Korean J Child Stud. 2001; 22(4): 331-341.

Young Children`s Abilities to Differentiate Hypothesis from Evidence

초등학교 저학년 아동들의 증거로부터 가설을 분화하는 능력

이문남,주혜은

Moon Nam Lee,Hye Eun Chu

This study is to investigate whether young Korean children have understanding for testing hypothesis. Questions explored are; First, do children have notions of testing hypothesis? Or, do they just produce an effect? Second, choosing between conflicting hypotheses, can children distinguish between experiments that would produce conclusive and inconclusive evidence? For this study, 15 first grade and 15 second grade children in elementary school located in Kyunggi area near Seoul participated. Data collection and analysis were based on interviews with children for two weeks. Children were presented two conflicted hypotheses to decide which one is correct through conclusive evidence and inconclusive evidence in the interview. The results showed that children(1st: 93.3%, 2nd: 81.3%) of each grade can distinguish between hypothesis and evidence to do testing hypothesis, and distinguish between conclusive and inconclusive evidence. In conclusion, most young children have understanding of testing hypothesis based on their familiar experiences, so it was possible for them to differentiate hypothesis from evidence in certain situations.