• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.291-301
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• 2023

In this study, the STEAM elements and convergence types which appeared in the creative and convergent activities in authorized elementary school science textbooks for 5^th and 6^th graders were analyzed. For this study, creative and convergence activities presented in 9 different science textbooks for 5^th and 6^th graders were selected and the STEAM elements and convergence types were analyzed by each publisher, grade-semester, and science field. The results of this study are as follows. First, there was a large variation by publisher in the total frequency of STEAM elements and the frequency of each element in creative and convergence activities. Second, the ratio of convergence type consisting of two elements was very high, and the higher the number of fused elements, the lower the ratio appeared in overall. Third, the art (A) element had the highest frequency in all grade-semesters, and the technology (T), engineering (E), mathematics (M) elements differed in the distribution of frequency by grade-semesters. Fourth, the engineering (E) element in the 'integration' field, and the art (A) element in the fields of 'movement and energy', 'material', 'earth and universe', and 'life' had the highest frequency.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.488-497
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• 2016

Given the potential of mobile applications to create new learning opportunities beyond the prevalent use of digital textbooks and Internet lectures, this study aims to derive types and themes of mobile application content that can be effectively integrated with the school curricula. Twenty primary school teachers participated in this study that examines teachers' perceptions about the advantages and disadvantages of printed and digital textbooks' modality, the advantages and disadvantages of mobile learning, and the themes relevant to develop mobile applications. Findings indicate that it is necessary to develop activity-centered applications for vertical use rather than theme-centered applications for horizontal use. In addition, while most ideas derived from teachers center on multimedia access, there was lack of ideas that leverage the affordances of mobile devices for collaborative interaction and location-awareness. Lastly, to promote the diffusion of mobile learning in school environments, this study suggests the need to overcome teachers' epistemology that perceives mobilization against inquiry activities.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.284-300
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• 2024

This study elucidates the achievement standards statements of the 2022 revised elementary school science curriculum to identify specific achievement standards for the upcoming curriculum. Therefore, the researcher analyzed the statements of the overall elementary school achievement standards based on Bloom's taxonomy of new educational objectives. The results are as follows. First, the achievement standards statements are biased toward certain knowledge and cognitive process dimensions; this aspect is not consistent with the goals of the 2022 revised curriculum and the teaching and learning directions of the science department. Thus, achievement standards that enable various types of activities and inquiry learning should be developed. Second, a need emerges for the hierarchization of knowledge and cognitive levels by grade level. The proportions of low levels of knowledge and cognitive process dimensions increased in the upper grades, such that a systematic hierarchy should be considered. Third, the need to diversify the use of the descriptors of achievement standards is also identified. Although the tendency to rely on specific descriptors decreased during the previous curriculum, approx imately half of the descriptors were only used once or twice. Therefore, balancing the use of various descriptors is necessary. To ensure that the results are reflected in the achievement standards for elementary school science textbooks under the revised science curriculum for elementary schools in 2022, a discussion is required on the design of achievement standards statements. As a follow-up study, the researcher proposes a comparative analysis of the achievement standards of science curricula for middle and high schools to explore the wording of achievement standards appropriate for elementary school science education considering its nature, goals, and contents and to analyze the hierarchy and continuity of the entire science curriculum.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.353-364
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to analyze the achievement standards for grades 3-4 of the 2022 revised science curriculum and identify the goals of science education for grades 3-4 of the 2022 revised curriculum, as well as provide implications for the development of the science textbooks for grades 3-4 and the direction of teaching for teachers in the field. For this purpose, 57 achievement standards of the Science Department 2022 revised curriculum for grades 3-4 were analyzed as to their knowledge dimensions and cognitive processes according to Bloom's Taxonomy of the New Educational Objectives. In cases where an achievement standard is a double sentence or combines two or more knowledge dimensions or cognitive process dimensions, we separated the sentences after having consulted with a group of experts and divided the achievement standards into 57 sentences. We then analyzed the frequency of the categorization of concepts and descriptors by comparing them with the previously studied elementary science standards from the 2015 revised curriculum. The main findings of the study are as follows. First, in the knowledge dimension, the "factual knowledge" accounted for 50 items (86%), compared to "conceptual knowledge" (10%), and "procedural knowledge" (4%), and "metacognitive knowledge" was not analyzed at all. Second, in terms of the cognitive processes, "Understanding" was the highest at 60% with 34 items. It was followed by "applying" with 11%, "creating" with 19%, "evaluating" with 15%, and "analyzing" and "remembering" with 6%. Third, when analyzing the descriptors, "I can explain" was the highest with 9%, followed by "comparison" with 6%, and "practice" and "classification" with 5%. Fourth, compared to the 2015 revised curriculum, "conceptual knowledge" was reduced and "factual knowledge" was overwhelmingly increased. Fifth, in the cognitive process dimension, "understanding,' has increased significantly, while the other cognitive process dimensions have decreased. Conclusions and implications based on these findings are as follows: the focus of the Science Department for grades 3-4 in the 2022 revised curriculum is heavily weighted toward the "factual knowledge," with "understanding" dominating the cognitive process dimensions. As a result, many concepts and applications have been reduced. Based on the results of the comparison of the descriptors with the results of the 2015 revised curriculum, the implications for the development of the science textbooks for grades 3-4 of the 2022 revised curriculum were discussed, and so were the implications of the curriculum for the field.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.1028-1038
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• 2004

