Let's Learn About Scientific Systems!

For 6- to 11-year-olds!

This study will take place on a video call, live with a researcher! Clicking on the “Participate Now!” button will send you to an online calendar where you can select a date and time that works for you. During the call, we will explain different science concepts to your child while showing them pictures of how the system works! We will then ask them questions about what they learned and about which systems work in a similar way.

Learning about new scientific systems can be challenging, as it requires applying what we already know to unfamiliar concepts. This study explores ways to help children better understand scientific systems. Specifically, we are investigating whether providing children with opportunities to categorize scientific systems based on similarities in their underlying causal structures can help them learn about new examples. For example, does teaching children that the water cycle and the life cycle both include a series of events that repeat in a regular pattern help them learn about other scientific cycles? Our findings could play a key role in improving how science is taught to children.

45 minutes

$5 Amazon.com gift card. We will email you a $5 Amazon.com gift card within a week of participating. You are eligible for the gift card even if your child does not finish, or we can't use the data. Your child just needs to be (1) in the age range for the study, (2) be visible on video during the study, and (3) you need to submit a valid consent form.