The Effects of Creative Hands-on Activities using Effective Microorganisms on Elementary School Students' Environmental Literacy

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop the creative hands-on activities using EM (effective microorganisms) that can enhance the environmental literacy of learners, and to examine the effect of its application. The program was composed of 10 sessions, including biological knowledge and ecosystem status of microorganisms, practical activities that stimulate the environmental behavior and emotion of elementary school students, and career design related to their aptitude and occupation in future. This program can also be connected to the domains of creative hands-on activities, that is, career activities, club activities, self-regulated activities and voluntary service activities. In this study, two classes of 3th grades of elementary school in Seoul were selected and divided into two groups. The experimental group to undergo the program of creative hands-on activities using EM showed higher environmental literacy than the control group. In the concrete, it is proven that this program contributed to the improvement of learners' environmental emotion, skill, and behavior. When interviewed with experimental group, we found that sustained EM hands-on activities were conducted in collaboration with their families, and they became more aware of the utilities of EM and could participate in the activities more interestingly. In conclusion, the creative hands-on activities program was very effective and helped elementary students to change their environmental literacy in positive ways.

The Effect of Science Teaching and Learning Methods from the Perspectives of the Science-Related Attitude

“…과학 학습에 대한 태도를 유 의하게 향상시킨 것은 전통 문화재 탐방 프로그램 (Jo & Kim, 2001), 과학관 교육 프로그램 (Lee et al, 2010a) 등이 있었으며, 특히 저소득 초등학생을 대 상으로 한 과학 체험 교실 및 과학 실험 프로그램 (Lee et al, 2010b)은 참여 학생의 자 아 존중감과 자기 유능감을 유의하게 향상시켰다. 또한 환경 관련 체험 활동은 환경 소양 및 정서를 유의미하게 향상시켰다 (Ju et al, 2013;Lyu & Shin, 2014;Hwang & Park, 2014). 야외 학습의 효과를 본 연구는 많지 않았지만, 모두 과학적 태도 함양에 효 과적이었다.…”