구성주의에 기초한 과학 활동이 유아의 과학적 탐구능력과 자기주도학습력에 미치는 영향

The effect of constructivism-based science activities on young children s scientific inquiry process skills and self-directed learning ability

본 연구는 구성주의에 기초한 과학활동이 유아의 과학적 탐구능력과 자기주도학습력에 어떠한 영향을 미 치는지 알아보는 데 목적이 있다. 연구 대상은 만 5세 유아 30명이며, 평균 연령은 5년 7개월 이었다. 연구 기간은 11주였으며, 실험집단은 구성주의에 기초하여 탑, 진자, 경사로의 세 가지 주제로 과학활동을 하였 고, 통제집단은 만 5세 누리과정 지도서에 제시된 과학활동을 하였다. 이 같은 과정을 통한 본 연구 결과는 구성주의 과학활동을 경험한 실험 집단과 경험하지 않은 통제집단 간에 과학적 탐구능력과 자기주도학습력 에 유의미한 차이가 있는 것으로 나타났다.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of constructivism-based science activities on the scientific inquiry process skills and self-directed learning ability of young children. The method used in this study to investigate the improvement of young children scientific inquiry ability was developed by Cho, Hong-Ja (2015). When looking into the self-directed learning activity level of young children, Hyun, Jeong-Sook s(1999) measuring instrument was used. This instrument revised and complemented Guglielmino s(1977) `self-directed learning readiness scale: SDLRS, 1977 . After consulting with an early childhood education expert and 4 graduate students majoring in early childhood education, the researchers revised this method before using it. The constructivism-based science activities were chosen following the standard of selection based on the references(Lee, Kyung-Woo, Cho, Boo-Kyung, Kim, Jeong-Jun 1999: Forman, Hill, 1984; Kamii, DeVries, 1993) and this experiment was conducted during a 11-week period from April 25, 2016 to July 8, 2016. To address the research questions, statistical data on mean and standard deviation for each group were obtained, and t-test was conducted after their pretest scores were subtracted from their posttest scores. The findings of the study were as follows: First, the experimental group that engaged in the constructivism-based science activities scored higher than the control group in scientific inquiry process skills, and the difference between the two was statistically significant(t=7.47, p<.05). Among the components of scientific inquiry process skills, the experimental group scored higher than the control group in observing(t=6.32, p<.05), measuring(t=3.58, p<.05), inferring (t=4.62, p<.05), predicting(t=4.54, p<.05) and communication ability(t=6.68, p<.05), and all the intergroup differences were statistically significant. But there was no statistically significant difference in classification skills. Second, the experimental group that engaged in the constructivism-based science activities scored higher than the control group in self-directed learning ability, and the difference between the two was statistically significant(t=7.02, p<.05). Among the components of scientific inquiry process skills, the experimental group scored higher than the control group in openness(t=3.38, p<.05), self-concept(t=5.63, p<.05), autonomy(t=3.15, p<.05), self-rating(t=3.53, p<.05), inner motive(t=3.76, p<.05), creativity(t=4.53, p<.05) and ability to solve problems(t=3.16, p<.05), and all the intergroup differences were statistically significant.