An Action Research On Developing The Aesthetic Imagination Of Older Children Through Picture Book Drama Educational Activities

Aesthetic imagination is an important part of young children’s aesthetic ability,and drama education in kindergartens is an important way to implement young children’s aesthetic education.Among the various forms of art activities carried out in kindergartens,picture book drama education activities use picture book stories as the content carrier of drama education for preschool children.Combining picture books and drama not only effectively promotes the development of young children’s language skills,but also helps cultivate young children’s drama literacy,unleash their artistic potential and stimulate their desire to perform.Early childhood has begun to possess aesthetic preferences and vague aesthetic standards,as well as simple aesthetic appreciation activities.Aesthetic education for young children not only has a direct impact on their early aesthetic mental structure and aesthetic ability,but also plays an important role in shaping their lifelong aesthetic attitudes and interests as well as the development of a healthy personality.This study attempts to apply the educational activity of picture book drama to the cultivation of young children’s aesthetic imagination and to investigate whether the educational activity of picture book drama can effectively cultivate the aesthetic imagination of older children.This study adopts an action research approach.Based on the analysis of the current situation of children’s aesthetic imagination level in each dimension and the investigation of the curriculum construction of kindergartens’ educational activities of picture book drama,we designed a targeted educational activity of picture book drama to improve children’s aesthetic imagination ability,and through three rounds of picture book drama educational activities,we recorded the specific performance of children’s aesthetic imagination in the activity,analyzed the implementation process of the activity and the performance of children in the activity.We analyzed the implementation process and the children’s performance in the activities,analyzed the effects of the activities using a scale,and determined the focus of the next round of action research based on the reflections of the action research and made improvements.The study used the Aesthetic Imagination Scale to rate the aesthetic imagination of 38 kindergarten children before and after the educational activity of picture book drama in kindergarten W of C city as the basic data to reflect the effect of the educational activity.A synthesis and analysis of the data led to the following conclusions.First,picture-book drama educational activities can effectively cultivate older children’s aesthetic imagination,i.e.,after the implementation of picture-book drama educational activities,children have significant development in the diversity,emotionality and fullness of aesthetic imagination.Second,improving the quality of the educational activities carried out in picture book drama can prompt children to show more aesthetic imagination.Third,children’s accumulation of reading and drama experience is a necessary foundation for developing young children’s aesthetic imagination,and the drama literacy of the organizers of picture book drama activities is an important factor influencing young children’s aesthetic imagination.Fourth,the overall aesthetic imagination of the older children improved after the implementation of the picture book drama educational activities,but there were differences in each dimension,as follows: after the implementation of the picture book drama educational activities,the development levels of diversity and emotionality of the children’s aesthetic imagination were significantly higher than those before the implementation of the activities,p=0.00<0.05;after the implementation of the picture book drama educational activities,the development levels of fulness of the children’s aesthetic imagination were significantly higher than those before the implementation of the activities After the implementation of the educational activity of picture book drama,the level of development of children’s aesthetic imagination was significantly higher than that before the implementation of the activity,p=0.04<0.05;while the effect of the educational activity of picture book drama on the development of children’s aesthetic imagination originality at the age of5-6 was not significant,p=0.614>0.05.Based on the results of the study,the following suggestions are made: first,focus on the participation of the whole class and enhance the activity experience of the children watching the play;second,improve their own aesthetic qualities of drama and pay attention to the reflection on the educational activities of the picture book play;third,create a relaxed educational atmosphere and make the environment "alive";fourth,enrich the organization of the educational activities of the picture book play to cultivate the aesthetic imagination of the children.