학생들의 실험실 안전 기호에 대한 이해 정도

Abstract

All students can and should learn science by conducting laboratory activities and investigations. Lab safety is of great concern for students and teachers. Recent science textbooks are using some science lab safety signs and symbols for educating students about lab safety. However, the signs and symbols are different from one textbook to another. It could potentially confuse students when they see signs and symbols they are not familiar with. The purpose of this study was to analyze the lab safety signs shown in existing science textbooks, examine the level of students' understanding of the meaning of standardize lab safety signs and look closely into whether any improvements could be made. After analyzing the science textbooks currently used at middle schools, the following 10 cases were categorized: 1) the case that the meaning of lab safety signs was not accurate; 2) the case that the title of signs did not correspond to their descriptions; 3) existence of ambiguity due to students' unfamiliarity to the images of lab safety signs; 4) suggestion of too many cautions for a single sign; 5) descriptions not related to the signs; 6) inclusion of ambiguous interpretations or possibilities of misconceptions; 7) lack of generalization in lab safety signs; 8) disagreement in safety signs between textbooks; 9) mixed applications with socially used signs; and 10) the case that was not associated with our emotion. The study selected 126 1st-grade high school students and conducted a survey on the standardized lab safety signs. The results showed that the students responded that most of the signs were clearer and more familiar to them than the existing signs. As for 'Prohibition' and 'Other', most of the students said that the signs were easy to understand, whereas as for ‘Caution’, they found it difficult since it was unfamiliar to them or too detailed. In terms of ‘Instructions’, they had a higher level of understanding of the signs that they frequently encountered in reality, but they had a lower understanding of the newly developed signs. In understanding the signs, they had a higher understanding of the signs in case that they were used frequently in their daily lives and were depicted as familiar images, whereas they had trouble understanding the meaning of the signs that they found unfamiliar or that they did not encounter frequently during the lab time. If the importance and the education of the lab safety signs were conducted steadily, it was expected that students would become more familiarized to the signs and their consciousness of safety would be enhanced.