The Journey from Child to Scientist

The impulse to investigate the natural world is deeply rooted in our earliest childhood experiences. This notion has long guided researchers to uncover the cognitive mechanisms underlying the development of scientific reasoning in children.

Until recently, however, research in cognitive development and education followed largely independent tracks. A major exception to this trend is represented in the multifaceted work of David Klahr. His lifelong effort to integrate a detailed understanding of children amp rsquo s reasoning and skill acquisition with the role of education in influencing and facilitating scientific exploration has been essential to the growth of these fields.

In this volume, a diverse group of stellar contributors discuss such wide-ranging ideas as the evolution of amp ldquo folk science amp rdquo in young children and the mechanisms that underlie mathematical understanding, as well as mental models used by children in classroom activities.

The volume amp rsquo s lessons will have profound implications for STEM education, and for the next generation of scientists.