• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.339-356
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• 2010

It is important for children to develop statistical reasoning as they think through data. In particular, it is imperative to provide children instructional situations in which they are encouraged to consider variability in data because the ability to reason about variability is fundamental to the development of statistical reasoning. Many researchers argue that even highperforming mathematics students show low levels of statistical reasoning; interventions attending to pedagogical concerns about child ren's statistical reasoning are, thus, necessary. The purpose of this study was to investigate 15 gifted elementary students' various ways of understanding important statistical concepts, with particular attention given to 3 students' reasoning about data that emerged as they engaged in the process of generating and graphing data. Analysis revealed that in recognizing variability in a context involving data, mathematically gifted students did not show any difference from previous results with general students. The authors suggest that our current statistics education may not help elementary students understand variability in their development of statistical reasoning.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.611-624
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• 2017

The purposes of this study are to explore Iceberg(IB) model as a systems thinking analysis tool for high school students, suggest a systems thinking analysis method using rubrics and verify its validity and reliability. For this study, the theoretical basis was examined through literature analysis about IB model and rubrics of evaluating the systems thinking. And 6 high school students participated in IB model activity and were interviewed about polar climate change. In addition, quantitative tests using systems thinking scale were also conducted to support the results of the IB model activity analysis. Data obtained from IB model activity was analyzed by using the rubrics of evaluating system thinking developed by Hung (2008). The analysis results were reviewed by two professors to confirm the validity and reliability. In order to confirm the validity, correlation analysis were performed between the rubrics and the quantitative test results. Finding are as follows: Six students used the IB model to express their systems thinking in detail and the results of the systems thinking analysis of students using rubrics showed a distribution of 17~35 points. Furthermore, the results of correlation analysis between rubrics and systems thinking scale was highly correlated (Pearson product-moment is .856) on significance level from .05. Using the IB model introduced in this study, students express their systems thinking effectively and the results of the systems thinking analysis using IB model is considered to analyze validity and reliability. Based on the results of this study, implication suggests how to study the systems thinking in science education.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.539-560
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of mathematically gifted high school students' thinking in design activities using GrafEq. Eight mathematically gifted high school students, who already learned graphs of functions and inequalities necessary for design activities, were selected to work in pairs in our experiment. Results indicate that logical thinking and mathematical abstraction, intuitive and structural insights, flexible thinking, divergent thinking and originality, generalization and inductive reasoning emerged in the design activities. Nonetheless, fine-grained analysis of their mathematical activities also implies that teachers for gifted students need to emphasize both geometric and algebraic aspects of mathematical subjects, especially, algebraic expressions, and the tasks for the students are to be rich enough to provide a variety of ways to simplify the expressions.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.751-762
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• 2013

The purpose of the study is to develop a science writing program for middle school students and to analyze the effects of this program. The program consists of twenty-one 10-minute long sessions in 2 chapters (stimulus and response; the structure and function of plants) from the $2^{nd}$ year middle school textbooks. The team selected themes in science writing that can cultivate multiple facets of creativity in students: flexibility, originality and elaboration. The format of the science writing was diverse. The program was conducted through worksheets, and there was separate section within the worksheet for teacher to give feedback to students. The science writing program with teacher's feedback improved students' scientific creativity(p<.01). It seems like teacher's feedback is critical in checking students' concept and boosting students' creativity. The program is statistically effective in improving students' flexibility(p<.01), however it is not the case for improving on their originality and ability to elaborate(p>.05). We assumed that the relatively extensive portion of the writing was not suitable to improve students' ability to elaborate their ideas further as well as fostering originality. In order to improve the students' creativity and ability to elaborate, there is a need to adjust the amount of science writing, content, time.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.86-106
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to develop an astronomy education program reflecting astronomical thinking to be used at science museum and to investigate the effect of the program on the improvement of astronomical thinking ability of high school students. After selecting the components of astronomical thinking through literature studies, we developed an astronomy education program consisting of four stages: demonstration and observation, and question and thinking, support and group discussion, demonstration and assessment. In order to verify the effectiveness of the program, we conducted a covariance analysis on the pre- and post-tests of the experimental group and control group to examine the level of students' thinking before and after using the program in teaching and learning. As a result, it was confirmed that the astronomy education program reflecting astronomical thinking was effective in promoting students' astronomical thinking ability. In particular, this program was effective in enhancing the ability of modeling by reconstructing the observed astronomical phenomenon from the viewpoint of the universe with respect to spatial thinking in the astronomy domain. It was also effective to improve the ability of organizing the system by grasping the relationship between the elements constituting the astronomical system in relation to the system thinking in the astronomy domain. This study is significant in suggesting a specific teaching and learning program to develop students' astronomical thinking.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.565-584
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• 2009

