of intellectual achievements of a psychological nature, which we must become aware of in order to predict and interpret correctly the alternative conceptions and also for reasons concerning teaching methods. As a theoretical framework we will use the Piagetian theory because we believe that its codifications can also explain, from a psychological point of view, children’s difficulties regarding the formation of shadows. There are important differences between pre-operational thinking and concrete operations in the case of the formation of shadows. Jean Piaget and Bärbel Inhelder (1981, pp. 181-225) have shown that the elementary topological relations change into projections as soon as the child is able to decenter his Received 10 April 2010, accepted 12 September 2010, published 30 September 2010 point of view, i.e., to differentiate his own point of view from all the others and, at the same time, to coordinate it with the others. According to Piaget and Inhelder, two questions can be posed regarding the formation of shadows (op.cit., p. 227) . 1. One question referring to the understanding of the natural cause of the shadow. 2. The second question referring to the anticipation of the shadow in relevance to the object. In this paper we will only address one aspect of the last question. Pre-operational thought, dominated by egocentrism, does not allow the child to differentiate his/her views and thus the only possible view is a result of the restrictions imposed by the conceptual centrations ofthe objects forming the problem in question. Gradual decentration removes initial egocen

FAQs

What is the document’s main research focus?

It examines pupils’ mental representations of shadow formation, especially the challenge of understanding the light source’s position relative to the shadow.

How was the empirical data collected?

Through interviews with 212 fifth-grade pupils using four tasks that evaluated hypothetical situations.

Why does the theoretical framework rely on Piagetian theory?

The paper uses Piaget’s ideas to explain children’s psychological difficulties with understanding shadow formation, particularly differences between pre-operational thinking and concrete operations.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rizky