• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.307-320
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• 2019

This study explores how an elementary school homeroom teacher who continued to lecture, can use diversified science teaching methods for learner-centered instruction. Using an auto-ethnographic approach over the course of a year, self-memory data, facebook diaries, class diaries, and interview data of an elementary teacher's day-to-day preparations and practice of elementary science, in the context of a Korean elementary school, were collected. The data was analyzed through cultural historical activity theory, examining how the interplay of key elements (i.e., the subject as a homeroom teacher with instructional expertise, norms, community, division of labor, tools, and goals) was characterized within and across distinct two-activity systems, and how these elements shaped the teacher's teaching methods into either lecture format or diversified teaching. The study revealed that a non-cooperative community, lack of division of labor, and norms that neglect preparation for science class were the elements that perpetuated the lecture format, and that a contradiction between goals and tools occurred in the activity system. However, these elements were able to be transformed into a cooperative community, shared labor, and norms that saved preparation time for both science class and diversified teaching methods, and those changed elements facilitated the teacher in using diversified teaching methods (e.g., experiments, subject-integrated classes, field work), thereby mitigating the contradiction. This study also discusses that diversified teaching methods can be facilitated when dealing with norms, community, and division of labor elements in an elementary school context as well as improving individual teachers' instructional expertise.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.805-822
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to explore the patterns of group model development about blood flow in the heart and reasoning process by small group interaction. The subjects were 14, 8th graders in a Science Gifted Center. The group discussion was made possible by using triggering questions that can be answered based on experiences of hands-on activities such as a siphon pump analogy model activity and a dissection of pigs' hearts. Despite participating in same activities, the groups showed different model development patterns: unchanged, persuasive, and elaborated. Due to the critical revising, the group's explanatory model was elaborated and developed in the added and elaborated pattern. As critical revising is a core element of the developing model, it is important to promote a group interaction so that students become critical and receptive. The pedagogical analogy model and conflict situation enabled students to present elaborated reasoning. The Inquiry activity with the pedagogical analogy model promote students' spontaneous reasoning in relation to direct experience. Therefore offering a pedagogical analogy model will help students evaluate, revise and develop their models of concerned phenomena in science classroom. Conflict situation by rebuttal enable students to justify more solid and elaborate a model close to the target model. Therefore, teachers need to facilitate a group atmosphere for spontaneous conflict situation.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.541-553
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between epistemic goals, epistemic considerations and complexity of reasoning of science high school students in an open inquiry and to explore the context on how open inquiry compares with the characteristics of an authentic scientific inquiry. Two teams were selected as focus groups and a case study was conducted. The findings are as follows: First, the contexts, such as 'sharing the value for the phenomenon understanding, reflection on the value of the research, task characteristics that require collaboration and consensus, and sufficient communication opportunities,' promote epistemic goals and considerations. On the other hand, contexts such as 'lack of opportunity for critical review of related literature and environmental constraints' lowered epistemic sides. Second, epistemic goals and considerations influenced the reasoning complexity. The goal of 'scientific sense making' led to reasoning that pose testable hypotheses based on students' own questions. The high justification considerations led to purposely focusing attention to the control designs and developing creative experimental know-how. The high audience considerations led to defending their findings through argumentation and suggesting future research. On the other hand, the goal of 'doing the lesson' and the low justification considerations led to reasoning that did not interpret the meaning of the data and did not control the limit of experiment. The low audience considerations led to reasoning that did not actively defend their findings and not suggest future research. The results of this study suggest that guidance should provide communication and critical review opportunities.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.401-414
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to explore the cognitive achievement characteristics by group of achievement levels in the PISA 2018 science domain compared to the results of the PISA 2015, and to compare and analyze the 'epistemic' knowledge in the revised curriculum 2009 and in the revised curriculum 2007. The average correctness rates in PISA 2015 and PISA 2018 were analyzed by sub category of the evaluation frame in the PISA scientific domain. In the competencies domain, especially, the average correct answer rates of 'evaluating and designing scientific inquiry' were the lowest in medium and lower groups, but the rates rose in all achievement groups compared to PISA 2015, which is encouraging. Although the answer rates were low for both 'living system' knowledge and 'epistemic' knowledge in the knowledge domain, the average answer rates of the upper and middle groups increased in 'epistemic' knowledge compared to PISA 2015. The changes in the curriculum experienced by students participating in PISA were analyzed in relation to the 'evaluating and designing scientific inquiry' competency and 'epistemic' knowledge, which increased in average correct answer rates. In terms of understanding science, the "What is science?" unit that explicitly presents epistemic knowledge, and nature of model in inquiry activities, were explicitly presented in the revised curriculum 2009. In terms of understanding the process of justifying scientific knowledge, the number of inquiry activities increased, scientific explanations based on experimental results strengthened, and the "Science and Human Civilization" unit was introduced to help students to understand STS while simultaneously conducting arguments. These findings confirm the educational performance of groups by achievement level in the PISA 2018 scientific domain and suggest that the direction of education relates to epistemic knowledge in Korea's Science curriculum.