가을어린이집 만 2세 영아반 실외놀이의 효율적 운영을 위한 실행연구

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Action Research on Better Outdoor Play Plan for 2-year-olds at Gaeul Daycare Center

Song Sun Yeo Early Childhood Education Graduate School of Education Sungshin Women's University

The aim of this action research is to analyze problems in outdoor play for a class of two-year-olds at a daycare center, implement measures for improvement, observe the resulting changes exhibited by the children, and devise an outdoor play plan optimized for them. The questions below are for these research goals.

First, what were the procedures for improving the outdoor play plan for the class at Gaeul Daycare Center? Second, what were the changes seen in the children as they performed the procedures for improvement?

Using the Action Research Spiral/Cycle by Kemmis and McTaggart (1998), this action research was conducted to propose solutions for better outdoor play and its implementation from September 4, 2017 to December 30, 2017. The data were primarily compiled from participatory observation documents, journal writing, face-to-face interviews, video footage, and daily teaching plans. The data were repeatedly read and analyzed for categorization by research question. The findings were:

Outdoor play for the 2-year-olds was observed in the interest of operating class in a better and more efficient manner. Teaching plans by year, month, week, and day were also reviewed and interviews conducted with the teachers to find out problems. The analysis found that the students did not actively participate in outdoor play because their teachers failed to provide a curiosity-provoking explanation and properly prepare for class. For their part, the teachers planned and supervised outdoor play out of a sense of obligation. The first improvement process was conducted to solve these problems and devise more efficient plans for outdoor play.

First, the activity plan was reorganized to better relate to indoor activities and allow the students to swiftly switch between indoor and outdoor activities. To get them more exposed to a variety of types of play and exploration, the outdoor play plan was revised to utilize more space and further refined.

After completion of the first round, the evaluation showed that the refined plan for outdoor play in wider spaces along with indoor activities had a positive impact in boosting the students’ outdoor play. Some of the children, however, insisted on indoor play only and this thus raised the need for improvement. Feedback from the first round was incorporated into the second for improvement in which indoor and outdoor play were combined in turn for an activity. Toys for outdoor play were prepared for indoor activities and a variety of methods highlighted the benefits and fun of outdoor play.

Second, observation of changes in the children for more efficient outdoor play found that the students looked at things and plants they had seen during outdoor play and created their own methods of using activity plans instead of relying on teacher instructions. As the rounds of this study progressed, the students showed growing attention to and interest in outdoor play and participated in it more actively. They exhibited interest in a new outdoor activity, showed curiosity in subsequent activities, and actively led the latter. Those who stuck to interactions with their teachers began to be drawn to playing with their peers. Their classmates grew interested in each other and enthusiastically joined outdoor play. They listened to what their peers told them and sometimes reacted to it, suggesting a new activity to play together with.