הבעה מילולית של ילדי כיתה א' בעת פעילות בחומר פורמלי לא-מילולי: דו"ח ניסוי

The following experiment concerns geometric materials for teaching the topic of Isometric Transformations. The materials require a concrete operation or an appropriate drawing and no verbalization is involved. The main problem in this study is the degree of verbalization on the part of both pupil and teacher that should accompany the manipulative activities. Two first grades which were quite different with respect to the role assigned to verbalization were chosen. In the first class the new geometric concepts were learned with new scientific terms immediately assigned to them. This class will be called the "tagging class". In the second class no special terms were introduced with the new geometric concepts. This is the "controlled class". There was no higher level of performance by the "tagging class", according to the findings in any of the following aspects: the formal achievement in the geometric concepts studied; the ability to provide relevant reasons for a given test-item; and the use of "tag-words" half a year after completion of the instructional unit. In neither of the two classes did we observe "stereotyped" responses to a specific task. The child in most cases formulated his responses in his own distinctive manner. In most of the cases "tag-words" like "reflection", "fixed points", "image" etc. were not actually used in the children's formulations.