• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.707-719
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• 1999

This article studies the understanding of acid and base concepts of the 3rd-grade students in middle school. An effective teaching strategy for improving their acid and base concepts was designed by considering students' prior knowledge using Lawson's learning cycle method. The control group was adapted by the traditional teaching strategy which isn't considering students' prior knowledge. After the class, understanding of acid and base concepts of treatment group was significantly higher than that of control group. But the level of students' understanding of strong acid, weak acid strong base and the strength of acid in aqueous solution was low even after the class of two groups. This indicates indirectly that the microscopic views of acid and base concepts in aqueous solution are not easy to learn for these students. For the four categories of acid and base concepts, students' responses were reviewed carefully and classified into scientific conceptions and misconceptions. These results will be useful for developing an effective teaching strategy of acid and base concepts.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.414-422
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• 2009

In this study, we investigated the influences of students' motivational characteristics on the processes of learning density concept using a discrepant event. The participants were 642 seventh graders from two middle schools. Tests of failure tolerance, self-efficacy and mastery/performance goal orientation were administered as pretests. A preconception test was also administered. The intervention was the students' individual study of the density concept with a worksheet that was designed to incorporate the major steps of conceptual change learning. The tests of attention, effort and conceptual understanding were administered as post-tests. The responses of 203 students who had been found to possess the target misconception were analyzed. The results of a path analysis revealed that students' motivational characteristics variables did not influence cognitive conflict. Failure tolerance and mastery goal orientation, however, influenced conceptual understanding via situational interest, attention and effort. Self-efficacy influenced conceptual understanding via effort. Performance goal orientation negatively influenced conceptual understanding via attention and effort. Cognitive conflict influenced conceptual understanding directly as well as indirectly via situational interest.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.353-370
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• 2015

This study was conducted as a qualitative case study that explored how gifted 3rd-grade elementary school children who had learned the primary concepts of division and fraction, when they studied contents about decimal, formed the transformed primary concept and transformed schema of decimal by the learning of accurate primary concepts and connecting the concepts. That is, this study investigated how the subjects attained relational understanding of decimal based on the primary concepts of division and fraction, and how they formed a transformed primary concept based on the primary concept of decimal and carried out vertical mathematizing. According to the findings of this study, transformed primary concepts formed through the learning of accurate primary concepts, and schemas and transformed schemas built through the connection of the concepts played as crucial factors for the children's relational understanding of decimal and their vertical mathematizing.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.345-353
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of mental capacity and understanding of the oxi-dation-reduction concepts on the completion of the balancing redox equations. Participants were 92 senior high school students and 57 science high school students. Tests were conducted to measure the mental capacity, the understanding of the oxidation-reduction concepts and the completion of the balancing redox equations and the influence on the per-formance was analyzed. The performance of the senior high school students increased as the mental capacity increased, but the performance of science high school students did not change by mental capacity. Most of senior high school stu-dents couldn't understand the oxidation-reduction concepts well. Most of science high school students, however, under-stood the concepts completely and partially. The students who had a good understanding of the oxidation-reduction concepts showed a good performance for both senior and science high school students, regardless of the problem pattern.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.304-322
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of student-centered instruction using analogies for middle school students' learning of the photosynthesis concept. Participants in this study were 8th grade students at a middle school in Seoul (N=132). The students were divided into two groups for implementation. In the experimental group the teaching materials containing analogies were used while the contents of a science textbook were taught in the control group. The results of this study indicated that student-centered instruction using analogies was more effective than traditional methods of instruction for understanding photosynthesis concepts and the students' attitude toward the science class. Analogies were also found to contribute to developing an understanding of the photosynthesis concept through activating students' prior knowledge, focusing on structural features of the target concept and elaborating knowledge. In addition, analogies play an important role in activating small group discussions, improving students' meta-cognitive skills, and revealing and revising of misconceptions about photosynthesis. Moreover, analogies can help improve students' interests and self-efficiency in science classes.

