• Title/Summary/Keyword: Middle School Students' Perceptions

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Creating a school nutrition environment index and pilot testing it in elementary and middle schools in urban South Korea

  • Park, Sohyun;Kwon, Kwang-il;Kweon, Soon Ju;Wang, Youfa;Gittelsohn, Joel
    • Nutrition Research and Practice
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    • v.11 no.5
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    • pp.402-411
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    • 2017
  • BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The role of a school's nutrition environment in explaining students' eating behaviors and weight status has not been examined in an Asian setting. The purpose of this study was to create a school nutrition environment index and to pilot test the index in elementary and middle schools in urban South Korea. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This study used a mixed-methods approach. Environment assessment tools were developed based on formative research, which comprised literature reviews, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. Key elements from the formative research were included in the assessment tool, which consisted of a structured survey questionnaire for school dietitians. Fifteen school dietitians from 7 elementary and 8 middle schools in Seoul completed the questionnaire. RESULTS: The formative research revealed four main sections that guided a summary index to assess a school's nutrition environment: resource availability, education and programs, dietitians' perceptions and characteristics, and school lunch menu. Based on the literature reviews and interviews, an index scoring system was developed. The total possible score from the combined four index sections was 40 points. From the 15 schools participating in the pilot survey, the mean school nutrition-environment index was 22.5 (standard deviation ${\pm}3.2$; range 17-28). The majority of the schools did not offer classroom-based nutrition education or nutrition counseling for students and parents. The popular modes of nutrition education were school websites, posters, and newsletters. CONCLUSIONS: This paper illustrates the process used to develop an instrument to assess a school's nutrition environment. Moreover, it presents the steps used to develop a scoring system for creation of a school nutrition environment index. As pilot testing indicated the total index score has some variation across schools, we suggest applying this instrument in future studies involving a larger number of schools. Future studies with larger samples will allow investigation of the validity and reliability of this newly developed tool.

Comparison of Perception on Students' Scientific Talent and Interest Among Students Themselves, Their Parents, and Their Teachers (학생의 과학적 재능과 흥미에 대한 학생 본인, 학부모, 교사의 인식 비교 연구)

  • Jo, Hyun-Joo;Kim, Yung-Min
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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    • v.26 no.4
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    • pp.559-567
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    • 2006
  • The purposes of this study were to investigate and compare the perception of students, their parents, and their teachers about students' scientific talent and interest, and to analyze if there is a difference among the perceptions of the three groups by students' gender. For the research, 592 Korean elementary and middle school students, their parents (N=592), and their teachers were sampled and investigated their perceptions, with the questionnaire for students, parents, and teachers developed by the authors and validated by science education experts group. The research results are; (1) in total, the perception scores of parents and teachers are higher than that of students' perception, and the average score of each group decreases by grade in every group; (2) among the students and parents groups, average perception score of male students' talents and interest was higher than that of female students, while teachers perceive averagely that there is no difference in students talents and interest by gender.

Using Smart Devices in a Future School to Explore the Effects of Science Classes on Positive Science Experiences and Science Learning Identity (미래학교의 스마트 기기를 활용한 과학 수업이 과학긍정경험과 과학 학습자 정체성에 미치는 영향 탐색)

  • Yu, Eun-Jeong;Kim, Kyung Hwa
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.41 no.2
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    • pp.176-193
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    • 2020
  • The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of science classes on positive science experiences and science learner identity, using smart devices in a future school: C middle school. We conducted a paired t test at the beginning and end of the first school year with first-grade students at the future school to investigate positive experiences with science (Shin et al., 2017). Additionally, first and second-grade students in future schools using smart devices wrote and drew their own depictions in science classes to explore science learner identity, based on a modified analytical framework (Luehmann, 2009). The results show that significant effects on science-related career aspirations, self-concepts, and academic emotions were produced by science classes using smart devices. Science classes using smart devices helped students improve their level of agency and activity, solve problems with immediate and sufficient feedback, and experience meaningful perceptions of the nature of science. On the other hand, if students were immature in terms of their use of smart devices, they felt pressured to participate in the classes. The results of this study can be used as a foundation for designing various classroom contexts for the use of smart devices.

