Pilot Wonder Chart finished
Do children differ in their tendency to wonder? And what are the things children wonder about? To answer these questions, we are developing a new instrument: the Wonder Chart. 66 children from primary schools RKBS De Prinsenhof and Montessorischool Leidschenveen now filled in the trial version of the Wonder Chart.
Children were asked to read 10 short stories or to watch 10 short videos. All 10 stories consist of situations or facts with a high potential to elicit wonder. For example, some stories are about special natural phenomena, exceptional achievements or art. Following each story we asked children a number of questions to find out whether they experienced wonder while reading/watching the story. In addition, we interviewed children about the things they wonder about in daily life. All children came up with great examples.
“I wonder about the greatness of space. And is there extraterrestrial life? ”
“I wonder about the beauty of a sunse.t”
“I wonder what love is.”
“I wonder why there is war in the world, because nobody enjoys it.”
With this new valuable information we are able to improve the quality of the Wonder Chart. We want to thank the participating schools, teachers and children!