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- Orienteering using realistic map (colored aerial photography) with kindergarten childrenPublication . Catela, David; Barroso, Marisa; Seabra, Ana Paula; Figueiredo, Raquel; Franco, RaquelOrienteering is the capacity to be able to locate ourselves in a space and to move to a desired location, using autonomously a map; and develops the capacity of visual perspective, spatial structuring, detection and combination of relevant information (Barroso, Bento, & Catela 2014; Heft, 2013; Jansen-Osmann & Wiedenbauer, 2004). The use of a map implies that the child perceives and associates three-dimensional information (environment) with two-dimensional information (map/photography); being expectable an association between spatial orientation capacity and the development of cognitive abilities (Allen & Ondracek, 1995). From the age of 3 years, children can orient themselves in small spaces (Bluestein & Acredolo, 1979; Blaut, Stea, Spencer, & Blades, 2003), as well as in unknown spaces, looking for hidden objects, if the map they use is realistic, e.g., aerial photography of the space to be explored (Barroso, 2014). If the map has colors, the children's orientation capacity increases (Gouteux & Spelke, 2001; Herers & Spelke, 1996; Jansen-Osmann & Wiedenbauer, 2004). If the map is not aligned with real space, the orientation becomes inefficient (Presson & Hazelrigg, 1984); and, if children can analyze the map before using it, they become faster to orient themselves in the space (Uttal & Wellman, 1989; Sandberg and Huttenlocher, 2001), e.g., at the beginning of the activity, helping them to identify in the map where they are at the moment and to associate space locations with locations represented in the map, other than those that they will search for (e.g., Barroso, 2014). The ability of children to orient themselves in enlarged spaces increases with age (Cohen & Schuepfer, 1980; JansenOsmann & Wiedenbauer, 2004), with no gender differences found (Barroso, 2014). After informed consent and assent, we asked 12 children, aged between 3 and 6 years (4.67 ±, 89, 4 girls) to find 5 small objects (e.g., Barroso, Bento, & Catela 2014), hidden always in the same places in the playground of their school. The time spent on the task, the number of objects actually found and the number of map reorientations made were obtained. The photograph was in color (Gouteux & Spelke, 2001; Hermer & Spelke, 1996); before starting the activity, the child was helped to locate himself/herself and to identify an existing building on the map (Uttal & Wellman, 1989; Sandberg & Huttenlocher, 2001; Barroso, 2014). A child of 3 years interrupted the activity after arriving at the third place. The Kruskall-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used for intergroup comparisons and the Spearman correlation coefficient for association between variables, for a level of significance of 05; through the IBM-SPSS program, version 24. The results revealed that there were no significant differences between genders (cf., Barroso, 2014) nor between ages. There was a significant direct association between age and number of map reorients performed (rho (12) =,582, p˂,05), and a significant inverse association between age and time spent performing the activity (rho (12) = (-),726, p˂,01). An analysis of the sequence of visited sites reveals that each child did so in it own way; with no common pattern identified among them (cf. Græsli, Bjerva, & Sigurfónsson, 2009). This study confirms Barroso (2014, cf. Barroso, Bento, & Catela, 2014) results, i.e., preschool children can successfully use a photograph as a map to orient themselves in an enlarged space; however, age, as a general indicator, suggests that older children can do it more quickly (Cohen & Schuepfer, 1980; Jansen-Osmann & Wiedenbauer, 2004) and better manage the spatial alignment between the map and real space (cf. Presson & Hazelrigg, 1984). Given the importance of this activity for the development of competences in children (e.g., Heft, 2013, Blaut, Stea, Spencer, & Blades, 2003; Hermer & Spelke, 1996), it inclusion and implementation in the kindergarten education programs, as well as in the formation of teachers for basic education, are strongly encouraged.
- Fotografia aérea a cores e desenho de contornos de espaço reduzido conhecido para atividade de orientação em crianças de 2-3 anos de idade: estudo exploratórioPublication . Barroso, Marisa; Serrão-Arrais, Ana; Norte, C.; Almeida, I.; Gordalina, I.; Monteiro, I.; Catela, DavidAs crianças conseguem orientar-se procurando objetos escondidos com uma fotografia aérea a cores. Fomos verificar se crianças de 2-3 anos o conseguiriam através de desenho de contornos. 15 crianças (2,6±0,5 anos, 2 anos=6; meninas=8), procuraram individualmente botões parcialmente escondidos em 5 móveis da sua sala, à sua esquerda, direita e centro; divididas em 2 grupos: fotografia (F)- com fotografia aérea a cores (2,6±0,5 anos, 2 anos=3; meninas=3); contornos (C)- com desenho de contornos dos móveis e paredes da F (2,6±0,5 anos, 2 anos=3; meninas=5). No C, 50% precisou ajuda da educadora para interpretar a imagem; na F, 87,5%, não careceu de qualquer ajuda. As do C, consultaram significativamente mais vezes a imagem (p=,024), mas houve um menino (2 anos) que só consultou uma vez e teve sucesso total. No F, 85,7% das crianças procurou 1º os botões mais próximos, associado significativamente às 87,5% que iniciou pelo botão à sua esquerda (p=,008). Em F e C, não houve diferença entre géneros. No F, as de 2 anos encontraram significativamente menos botões, que as de 3 anos, que encontraram todos (p=,028). As do F demoraram ≈2min a realizar a atividade de orientação (O). Como mapa para O, com crianças de 2-3 anos, F foi mais fácil de usar que C. Pode haver crianças de 2 anos com elevada capacidade de uso de C como mapa. Para O, com crianças de 2 anos, sugere-se usar objetos a encontrar de dimensão não pequena e mais destacáveis visivelmente.