• School Mathematics
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.455-471
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• 2010

Understanding of randomness is essential for learning and teaching of probability and statistics. Understanding of randomness prompts to understand natural and social phenomena from the point of view of mathematics, and plays a role of base in understanding of judgments based on rational interpretation on these phenomena. This study examined whether pre-service teachers recognize this, and they understand randomness included in various contexts. According to results, they did not have a understanding of randomness in the context related to measuring, while they grasped randomness in simple and joint events. This implies that they lack the understanding of variability which is essential in the context of measuring. This study, therefore, suggests that the settings of measuring should be introduced into probability and statistics education, especially that data from measuring should be analyzed focusing on the variability in the data set.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.279-286
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduate students' preconception about the needed knowledge to understand organic reactions based on electron flow and undergraduate students' ability that understand fundamental chemical reaction based on electron flow, and was to offer pertinent teaching and learning method. For this study, 18 sophomores that majored in chemistry education of H University, were sampled. Test papers were newly developed that based on previous research. Undergraduate students' response was classified and reasons of the response were qualitatively analyzed by interview. According to the results of this study, it was found that undergraduate students had good understanding on the concept about the electron configuration of atoms and on the concepts about the needed knowledge to understand chemical reactions based on electron flow. But they didn't apply the concepts to the fundamental chemical reaction. Therefore, teaching and learning strategy that apply the needed concepts to understand chemical reactions based on electron flow to chemical reactions should be developed.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.703-717
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• 2014

In physics, metal simulation is an important mechanism to understand and create concepts. If students have difficulty in mental simulation, understanding the concept of physics also gets difficult. By providing guide for spatial manipulation to students, 3D simulation contents can help them understand the concept of physics. In this study, the 3D simulation contents developed to help understanding the concept of light going straight and shadow is applied to 20 college students. The results, Hake gain is 0.93, showing high level of understanding about the class. In addition, through mental simulation, students predict the phenomenon well about the new context. This is shown that students' understanding of concept through 3D simulation contents are carried out well.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.71-91
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• 2004

For the education of scientifically gifted high-school students in the field of relativity, we have executed a research on the understanding of relativistic concepts through the case study of its students of Busan Science Academy appointed as a high school for the gifted education in science. We showed the analysis of the changes in students, understanding in the field of (special) relativity and their possible causes. The comparison of the pre-test and the post-test tends to support that the students attained better understanding through the instruction of relativity. Students' understanding and misconception of relativistic concepts were also investigated through the case study. The students showed low degree of understanding in the validity of the principle of relativity, the influence of the constancy of the speed of light on the classical physics, etc. It seems that the analysis of these concepts of insufficient understanding can make a contribution to designing the education of relativity for scientifically gifted students.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.281-293
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• 1999

이 연구는 개념 및 개념학습의 의미와 가치를 평가해 보고, 기존의 지리교육 기본 개념에 대한 논의를 정리하여 현장 교사들의 기본 개념 인식과 비교한 후, 향후의 지리교육 내용 구성의 방향을 모색해 보았다. 지리교육의 개념은 지리적 현상의 작동 과정을 이해하는데 도움을 주는 개괄적인 관념으로서 관련 지식들을 인지구조 속에 붙들어 매어주는 역할을 한다. 현장교사들이 가장 중요하다고 인식하고 있는 기본개념은 인간-자연관계, 입지, 지역, 지도화, 지역적 차이, 문화 등이며, 이는 전통지역지리학에서 강조되어 온 개념들이다. 반면에 지역적 결합, 공간 및 공간관계, 장소, 지구사회, 이동 등의 개념은 교사들이 잘 이해하지 못하고 있는 개념으로 밝혀졌다. 이러한 분석과 관련하여 주의를 기울여야 할 점은 지리학과 지리교육의 기본개념을 무차별적으로 혼용해서는 안 된다는 점이다. 학문적 성과와 교육적 성과는 다른 것이며, 이에 맞춰 지리교육의 교육적 효과를 높일 수 있는 구체적인 하위개념들이 개발되어야 할 것이다.