THE EFFECT OF THE SURFACE OF SIMPLE GEOMETRIC-MODELS UPON CHILDRENS DRAWINGS

It is generally assumed that a child drawing a geometric model will do so by depicting its edges, the surface of the model merely defining t hese edges as it undergoes rapid change, whist also obscuring some oth er edges and thus making depiction difficult. The present study, in wh ich drawings of three groups of about 100 children drawn from grades 3 , 5 and 7 of Scottish urban schools were used, suggests that the relat ionship between perception of the crucial edges and the surfaces is mo re complex. It shows that children draw lamellar models differently fr om geometrically congruent wire models (which have no surfaces) and su ggests that the changes in drawing with age and/or schooling are at le ast in part due to changes of perception and surface/edge relationship s.