• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.102-113
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• 2001

In order to compare with the 6th and 7th science curricular for the inquiry skill elements in the elementary and secondary school, we divided skill domains into five classes which were process skill, step skill for inquiry instruction, inquiry activity skill, manipulative skill and breeding-farming skill. And then we investigated the kinds and frequencies for the inquiry skill elements of the 6th and 7th curricular in the elementary and secondary school. The results were as follows: 1. The total kinds of inquiry skill element showed 17 kinds in the 6th curriculum and 23 kinds in the 7th. Therefore, the 7th curriculum was higher 1.4 times than the 6th curriculum in the kinds of skill elements. 2. The total frequencies for the inquiry skill elements of the 6th curriculum were 408 and those of the 7th were 729. Therefore, the 7th curriculum was about 1.8 times as many as the 6th. 3. In the kinds of inquiry skill elements according to the school levels, the course of the elementary school showed 14 kinds in the 6th curriculum and 18 kinds in the 7th. The course of middle school showed 7 kinds in 6th and 16 kinds in 7th. The integrated science course of high school was 10 kinds in the 6th and 10 kinds in the 7th. The skill elements in four science curricular of the high school course showed total 11 kinds in the 6th and 21 kinds in the 7th. And then the kinds of inquiry skill elements of the 7th curriculum in the middle and high school course showed about 2 times as many as the 6th curriculum. In the school level, the increase of skill elements showed the highest in the middle school course, and then in the high school course. 4. The total skill elements from the elementary school to the high school in the 6th science curriculum showed 17 kinds and in the order from the highest to the lowest rates, such as experimenting 20%, observing 15%, interpreting and analyzing data 13%, investigating 9%, measuring 7%, drawing a conclusion and assessment 7%, discussion 6%, communicating 5%, classifying 4%, recognizing problems and formulating hypothesis 4%, predicting 3%, designing and carrying out an experiment 3%, collecting and treating data 2%, manipulating skill 1%, modeling 0.5%, breeding and farming 0.3% and inferring 0.2%. 5. The total skill elements from the elementary school to the high school in the 7th curriculum appeared 23 kinds and in the order from the highest to the lowest rates, such as drawing a conclusion and assessment 31%, investigating 14%, collecting and treating data 8%, observing 7%, experimenting 7%, recognizing problems and formulating hypothesis 6%, interpreting and analyzing data 4%, measuring 3%, discussion 3%, manipulating skill 3%, modeling 3%, classifying 2%, project 2%, educational visits 1%, controlling variables 1%, predicting 1%, inferring 1%, operational definition 1%, communicating 1%, designing and carrying out an experiment 0.3%, breeding and farming 0.3%, applicating a number 0.2% and relating with time and space 0.2%. In the conclusion, the 7th curriculum was added 6 kinds of skill elements to the 6th curriculum, such as operational definition, applicating a number, relating with time and space, controlling variables, educational visits and project.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.256-265
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• 1999

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between cognitive levels and achievement of science process skills. A science laboratory process skills test based on optional instrument of the SISS was administered to a sample of 162 students in the 8th grade. Practical assessment tasks consisted of the contents about acid, base, density, and a property of cobalt chloride. The format of this practical test was the station type that students had to conduct a short activity. Science process skills included three sub-skills which were categorized as designing, performing, and reasoning. As cognitive levels develop from concrete operational stage to transition stage and formal operational stage. total scores of science process skills and mean scores of sub-skills were significantly increased. Regardless of cognitive levels. all students were more successful on performing than designing or reasoning. In case of being controlled cognitive levels, gender differences and area differences were not detected in achievement of science process skills. According to these results. there was a strong relationship between cognitive levels and achievement of science process skills by practical assessment. This study implies that considering student's cognitive levels is very important for improving science process skills.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.563-571
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to analyze the safety contents presented in high school science textbooks of the 2015 revised national science curriculum. For these, we found safety contents in the inquiries and appendices of 63 science textbooks: integrated science, science inquiry experiment, physics I, II, chemistry I, II, biology I, II, and earth science I, II. We analyzed these safety contents using six safety factors based on the seven standards for safety education. The main results are as follows: First, 81(46.0%) inquiries among 176 curriculum inquiries contain safety contents, and these contents are mainly found in chemistry textbooks, and the least in 'science inquiry experiment' textbooks. Second, safety contents are found the most in 'laboratory safety rule', followed by 'safety symbol' and 'usage of protection equipment'. Third, the safety contents of appendices are mainly in 'laboratory safety rule' and 'accident treatment'. Based on these results of this study, it is concluded that these textbooks have problems; that there is a big difference in describing safety contents in each textbook; that these safety contents are not presented in detail and that the educational effect is reduced. Furthermore, the safety symbol is not standardized. We also discussed ways to improve the safety contents of science textbooks.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.63-78
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• 2014