This study investigated how the 7th national elementary school science curriculum was implemented at science classrooms. Data from surveys with 140 elementary schools, 18 science classroom observations, and in-depth interviews with teachers were used to examine the characteristics of elementary school science instruction. Based on the data, I explored (1)how science curriculum is operated in terms of objectives, contents, methods and evaluation of school science, and (2)how student-centeredness and localization themes are reflected on the reconstructed school science curriculum. It was found that the degree of the reorganization of the national curriculum at the teacher level was minimal. And most of the elementary teachers followed the directions and contents of the science textbook and teacher's guidebook regardless of their own local situations. For most teachers, restructuring science curriculum meant reordering the sequences of the contents, and adding or deleting some units or topics. I also examined why elementary teachers have difficulty in reconstructing science curriculum at the classroom level. The necessity of curriculum reconstruction at the teacher level is also discussed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.383-393
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• 2015

This study analyzed the 6th grade elementary science textbook 'Science stories' reading process of students by utilizing eye movement tracking techniques. Participants read 3 articles in the new experimental science textbooks and solved 9 problems about each article. By understanding and academic achievement results, participants were divided into high-groups, middle-groups, and low-groups. The results of eye movement characteristics of the high-groups and low-groups had the following differences. Number of fixations and number of regressions were higher in high-groups. Average fixation duration and average regressive fixation duration were longer in low-groups. Fixation time for the key sentence of the article was longer in high-groups. Analysis of a scan path and post-interview, high-groups had frequent regression between sentences and they knew where the core of the article is and paid much attention there. In contrast low-groups are sequentially read most articles and some of them had a leap of abnormal range. Problem-solving approach is also different between groups. In conclusion reading style is associated with the science stories comprehension and students who had more regressions, much core search process, effective attention distribution, high concentration showed better understanding results. Also words or sentences used in textbooks are associated with science stories comprehension.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.331-339
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to make a list of scientific terms to decrease students' difficulties of science learning. By using inductive method, database has established from elementary school science textbooks and laboratory observation books. All terms from physics area of science textbooks and laboratory observation books at the levels of grade 3 to 6 were analyzed based on the Standard Korean Dictionary (1999) and Book of Physics Terminology (2005). As a result, we made a list of 204 scientific terms by grade level. Those were 51 words for grade 3, 55 words for grade 4, 56 words for grade 5, and 42 words for grade 6. And there were some incongruities among textbooks, the Standard Korean Dictionary and the Book of Physics Terminology.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.22-35
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• 2013

In this study, we analyzed the problems of grade 3~4 science textbooks developed for the 2007 revised national curriculum raised by elementary school teachers. 53 elementary school teachers were selected and asked to complete the open questionnaire to find out the problems they experienced or perceived when they taught the corresponding unit of the science textbooks. The responses were coded and categorized through researchers' cross analysis. The result revealed various problems in using the science textbooks in real classroom context. The problems were divided into three dimensions as inquiry activity aspect, science knowledge aspect, and science learning assessment aspect. Each dimension consisted of several categories. We explained the frequency and representative examples of the problems in each category. These can provide some guidelines and implications for new science textbook developers and science education policy makers.

• Archives of design research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.191-200
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• 1999

Improving the design ability of idea developing and creative problem solving should be started from the primary school. Design education in the primary school should be not education for design but education by design. It helps students can naturally understand the basic concept of design and experience the process of activities. Therefore primary educational circle use the term of 'Design-related activities', or 'Design-Based Education'. It can be applied to variable themes of mathematics, science, music, society as well as Art. On the Basis of these literature review, the traditional design education as a part of the art education is analyzed in two aspects of its contents and behaviors. The contents in design education involve aesthetic·symbolic, useful·functional, and scientific·technological area. And, the basic design behaviors are classified with 'know', 'perceive', 'inquire', and so on. This concept becomes the analytic frame of the present condition of design education in Korean primary school. Through the analysis, it is found that the portion of scientific·technological area in contents and 'inquire' related behaviors are relatively very low. Also, the planning and teaching methods for leading children's opportunity of creative expression are found inadequate. This study proposes the potential capability and the integrative contents of design education in primary school.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.499-508
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to examine the features of the standards of classification, prediction and reasoning in foreign national science standards and the characteristics of these inquiry processes in the Korean science textbooks. The inquiry process of classification was found less frequently rather than observation and measurement. 'The classification of one character' was much more contained than the higher level of classification, 'the classification of composit character'. For the inquiry process of prediction, most of prediction was 'prediction from experiment result'. In the level of prediction, 'basic prediction' was found more frequently than 'operation prediction'. The inquiry process of reasoning was found more frequently than classification and prediction and was increased in the higher grade textbooks. In the level of reasoning, the higher grade textbooks included 'secondary reasoning' rather than 'simple reasoning'.