Inquiring 6. grades student?s spatial cognition skills in elementary school social studies course

ABSTRACT Piaget suggested that knowledges and experiences that children previously have are effective in their approaches to geography lectures. Developmental geographers, with respect to this opinion, argued how geographical thought in children are developed from concrete perceptions to abstract representational. To construct geographical thinking systematically at school, first of all, the characteristics of children?s spatial cognition must be determined. In this study, it is aimed to examine spatial cognition skills in elementary school social studies course at 6 grade students? level. Through the study, how students have spatial cognition from school environment to extending environment and their representation of spatial knowledge are investigated. In the study, at which levels that students are according to route, location and spatial organization which are main parts of spatial cognition are determined. In the study designed according to qualitative research methods, interview, observation and document analyze techniques are used. It is conducted with 10 students and analyzed according to qualitative research methods. In this study, important results about students? spatial cognitions were reached. Generally, it is seen that students? spatial cognitions are not developed much. Especially it is determined that there are very big troubles in their spatial cognitions about neighborhood environment. While students have problems in representation of their own school environment and living space, they have more knowledge about towns and countries which are far away from them. To solve these problems, the relation between geographic knowledge taught in schools and real spaces has to be made.