The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between pre-service elementary teacher's prior knowledge and processes of observations and hypotheses generation via analysis of descriptive fault patterns during observation, problem generation and hypotheses generation processes. For the purpose of this study, thirty-four undergraduate students were participated and descriptions of participants' responds were analyzed. As the result, four patterns of descriptive fault on the process of generating hypothesis were classified; 1) descriptive fault from the causalities, 2) descriptive fault from repetition of observational facts, 3) descriptive fault from the priority of prior knowledge, and 4) descriptive fault from negation of the observational facts. From the result, the researcher was able to explore the faults caused by pre-service elementary students' prior knowledge through the observational descriptive analysis with hypothetical descriptive analysis.

Critical Experiments (CE) in science classrooms mean, tentatively, critical situations as comparable to anomalous cases in scientific revolutions where the results of science experiments in schools are unclear, differ from the theory, or students misunderstand the purpose of the experiments. The purpose of this research is to identify what CE occurred during science classes and to investigate how elementary teachers handled them. To analyze how teachers recognized and handled CE, we selected nine typical CE from the $7^{th}$ Korean science curriculum. 125 teachers were selected from 8 districts' elementary schools in a local city. A questionnaire with photos of the nine CE above-mentioned was distributed to these teachers. The focus in this research was the way that each teacher handled the CE. We discovered that there were three basic ways in which teachers handled CE. When CE occurred, 51% of elementary teachers explained the correct result of the experiment (what should have happened) to the students while 40.7% of the teachers repeated to get the correct results. The focuses of handling CE varied. 57 % of the teachers focused on the 'materials' while 30% of the teachers focused on the 'theory'. The other focus was 'thinking'. Only 7.6% of the teachers answered that they gave students a chance to think about the reasons why the CE happened. By analyzing our survey results, we could determine what each teacher did as a follow up to the CE and their focus and reasoning for handling the CE this way. When the CE happened in the science class, few handled the CE with the point of view about purpose of doing experiment. As a result, students could not gain educational experience from the CE. If we use CE as a new method to teach science, it will be a good subject incorporating the nature of science in science education.

In this study, we investigated the elementary school students' perceptions toward scientific and/or technological professions in the views of accuracy, complexity, and diversity, and compared them by the students' grades and their science-related career aspiration levels. We also studied the relationships among the students' perceptions toward scientific and/or technological professions and their cognitive (science achievement), affective (enjoyment of science lessons, attitude to scientific inquiry, self-efficacy), and behavioral (participation in science-related activity) characteristics. The subjects were 369 students of 4th and 6th grades at three elementary schools in Seoul. The results revealed that the students were relatively well aware of what works and professions in science and/or technology were, but they did not have good understanding of them in the views of complexity and diversity. The 6th graders had better perceptions toward science and/or technological professions than 4th graders, although they showed the lower scores of attitude to scientific inquiry. Moreover, the higher science-related career aspirations were, the higher scores in all tests of the perceptions and the personal characteristics were. The students' perceptions toward scientific and/or technological professions were found to have relationships with their cognitive, affective, and behavioral characteristics. The multiple regression analysis of the personal characteristics on the perceptions toward scientific and/or technological professions indicated that science-related activity, science achievement, and self-efficacy were significant predictors. Educational implications are discussed.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of using digital science textbook on the scientific problem solving of elementary school students. For this research, an instrument to measure student's problem-solving skills was developed. The pretest and posttest scores of one hundred and six 5th grade students' problem-solving skills were analyzed and also the responses of three students who were selected by their levels in the problem-solving science digital textbook class were qualitatively analyzed. The results of this study were as follows; the scores of problem solving skills of science digital textbook groups were higher than that of traditional paper textbook group(p<.05). In the qualitative analysis of the students' reponses in a digital textbook class according to their achievement level, low-achievers' problem-solving skills were much more improved than high- and mid-achievers' skills. In conclusion, science digital textbook has a potential to improve students' scientific problem solving skills, and this possibility will be much higher when science digital textbook is used with teachers' intended instructional goals and strategies like problem-solving lessons.

The purpose of this study was to survey primary students' perception of the global and local environmental issues. The subjects were 853 fifth primary students in Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, Anyang, Gimpo and Cheongju. The results were as follows: First, the perception level of the global environmental issues were global warming (M=3.99), drinking-water pollution (M=3.92), acid rain (M=3.77), yellow dust (M=3.66), ozone depletion (M=3.57), deforestation in tropical areas (M=3.52), desertification (M=3.36), biodiversity (M=3.40) and their perception level of local environmental issues were waste disposal (M=3.87), air pollution (M=3.74), bad smell (M=3.70), noise (M=3.61), river pollution (M=3.57), soil pollution (M=3.44). Second, it was shown that the metropolitan students' perception levels of environmental issues were higher than the non-metropolitan students'. There wasn't a significant difference in the perception levels of two scale environmental issues and characteristics for sex (p>.05). Third, the result of analyzing on the effects between characteristics was that the factors like 'environmental interest' and 'impact on personal life' had a strong influence on the 'behavior will' to solve the global environmental issues, and 'environmental interest' and 'personal knowledge' had a strong influence on the 'behavior will' to solve the local environmental issues. Fourth, the result of analyzing on the characteristics according to the types of the environmental issues showed that 'personal knowledge', 'environmental interest' and 'behavior will' were high in the global environmental issues (p<.01) and 'virtual contamination', 'human responsibility' and 'impact on personal life' were high in the local environmental issues (p<.05).

