Encouraging students to do science as real scientist is one of the most important objectives of science education. In this study, by reflecting the studies on the structural and functional features of the human brain related to affection, behavior, an ...
Encouraging students to do science as real scientist is one of the most important objectives of science education. In this study, by reflecting the studies on the structural and functional features of the human brain related to affection, behavior, and cognition of scientific activities, and the evolutionary attributes embedded in science itself and in individual scientists’ scientific activities, a brain-based evolutionary model for dong science was developed. The model consists of three domains and three steps. The three domains are the Affective(A), Behavioral(B), and Cognitive(C) domains. Each domain consists of three steps: Diversifying(D), Executing(E) and Furthering(F). This ABC-DEF model is a brain-based one, because it incorporates the affective domain based on the limbic system of the human brain involving emotional aspects, the behavioral domain associated with the sensorimotor areas involving behavioral activities, and the cognitive domain based on the prefrontal lobes involving doing science. This model is evolutionary, because it proceeds from the diversifying step to generate variants at each domain to the executing step to select and test the useful or valuable items among the variants, and then to the furthering step to apply or extend the selected items.
This study investigated the elementary students’ activities in the affective domain of brain-based evolutionary science teaching and learning approach composed of three stages of diversifying, estimating-evaluating-selecting, and furthering about ‘Living Organisms and Environment’ topic. For this study, fifth grader participated, and they performed individually the affective domain activities of brain�based evolutionary approach about the learning topic. The students diversified their interests about main topic of ‘Living Organisms and Environment’, estimated and evaluated their interest subjects and selected the most appropriate one. And then they furthered their selected interests. The activity diaries constructed by the students, observations by the researcher, and interviews with the students were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively.
This study included investigating the feasibility of brain-based evolutionary approach in the elementary school students' activities, so that the science classroom could go beyond the cookbook style activities. For this, fifth graders were participate in the activities designed to suggest various methods to find out the functions fo plant roots, select the most appropriate one and then extend the selected one, which was corresponding to the behavioral domain of the brain-based evolutionary approach.
This study was also to analyze the effects of elementary science instruction applying a brain-based evolutionary approach using Rapid-cycling Brassica rapa on the interests of elementary school students. Study analyzed the cognitive domain focused on the topic of 'World of Plants' by ABC-DEF. It was shown that most students could perform the ABC-DEF activities. Findings generally supported the possibility and values of the model. Based on these findings, implications for improving students’ ability to perform authentic science were discussed.
Two core components of creativity of originality and usefulness are inherent in each step. So, one of current studies analyzed the scientific creativity with the originality and usefulness components in cognitive domain, which is composed of diversifying the meanings inherent from the results of observations or experiments (C-D), evaluating the meanings (C-E), and furthering (C-F) in learning of ‘World of Plants’ unit which includes two topics of ‘Plants on Land’ and ‘Plants in Water and Special Environment’.