The 2015 Revised Science Curriculum, which is the current curriculum in Korea, focuses on enhancing students' scientific inquiry skills and emphasizes participatory learning where students discover and learn on their own. As part of the constructivist...
The 2015 Revised Science Curriculum, which is the current curriculum in Korea, focuses on enhancing students' scientific inquiry skills and emphasizes participatory learning where students discover and learn on their own. As part of the constructivist educational approach, experiential learning is introduced, allowing students to have diverse experiences through direct interaction with the environment. Particularly in science education, experiential learning using science museums is significant, as it provides opportunities for high-level science education with tangible objects or models that are difficult to encounter within the school's constraints.
However, despite discussions on the importance of experiential learning and positive perceptions of using science museums in teaching, experiential activities are not actively conducted in schools due to the lack of teachers' assistance in pre-and post-programming, as well as insufficient materials and information. In this sense, the development of science museum experiential learning programs that are practically linked to school science curricula is crucial. In this study, we analyzed the frequency of science practices in textbook inquiry activities related to the 'Light and Waves' unit in the 2015 Revised Science Curriculum and the related exhibits in the Gwacheon National Science Museum. Based on this analysis, we developed and provided a science-practice-based experiential learning pre-and post-program.
The selected 'Light and Waves' unit for first-year of middle school students often involves incomplete experiences through sensory organs before learning the unit. At this point, offering inquiry activities where students can experiment and experience directly is considered effective in inducing cognitive conflicts, which is effective in conceptual change. Therefore, selecting this unit for experiential learning operation is appropriate. In this context, the Gwacheon National Science Museum possesses numerous exhibits related to the 'Light and Waves' unit and supplementary materials available on its website, making it a valuable
educational resource.
The results of analysis revealed that the textbook inquiry activities included science practices 2 'Plan and conduct investigations' and science practices 3 'Analyzing and interpreting data' in all inquiry activities. However, there were no inquiries that included science practices 1 'Asking questions and defining problems' and science practices 8 'Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.' Similarly, the exhibits at the Gwacheon National Science Museum related to the 'Light and Waves' unit included science practices 2 'Plan and conduct investigations' in all programs but lacked exhibits that included science practices 1 'Asking questions and defining problems,' science practices 6 'Discussing based on evidence,' and science practices 8 'Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.'
Therefore, in this study, in the three sessions of experiential learning, which are pre-experience, experience, and post-experience, we used activity sheets to emphasize science practices 1 'Asking questions and defining problems' and science practices 8 'Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information,' which were not included in the analysis results, to complement them and allow students to experience a variety of science practices evenly. In the pre-experience session, before visiting the Gwacheon National Science Museum, students briefly learned about the scientific concepts of the unit in the classroom, designed their own inquiries, and created questions to induce motivation and supplement science practices 1. Additionally, we conducted an online pre-survey about the Gwacheon National Science Museum to enhance the effectiveness of experiential learning. In the experience session, we designed activities for students to actively participate by finding answers to their questions during the activity. Group activities were conducted to ensure that definitional aspects of education could also be achieved in experiential learning. After the activity, students freely shared and communicated what they had learned with the whole class, allowing them to experience science practices 8. Through these activities, we expect that science-practice-based experiential learning using the Gwacheon National Science Museum will be operated in-depth, leading to positive educational effects.