CONNECT – Developing & Disseminating Excellent Mobility Management Measures for Young People...

CONNECT – Developing & Disseminating Excellent Mobility Management Measures for Young People

Traffic and mobility psychology/educationInsights on children’s behaviour

Mobiel 21 – March 2008Elke Bossaert, Lies Lambert


Contents

1. Children ≠ small adults

2. Traffic & mobility education

3. How and why of campaigns

such as the Traffic Snake Game


Children ≠ small adults

• Move in and through traffic in a different way,

• different perception,• different way of thinking,• different way of handling,• but ready and eager to learn!


Perceiving / Perception

• Seeing– Children have a different point of view….literally

• Hearing– Directions are difficult and hard to determine

• Attention– Experiencing the world from a self-centred point of

view

– Attention is diversified; before the age of 8 it is difficult, if not impossible to give attention to the most important things in traffic


Perceiving / Perception (2)

Viewing behaviour of a 9-year old without cycling experience (number of fixation = 13 )


Perceiving / Perception (3)

Viewing behaviour of a 9-year old with cycling experience (number of fixation = 4 )


Thinking

• Magical Thinking– Magical thinking is a child's belief that what he or

she wishes or expects can affect what really happens

– Till the age of 4 to 5, reality and fantasy seem to collide with each other

– Difficulty to understand that what they want is not always what they will get


Thinking (2)

• Magical Thinking (2)– Example: a car approaching


Thinking (3)

• Egocentric thinking– Normal tendency for a young child

– See everything that happens as it relates to him or herself. This is not selfishness.

– Young children are unable to understand different points of view

– Example: I see the car approaching...

– From research it is clear that only from the age of about 12 a clear distinction is made between what you see and being seen


Thinking (4)

• Conditional logic and thinking– From the age of 7 or 8 most children are in a

position to start thinking about conditions

– Able to estimate timings• Example: car approaching, when to cross the road


Thinking (5)

• Conditional logic and thinking (2)– Children under 8 years old, see the movements,

know how it works, but don’t see the proces• Example: seeing a car approaching, timing when it

will cross, seeing the process of a car needing distance to come to a full stop


Acting

• Motoral compentence– Under the age of 6 any motoral activity

such as walking demands all the attention.

– Motoral skills are still developing• Example: crossing a street and stepping

onto a high pavement

– Learning to cycle is an even more complex task.

• Example: first learning how to move in a moving environment


Acting (2)

• Play– The outside world is one big play arena– Traffic, zebra crossings, high pavements

are all challenges that need to be explored as in a game

• Knowing and doing– From the age of 6 children are ready to learn

traffic regulations. However a lot of practice is needed to create an automatism


Acting (3)

• Impulsivity– 2 big groups of children show riskful behaviour:

• The big mouths• The scary crows


Learning

• Children learn easily• Learn most of all by imitating

behaviour• Role of champions, teachers

and most of all parents!


Learning (2)

Procedural Declarative

knowledge knowledge

Affective

knowledge

Knowing that… E.g. a green light means safe to go


Learning (3)


knowledge knowledge

Affective

knowledge

Knowing how... E.g. a green light means safe to go, yet I must look first at the left, than at the right, than at the left again ==> knowing in interaction with environment!


Learning (4)


knowledge knowledge

Affective

knowledge

Subjective relation to real-life interactionsE.g. confidence and faith in riding a bike E.g. what to do when a car is wrongly parked in the bike lane


Learning (5)


knowledge knowledge

Affective

knowledge

INTERACTION !!! Complex relationship between these aspects. Interaction with real-life, experiences and expectations are crucial. Metacognitive skills and knowledge (planning, strategies!)


Traffic and mobility education

• Traditional traffic education– Safety education, no correlation with environment– To adapt children as weak traffic participants -safety

and prevention of accidents– By reglementation, adapting to the system, fear,

attentivity– In class


Traffic and mobility education (2)

• Contemporary mobility education– Traffic AND mobility– Safety education but also ecological topics,

sustainability, autonomy, health – To have children as active traffic participants – Children as pedestrians and cyclists– Child‘s perspective small adult perspective– From learning in a classroom over a safe and

protected environment to learning in real life situations and in real traffic


Traffic and mobility education (3)

• Mobility education is consciously thinking of the different modes of transport, their advantages and disadvantages

• Learning by doing• Learning by imitation


Why campaigns like the TSG?

• Putting traffic and mobility (education) in the picture: – showing the importance

to the parents– showing the

neighbourhood


Why campaigns like the TSG? (2)

• Cooperation, collaboration with parents (imitation function!)

• Successful triangle: parents, teachers, pupils

• Cooperation and collaboration with local government is a motivator


Why campaigns like the TSG? (3)

• Can be a mere campaign. But even then: a lot of parties involved!

• Can be a stepping stone for traffic and mobility education

• Can be a stepping stone for traffic and mobility issues beyond education

CONNECT – Developing & Disseminating Excellent Mobility Management Measures for Young People...

Documents

Transcript of CONNECT – Developing & Disseminating Excellent Mobility Management Measures for Young People...