• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.75-82
• /
• 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine the consistency and balance of learning objectives of units and instructional units according to grades and educational domains. Educational domains were cognitive(scientific knowledge), scientific inquiry(inquiry process skills), affective(scientific attitude), and science-technology-society(STS). Learning objectives of life field of the 7th elementary science curricular teaching guidebooks were analysed. Scientific inquiry process skill objectives(43.5%) were most dominant in units, but cognitive objectives(53.9%) were most dominant in instructional units. STS objectives were most recessive in both units and instructional units. Especially, objectives of units and instructional units were shown no consistency by grade. The results of this study suggested that the textbooks and teaching guidebooks should be developed consistently by considering learning activities and contents on the basis of background and properties of science curriculum.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.304-312
• /
• 2009

We have investigated the effects of participation in science fairs on perception, science related attitudes and science inquiry process skill of thirteen fifth-grade elementary school children in the science subjects. Questionnaires were prepared to find out student's reactions to the participation in science fairs. All participated children responded that the activities at the fairs were interesting and helpful to learning scientific knowledge and inquiring scientific questions. From the analysis of the responses we have found that the participation process including preparatory ones during the fairs may help children to enhance their science related attitudes and science inquiry process skill and can be considered as a useful science curriculum.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.145-161
• /
• 2021

This study analyzes the characteristic of elementary science-gifted education winner programs in Gifted Education Database (GED) focusing on scientific creativity. For this purpose, an analysis framework to analyze the programs was developed and a total of 840 inquiry activities from 55 winner programs were analyzed according to the analysis framework. The analysis of the results reveal that 'scientific inquiry skill' of the five scientific creativity components was most frequently included in the activities. 'Scientific knowledge content' and 'creative thinking' were also frequently included. However, 'problem solving ability' and 'common factor' were a little included. In the aspects of integration, the integrations between two or three components with five or eight types were frequently found. No integrations were also frequently included although less than the previous categories. The integrations among four with four types or five components were also slightly found. 'Scientific knowledge content', 'scientific inquiry skills', and 'creative thinking' with other components were more frequently found. However, the integrations of 'common factor' or 'problem solving ability' with the other components were less frequently found. Educational implications of these findings are discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.509-524
• /
• 2007

The purpose of the study is to compare elementary school science textbooks ($3^{rd}$ grade) in Korea and the U.S., centering on the ways to present scientific concepts and inquiry process in the units of 'matter.' The analysis is focused on: a) general structure of the units; b) how to present scientific concepts in terms of its connections and complexity; c) how to present inquiry process in terms of its types and skills. The findings of the study are as follows. First, the contents of 'matter' units are scientific discipline-based in both countries. The general structure of the units in Korean textbooks is unrestricted compared to those in the U.S. Second, the connections among the concepts are poor and the level of complexity is low in Korean textbooks, which are contrary to those in the U.S. textbooks. Third, it is a common feature that the inquiry process is based on learners' everyday experiences with simple experiments in two countries' textbooks. However, the inquiry process in the U.S. textbooks is provided with detailed instructions while the process in Korea is presented with diverse activities without formal guidelines. Based on the results, the study suggests three recommendations to improve Korean textbooks: a) science contents should be linked to other disciplines in order to promote practical applications; b) scientific concepts are required to be tightly connected and provided with in-depth explanations; c) inquiry process is needed to be presented with specific guidance to facilitate scientific thinking.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.26-38
• /
• 2016

The purpose of this study was to grasp the characteristics of composition regarding the material-centered integrated unit of environmental and natural studies, a science subject in Finland, to investigate a need for applying the material-centered integrated unit to the science curriculum of Korea. For the purpose, the study made an analysis on contents, inquiry activities, and visual materials (the most important in the elementary science curriculum and textbook composition), and it brought following results: First, as a result of analyzing the area of contents, the bicycle material-centered integrated unit comprised a large proportion of 44 pages (25.3%) of the whole 174 pages from the environmental and natural studies textbook for the third grade. The contents included such various concepts as traffic rules, safety, environmental protection and pollution, recycling and separate collection, tubes and triangular structures, wedges and screws, leverage, wheels, axles, gears, elasticity (spring), friction, and so on. Second, as a result of analyzing contents related to the thinking ability of inquiry activities, "expecting or confirming expectations" and "application" are included in every lesson, and one lesson is composed in such a way that students can study on bicycles as a practical material for their daily life and they can improve various thinking abilities. Third, as a result of analyzing the circumstances of inquiry activities, daily circumstances made up eight lessons (80.0%) and technical and social circumstances made up two lessons (20.0%) by focusing on bicycles, a material related to students' daily life. Fourth, as a result of analyzing visual materials, the percentage of pictures and photos was high at 53.4% and 45.2% respectively. As a result of analyzing the role of visual materials, the percentage of the illustrative role and explanatory-complementary role was high at 52.1% and 47.9% respectively. Lastly, as a result of analyzing from the epistemological view to interpret the relation between visual materials and students and the position of visual materials, the visual textbook materials were provided toward a way that students can decrease their feeling of epistemological separation in the three fields of ideational metafunction, interpersonal metafunction, and textual metafunction.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.62 no.3
• /
• pp.203-213
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of student assessment activities on claim and evidence formation in argument-based inquiry (ABI) for high school students. The participants of the study were 166 grade 10 students from six different classes in the same high school. The experimental group (84 students) was taught Argument-Based Inquiry with students' self and peer assessment activities. The comparative group (82 students) was taught without the activities. Over one semester students participated in five ABI programs that we developed. According to the analysis of the claim and evidence from groups, the experimental group had a significantly higher mean score than the comparative group. The result of analysis of students' assessment in the experimental group, the frequency about accurate and sufficient evidence revealed to be high and students assessed whether peers' claims fit with the evidence and whether peers' explanations of the evidence's validity was sufficient. Students' answers in the survey and interviews showed that the students though they could improve the accuracy of their ideas, appropriateness of their evidence, and the method of presenting evidence based on the assessment results.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.113-128
• /
• 2011

