PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Prokop, Pavol
AU  - Prokop, Matej
TI  - The influence of breeding animals on children's abilities to classify vertebrates and invertebrates
DP  - 2006 Jun 1
TA  - e-Pedagogium
PG  - 73--85
VI  - 6
IP  - 3
IS  - 12137758
AB  - The classification of animals is the basis of biology at all types of schools. As previous research indicates, children however have fallacious ideas about the internal structure of organisms and their taxonomic classification. Only a limited number of studies have focused on the question of whether experience with breeding animals influences the level of children's knowledge about the animals' internal structure. The present study reports findings that children mostly keep vertebrates as pets and that this experience positively affects their knowledge about the animals' internal structure. Children could not however apply this knowledge to the invertebrates and most children aged 6-10 believe that a crayfish and a stag beetle have an inner skeleton. Such misconceptions were witnessed even in older students although with a decreasing frequency.