Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education (한국과학교육학회지)

The Korean Association for Science Education (한국과학교육학회)
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Test Environment Factors Influencing Word Association about Science Terminology in Students

과학용어에 대한 학생들의 단어 연상에 영향을 미치는 검사 환경 요인

  • Received : 2015.10.27
  • Accepted : 2015.12.22
  • Published : 2015.12.31
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Abstract

The list of words and the semantic structure that connects them have been important to the areas of psychology, psychoanalysis, linguistics, and education. Some researchers in constructivist perspectives of science education also have interests in the structure of science concepts expressed by science terminologies. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the test environment factors influencing the word association test as a method to identify students' semantic structures for science terminologies. We set up four variables that are possibly considered in recognizing a word as having scientific meaning. The four variables include: noticing whether stimulus words are science terminologies or not, presenting science terminologies and everyday words alternately, whether presider is science teacher or not, and whether students have learned the concepts or not. In comparing the test results of the experimental group and the control group, we have checked whether each variable influences the test result or not. Stimulus words included nine science terminologies containing both ordinary and scientific meanings, and subjects included 282 middle school students. The degree of recognizing science terminology as having scientific meaning was found to increase only when stimulus words were noticed as science terminologies. In the case of the remaining variables, there was no difference between the control group and the experimental group.

사람의 머릿속에 어떤 단어들이 저장되어 있으며, 이들이 어떤 구조로 연결되어 있는지에 대해 심리학, 정신분석학, 언어학, 교육학 등 다양한 분야에서 관심을 가지고 연구하고 있다. 과학 교육 분야에서는 구성주의적 관점에서 학생들의 머릿속에 과학용어로 표현되는 개념들이 어떻게 자리 잡고 있는지가 관심 대상 가운데 하나이다. 본 연구에서는 과학용어들에 대한 학생들의 머릿속 의미 구조를 알아보기 위한 하나의 방법인 단어연상검사를 실시함에 있어 검사 결과에 영향을 미치는 검사 환경 변인을 알아보았다. 학생들이 제시된 자극어를 과학적 상황으로 제한하도록 유도할 가능성이 있다고 여겨지는 변인을 4가지(자극어의 과학용어 여부 명시, 일상어와 섞어 제시, 검사자의 과학 교사 여부, 해당 개념의 학습 여부)로 정하고, 실험 집단과 통제 집단의 검사 결과 비교를 통해 이들 4가지 변인이 과학용어에 대한 단어연상검사 결과에 영향을 미치는지 확인해 보았다. 일상적 의미와 과학적 의미를 모두 포함하는 과학용어 9개를 정하고 중학교 학생 282명을 통제집단과 실험집단으로 나누어 단어연상검사를 실시하였다. 그 결과 검사지에 제시된 자극어들이 모두 과학용어임을 직접적으로 명시하는 경우에 학생들은 과학적 의미로 인식하는 비율이 높았으며, 나머지 변인에 대해서는 통제집단과 실험집단 사이에 차이가 없는 것으로 나타났다.

Keywords

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