Objects to Learn about and Objects for Learning 2. Группа авторов

reflective, decisional or linked to action. The objective of this research is to analyze the process of transforming recycled materials to enable the creation of a sound garden and to analyze what the pupils take away from it in terms of learning throughout the process. Chapter 8, by Corinne Marlot, Christine Riat and Patrick Roy, examines the methods of entry into scientific culture for elementary cycle 1 pupils. More specifically, the authors analyze the conditions under which a school discipline object (in this case, a collective poster) can foster the institution of scientific practices in these pupils. The results show that scientific acculturation – as a means of learning about and understanding the world – involves thinking about the nature of the material, symbolic and language objects that can be mobilized, their relationship and also the way in which they should be introduced in order to engage pupils intellectually. This part concludes with the testimony of Irene Guevara, Iván Moreno-Llanos, Lucía Romero, Laura Zapardiel and Cintia Rodríguez (Chapter 9) who examine the self-regulatory practices of children below 3 years of age by analyzing their actions on objects and instruments around them. The authors show that children control their behavior and actions long before they have consolidated verbal language. Their actions on objects arise from understanding the phenomena but also from the solutions and strategies envisaged to understand what must be done and how. They also underline the role of the teacher and the challenges they impose on them to foster the development of the child.

      Thus, these four contributions analyze the way in which material or symbolic objects enter into a relationship with subjects, their activation and what the subjects take away from them in terms of learning or development from the moment they think about them, handle them or transform them.

Part 3 of Volume 2 – Points of View on Objects and Perspectives

      The last part is not, like the previous parts, composed of research texts and professional testimonies concerning a particular object. On the contrary, it brings together contributions addressing the topic of objects in teaching practices in a more global way. Based on his experience as a teacher and researcher, José Luis de los Reyes Leoz (Chapter 10) presents a resolutely cultural and emotive point of view on objects steeped in history kept in museums. The second point (Chapter 11) from the conference’s round table presents the points of view of four researchers (Mickaël Le Mentec, Anne-Laure Le Guern, Jean-François Thémines and Abdelkarim Zaid) on the place of objects in their journeys as researchers. In Chapter 12, Alain Panero puts forward a philosophical overview of all the texts in the book by considering the positions, often implicit, of the authors while sketching his own point of view, thus feeling an emotive experience that is a preliminary version of writing.

      November 2021

      1 Preface written by Joël BISAULT, Roselyne LE BOURGEOIS, Jean-François THÉMINES, Mickaël LE MENTEC and Céline CHAUVET-CHANOINE.

      2 1 Twin pan scales, widely used in France until the 1960s/1970s. These types of scales have for a long time been a typical example of school equipment used in every elementary school.

      3 2 These batteries were widely used in France (in pocket lamps for example) until the 1960s/1970s and are still used in French elementary school for their practical side (metal plates to facilitate electrical contacts).

      4 3 “Repères temporels et spatiaux, découverte du monde”: examples of parts of the French syllabuses for pre-school.

      5 4 ZEPs were created in France in 1981 to advance equality of opportunity between pupils, taking into account the social problems of the areas concerned.

      6 5 Kergomard, P. (1886). L’éducation maternelle dans l’école, Librairie Hachette et Compagnie, Paris.

      Acknowledgements

      We would like to thank all those who contributed to this collective work: the participants in the June 2019 conference who agreed to re-engage with a view to authoring a chapter, the members of the conference’s scientific committee who undertook an expert review of the articles submitted and provided guidelines for editing when necessary and the colleagues or former colleagues who shared with us their expertise on specific topics.

      We would particularly like to thank Sophie Pelissier who facilitated the contributions from our Hispanic colleagues, Catherine Rebiffé and Anne Delbrayelle for their invaluable help on French language issues and Karima Olechny for her advice on this English version.

Scientific committee of this publication

      Jacques Audran (INSA Strasbourg), Christine Berzin (University of Picardie Jules Verne, CAREF), Joël Bisault (University of Picardie Jules Verne, CAREF), Justine Breton (University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, CEREP), Céline Chauvet-Chanoine (University of Picardie Jules Verne, CAREF), Cora Cohen-Azria (University of Lille, CIREL), Anne Delbrayelle (University of Picardie Jules Verne, CAREF), Béatrice Finet (University of Picardie Jules Verne, CAREF), Joël Lebeaume (University of Paris, EDA), Roselyne Le Bourgeois (University of Picardie Jules Verne, CAREF), Anne-Laure Le Guern (University of Caen Normandy, CIRNEF), Mickaël Le Mentec (University of Picardie Jules Verne, CAREF), Corinne Marlot (Haute Ecole Pédagogique du canton de Vaud), Sophie Pelissier (University of Picardie Jules Verne, CAREF), Valérie Tartas (University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, CLLE) and Jean-François Thémines (University of Caen Normandy, ESO).

PART 1 Objects and Representations of Space and Time

      1

      The Map and the Game: Objects for Learning Geographical Points of Reference in Elementary School

      1.1. Introduction

      While learning geographical points of reference has always been and remains a component of training in the discipline, the time reserved for learning these locations as well as the procedures for their discovery should be interrogated in the context of a revitalized geography in which nomenclature is no longer the main subject of discussion.

      My comments showcase my experience as a practitioner–researcher, as which I designed and produced a game to facilitate the acquisition of a number of spatial points of reference to be placed on wall maps based on features and locations. Just like other classroom posters (like timelines), this system of small cards to be stuck onto larger wall maps (France, Europe, the world) seeks to respond to the infrequent or even complete lack of use of the maps hanging on the wall, sometimes for a long time, which are already filled in and which provide no means for practical work.

      This approach provides the opportunity to learn many things about pupils’ academic and personal knowledge, which can be used as points of reference for the game, about the way they categorize and define these points of reference, and about the possibility of connecting them to themes in the lesson plan so that these points of reference are not learned for their own sake or without putting them to use in a real analysis of how spaces are organized.

      Does this process of focusing on an object that was designed, produced and appropriated make it possible to effectively acquire knowledge of these points of reference and to make the connection with the potential of a revitalized school geography that is now structured around reasoning, problem solving, dialog with other disciplines and the consideration of representations?

      The temporal context of which