Analysis of the Elementary School Participants' Readiness to Write on Scientific Subjects in Science Writing Contest

초등 분야 과학논술대회 참가자들의 과학 글쓰기 능력 분석

In order to investigate elementary school students' readiness to write on scientific subject, we analyzed the participants' draft in elementary student section [National Student Science Writing Contest] which is sponsored by a daily press. As a first step, we designed an assessment framework to analyze the students' writing. It is composed of three domains: scientific thinking, logical validity, creativeness. Each domain has three sub-domains. By using the framework, seven raters scored the students' inquiry reports. The findings reveal that the students needed the training for scientific writing. Especially they had great difficulty in the sub-domain of 'suggestion of rational alternative solution' in scientific thinking domain, the sub-domains of 'clearness' and 'coherence' in logical validity domain, and in the sub-domains of 'creative problem solving' and 'creative presentation' in creative domain.