• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.447-460
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• 2017

This study asked preservice elementary teachers to conduct an inquiry of observing the moon, and analyzed the phenomena observed, difficulties experienced, and pedagogical suggestions by the preservice teachers. Participants were 31 undergraduate students enrolled in a science course in a university of education. As a part of the course, the preservice teachers observed the moon for about a month and completed personal journals which described the phenomena they observed, difficulties they experienced, and the pedagogical suggestions to help elementary students conduct the same inquiry activity. The analysis of the journals revealed that the preservice teachers observed the moon mostly during the evening or night and that they noticed lunar phases, directions, altitudes, and color and brightness more frequently than other phenomena. The preservice teachers experienced difficulties related to the observation time, lunar phases, directions, and altitudes, and, reflecting on their own experiences, suggested a variety of pedagogical ideas about these difficulties. The pedagogical suggestions by the preservice teachers also included how to help elementary students keep their interest and perform the moon observation for a rather long period of time. Implications for moon investigations in the elementary school science classroom and relevant research were discussed.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.69-78
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• 2015

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the elementary schoolchildren's the fear of crime in pedestrian environment of elementary school for providing the basic design resource. Method:In order to deal with that, the questionnaire survey on the elementary schoolchildren's the fear of crime were conducted in 5 elementary schools in Ilsan new town. The results of the 293 questionnaires survey were analyzed through SPSS program. Result: The main results were as follows. The level of fear of crime in pedestrian environment differed in these 5 elementary schools because of the width of pedestrian path, the concealed place around pedestrian path, the nearness of park, the height/shape/interval of trees, the number of car and the closure-watching in the school caused by fence and trees and so on. The level of fear of crime in pedestrian environment differed between that of boy groups and that of girls groups because of the number of emergency bell/telephon, the shape of pedestrian path, the number of security office, the number of car and the concealed place around pedestrian path and so on.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.287-296
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• 2004

The purposes of this study were to analyze the problems of elementary science instruction, especially in experiment and observation, and suggest the directions to improve current elementary science instruction in terms of teaching methods and strategies. Data from instructions implemented by 7 elementary teachers were used to extract the problem of elementary science instruction. According to the results of instruction observation, such problems as follows are identified: 1) shortage of discussion regarding results of students' activities, 2) insufficiency of interactions among teacher-student/student-student, 3) shortage of guidance for students on observation, 4) absence of explanation on apparatus, 5) teachers' insufficient knowledge on science, 6) inappropriate use of teacher-made worksheets. Desirable directions for the improvement of present elementary science instruction were proposed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.258-272
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to investigate the perception on sedimentary rock in elementary science 'Earth and Space' domain for elementary school students. For this purpose, questionnaires on the sedimentary rock perception were developed. And the sedimentary rock perception was examined for random sampling of 5th and 6th grade 656 students. As a result, students chosen incorrect answers of the average 53.8% for questions of sedimentary rock perception. Over the average rate of incorrect answers in 18 questions were 10 questions (3 in the creation of sedimentary rock, 5 in the classification of sedimentary rock, 2 in the sedimentary layer). When the results were stratified by residence, grade and gender, there were significant differences in 8 questions between students in urban and rural areas, in 6 questions between 5th and 6th grade students, and in 3 questions between male and female students. The study that understanding of elementary students for sedimentary rock can be provided for form the master planning the teaching strategy to student's scientific concepts in elementary school. The results are also contributed to find an effective ways for modify misconceptions of sedimentary rock to the scientific concepts.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.269-284
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the epistemic process in elementary science classrooms by analyzing classroom discourse as a epistemic practice. Data came from four elementary teachers in the form of video-recordings. A total of 12 elementary science lessons were examined to reveal the discursive modes and sequences in which the teacher and students participated when they constructed and developed scientific knowledge during the lessons. Three representative discursive patterns were found in the elementary science lessons explored: (i) 'Retrieving-Retrieving-${\cdots}$' by which well-established scientific knowledge was retrieved repeatedly, (ii) 'Exploring-Building on the Shared' which allowed introducing new scientific knowledge based on the scientific phenomena explored by the teacher and students together through practical work, and (iii) 'Retrieving-Elaborating/Reformulating/Narrating' or 'Building on the Shared-Elaborating/Reformulating/Narrating' which expanded and strengthened scientific knowledge already learned. These discursive patterns were suggested as discursive-epistemic mechanisms employed frequently in the epistemic process in elementary science lessons and as a basis for defining epistemic cultures of science classrooms.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.557-566
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of science lesson applying STEAM education on the science learning motivation and science academic achievement of elementary school students. The study subjects were four classes of the 5th grade of M elementary school in B Metropolitan City. Two classes including 64 students were experimental group and the others including 65 students were comparison group. For the purpose of study, the lesson unit 'The human body' were practised, the recomposed unit applying STEAM was applied to experimental group, whereas comparison group was taught traditional science lesson. The results of this study were as follows. First, the science lesson applying STEAM education influenced significantly the improvement of the science learning motivation of elementary school students. Second, the science lesson applying STEAM education influenced significantly the improvement of the science academic achievement of elementary school students.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.315-326
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• 2013

