미술과는 미술활동을 통하여 표현 및 감상능력을 기르고, 창의성을 계발하며, 심미적인 태도를 함양하는 것을 교육목표로 하고 있다(교육부, 1999). 초등 미술과 교육과정은 3학년에서 6학년까지 미적체험, 표현, 감상영역을 중심으로 교육내용이 설정되어 있으며, 그에 따른 교수-학습 및 평가방법을 구체적으로 제시하고 있다. 이와 같은 교육내용 구성은 학습자의 흥미, 관심, 요구의 반영을 고려한 것이다. 이 과정에서 요구되는 것은 학습자들이 생활주변에서 미적대상의 가치를 발견하고, 이해하며, 느낌과 생각을 여러 가지 재료와 용구를 활용하여 새롭고 다양하게 표현하며, 미술품에 관심을 가지고 애호하는 태도를 가지도록 하는 것이다.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the process of learners' recognizing and dealing with information effectively through interaction with their environments to construct knowledge actively and representing it in various forms. For this purpose, the representing process of knowledge construction was reviewed on the basis of constructionism and cognitive psychology. Major findings ar as follows; Individual knowledge construction is shown to be its internal representation and social knowledge construction is its external representation. On this ground, a cyclic model with the representing process of knowledge construction was presented on the basis of the information processing theory. It is feedback process of 'information - internal representation - external representation - information. With this model, art studies class in elementary school is constructed with information as the source of knowledge construction, internal representation of knowledge as individual knowledge construction and external representation of knowledge as social knowledge construction, and the instructional process as the phase of expression. In the viewpoint of art appreciation education, the representing process of knowledge construction was constructed as a teaching-learning process in which information related to fundamental principles of art was constructed and represented on the basis of the concept of the illusion of motion. Such arts class activities would contribute to bring up students who can process information effectively, represent information and cultivate the abilities to construct knowledge of art and understand and express art.