ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

This study aims to propose a modular educational tool design method that supports young children in understanding plants as structural systems rather than as fixed visual forms within floral design education. Young children's plant learning is closely related to experiences of decomposing and recombining observable whole forms, which helps them understand the relationship between parts and wholes. Based on this perspective, the study focused on inflorescence structures, which are perceived as a single flower but internally consist of multiple florets arranged in a structural order. Among them, the sunflower, a representative example of a capitulum inflorescence with clear structural characteristics, was selected as the learning medium. The research target was set as children aged 4–5, a developmental stage in which structural relationships can be recognized through repeated assembly and disassembly activities. Based on theoretical considerations of inflorescence structure and plant structural formation, the morphological components of the sunflower capitulum were decomposed and reorganized into a modular system consisting of soil, stem, leaf, receptacle, ray florets, disc florets, and seeds. The modules were designed to reflect the growth sequence of the plant so that structural relationships become visible during the assembly process. After the first structural development and 3D modeling, the module structure was simplified in the second prototype design stage to reduce assembly burden while clarifying structural perception. The ray floret modules were designed in three angular variations to allow learners to recognize the radial arrangement characteristic of capitulum inflorescences through the assembly process. Neodymium magnets were applied to the modules to enable stable connections and repeated manipulation. Colors were adjusted based on the actual plant to distinguish structural stages. This study is meaningful in that it redefines the inflorescence as a core unit of structural learning rather than merely an external floral element and presents a design process for modular educational tools centered on inflorescence structure. It can serve as a design-based case in floral design education that links formative activities with structural learning. However, as a design-based study, this research does not include classroom application or verification of learning effects, and it is limited to a single structural case focusing on the sunflower capitulum, suggesting the need for further research expansion.

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