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ESC 300 Introduction to Early Childhood StudiesOhlone CollegeRevised 1/25/07

Piagetian TasksConservation of Number, Mass and Weight

General InstructionsIn this observation you ill be assessing to childrenbeteen ages 5 and 10 !or three "inds o! conservation#nu$ber% $ass% and eight& Recall that the conce't o!conservation involves the understanding that so$e!eatures o! ob(ects re$ain invariant des'ite changes inother !eatures& )he eight o! an ob(ect re$ains thesa$e regardless o! ho the sha'e is changed* thenu$ber o! ob(ects in a ro re$ains the sa$e regardlesso! ho idely s'aced the ob(ects are& )y'ically%nu$ber and $ass conservation are learned +ordiscovered, at about age 5 or -% hile conservation o!

eight is learned alter* at 'erha's age . or & So i! youare able to !ind a child beteen 5 and . you $ay !indthat he/she can $anage the !irst to conservationtas"s but not the last&)he assess$ent can ordinarily be done $ost easily inthe childs ho$e although other settings are o"ay i !they can be arranged& In any case% you $ust o! courseobtain the 'arents 'er$ission% !olloing hatever'rocedure your instructor s'eci!ics& resent the child

ith the three tas"s and in the order given here%!olloing instructions 'recisely&

A. Conservation of Massou ill need to eual balls o! clay or 'lay dough%each a si4e that can readily be handled by a childs'al$& andle the$ yoursel!% rounding the$ into aball% and then hand the$ to the child% as"ing#Is there the same amount of clay in each of these balls?

Are they the same?I! the child agrees that they are the sa$e% 'roceed& I !not% say to the child# make them the same& )he child$ay ant to suish the$ a little or $ay actually shi!tso$e aay !ro$ one ball to the other& )hats uite a l lright& 6hen hes done% as" hi$ again#Is there the same amount of clay in each of these balls?

Are they the same?Once he has agreed that they are the sa$e% say to thechild#Now Im going to squash this on into a pancake.Suash one o! the to balls into a 'anca"e and 'lacethe to ob(ects the re$aining ball and the 'anca"e in !ront o! the child& e ad t he f ollo!ing " uestionse#actl$ a s ! ritten a n d r ecord % recisel$ ! hat t h e c hildsa$s&1& Is there the same amount of clay in this one+'ointing to the ball, as there is in this one+'ointing to the 'anca"e,82& 9e'ending on the childs anser to the !irst

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uestion% !ollo u' by as"ing% Why is there morehere? Or why are they the same?:old the 'anca"e bac" into a ball and set the to ballsaside !or the $o$ent&

'. Conservation of Number;or this 'art o! the 'rocess you ill need 1< 'ennies or

identical buttons& Start ith 10 ite$s and 'lace the$beteen yoursel! and the child +'re!erably on a table%but the !loor ill do,% s'aced eually in to ros o!!ive% as !ollos#

= = = = == = = = =>s" the child#

Are there the same number of pennies (buttons) in thisrow as there are in this row or are there more here+'ointing tot he childs ro, or more here +'ointing toyour ro,8)he child $ay ant to $ove the ob(ects around a bitbe!ore he agrees the to ros are the sa$e% hich is

!ine& Once the child has agreed they are the sa$e%s'read the ob(ect in your ro so that it is no noticeablylonger that the childs ro but still contains only 5ob(ects% li"e the !olloing#

= = = = == = = = =No! a s k t h e f ollo!ing " uestions, a n d r ecord t h e c hild(se#act a n s!er&3&Are there the same number of pennies in this row asthere are in this row or are there more here, ormore here?

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you have co$'leted the trans!or$ation% 'ut the to'ieces o! clay in !ront o! the child and as"#5& "oes this one +'ointing to the hot dog, weight thesame as this one +'ointing to the ball, or !oes thisone weigh more or !oes this one weigh more?-& 9e'ending on the childs anser to uestion !ive%

as" either Why !o they weigh the same? Or Why!oes this one weigh more?Record the ansers care!ully& ou :BS) record yourobservation in detail describing E=C>)E hat youdid and said% and E=>C) ho the child res'ondedand hat they said& 9escribe all actions a third 'artyreading your observation can visuali4e e@actly hat isha''ening& >lso use uotes !or all conversation& 9O?O) SB::>RIDE this is an OSERF>)IO?&)his ends the 'rocedure% so you should ac"noledge andthan" the child& ou $ight also ant to 'lay a bit

ith the child ith so$e other toy o! the childschoosing% to $a"e sure that the hole 'rocess is'leasant to the child&

*coring;or e a c h o! the crucial uestions decide hether or notthe child Gconserved&H )o be (udged as havingconserved% the child $ust not only have said the toob(ects or sets are the sa$e a!ter trans!or$ation% he$ust also give a valid reason% such as the !olloing#ou havent added any or ta"en any aay so they haveto be the sa$e&OROne is longer but it is also s"innier so it is still thesa$e&ORI! I $ade it bac" into a ball it ould be the sa$e&

Anal$sisCo$'are the childs 'er!or$ance on the three ty'es o!conservation& +1, 9id the child conserve on all three8+2, I! not% as the childs 'er!or$ance consistent iththe ty'ically observed seuence o! acuisition8 +3,6hat else% other than the childs basic co$'rehensiono! conservation% $ight a!!ect the childs ansers in anassess$ent o! this "ind8 +