THE EFFECTS OF CONDUCTING EXPERIMENT-BASED ACTIVITIES TO DEVELOP BASIC SCIENCE SKILLS IN EARLY-CHILDHOOD STUDENTS

Abstract

The purposes of this research were: 1) To compare the basic science skills of early childhood students before and after participating in experiment-based activities and 2) To study the satisfaction of early childhood students toward learning through experiment-based activities. The research is an experimental study. The population of this research consisted of 442 early childhood students from 9 schools in the Wisetwit Network Group, including: 1) Bannongkhla School, 2) Bannakhao School, 3) Banlangkhao School, 4) Watkhaowiset School, 5) Banjijik School, 6) Bankhaohon School, 7) Banthungyai School, 8) Bankhlongton School, and 9) Banthungyang School. The sample consisted of 14 first-year kindergarten students from Ban Nong Kla school, Wang Wiset district, Trang province, during the second semester of the 2024 academic year. The participants were selected using cluster sampling. The research instruments included an experiment-based science learning activity plan for early childhood students, a basic science skills test, and a satisfaction questionnaire regarding these activities. Statistics used for analysis included percentage, mean, standard deviation, and t-test dependent used for hypothesis tests. The research findings revealed that 1) The basic science skills of students after participating in experiment-based science learning activities were significantly higher than before the instruction at the .01 level of statistical significance and 2) Early childhood students demonstrated high satisfaction with experiment-based learning activities. ( = 2.62, S.D. = 0.80)