The objective of the present study is to develop an early childhood geography education program based on information representation, which is focused on the activity of representing information obtained from all areas of geography education, and to te...
The objective of the present study is to develop an early childhood geography education program based on information representation, which is focused on the activity of representing information obtained from all areas of geography education, and to test the effects of the program. For the purpose, this study set research questions as follows.
〔Question 1〕 How is an early childhood geography education program based on information representation composed?
1-1. What are the objectives and goals of an early childhood geography education program based on information representation?
1-2. What are the contents of an early childhood geography education program based on information representation?
1-3. What are the teaching-learning methods of an early childhood geography education program based on information representation?
1-4. How is an early childhood geography education program based on information representation assessed?
〔Question 2〕 How are the effects of an early childhood geography education program based on information representation?
2-1. What effect does an early childhood geography education program based on information representation have on young children’s spatial ability?
2-2. What effect does an early childhood geography education program based on information representation have on young children’s map-reading ability.
2-3. What effect does an early childhood geography education program based on information representation have on young children’s information representation ability?
2-4. What effect does an early childhood geography education program based on information representation have on young children’s learning-related social skills?
With these research questions, this study was conducted through the procedure as follows.
In order to develop an early childhood geography education program based on information representation according to〔Question 1〕, we composed the contents and activities of geography education by defining the concepts and functions of geography and selecting themes for each area of geography through consultation with specialists, and tested the validity of the contents with 30 field teachers, reviewed the validity of the contents with 5 specialists in early childhood education, and examined the applicability of the contents related to life theme, and then selected final activities. Then, we selected the types of information representation, designed a teaching-learning model of information representation centered young children geography education program, and selected the program valuation method. Through this procedure, the structure of the program was established.
In order to test the effects of an early childhood geography education program based on information representation according to 〔Question 2〕, we examined the effects of the program on young children’s spatial ability, map-reading ability, information representation ability and learning-related social skills. The subjects of this study were 108 five-year-old children (experimental group: 54, control group: 54) at two kindergartens in J Metropolitan City, and the program was applied for 10 weeks from April 21 to June 28, 2008. For the experimental group, the activities of the program were executed through a total of 22 sessions and 2~3 sessions per week. For the control group, activities related to the same subjects were executed according to the ordinary curriculum. The effects of the program were tested using Hong Hye-gyeong’s (2001) spatial ability test, the present researcher’s map-reading ability test and information representation ability test, and Gwak A-jeong’s (2006) learning-related social skill (K-LRSS) test. We selected 16 questions from the map-reading ability test and performed factor analysis, and derived four sub-factors (direction reading, distance reading, sign reading, and view reading). The correlations between the sub-factors and the test tools were .504~.660, so all of them were statistically significant. Concurrent validity was r=.494, and item internal consistency Cronbach α was .713 as a whole, and test-retest reliability was r=.827 as a whole showing very strong association. The tool for analyzing information representation ability was prepared by extracting assessment elements of maps, graphs and Venn diagram through reviewing literature and previous research, designing assessment criteria for ability in each element, which was divided into high, middle and low, and testing the validity of the contents with 5 specialists in early childhood education.
Collected data were processed using SPSS WIN 12.0. Spatial ability, map-reading ability, and learning-related social skill were analyzed through independent samples t-test for the mean scores of pretest and posttest in each group, and information representation ability was analyzed using the frequencies and percentages of the results of representation in the early, middle and late periods according to assessment criteria.
The results of this study are summarized as follows.
First, for the composition of the early childhood geography education program based on information representation according to 〔Question 1〕, we set 6 goals according to the objectives of early childhood geography education, which are spatial ability, map-reading ability, information representation ability, learning-related social skill, interest in geographical inquiry activities, and interest in surrounding environment. The 6 basic concepts and functions of geography (position-direction, place-area, change-movement, human, nature-environment, and mapping) were interconnected with the 5 themes of geography education (climate, topography, industrial distribution, transportation-communication, and village) and formed 30 content elements of geography education, and then activities were designed and 22 of them were selected finally. The teaching-learning of the program was composed of 5 stages: finding problems, exploring, representing, interpreting, and assessing. In addition, map, graph and Venn diagram were selected as the types of information representation. The assessment of the program was made during the classes based on knowledge, skill and attitude for young children, and based on teaching activities for teachers.
Second, in the pretest of young children’s spatial ability, map reading ability, and learning-related social skill for testing the effects of the early childhood geography education program based on information representation according to 〔Question 2〕 , no statistically significant difference was observed between the experimental group and the control group, but in the posttest, the experimental group was statistically significantly higher than the control group. In addition, when changes in the experimental group’s information representation ability were analyzed, abilities to represent using map, graph and Venn diagram were improved significantly through the proceeding of the program from the early period to the middle period and the late period. Accordingly, the information representation centered early childhood geography education program developed in this study had a positive effect on young children’s improvement in spatial ability, map-reading ability, information representation ability, and learning-related social skill.
From the results of this study as presented above, it is concluded that the early childhood geography education program based on information representation developed in this study is effective in improving five-year-old children’s spatial ability, map-reading ability, information representation ability, and learning-related social skill.