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Children's Ideas About Plate Tectonics
Below are common ideas children in grades K-6 have about this topic,
compiled from research on children's ideas about science (see the
Session 1 Children's Ideas Bibliography).
Consider what evidence might refute this idea, and why a child would
be
likely to believe this?
1. Earth has a hot molten core that is the source
of magma that flows out of volcanoes as lava.
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Earth has a solid metallic inner core, and a liquid
metallic outer core. Popular media often perpetuates
the misconception that because the interior of the Earth
is hot, it must also be molten. This can mislead students
of all ages into believing that the magma seen coming
out of volcanoes comes from the core. Current science
knowledge informs us that the source of magma that erupts
as lava out of a volcano is the solid mantle, which melts
at low pressure near the surface to generate magma. Hide
Response
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2. Many children in grades K-6 cannot readily explain why
earthquakes occur, nor visualize what happens underground during
an earthquake.
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Earthquakes are usually caused by an abrupt shift and
breaking of rock along fault lines. The cause of earthquakes
can ultimately be traced back to plate tectonic processes.
Children often struggle with visualizing a concept that
cannot be directly observed. Hide
Response
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3. Earthquakes and volcanoes only happen near one another,
and earthquakes cause volcanic eruptions.
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Most earthquakes occur along plate boundaries, because
of abrupt shifts in the position of tectonic plates.
Earthquakes are not thought to be a cause of volcanic
eruptions. In fact, volcanoes often cause earthquakes
instead. Volcanoes erupt when magma is less dense than
the solid rock surrounding it in the mantle, and it begins
to rise. Rising magma can sometimes cause earthquakes
in the surrounding crust. As magma nears the surface,
the gases in it expand, increasing the pressure and causing
the volcano to erupt, much as the gases in soda 'erupt'
when a can or bottle of soda is opened. Children do not
necessarily associate earthquakes with the shifting and
breaking of rock along fault lines, perhaps because this
is often an unseen phenomenon. The connection between
earthquakes and volcanoes may cause children to reason
that they always co-occur. Hide
Response
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Bibliography:
Happs, J. “Mountains.” Science Education Research Unit
Paper 202. University of Waikato, New Zealand, 1982.
Lillo, J. “An
Analysis of the Annotated Drawings of the Internal Structure
of the Earth Made by Students Ages 10 to 15 From Primary
and Secondary Schools in Spain.” Teaching Earth Sciences 19,
no. 3 (1994): 83 – 87.
Ross, K. and Shuell, T. “Children’s
Beliefs about Earthquakes.” Science
Education 72, no. 2 (1993): 191 – 205.
Sharpe, J., Mackintoch,
M., and Seedhouse, P. “Some Comments
on Children’s Ideas About Earth Structure, Volcanoes, Earthquakes,
and Plates.” Teaching Earth Sciences 20, no. 1 (1995): 28 – 30.
Smith,
M., Southard, J. and Mably, C. “Investigating Earth
Systems: Our Dynamic Planet.” Teacher's Edition. Armonk,
NY: It's About Time. (2002).
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