Middle School Students' Construction of Physics Inquiry Problems and Variables Isolation and Clarification during Small Group Open-inquiry Activities (중학생의 소집단 자유탐구활동 중 물리 영역 탐구문제의 구성과 변인 추출 및 명료화 과정)

  • Yoo, Junehee;Kim, Jongsook
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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    • v.32 no.5
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    • pp.903-927
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    • 2012
  • The study aimed to analyze middle school students construction of physics inquiry problems for open inquiry from the viewpoint of variable isolation and clarification, and investigate students' difficulties during the processes of variable isolation and clarification to get implications for teaching and learning strategies for small group open inquiry activities which have been included in the 2007 national curriculum. The participants were 4 students who had attended an outreach program for the science gifted run by a university institution located in Seoul area. They performed an open inquiry on egg drop for 13 lessons for 30 hours. Level descriptions for variable isolation and clarification have been developed and applied to analyze students' inquiry problems and variables included by the problems. Students iterated inquiry processed 5 times and the inquiry problem showed progress gradually. Dependent variables have been isolated ahead and the levels of variable isolation and clarification showed higher than the independent variables. Many kinds of independent variables isolated extensively and the independent variables and control variables have been mingled. One of the reasons why students had some difficulties in isolation of independent variables could be the absence of theoretical models. The realities of school lab could restrict the variable isolation and clarification as well as topic selections. Some sensory or extensive variables such as broken eggs and drop height seem to be salient to be focused on as core variables. Lack of background knowledges could be one of the reasons for students' difficulties in variable clarification, such as theoretical definitions and operational definitions. As a result of lacking background knowledges, students could not construct theoretical models even though they could isolate and clarify variables as scientific lexical definitions. Some perceptions of inquiry as trial and error or reckless establishment of causal relations between variables could be accounted as one reason.

Perceptions of Parenting, Peer Relationship and Depression of Adolescents from Divorced and Non-divorced Family (부모의 이혼여부에 따른 청소년의 우울지각 : 청소년이 지각한 부모의 양육태도와 교우관계를 중심으로)

  • Yoo, An Jin;Lee, Jum Sug;Suh, Joo Hyun
    • Korean Journal of Child Studies
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    • v.25 no.6
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    • pp.191-203
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    • 2004
  • This study was to investigate differences in depression, parenting, and peer relationship perceived by adolescents from divorced and non-divorced families. Also, aim that identifies variables which have influences on adolescents' depression. The subjects were 356 middle and high school students who live in Seoul and Incheon. All respondents answered by self-report questionnaire. Data were analyzed by t-test and hierarchical regression. The major findings were as follows. First, adolescents from divorced families perceived more depression than those from non-divorced families. Second, adolescents from divorced families perceived parenting attitude less warm than those from non-divorced families. Third, adolescents from divorced families perceived themselves more isolated and less understood in their peer relationships than those from non-divorced families did. Finally, adolescents from divorced families who feel less isolated and perceive parenting attitude more warm and less maturity-demanding perceived less depression.

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The Effect of Science Class Using Smart Devices on the Perceptions and Scientific Attitude of Middle School Gifted Students (스마트 기기를 활용한 과학 수업이 중학교 영재 학생의 인식 및 과학적 태도에 미치는 영향)

  • Kim, Eun-Ji;Kim, Hyun-Kyung
    • Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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    • v.66 no.4
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    • pp.323-332
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    • 2022
  • The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of science classes using smart devices that combine augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) on the scientific attitude of middle school gifted students. In addition, it is intended to find out the perception of science classes using these smart devices. In addition to actual experiments, a science class program that allows students to experience science experiments virtually using AR and VR was applied to 15 middle school gifted students. Before and after the application of the program, the questionnaire is to investigate the interest in scientific classes, the attitude toward science exploration, and the professional interest in science, and the recognition of classes that combine AR and VR. In addition, through in-depth interviews, the perceptions of gifted students was accurately investigated. As a result of this study, the content of science classes and instructors showed high class satisfaction, but the smart devices and applications used during the science classes showed lower class satisfaction than others. As a result of comparing and analyzing the pre-post of gifted students, interest in science class, attitude toward science inquiry, and professional interest in science increased significantly among the sub-areas of the scientific attitude test. As a result of analyzing free responses and indepth interviews, gifted students responded with the advantage that classes using smart devices that combine AR and VR can be tested quickly and safely for a short time compared to actual experiments. On the other hand, they responded with low completeness of the application and dizziness when operating virtual reality. Based on this, implications for the development of applications and instructional programs using advanced technologies that can experience realistically limited scientific experiments such as experimental preparation, class time, and risk factors were obtained.

A Comparative Study on the Awareness of the Social Benefits of Rural Life among Korean Middle School Student (농촌과 도시지역 중학생의 농촌ㆍ농업공익기능 인식 비교 연구)

  • Kim Eun Ja;RLee Sang Young;Kim Young;Yang Hee Eun
    • The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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    • v.15 no.4
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    • pp.33-44
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    • 2004
  • The characteristics of social and cultural life in agricultural regions in Korea encompass several positive external effects: quality of food services, awareness of environmental conservation, aesthetic enjoyment of nature and so on. The objectives of this study were (1) to measure the awareness among Korean youth of the benefits of rural life; (2) to delineate the differences between rural and urban youth; and (3) to promote an awareness of the importance of the social benefits of living in the country. To fulfill these purposes, a field survey method was used. The subjects were 211 third grade students from middle schools in rural and urban regions in Korea. The statistical methods used for this data included frequencies, percentages, 1-tests, etc. The study generatedconclusive findings about viewpoints toward the natural environment, urban and rural social culture, and perceptions of economic status. It showed significant differences between rural and urban youth's awareness of ideas such as'green field supply','labor power supply'and 'biodiversity conservation'.

