• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.111-124
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• 2023

The aim of this study was to explore science teachers' perceptions of good science teaching. To this end, the Korean Teaching Observation Protocol (KTOP), which was developed for the purpose of observing and improving science teaching, was utilized. In the first survey, teachers were asked whether they thought each item in the KTOP was important for good science teaching, the extent to which they implemented these items, and the level of difficulty in implementing them. The second survey asked teachers what they believed to be the reasons and solutions for the KTOP items that they had responded as difficult to implement. The responses obtained from 63 teachers in the first survey and 35 teachers in the second survey were categorized based on the characteristics of the responses. The categorized contents were then summarized and discussed for their features. As a result, science teachers responded that all items in KTOP, except for one, are important for good science teaching. However, it was also shown that the level of execution was low in cases where implementation was difficult. For the 13 KTOP items that were considered important but difficult to implement and showed relatively low implementation level, many respondents (69%) attributed the reason to both students and teachers. However, the most common response (60%) was that the teacher should solve those difficulties. From this, it was found that understanding and supporting teachers, as well as enhancing their competencies, are more important for good science teaching than external factors. We hope that this research findings will help to better understand the specific difficulties that science teachers face in their classes and contribute to practical efforts that aim to address these challenges.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.193-207
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate pre-service elementary teachers' attitudes towards science teaching using 'Dimensions of Attitude Toward the Teaching of Science (DAS)'. After confirming the factors and reliabilities of the translated questionnaire by pilot test (N=68), the survey was administered online at one national university of education in Korea (N=527). The pre-service teachers generally thought elementary science education is important and did not believe gender difference in students and in teachers. Science education majors than other majors, males than females, and those who completed high school science track than humanity track had more positive attitudes toward science teaching in elementary school. The extent of teacher education curriculum completion had a little effect on the pre-service teachers' attitudes toward science teaching. The implications for teacher education were discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.465-473
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of scientific inquiry-based peer teaching experience on pre-service elementary teachers' science teaching efficacy, anxiety to science and attitude toward science. The participants of this study included 118 pre-service teachers. The pre-post paired t-test design was implemented to examine the effect of this program. In addition, the semi-structured interviews were carried out for investigating their changes of affective characteristics. The result of this study showed that inquiry-based peer teaching provided pre-service teachers with the opportunities to enhance their science teaching efficacy and attitude toward science and reduce their anxiety to science. The findings imply that it is possible to meaningfully change elementary teachers' affective characteristics when effective strategies are adequately adopted.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.12-23
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to research the effects of students' evaluation results on teachers' teaching activities. The subjects were 431 elementary school students of 4th, 5th and 6th grade, and 14 teachers of 7 schools located in Seoul, Cheongju, and Daejeon city. The experimental design included pre and post-tests with the control group. Our results found that most of the students had positive thoughts towards science classes. In particular, activities where the teachers provided support in the conduct of experiments and the learning atmosphere generally were evaluated higher than other activities. However, unrestricted experiments were evaluated lower by the students. The feedback from the students' evaluation results of their teachers affected the teachers' teaching activities statistically. The teachers' support during experiments, unrestricted activity during experiments, and evaluation activities were changed positively following the students' feedback. However, the loaming atmosphere and unrestricted activity during experiments were observed to change negatively when the teachers were not given the students' feedback.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.347-357
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• 2005

Since 1998, an elementary teacher education institute in Korea has hosted the center for the gifted education. The institute hired undergraduate students to escort and liaison each class of the gifted student participants with assisting classroom activities. These liaison teachers observed the gifted classroom activities and evaluated them by using a given checklist and filling out pre-made evaluation forms. Currently this system is being transferred from part-time jobs for students to earn allowance into well organized pre-service teacher program focusing on the gifted education. In other words, the purpose of system is being shifted from how liaison teachers facilitate the gifted program to how the system helps the liaison teachers to be quality teachers for the gifted who can understand what the gifted are and how to facilitate them. Analyzed were the self reports of the liaison teachers regarding their perceptions and beliefs of the gifted and their education program. It was found participant liaison teachers purposed to have more live experiences with getting along with students as well. Liaison teachers’ perceptions on establishing a gifted teacher professional education sequence were reported in this study. The potential scaffolding of the pre-service teacher education program model of the gifted education was provided as a consequence of this study.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.153-163
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• 2015

