과학영재 중학생과 일반 중학생의 문제발견의 차이

Differences in Problem Finding between the Gifted in Science and the Average Middle School Students

실제로 존재하거나 타인에 의해 주어진 문제를 해결하는 것에 비해, 새로운 문제를 찾고, 떠올리고, 생성하고, 창조하는 것을 문제발견이라 하며, 문제발견은 창의적인 성취와 산출물의 우수성을 결정하는데 중요한 역할을 한다. 본 연구는 중학교 과학영재학생과 일반학생들의 문제발견의 다양한 측면을 비교, 분석함으로써 문제발견의 차이를 밝히고, 과학영재와 일반학생의 문제발견을 양적으로 질적으로 평가하여 문제발견의 양과 질에 어떠한 관계가 있는지를 알아보는 것을 연구의 목적으로 하였다. 연구에는 B대학교 과학영재교육원의 학생 88명과 일반중학교 2학년 학생 114명이 참여하였다. 연구의 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 과학영재와 일반학생의 문제발견은 차이가 있었다. 과학영재가 일반학생에 비해 많은 문제를 발견하였으며, 발견한 문제의 질도 우수한 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 문제발견의 하위척도에서 과학영재가 일반학생에 비해 전체적으로 우수한 것으로 나타났으나, 과학영재의 문제발견능력은 상당히 개인차가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 셋째, 과학영재와 일반학생의 문제발견의 양과 질 간에는 정적상관이 있는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구는 그 중요성에 비해 실제적 연구가 극히 부족한 문제발견에 대한 경험적 연구로, 향후 영재교육이나 일반학생들의 교육에 문제해결 뿐 아니라 문제발견능력도 아울러 육성시켜야 할 필요성을 제기하였다.

This study was aimed to find differences in problem finding between the gifted in science and the average middle school students. For this purpose, two research questions were investigated; 1) Are there any differences in problem finding between the gifted in science and the average middle school students? 2) Are there any relationships between the quantity and the quality of problem finding? The subjects for this study were 202 middle school students(second grade) in Busan, Korea. The subjects consisted of two groups. One was the average group, consisting of students from a public middle school. The other was the scientifically gifted group, consisting of students from Pusan National University Scientifically Gifted Center. The subjects were asked to find problems from two future scenes in the Future Problem Solving Program(FPSP). The following results were obtained; First, there were differences in problem finding between scientifically gifted and average students. Scientifically gifted students found more problems and the quality of problems were higher than average students. However, the individual differences of problem finding ability among the gifted students were larger than the average students. Second, a positive relationship was found between the quality and the quantity of the subjects' problem finding responses. These results suggested some implications for gifted and school education. Fist, it is possible to enhance students' problem finding ability, so educators should give opportunities for their students to engage in various kinds of problem finding as well as problem solving. Second, because problem finding is especially important for the gifted, it is suggested that gifted educators shift their teaching focuses from problem solving skills to problem finding skills. Other suggestions for education and further research are also discussed.