Correlational reasoning is used to analyze results from an experiment and create meaningful relationships among variables. Although there were many recognition development studies, not a single study found the optimal period for the development of logical thinking. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to find the optimal period for students whose logic for variable controlling and correlational reasoning are poor. This study made a logic program treatment subject for students between the 4th and 8th grade whose recognition in reasoning has not been developed in general in order to find the optimal period for their development. The variable-controlling reasoning was performed the program of voice survey and sugared-water melting in subsection survey and sugared-water melting in subsection. And, the correlation reasoning was performed the program of rat's size and tail color, treatment, and effect. As a result of research, students, who were not formed variable controlling and correlational reasoning, could be known to be enhanced through learning, but to fail to be formed the qualitative change like the cognitive development. In other words, the optimal period couldn't be found that is grown the formation of students, who are not formed the variable controlling and correlational reasoning, through learning. It is expected that this research can contribute to the improvement of students' cognitive level and there would be more active researches in different fields to improve the cognitive level.

This study aims to explore how teachers construct scientific explanation during instructional practices to help students' scientific inquiry. Before investigating teachers' classroom practices, elementary school science curriculum was examined to identify scientific concepts, particularly in earth science. Then, a total of six teachers' scientific explanation in actual teaching practices was analysed focusing on a) explanation of scientific concepts; b) rationale for scientific explanation; c) connection between scientific explanation and everyday explanation. The findings are as follows. First, the science curriculum provides $1{\sim}2$ main scientific concepts per unit, which are mostly appeared in the unit title. Those concepts and sub-concepts are not explicitly described but embedded in students' inquiry activities. Second, the teachers explain scientific concepts and discuss the rationale behind the scientific explanation, but rarely connect scientific explanation to everyday explanation. Also, the level of scientific explanations is low remaining level 1 or 2, not reaching 3, the highest level. Based on the results, the study suggests a) teachers need to provide explicit and clear explanations about scientific concepts; b) teachers are required to connect scientific explanation and everyday explanation; c) the level of teachers scientific explanation should be elevated by using an evidence, reasoning and claim, the components of scientific explanation as well as introducing new scientific concepts and inquiry activities.

The science writing is recognized for useful learning method to boost up scientific thinking for all class course as well as traditional lecture and experiment. Many researches say that science writing is helpful to extend students' science knowledge and scientific attitude. By the way, the researchers thought that science writing can also improve the science process skill if students participate in delicately organized learning program. In this study, we had contrived the teaching & learning strategy of science writing to improve science process skills. The learning program covers all field of Klopfer's process skills with various forms of writing; explaining writing, logical writing, critical writing, and creative writing. The learning program has been developed for 5th grade students in the regular classes in order to enhance science process skills as well as knowledge and scientific attitude. Not to miss any process skill or various kinds of writing, we used 3 dimensional frame. The axes of the frames are science process skills, forms of writing, and science curriculum contents. The students are given the final writing theme at the beginning of each chapter. They drill science process skills step by step during the classes, and have a chance to talk each other before the final writing. They practice writing skills from one sentence to full article by degrees. The effect of the program was examined by students' work and TSPS (Test of Science Process Skill). The result showed that 5th grade students had a meaningful progress in science process skills as well as knowledge and scientific attitude. we could confirm it with examining students' work in the class.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact on creativity when the elementary fifth-grade students do the activity with impression writing or the activity with science writing after reading books on science. The subjects for this study were students in two fifth-grade classes in an elementary school that was located in Incheon. The two classes were respectively selected as an experimental group and a comparison group. The comparison group read books on science and did the activity with impression writing for 6 weeks. And, the experimental group also read books on science and did the activity with science writing for 6 weeks. According to the result of the effect on the creativity, the experimental group was better than the comparison group. This study showed that the activity with science writing was more effect than the activity with impression writing to boost the creativity. After a detailed analysis about the creativity, this study showed a boost for all area of subordinate creativity.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of introducing the history of science in modern Korea into elementary education. Although there are many studies on applying a history of science to science education, they do not pay attention to the history of science in modern Korea. I survey research papers on the history of science in modern Korea and science education based on a history of science, and elementary science textbooks in Korea, Japan and the US. When we apply the history of science in modern Korea into elementary education, elementary students will recognize science has close relations to Korean culture and history and they will develop the familiarity with science. I show there are 3 ways using the history of science in modern Korea in elementary education: 1) Applying Korean scientists' research contents to science education, 2) Measures to evaluate Korean scientists correctly, 3) Materials for science education programs for gifted elementary students.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the new introduction of elementary science experiment specialist is appropriate under the current situation of serious emphasis of the importance in science experiments in elementary science in Korea. For this study, the survey items were developed twice through the preliminary study. The results show that most elementary teachers consider the importance of experiment in elementary science and the critical role of science experiments to increase students' curiosity and scientific understanding. About 80% of the teachers stressed the professionalism in elementary science. Although 65% of the teachers believed their having basic professionalism, 53% of them appealed the difficulty in teaching science experiments to students. Nevertheless, 67.5% of the teachers opposed to the idea of teaching elementary science in separation between experiment and theory in science, and only 8% of them agreed the idea of induction or adoption of the college graduates majoring in science and engineering, or holding the secondary teacher's certificate. Further, over 60% of the teachers responded no necessity of inducing the new policy of elementary science specialist. Many numbers of teachers revealed their serious worries about the new policy because of their past experience to suffer from the side effects of inducing the teachers with secondary teacher certificate to the elementary school. In particular, they also made a proposal to make a good use of the current system of exclusive elementary science teacher in Korea. The educational implication and suggestions for policy making were discussed.