In this study, we investigated elementary school teachers' and students' perceptions of the reading materials in science textbooks. Participants were 181 teachers from 23 elementary schools who were teaching science and 643 third- to sixth-grade students from 12 elementary schools. A questionnaire for teachers consisted of 18 items and a questionnaire for students consisted of 11 items about their perceptions of the reading materials in science textbooks. Nine to twelve items, according to grades, examining the actual uses of each reading material in science textbooks were also included to both questionnaires. The results indicated that teachers have positive perceptions about reading materials and frequently use them in case of needs for supplement and/or enrichment of science learning. Novice teachers were found to have less positive perceptions about reading materials than expert teachers. Over 70 percent of students responded that they read all reading materials. Fifth- and sixth-grade students were tended to have less positive perceptions about reading materials than third-grade students. Finally, students tended to have more positive perceptions about reading materials than their teachers.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.199-207
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• 2004

Elementary science curriculum is designed to be closely-related magnetism with electricity in a physics domain and this paper explored whether elementary school students have recognized of relationships between them and whether there are any trends in the degree of recognition by grades. The elementary students of 3rd to 6th grade (total 154 persons) in a school in a local city participated in the experiment. Two forms of questionnaire were administrated to each grades. In the first questionnaire about magnetism, students were asked to rank the physics terms as the degree of proximity into magnetism and to write briefly the reason. In the second questionnaire about electricity, students were asked to do the same routine. The closer to the central term in the diagram, the lower score were given and the terms were classified as closely related to magnetism, electricity and the rest. Calculated the response frequency and averaged by the ranked terms, it was examined that the scores of proximity in how students closely rated conception to magnetism and electricity. The result said that the upper grades students showed the degree of proximity with magnetism and electricity as closely. Therefore, the sequence of comprehension of magnetism and electricity concept, which was found in the elementary school curriculum, seems to be found in the elementary students＇ recognitions by grades.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2006

This study investigated the characteristics of contents of the Atmosphere and Weather in the elementary science curriculum. For this study, elementary science textbooks reflecting the elementary science curriculum from 1st to 7th were analyzed with a number of tools. The results were as follows: Several parts of the contents about Atmosphere and Weather were dealt continuously through the all of science curriculum. Atmospheric Pressure, Humidity and Atmospheric Pressure and Weather were applied at the fifth grade above continuously. And Cloud$\cdot$Fog$\cdot$Dew was applied at the third and fifth grade. Quantity of learning about Atmosphere was more than it's of Weather always. Especially, Movement of Atmosphere and Temperature Change were maintained continuously above $10\%$ of the contents about Atmosphere and Weather. Some of the detailed learning themes related Atmosphere and Weather were dealt commonly through the all of the elementary science curriculum. Finally, the results showed that the contents of Physical Nature of Atmosphere, Atmospheric Pressure, Movement of Atmosphere, Temperature and it's Change and Cloud$\cdot$Fog$\cdot$Dew had been learned always with the experiments and practical training.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.736-750
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• 2014

The purposes of this study were to investigate concepts of Korean and American elementary school pre-service teachers on combustion, and to compare the concepts of Korean pre-service teachers with those of American pre-service teachers. For this study, concept test on combustion was administered to 23 Korean and 18 American elementary school pre-service teachers. The test composed of 6 items: 'Definition of combustion', 'The reason why a candle in a glass bottle is blown out when the bottle was closed', 'The change of gases in the bottle when a candle burns in it', 'The combustion products of a candle', 'The combustion products of steel wool', and 'The combustion products of a substance'. The results showed that the rates of elementary school pre-service teachers who had scientific concepts on combustion were very low in both Korean and American pre-service teachers' groups, although they were a little different from items. However the rates of pre-service teachers who had partial concepts and misconceptions on combustion were high in two groups. The levels of Korean elementary school pre-service teachers' concepts were a little higher than those of American elementary school pre-service teachers' concepts. The contents and activities on combustion which are in Korean and American science textbooks seem to affect building up their concepts on combustion.