• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.127-148
• /
• 2023

In this study, we used an analysis of the literature on socio-scientific issues (SSI) classes to examine domestic SSI class research and to determine the characteristics of SSI class research for each subject. A search for papers related to SSI classes published in Korea Citation Index-listed journals and candidate journals of the Korea Research Foundation found 95 relevant papers, which were then categorized according to participants and topics. Studies with both pre-service and experienced teachers attempted to investigate SSI-related perceptions. Studies of pre-service teachers tended to examine the level and development pattern of argumentation or to analyze decision-making characteristics and informal reasoning. Studies of experienced teachers tended to analyze instructional expertise in SSI teaching activities, focusing on teachers with substantial SSI teaching experience. Middle and high school students-related studies examined student decision-making and reasoning processes in SSI learning activities, developed SSI class programs, and analyzed educational effects. Examining the characteristics of SSI classes for elementary school students was difficult because few such studies have been published. However, the characteristics that elementary school students show in SSI learning situations could be inferred. A plan to revitalize SSI classes in the elementary science education field from the perspective of teacher education and class research is suggested.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.269-283
• /
• 2024

This study compared the characteristics of an experiment f or determining whether gas occupies space presented in elementary school science textbooks to examine the validity of the experiment, identify and improve problems in its presentation, and verify its effectiveness. This study interviewed third-year elementary school teachers who had experience teaching this experiment to students. Based on teachers' opinions and observations, this study identified issues with the current experiment, developed an improved experiment, and determined its effectiveness. Through this analysis, three key findings emerged. First, the study found that the original experiment on gases was presented in the same or highly similar manner in 5 of 7 textbooks (71.4%). Thus, while various textbooks have been developed with the aim of promoting diversity and creativity in scientific literature, most experiments presented in these books are identical. Second, the existing experiment was not suitable for its target audience (third-year elementary school students) and was difficult to observe directly. The interviewed teachers also deemed the validity of the experiment to be considerably low. Finally, the original experiment was improved; this improved version was determined to be highly valid, showing a statistically significant difference compared with the original experiment. The improved experiment was effective for students as it involved activities suitable for their intellectual level and was directly observable through the senses. Thus, the study analyzed and improved an existing science experiment f or elementary students, providing insights into the 2022 revised science authorized textbooks and implications for future textbook development.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.1-16
• /
• 2013

In this research, we tried to discover the characteristics of gifted students by analyzing their experience in showing task commitment. In order to do this, we asked science gifted students to specifically describe their experiences while deeply experimenting on a scientific cause or theory. From their responses, we inductively explored the characteristics of science gifted students by extracting and analyzing the characteristics that show task commitment. Consequentially, the characteristics of the gifted students are divided into nine categories, which are confidence, setting a challenging goal, challenging approach for solving problems, sense of potential control, loss of self-consciousness, time distortion, submission to difficult task, initiative, and endurance, all of which appear repeatedly among the gifted students. With consensus among three experts who have experience in research on gifted education, these nine characteristics can be categorized into 3 characteristics; challenge, flow, and willingness. The three characteristics such as challenge, flow, and willingness well represent a definition of task commitment. These characteristics can explain the level of task commitment exhibited by science gifted students. It is possible to develop the tool and framework for judging the task commitment of gifted students on the basis of their characteristics.

• Journal of Science Education
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.394-407
• /
• 2012

This study analyzed the result of the National Assessment of Educational Achievement (NAEA) in a Grade 9 Science class. The study first found that the ratio of below basic achievement was 8.1 percent. This means that a large number of middle school students have not reached basic scientific literacy. Second, the ratio of male students in the below basic level was 10.4 percent, which was double the ratio of female students at 5.5 percent. Third, according to the analysis of achievement by gender, female students outperformed male students. In addition, the female students' standard deviation was smaller than that of the male students, and their scaled scores were distributed nearer the average than that of the male students. Furthermore, analysis of achievement by content domains indicated that females outperformed in all content domains including motion and energy, materials, life, and earth sciences. Showing a similar tendency in the behavior domains, females outperformed males in all behavior domains except the understanding domain. Last, for achievement by living area, students living in the middle and small cities showed the highest scaled score, 196.81. Whereas the average scaled score of the students living in the big cities was 196.15; that of the students living in rural areas was 194.86. With respect to the standard deviation, big cities had the largest, 33.73. That of middle and small cities was 33.70, and of rural areas was 32.92. Although students in cities showed higher achievement in science compared to students in rural areas, they had a bigger gap in academic achievement.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.671-685
• /
• 2012

