탐구과정을 활용한 식물 기르기 활동이 유아의 과학적 탐구능력 및 정서지능에 미치는 효과

Abstract

This study tries to examine what effects raising-plant activities using an inquiry process has on young children’s scientific inquiry skills and emotional intelligence.

For this purpose, the following research questions have been selected. 1. What are the effects of plant culture using an inquiry process on young children’s scientific inquiry skills? 2. What are the effects of plant culture using an inquiry process on young children’s emotional intelligence?

This study was conducted on 40 five year old subjects from N and C Daycare Centers in G Metropolitan City with 20 children from each daycare center. Of the 22 five year old members in experimental group, 20 were included as cases in the experimental group with 2 of them excluded due to their developmental retardation. Experimental treatments and tests were carried out under the same conditions for all the members in consideration of the ethical side of the study. The evaluative scale of scientific inquiry skills that was Lee’s(2000) modified version of Martin’s(1997) scientific inquiry skills was used as a research tool. The test tool that was Lee’s(1997) modified and adapted version of what Mayer and Salovey (1996) had devised was used as an emotional intelligence test tool. Data collected from the experimental and control groups were subject to t-test and covariate analysis with SPSS 17.0. The results of the study are as follows. First, children in the experimental group who engaged in planting activities using an inquiry process turned out to have got higher scientific inquiry skill scores than those in the control group. As for sub-items, the children in the experimental group had very high scores in all sub-items including predicting, observing, classifying, measuring, and discussing. Second, children in the experimental group who engaged in planting activities using an inquiry process turned out to have got higher emotional intelligence scores than their counterparts in control group. As for sub-items, children in the experimental group had higher scores than children in control group in all the sub-items including self-recognition and expression, self-control, recognition of others, and control of others. As for variables, children in experimental group who engaged in planting activities using an inquiry process turned out to have got an average score of 15.40 in scientific inquiry skills, a score higher than 13.00, average score of their counterparts in control group. The children in experimental group who engaged in planting activities using an inquiry process turned out to have got a total score of 125.60, also a score higher than score that was achieved by their counterparts, 120.50. As such, it is expected that planting activities using an inquiry process by incorporating an inquiry process and plant culture will have great educational significance for young children. Thus, planting activities using an inquiry process can be proposed as an effective teaching-learning method for current scenes of early childhood education.