Integrative STEM education is an engineering design-based learning approach that purposefully integrates the content and process of STEM disciplines and can extend its concept to integration with other school subjects. This study was part of fundamental research to develop an integrative STEM education program based on the science inquiry process. The specific objectives of this study were to review relevant literature related to STEM education, analyze the key elements and value of STEM education, develop an integrative STEM education model based on the science inquiry process, and suggest an exemplary program. This study conducted a systematic literature review to confirm key elements for integrative STEM education and finally constructed the integrative STEM education model through analyzing key inquiry processes extracted from prior studies. This model turned out to be valid because the average CVR value obtained from expert group was 0.78. The integrative STEM education model based on the science inquiry process consisted of two perspectives of the content and inquiry process. The content can contain science, technology, engineering, and liberal arts/artistic topics that students can learn in a real world context/problem. Also, the inquiry process is a problem-solving process that contains design and construction and is based on the science inquiry. It could integrate the technological/engineering problem solving process and/or mathematical problem solving process. Students can improve their interest in STEM subjects by analyzing real world problems, designing possible solutions, and implementing the best design as well as acquire knowledge, inquiry methods, and skills systematically. In addition, the developed programs could be utilized in schools to enhance students' understanding of STEM disciplines and interest in mathematics and science. The programs could be used as a basis for fostering convergence literacy and cultivating integrated and design-based problem-solving ability.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.405-420
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to contrive the specific teaching plans based on the frame of 2007 revised science curriculum for applying open-inquiry lesson in real education situation and to research the effects of open-inquiry lesson on the student's science-related attitude, science process skill, and to investigate instructing teachers' cognition about open-inquiry. For this study, two fifth grade classes were chosen, one class was the experimental group, who were taught by open-inquiry based lesson, and another was the comparative group, who were taught by traditional method based lesson. The findings of this study were as follows: After open-inquiry lesson, the experimental group students came to enjoy open-inquiry learning and had the positive thought about it. After open-inquiry lesson, the experimental group marked higher mean score than the comparative group in science-related attitude's field but didn't showed the meaningful difference. On the other hand, in science process skill's field, the experimental group showed the significant higher improvement than the comparative one, especially in the subordinate area of basic science process skill. Finally, teachers who instructed students open-inquiry lesson thought open-inquiry lesson is the self-directed problem solving learning which raise the student's science process skill and interest. And the teachers thought the obstacles to instruct open-inquiry lesson are the lack of the student's cognition about open-inquiry and the insufficient circumstance for open-inquiry lesson. Therefore the teachers argued that the prerequisite for settling open-inquiry lesson successfully is to develope open-inquiry lesson curricula and teaching materials.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.132-143
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of inquiry activities proposed in high school physics textbooks that were developed based on the 2009 science curriculum in Korea. The inquiry activities were analyzed using the notion of scientific practices introduced in the Science Education Framework (NRC, 2012). The results showed that the inquiry activities in the textbooks emphasized two of eight types of scientific practices including "Analyzing and interpreting data" and "Constructing explanations". In contrast, the activities required students to "ask questions" only once in a total of 291 science inquiry activities. The other types of scientific practices appeared less than 10%. Also found was that the types of scientific practices were not relevant to the way inquiry activities were used for textbook content. Implications for the curriculum and science teacher education were discussed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.191-207
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• 2023