In this study, we developed an analogical experimental design strategy emphasizing understanding and checking stages and applied it to four groups consisting of 7th grade science-gifted students. We classified the patterns of experimental design processes and analyzed the verbal interactions among the science-gifted students at the levels of turn and interaction unit. The analyses of the results reveled that three groups were relevant to reinitiated motion and the other to backward-divergent motion. In the analyses of turn and interaction unit, the frequencies of the statements related to the task were high, especially 'making suggestion' and 'elaborated symmetrical interaction'. The analyses for each stage of strategy indicated that the frequencies of 'explain', 'question', and 'cumulative interaction' at understanding stage were high. At designing stage, the frequencies of 'making suggestion', 'cumulative interaction', and 'disputative interaction' were found to be high. At checking stage, 'making suggestion', 'receiving opinion', and 'disputative interaction' were high. In the comparison of the patterns, the qualitative differences among interaction unit were found at all the stages, whereas there were differences only between designing and checking stages in the turn cases. Educational implications of these findings are discussed.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.1025-1038
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study the creative problem-solving of gifted children for elementary school science in order to improve and develop learning programs and STEAM projects by applying that effect would be to provide. To develop this STEAM program, we utilized the steps of the Project Learning method and the KOrea Foundation for the Advancement of science and Creativity(KOFAC) proposed STEAM program, learning the principles and criteria in configuration, the methodology. In order to verify the effectiveness of the developed STEAM program Elementary Science for gifted students with creative problemsolving Questionnaire were used. The program was developed a total of 18 classes, consists of first project to create a solar car, second project to create elastic car. The primary project was selected as one of the topics with the students and selected topics related to previous activities in accordance with articles examining the actual quest, consultation, representation activities in class and finishing with the deliverables and evaluation consisted of 12 classes. The second project is the first project based on a given problem to generate a deliverable by outlining a solution which consists of 6 classes. All of this project was composed by teachers and students to select a common topic on the subject of themselves through a process of problematization, the student-led science, technology, engineering and arts of the area so that the content can be made convergence. The results of the study indicate that this developed STEAM program has a positive effection creative problem solving in a gifted students.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.124-139
• /
• 2010

The purpose of this study was to understand the influence of the inclusive leader on group interactions in scientific inquiry experiments emphasizing group interactions. For this purpose, the students' verbal interaction patterns in groups with inclusive leaders were compared with those of groups with normal leaders and the inclusive leaders' influence on the progress of group interactions was analyzed extensively. This study focused on interactions of four small groups of seventh graders, with two having inclusive leaders and two having normal leaders. Students were involved in seven science classes for three weeks and students' interactions in each class were observed and recorded using video/audio. The data recorded was transcribed. Analysis of verbal interaction patterns showed that the small group with the inclusive leader had a more positive atmosphere and highly structured interactions. Results of the study showed that interactions of small groups with inclusive leaders were sustained for longer times, since the inclusive leaders initiated and expanded interactions. The inclusive leaders behaved with consideration of the feelings of other members in sharing their roles or facing critical situations. In addition, although they sometimes gave pressured other members to get them to participate, the pressure did not discourage their interaction as opposed to the emotional pressure that normal leaders would exert. The inclusive leaders were pleased with small-group interactions and activities. They considered the feelings of the other members and respected others' opinions. Such characteristics of inclusive leaders preserved a positive atmosphere and produced more high-level interactions. Thus, the groups that inclusive leaders had influenced had a pleasant and significant learning experience. Educational implications of characteristics of the inclusive leader and the organization of groupings were drawn.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.754-770
• /
• 2022

