An Analysis of Laboratory Instructions in Elementary School Science

초등학교 과학 실험 수업 분석

The purpose of this study was to analyze laboratory instructions used in elementary school science lessons by utilizing an analysis instrument for science laboratory instruction(AISLI). This analysis instrument was comprised of 3 elements; the aim of the laboratory activity, the interaction generated, and the inquiry process. There were also a total of 20 sub-categories and its validity was identified at 0.89 by four science educators. For the purposes of this study, 90 laboratory instructions were video-recorded, then transcribed. Laboratory instructions were analyzed by three analyst teams, and the inter-rater reliability within teams was checked through Pearson correlation, with a score of 0.91. The results of this study were as follows: the two principle aims of laboratory activity, namely, to acquire declarative knowledge and to increase attitudes toward science, were observed to be in evidence in 98.9% and 92.2% in laboratory instructions, and the levels of categories of the interaction and inquiry processes were situated at level-1. The implications of these results are that laboratory instructions currently in use do not place sufficient demands upon students' scientific thinking and are not at all conducive to student-centered activities. Therefore in order to remedy this situation, the usefulness of current science laboratory instructions need to be re-evaluated.