This study is aimed at providing the theoretical framework of characteristics of mathematical thinking processes and structuring the thinking process patterns of the mathematical gifted students through the analysis of their cognitive thinking processes. For this purpose, this study is trying to analyze characteristics of mathematical thinking processes of the mathematical gifted students in an objective and a systematic way, by using think-aloud method. For comparative study, the analysis framework with the use of the thinking characteristic code as a content-oriented method and the problem-solving processes code as a process-oriented method was developed, and the differences of thinking characteristics between the two groups chosen by the coding system which represented the subjects' thinking processes in the form of the language protocol through thinking-aloud method were compared and analyzed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.471-483
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to explore how students' epistemological framing and positional framing affect the role of wonderment questions related to the activation of conceptual resources and to investigate what contexts affect students' framings during scientific model construction. Four students were selected as focus group and they participated in collaborative scientific model construction of mechanisms relating to urination. According to the results, one student whose framings were "understanding phenomena" and "facilitator" asked wonderment questions, but the others whose framings were "classroom game" and "non-respondent" were not able to activate their conceptual resources. However, they were able to activate their conceptual resources when they shared the epistemological framing of "understanding phenomena" and shifted between the positional framings of "facilitator" and "respondent." Although they were able to activate their conceptual resources, these activated resources were not able to contribute to their model when they shifted to the framings of "classroom game" and "receiver." In contrast, when students constantly shared an "understanding phenomena" framing and dynamically shifted between the framings of "facilitator" and "respondent," they were able to activate various conceptual resources and develop their group model. The students' framings were affected by the contexts. These included: when students were confronted with cognitive difficulties and were not provided proper scaffolding; when the teacher played the role of answer provider and guided the activity with correctness; when there were several possible explanatory models that students could choose from; and when the teacher played the role of thought facilitator. This study contributes to supporting teaching and learning environments for productive scientific model construction.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.1237-1247
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• 2013

The purposes of this study are 1) to revalidate the developed Measuring Instrument Systems Thinking and 2) to compare systems thinking skills between gifted and non-gifted high school students. For the test, 116 gifted science students and 553 non-gifted students were sampled from high schools. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed and Independent t-test was performed using the average of the two groups. The finding of the exploratory factor analysis indicated 5 factors in the model with 4 items per single factor. The result of confirmatory factor analysis was generally appropriate and acceptable (5 factor model: ${\chi}^2/df$ : 2.765, TLI=.907, CFI=.929, IFI=.930, RMSEA=.044). The reliability for 20 items turned out to be high because the Cronbach's alphas were at .875 and .693~.751 per each factor. In addition, the result of t-test showed that systems thinking skills among gifted science students were significantly higher than non-gifted students. This study could be expanded to measuring systems thinking with qualitative research tools and to various school levels.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.383-397
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• 2008

In problem solving, the necessity of mathematical thinking is absolute. In this paper, with an established theory about mathematical thinking, we will try to observe how the students can form mathematical thinking through a mathematical example in mathematical class by using Lakatos' process of proofs and refutations.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.1036-1045
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Simulation as a Problem-Based Learning (S-PBL) on critical thinking disposition, self-efficacy, and learning attitude and to compare an ordinary least square and a quantile regression method in impacting factors on critical thinking disposition. 143 students from six classes were randomly selected from a total of ten fundamental classes were assigned 66 in the control group and 77 in the experimental group. The results were that the experimental group received S-PBL and improved their critical thinking disposition and self-efficacy compared to the traditional learning method. In ordinary least square, affecting factors on critical thinking were the learning method and self-efficacy and these variables explained 41.0% in the critical thinking disposition. The results of the quantile regression method showed that affecting factors of critical thinking disposition were learning attitude of 0.1 quantile to 0.7 quantile and self-efficacy of all quantiles, and learning attitude of 0.4, 0.6, and 0.7 quantiles. Conclusion: The S-PBL is an effective method for nursing students who have low critical thinking disposition score to increase critical thinking disposition. And instructors can actively use S-PBL to enhance critical thinking disposition as well as self-efficacy in class.