2019 Volume 60 Issue 2 Pages 425-432
A practical study based on the idea of the hermeneutic circle was carried out in a fourth-grade elementary class. The teaching content was the “Water Cycle in Nature” using the concepts of water vapor, evaporation and condensation. The class’s textbook, which shows the schematic presentation of the “Water Cycle in Nature” at the opening of the learning unit, was used. As the textbook shows the theoretical framework of the water cycle, the children could easily find their learning problem, construct their hypothesis as the “existence of water vapor in the air”, and understand the meaning of the methods and operations of the experiments. The children could also interpret the evidence resulting from the experiments scientifically, as the water evaporation and vapor condensation in the context of the theoretical framework shown in the textbook. The present writers consider that the children could effectively take a proactive approach to their learning and successfully acquire a solid understanding of the target learning outcomes, and thus “HUKAI MANABI”, or “deep-learning” was achieved.
