국립과천과학관의 생물 전시물 관람에서 초등학생들의 안구운동 분석

The purpose of this study is to analyze the eye movements when elementary students watch biological exhibits at the science museum. This study was conducted in the biology section of ‘Basic Science Hall’ in Gwacheon National Science Museum. The ten elementary students participated in this study wearing eye tracking glasses (ETG). To ensure the validity of the study, only 4 students were selected as the final analysis targets. After every student had enough time to get used to ETG, each student walked around the science museum freely and enjoyed the exhibits without any regulations. All the eye movements and utterances made during the observation were recorded. All the following interviews were also recorded. The results of this study are as follows. First, the students tended to watch the biological exhibits according to their individual characteristics rather than the characteristics of the exhibits. The types of exhibits they selected and the time they spent for watching exhibits were mostly influenced by the individual’s interest and background. Second, despite the different characteristics of the students, there were exhibits commonly visited. Most students watched those attractive exhibits over the average time. These exhibits were found to be influenced by the exhibition elements and students’ routes in the museum. Third, students commonly watched some specific elements of exhibits according to the kind of display element, difficulty of contents, position and appearance. On the other hand, there were differences in eye movements in exhibits due to individual characteristics or preferences. Fourth, the interest in exhibits is related to the degree of understanding, rather than the time the student spent for the exhibits. Besides, the degree of understanding exhibits was influenced by the text explanations of the biological exhibits and the prior knowledge that students have.