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Earth Science Prospective Teachers' Perceptions on the Relationship between Absolute Humidity and Dew Point Temperature (절대 습도와 이슬점 온도의 관계에 대한 지구과학 예비 교사들의 인식)

  • Kang, So Ra;Seo, Eun-Kyoung;Kim, Dong Young
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.40 no.6
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    • pp.624-638
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    • 2019
  • A questionnaire was administered, and all responses were analyzed to examine prospective teachers' conceptual understanding of the relationship between dew point temperature and absolute humidity in air parcels. The responses revealed that many prospective teachers have substantial misconceptions about the relationship. For example, some thought that the absolute humidity and the dew point temperature are proportional to each other, and that the dew point temperature is proportional to the water vapor mass in the parcel. The misconceptions seemingly stemmed from inadequate descriptions on the relationship in middle-school science textbooks of the 7th and 2007 revised curricula. The study notes that the first year students' textbook of the 2015 revised curriculum introduced the concepts of evaporation, condensation, and volume changes as a function of gaseous pressure and temperature, from a perspective of molecular motion. It is suggested that keeping this perspective in the middle school curriculum, while introducing water vapor pressure as the measure of water vapor amount and dew point temperature, should help prevent middle school teachers and students from having misconceptions. There should be a concerted effort to make the science curriculum more consistent and coherent across the grade levels.

TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS IN STUDENTS AND PSYCHIATRIC CONSULTATIONS (학생들의 정신건강문제와 정신과 의뢰에 대한 교사의 인식도 조사)

  • Kwak, Young-Sook;Chun, Ja-Sung
    • Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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    • v.9 no.1
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    • pp.82-90
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    • 1998
  • This study is attempted to examine Korean teachers’ perceptions of mental health problems in students and their attitudes towards psychiatric consultations through a questionnaire survey. The results of this study are as follows. 1) Teachers thought that 5.3% of their students had mental health problems, 1.9% of students required psychiatric evaluation, and 1.2% of students were referred or recommended psychiatric evaluation by their teachers. 2) The most frequent mental health problems in students discovered by teachers were distractibility and inattention, lack of academic skills, and language difficulties in elementary schools;distractibility and inattention, conduct problems, and lack of academic skills in middle schools;and conduct problems, distractibility and inattention, physical symptoms, and substance abuse in high schools. 3) Teachers thought the mental health problems in students were caused by the family environment, psychological factors, the educational system, and a lack of mental health services. 4) Teachers desired smaller classes, improvement of the school environment, more time, regular mental health education, a special program for students with mental health problems, and the counseling staffs or consultants for the school mental health. 5) Teachers consulted with other teachers, the parents of the students, the counseling teachers, the health care teachers, the counseling institutes, the psychiatric clinics, and the principals in descending order to handle the hard case problems. The frequent reasons for failing in psychiatric consultations were the prejudice of parents against psychiatric services, the teachers’ sense of superiority in dealing with the problems of students, the prejudice of teachers themselves against psychiatric practice, and inaccessible professional consultation. 6) About 20.4% of teachers reported they had proposed psychiatric consultations or had recommended their students to receive psychiatric evaluations.

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Linguistic Characteristics of Middle School Students' Writing on Earth Science Themes Through Analysis of Its Genre and Register (장르와 레지스터 분석에서 나타난 중학생의 지구과학 주제 글쓰기의 언어적 특징)

  • Cha, Hyun-Jung;Kim, Chan-Jong;Maeng, Seung-Ho
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.32 no.1
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    • pp.84-98
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    • 2011
  • The study investigated the linguistic characteristics of middle school students' writing on the themes of earth science through analysis of its genre and register. Data for analysis included $7^{th}$ grade and $9^{th}$ grade students' writings about 'global warming' and 'classification of rocks'. The results of this study include: First, many students were not accustomed to writing in genre, especially exposition genre. Second, in terms of ideational meaning, the material verbs representing action or doing were more dominant than relational verbs that are related to the attribute or definition of things, and additional logical relations were predominant. Third, regarding interpersonal meaning, agents, emotions, subjective opinions appeared in the writings and students did not express their ideas conclusively and revealed feelings of doubt and uncertainty about their knowledge. Fourth, as for textual meaning, most students listed fragments of information using additional conjunctions in simple structures and were not accustomed to writing texts with organizing structures, logical patterns, cohesion, and coherence. From these results, we argued that the scientific writings should be emphasized in science learning that aims to foster scientific literacy. In addition, we discussed the necessity of improving science teachers' perceptions on scientific writing as well as setting up a specific plan in the national curriculum.