The Study of Children’s Gestaltung Performance in the Thematic Curriculum Approach

• Main Authors: Chih-ling Hsu, 許芷靈
• Other Authors: Huey-jiuan Lin
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2005
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/88971134117468956707

碩士 === 朝陽科技大學 === 幼兒保育系碩士班 === 93 === The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of thematic curriculum on children’s gestaltung performance. The researcher spent almost one year to relate children’s creative works with their learning experiences in thematic curriculum through the application of grounded theory. The research results were summarized as the following: 1、 The influence of teaching strategies on children’s gestaltung performance. 2、 Material application in children’s creative work. 3、 Analysis of children’s gestaltung performance. 4、 The influence of peer interactions on gestaltung performance. 5、The results of “Chinese Painter’s Test” and “Basic Shape & Creative Thinking Scale”. A brief summary is described as below: 1、 About teaching strategies, children always imitated what the teacher performed. And the sources of gestaltung performance most came from pictures in the books. Out-door teaching inspired children to continue gestaltung performance and the experience of object observation increased children’s gestaltung performance. Children were more willing to create and became more creative if the teacher provided more instruction during creating process. And sharing children’s work after creating activities could also improve children’s gestaltung performance. 2、 About material application in children’s creative works, children chose materials similar to the characteristic and texture of the object they were creating. The following factors might affect children’s choices: Children’s past experience, the experience of exploring environment, imagination of the shape, and the teacher’s introduction and guides. 3、 Children’s gestaltung performance during the research period was described as following: (1) Children used geometric figures as the element of picture. They used to adopt fixed specific pictures to represent the things and exaggerated the main point as depicting something. Although the things in the picture were independent but they still had specific space relations. Children had space concept but couldn’t depict a correct ratio. Their drawing characteristic included both preschematic stage and schementic stage. (2) Subjective emotional color was a popular feature. But an objective conceptual color was emerging gradually. They first performed in natural object, and then moved up to the familiar things in livelihood. (3) Children improved the quality of their work. And the creating process also helped children to construct concepts related to the theme that they were studying. (4) During gestaltung process, children were full of autonomy. They were very interested in gestaltung process, and were willing to try many kinds of creations 4、Peer interactions brought more creative thoughts for gestaltung performance. More competent children would lead and help the others, and children’s drawings were often influenced by their conversation content. Moreover, the quality and quantity of peer conversation were decided by the difficulty of the work they were in. 5、 The results of “Chinese Painter’s Test” and “Basic Shape & Creative Thinking Scale” showed: Through one-year research, children’s painting ability and creativity both significantly got improved. Moreover, the improvement during the first semester was more notable than the second one. In my opinion, with the child-centered concept, thematic curriculum approach provides plentiful opportunities for children to explore, express themselves, and interact with peers and adults. Teachers also provide safety, support, and guides. All of these would improve children’s gestaltung ability and encourage their creative performance.