This study set out to investigate the effects of three-dimensional formative activities using natural materials and clay on young children's creativity and spatial ability and to understand and utilize the educational value of clay for its usefulness ...
This study set out to investigate the effects of three-dimensional formative activities using natural materials and clay on young children's creativity and spatial ability and to understand and utilize the educational value of clay for its usefulness and educational applicability in the field of early childhood education. Thus it aimed to propose educational methods for three-dimensional formative activities using natural materials and clay to improve young children's creativity and spatial ability.
For those purposes, the study set the following research questions:
Research Question 1. What kind of impacts do three-dimensional formative activities using natural materials and clay have on young children's creativity?
Research Question 2. What kind of impacts do three-dimensional formative activities using natural materials and clay have on young children's spatial ability?
To test those research questions, the investigator administered a series of clay activities to 32 five-year-olds attending A Kindergarten located in Namyangju City, Gyeonggi Province after dividing them into the experimental and comparative group, each of which contained 16 children. The experiment was carried out over 16 sessions for six weeks from March 7 to April 20, 2011. The young children of the experimental group observed and explored natural materials they collected for themselves and engaged in three-dimensional formative activities, whereas those of the comparative group participated in activities provided by the teacher and her plan around clay and common formative materials usually found in a kindergarten.
The young children's creativity was measured with the "Figural Creativity Test for Young Children" developed by Jeon Gyeong-won (2000), and their spatial ability was measured with the "Spatial Ability Test for Young Children" developed by Hong Hye-gyeong (2001). Collected data were put to t-test for the pre- and post-test score differences between the two groups with the SPSS 12.0 program.
These findings are summarized as follows:
First, the three-dimensional formative activities using natural materials and clay turned out to have positive influences on the young children's creativity, improving it. Those activities were effective with fluency, originality, openness and sensitivity of the sub-elements of creativity with significant differences.
Second, the three-dimensional formative activities using natural materials and clay turned out to enhance the young children's spatial ability. Of the subareas of spatial ability, only locational perception in space did not show any significant difference, which suggests that those activities had no particular effects on it. However, there was significant improvement in eye-exercise coordination, form-background perception, spatial reasoning, visual memory, and recollecting, implying that those activities were effective in the subareas.
The findings indicate that three-dimensional formative activities using natural materials and clay can serve as effective activities for increasing young children's creativity and spatial ability. They also provide concrete grounds supporting the assertion that when young children explore and gather natural materials and clay first-hand and engage in three-dimensional formative activities, the educational value and effect of those materials will be maximized and can help young children enhance their creativity and spatial ability. Thus there is a need for the community of early childhood education to improve the educational environment of formative areas for formative activities with clay and apply it in conjunction with proper instructions from the teachers.