All the phenomena in our society are entwined with one another in a complicated way in association with humans, and studies or systems created by humans are also associated with multiple attributes in a complex manner. Moreover, in our society today, the transition to a knowledge-based society is being accelerated, and different studies such as those in the fields of humanities and sciences are taking the world into a whole new dimension in convergence.
In the light of these developments, this study aimed to design a literature-centered convergence education and implement it for a class of students to examine their responses.
Prior to the research, Chapter II "Theoretical Background" examined the integrated education system that had emerged before the term "convergence education" was coined, and produced a literature-centered L-STEAM model based on the theories of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) education, which are types of convergent education focused on science and technology.
Chapter III designed a literature-centered convergence education program, forming a five-session class with a convergence of literature, engineering, and arts using 『Sangdo』. The havruta teaching method was adopted so that the class is focused on student activities rather than on lectures led by the teacher. The first session used the external story of 『Sangdo』 for students to think about their dreams in comparison to the dream of Ki-seop Kim, the chairman of a conglomerate. Session 2 enabled students to obtain some knowledge about cars so that they can model after Kim's passion for cars, based on his dream of producing cars with the spiritual essence of Koreans. This session also adopted the havruta teaching method of peer teaching. Session 3 applied the havruta method of constructing questions, covering the last part of the internal story using a story by Sang-ok Im, who is admired by Kim, and talking about Im returning all his wealth back to the society after having succeeded in his business.
Sessions 4 and 5 enabled students to create visual user-created contents (UCC) about the things they felt, with the theme "Dreams and Sharing" covered in Sessions 1-3.
Chapter IV carried out the five-session class for 26 students of ○○ high school located in Gumi and conducted a survey on their awareness and satisfaction in convergence education. The result of the analysis showed that most students generally had no experience in convergent education, and most of them had fun in their first experience of such education and wanted to continue learning in this form of education.
Students responded that convergence education differs from conventional education in that it is associated with multiple subjects, such as literature, engineering, and art, and that it is also focused on students instead of being led by the teacher.
As for the difficulties they faced in a literature-centered convergence education, students responded that their biggest difficulty was the lack of time since it consisted of student-centered activities. However, in general, they responded that they had fun discussing with their peers, and learned how to listen attentively and be considerate of others.
They said they grew more interested in literature through the literature-centered convergence education, and this also provided a chance for students to think anew about the association with other subjects. The havruta method was also preferred more by the students since it is a student-centered and active learning method, instead of a passive method that is predominantly lecture-based. Most students responded that literature-centered convergence education is helpful for developing convergent thinking. Therefore, the results imply that there should be more classes with the convergence of multiple subjects to induce students to think in more diverse ways.