For teachers, noticing refers to paying attention to something, indicating they interpret it and how they are willing to react to it in the context of their own instruction. Analysis of noticing features enables us to understand the overall characteristics of the teacher's lesson design, practice, and reflection, which are core agents in the educational design and implementation. This can also be taken to be the basis of education design for competency reinforcement for teachers. Therefore, in this study, the characteristics of noticing shown in teachers' reflections after class design and demonstration were identified. For this purpose, the self-reflection journals of 106 elementary pre-service teachers enrolled in the College of Education in Gangwon-do were analyzed. In particular, the journals were gathered that were written after the demonstration dealing with the change of gas volume by temperature in science class. After designing a noticing analysis frame consisting of the five dimensions 'agent', 'stage', 'topic', 'focus', and 'stance', the frequency and ratio of noticing by each dimension's components were derived. The frequency and ratio of noticing for the dimension of 'focus' were analyzed for the dimensions of 'stage' and 'topic'. The results of the study were as follows. For the dimension of 'agent', the frequency of teacher and student was the highest, and for the dimension of 'stage', inquiry activity was the highest. For the 'topic' dimension, class design according to the teaching strategy appeared most frequently, and in the 'focus' dimension, the cases that did not specify the goal of the class and the competencies to be achieved by the students appeared most frequently. In the 'stance' dimension, description showed the highest frequency. From the analysis of how the 'focus' changes according to the 'stage' and 'topic', it was found that a characteristic focus appeared for each component of the dimension. From these results, the implications of the noticing characteristics of pre-service teachers for the design and implementation of teacher education were discussed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.59-69
• /
• 2007

The aim of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions on MBL (microcomputer-based laboratory) experiment training program for teachers, the expecting effects of MBL experiment and application of MBL experiment after conducting MBL experiment training for science classes in schools. This study showed that most of the teachers who participated in the training program thought that the MBL experiment training program was very useful and instructive. Many teachers considered that MBL experiments using a computer could decrease time spent in the experiment by accurate and fast data collection and analysis. They also thought that the reduced time could be used more effectively in the analysis of experimental data and discussion activities leading to correct concept formation as well as in the development of graphical analysis and science process skills. However, they thought that MBL experiments were ineffective in learning how to operate experiment apparatus. This study also revealed that most teachers intended to apply MBL experiments in real classrooms context right after the training course and they pointed out many obstacles in introducing MBL experiments into their classrooms such as a budget to purchase equipment, poor laboratory conditions, and few MBL experiment training opportunities. In order to apply MBL experiment into the real classrooms, further changes were suggested as follows; development of technologies to reduce unit cost of equipment for MBL experiments, production and supply of many kinds of sensors, development of MBL experiment materials, and expansion of the training program for teachers.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.347-358
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study is to research on the professional development of pre-service chemistry teachers in terms of personal practical knowledge(PPK), and draw a discussion for pre-chemistry teacher education. A reflective discussion through a Community of Practice(CoP) activity has been conducted with 5 pre-service chemistry teachers studying in a college of education located in Seoul. The analysis of the results reveals that 'Subject-matter knowledge' is leaning toward massive chemical contents, 'Curriculum knowledge' is below the level of selecting, analyzing, and applying curriculum materials. 'Instruction knowledge', especially the knowledge of chemistry experiment and research, is not enough to lead secondary students' scientific experiment. 'Milieu of school knowledge' is stunted in growth for the reason of communication-deficiency between a college of education and a community, and among education- related groups. 'Self-knowledge' has been diminished not only because there is a bad influence from college classmates not wanting to be a teacher, but also a lack of communication in the chemistry-education department which can make pre-teachers' belief strong. In conclusion, it is especially needed for the chemistry-education department to strengthen pre-teachers' 'Self-knowledge' in order to develop PPK. This study suggests operating 'a professional community' that has a periodic meeting with pre-service teachers, teachers, professors, community people, education practitioners, and researchers. In addition, it would be effective for increasing pre-teachers' PPK to reconsider depth and direction of 'Subject-matter knowledge', to give an opportunity to examine curriculum materials critically and reorganize them, to improve the course of chemistry experimental subject to the way of improving pre-teachers' leadership in chemistry inquiry experiment, and to raise the quality of educational service activities.