Artikel
Embodied learning - the contribution of a motion-based game to kindergarten children’s knowledge of local tree species
Lindemann-Matthies, P., Lutz, F. & Remmele, M. (2025). Embodied learning - the contribution of a motion-based game to kindergarten children’s knowledge of local tree species, Sustainability, 17(16).DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su17167310
Abstract
Given the importance of plants for ecosystem functioning, sustainability, and human
well-being, children should be introduced to local species as early as possible. This study
investigated whether kindergarten children (n = 24) can acquire knowledge of trees through
a motion-based educational game and a subsequent half-day excursion. During the game,
illustrations of trees were shown, their names were called out, and the children were asked
to perform certain movements relating to features/names of the trees they had practiced. In
semi-structured interviews directly after the activities and three months later, the children
were asked to identify the trees by their leaves and to provide reasons why they had
remembered their names. Already, after playing the game for four weeks, species with large
and iconic leaves such as Norway maple (Acer platanoides) were correctly identified in nature
by about 80% of the children. The interviews showed that even after three months, children
correctly identified more than half of the species presented. They recognized the trees by
their shape and the texture of their leaves but also by remembering the corresponding
movements. The combination of motion-based play and hands-on, sensory investigations
can be recommended to promote plant knowledge right from kindergarten age.
Sprache: Englisch
Art der Begutachtung: Peer Review(Double-blind peer review)
Print: Nein
Online: Ja, mit Open Access und CC-Lizenz
Datenmedium: Nein
Forschungs- & Publikationsdatenbank
