Relational concepts: language, thinking and pedagogy and the spatial metaphor of time

Abstract

This monograph is for researchers and teachers. It argues for a strengthened cross-curriculum approach to teaching and scaffolding children’s understanding of spatial and temporal concepts. Research and pedagogical interludes illustrate how teachers frequently use the spatiotemporal terms ‘before’ and ‘after’ in the language of instruction, yet at the same time, these are relational concepts that need to be taught. The centrality of the acquisition of spatial knowledge and conceptualisation of space to children’s development of spatial reference frames and spatial reasoning is highlighted. It connects research, language and pedagogy and introduces the train-landscape scenario as a way of investigating children’s understanding of the relational concepts of ‘before’ and ‘after’. Besides differentiating between the teaching of ‘object’ concepts and the more abstract ‘relational concepts', the complex nature of the application of ‘before’ and ‘after', and how usage may impact on pedagogical talk, learning and assessment is illustrated. Pedagogical interludes demonstrate the relevance of relational concepts to the teaching of literacy, the study of life cycles and how a project-based approach can involve children in working with spatial and temporal concepts and the formulation of temporal relations through authentic learning experiences.