A Study on a Science Laboratory Model for Elementary School

국민학교(國民學校) 과학실험실(料學實驗室) 모형(模型)의 연구개발(硏究開發)

The purpose of this study is to develop a practical and ideal model of science laboratory enrolled 48-60 students by studying optimal facilities such as laboratory tables and chairs proper to elementary school settings. The science laboratory model was figured out in terms of the following six procedures; (1) Current status as well as problems of science laboratory and its facilities was identified by means of the questionnaires conducted to 201 elementary schools, using stratified cluster sampling tehnique, under the consideration of the school size and the regional characteristics across the country. (2) Collected were the anthropometric data with respect to sitting height, popliteal height, buttock popliteal length, elbow rest height, and back width from the 747 students, 4th-6th grade, in Seoul area. (3) It was measured the work apace necessary for individual student to perform his experiment. (4) Using the data of the process (2), we determined the optimal sizes of laboratory tables and chairs fitted for Korean elementary school students. (5) The optimal area of science laboratory for 48-60 students is determined in terms of the data obtained in (3) for individual work space in addition to the appropriate table size figured out by (4). (6) A practical and ideal model for a science laboratory in elementary school was designed according to the above procedures. For the optimal model of science laboratory, the results of this study can be summarized as follows: The sizes of chair and table are categorized into three groups such as small, medium, and large depending on students' physical outfit. The small size base on the 12.5th percentile point of students' sitting height is used for students of the 0-25th percentile ranks. The medium size base on the 50th percentile point of students' sitting height is used for students of the 26-75th percentile ranks. The large size base on the 87.5th percentile point of students' sitting height is used for students of the 76-100th percentile ranks. (1) Sizes of chairs: The small size is 28cm in width and 33cm in height. The medium size is 31cm in width and 36cm in height. The large size is 35cm in width and 38cm in height. (2) Sizes of laboratory tables: The small size is 120cm in length, 86cm in width, and 60cm in height. The large size is 120cm in length, 86cm in width, and 60cm in height. The large size is 120cm in length, 86cm in width, and 65cm in height. (3) Size of science laboratory: The optimal science laboratory for 48-60 elementary school students, which can install the 12 laboratory tables, is 12m in length and 10m in width.