In this study, we comprehensively investigated the cases of science teachers who implemented NOS assessments in Science Inquiry Experiment. Two science teachers working at high schools located in Seoul who taught and assessed NOS in Science Inquiry Experiment according to the 2015 revised curriculum participated in the study. We collected lesson and assessment materials and observed NOS lessons and assessments. We also conducted interviews. Based on the collected data, we analyzed the processes of the teachers' NOS assessments. The analyses of the results revealed that the teachers constructed the assessments by themselves due to a lack of NOS assessment experience and related materials. They had difficulties in selecting an appropriate assessment method and constructing assessment questions and criteria. Both teachers found it difficult to assess an understanding of NOS because it concerns the subjective views of individual students. Therefore, they had difficulties in setting detailed assessment criteria, which also led to difficulties in the overall assessment process. There was a difference in the reflective level of the assessments between the two teachers. In the reflective activities of low levels, the assessments were not properly enacted because it was difficult to infer students' understanding. Orientation toward teaching NOS influenced the perceptions of NOS assessment and overall lessons, resulting in a difference in NOS assessments. Finally, the absolute evaluation of Science Inquiry Experiment also affected teachers' NOS assessments. Based on the above results, implications for effective NOS assessments in schools are discussed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.551-561
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to investigate both theoretically and empirically the roles of models in abductive reasoning for scientific problem solving. The context of the study is design-based research the goal of which is to develop inquiry learning programs in the domain of earth science, and the current article dealt with an early process of redesigning an abductive inquiry activity in geology. In the theoretical study, an extensive review was conducted with the literature addressing abduction and modeling together as research methods characterizing earth science. The result led to a tentative scheme for modeling-based abductive inference, which represented relationships among evidence, resource models, and explanatory models. This scheme was improved by the empirical study in which experts' reasoning for solving a geological problem was analyzed. The new scheme included the roles of critical evidence, critical resource models, and a scientifically sound explanatory model. Pedagogical implications for the support of student reasoning in modeling-based abductive inquiry in earth science was discussed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.856-869
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• 2006

J. J. Schwab is usually considered as the founder of the concept of scientific enquiry, perhaps the most important key word of science education of the 20th century. Mainly through the method of literature review, this study reappraises Schwab's life as a science educator as well as a curriculum scholar, and his ideas concerning several important issues about science and science education. Like other eminent science educators, before the 1950s, who were originally talented scientists but later became engaged in educational activities, Schwab were trained and known as a genetic scientist, but later he concentrated on university reform, curriculum studies and science education. His academic interest was very diverse across different disciplines, from biology and science in general to history, philosophy and education. The essence of his theory of scientific enquiry was 'to teach science as science', and the best way to do it was 'to teach science as enquiry'. With enquiry, however, he tried to deliver some important but differentiated meanings, for example by distinguishing 'science as enquiry' and 'teaching as enquiry', and 'static enquiry' and 'fluid enquiry'. Scientific enquiry was the core concept upon which many of his ideas concerning science education and education in general were based, such as the diversity of science, textbooks, curriculum and roles of teachers. In summary, Schwab can be characterized as a rational reformist of science education, who tried to identify the very nature and goals of the discipline and to bring its substantial changes with concrete and practical guidelines. Nevertheless, some of his ideas, like the diversity of science and conceptual invention, have been handed down by his followers frequently with considerable distortion.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.258-267
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate the practical use of process skill under the seventh curriculum at secondary school and teachers' perceptions about hypothesis. Two hundred and twenty-two secondary science teachers responded to a survey. Among all process skills, data interpretation was found to be used most frequently by science teachers. The second most-commonly utilized skill was conclusion, and the least employed skill was hypothesis formation followed closely by data transformation. In addition to these results, the most difficult process skill practised by science teachers was hypothesis formation, followed by data transformation, and controling variables. A majority of science teachers (63.1%) properly defined hypothesis, but only a significant number (5.0%) chose the correct example about hypothesis in real-world contexts. More than ninety percent of science teachers believed the skill of hypothesis formation could be put to use in junior high to senior high school, but practical use of the skill, was too difficult for the science class