In this study, we analyzed elementary school teachers' self-diagnosis on their competency for assessment in science. A questionnaire was administered to 217 elementary school teachers and in-depth group interviews with 6 teachers were also conducted. The results revealed that the mean scores of five subcategories, 'choosing assessment methods', 'developing assessment instruments', 'administering, scoring, and grading', 'analyzing, interpreting, using, and communicating assessment results', and 'recognizing ethics in assessment', were 3.82, 3.50, 3.92, 3.76, and 4.09 on a scale of 5 points, respectively. Teachers having more teaching experience showed higher mean scores in all subcategories. However, only the teachers having more than 20 years of teaching experience were statistically better than those having less than 5 years of teaching experience in four subcategories except for 'recognizing ethics in assessment'. There were no significant differences in terms of major, whereas the mean scores of the teachers having master's degree were statistically higher than their counterpart in some subcategories. In addition, the teachers who had completed training for assessment exhibited statistically higher mean scores than their counterpart in four subcategories except for 'recognizing ethics in assessment'. Educational implications of these findings are discussed.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.137-173
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• 2021

Research and national standards, such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in the United States, promote the development and implementation of K-12 interdisciplinary curricula integrating the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (STEM+CS). However, little research has explored how teachers provide epistemic support in interdisciplinary contexts or the factors that inform teachers' epistemic support in STEM+CS activities. The goal of this paper is to articulate how interdisciplinary instruction complicates epistemic knowledge and resources needed for teachers' instructional decision-making. Toward these ends, this paper builds upon existing models of teachers' instructional decision-making in individual STEM+CS disciplines to highlight specific challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinary approaches on classroom epistemic supports. First, we offer considerations as to how teachers can provide epistemic support for students to engage in disciplinary practices across mathematics, science, engineering, and computer science. We then support these considerations using examples from our studies in elementary classrooms using integrated STEM+CS curriculum materials. We focus on an elementary school context, as elementary teachers necessarily integrate disciplines as part of their teaching practice when enacting NGSS-aligned curricula. Further, we argue that as STEM+CS interdisciplinary curricula in the form of NGSS-aligned, project-based units become more prevalent in elementary settings, careful attention and support needs to be given to help teachers not only engage their students in disciplinary practices across STEM+CS disciplines, but also to understand why and how these disciplinary practices should be used. Implications include recommendations for the design of professional learning experiences and curriculum materials.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.951-960
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of mentoring in enhancing the professionalism of low-experience science teachers on their general teaching and science teaching efficacies. The mentoring for low-experience science teachers was conducted on 24 science teachers with less than three years of experience over a nine-month period between April and December, 2016. The questionnaires developed by advanced researches were modified and used to test the teachers' general teaching and science teaching efficacies. As the result of a pre-test, the mean science teaching efficacy score was 3.02 points. In particular, the mean science teaching self-efficacy score was 2.86 points and the mean science teaching outcome expectancy score was higher at 3.17 points. In the domain of science teaching outcome expectancy, the mean for female teachers was higher than that of male teachers, and the mean for middle school teachers was higher than that of high school teachers in every domain. However, this result is not statistically significant. The results of a post-test showed that the mean science teaching efficacy score of mentee teachers increased to 3.08 points over the pre-test. In particular, the mean science teaching self-efficacy score was 3.11 points and the mean science teaching outcome expectancy score was 3.04 points in the post-test. This presents that the mentoring training conducted was effective in improving the science teaching efficacy of mentee teachers.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.390-403
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• 2009

We have examined the perception of teachers and students in elementary schools toward the frontier science and analyzed corresponding contents in science textbooks in Korea and the U. S. in order to promote a good guidance for the frontier science education. We prepared separate questionnaires for teachers and children, respectively, and analyzed the responses obtained from 244 teachers and 1,000 students in five elementary schools. For the analysis of how to introduce the frontier science, we investigated textbooks such as Science, Society and Practical Arts of Korean elementary school, and an American science textbook published by Scott Foresman. This study revealed that teachers are well aware of the importance of the frontier science, however, they are inactive in conducting the subject in class rooms because of their insufficient scientific knowledge and poor environment for teaching. It has been found that children had strong interest in the frontier science, however, opportunities to learn the topic are not properly provided. The frontier science m the American science textbook turned out to be more systematically introduced than that in Korean ones.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.164-180
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• 2011

In this study, pre-service elementary teachers (n=68) participated in an inquiry of exploring children's science ideas as group work. After conducting interviews with children, the pre-service teachers analyzed their science ideas on specific concept and propose a teaching plan based on their findings. This paper aimed to find the positive learning experiences of the pre-service teachers by looking into their inquiry process. Questionnaire, researcher's journal, classroom videos and final reports were collected and analyzed for this multiple case study. Four representative groups were chosen and interviewed after submitting their final reports for in-depth understanding of their inquiry process. The positive learning experiences found in the process of their inquiry into children's science ideas were as follows: (1) exploring children's ideas have brought the opportunity for enhancing pre-service teachers' science content knowledge. (2) the pre-service teachers developed their ability in creating questions that probe into children's understanding. (3) the pre-service teachers recognized that children have various incomplete and unstable science ideas. (4) the pre-service teachers could suggest teaching strategy based on their findings.