The purpose of this study was to confirm achievement of goals in science curriculum. The questionnaires related to 'solution' chapter of 5th grade were developed. The subjects were 69 sixth grade elementary school students and four elementary school teachers. 5 students were selected for deep interviews. Each interview was progressed separately, and all the contents of the interviews were recorded. As results, it is revealed that most of the students could not understand basic concepts of 'solution' chapter. The teachers and the students recognized that explanations in the textbook were insufficient. Many inquiry activities were introduced in textbooks, but the students could not acquire inquiry abilities, especially data interpretation and generalization abilities. Inadequate pictures in the textbook also disturbed the students' learning of inquiry ability. Using materials of real life in textbook could not attract the elementary school students' interests effectively.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.27 no.9
• /
• pp.870-880
• /
• 2007

The purpose of this study was to understand the change and characteristics of interactions in a heterogeneous group in scientific inquiry experiments. For this purpose, the process of students' interactions in small group activities were analyzed. This study focused on two, small heterogeneous groups of eighth graders. Students were involved in 13 scientific inquiry experiments for one year and students' interactions in each experiments were observed and recorded using video/audio and the data recorded were transcribed. The analysis of data was based on the method of making a note by looking and listening to the data repeatedly. Students' interactions in heterogeneous group changed toward that 3A (early formal operation student solved the problems by oneself and other students only listened to 3A student's explanation or copied the answer. The least able student was alienated from peers' interactions. In the meantime, new interactions of two middle level students were shaped. Educational implications of the progression of activities emphasizing interactions and the organization of grouping were drawn.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.26 no.7
• /
• pp.790-797
• /
• 2006

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the level-differentiated laboratory activities suggested by the 7th national curricula compared to the in-depth level activities only and supplementary level activities only. Two hundred 7th grade students attending a coed middle school were selected for this study and divided into three groups; level-differentiated, in-depth, and supplementary group. In each group, the students were subdivided into the in-depth level and the supplementary level by the formative test after completing the basic learning course. The in-depth and the supplementary laboratory activities were developed and engaged to the respective students in the level-differentiated group for one semester, while only the in-depth activities were engaged to the in-depth group and only the supplementary activities were engaged to the supplementary group. To examine the effects of treatments, the science knowledge test and the inquiry process skill test were administered before and after treatments and the students' opinions about the level-differentiated instruction were surveyed. The results showed that there were significant differences in the science knowledge achievements between the groups while no significant difference was found in the inquiry process skills. Post hoc analysis showed these differences were found between the level-differentiated group and the supplementary group. After the activities, most students in the level-differentiated group responded positively on doing level-differentiated activities except a few students in the supplementary level, These results justify the effectiveness of the level-differentiated laboratory activities compared to the supplementary only laboratory activities in middle school science classes.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.139-167
• /
• 2019

Objective: This study aims to investigate the effects of a learning cycle model-based early childhood education program using physical motion on young children's scientific inquiry ability, scientific attitude, object manipulation ability and spatial ability. Methods: The subjects of this study were 60 five-year-old children who were attending K-G City Childcare Center. The SPSS Window 21.0 program and content analysis method were used, and post-validation Tukey was conducted to examine the differences between the one-way ANOVA and the group. Results: Activities using body movement were practiced systematically based on the circle learning. Children could revise their pre-concept and concept of error by interacting with other children, teachers and the environment. Furthermore, children were attaining new knowledge while they were doing body movement activities, assessing and applying them to actual activities. Conclusion/Implications: This study is investigated a cyclic learning-based early childhood science education program using physical motion, which has significance in systematic and practical early childhood centered education for young children.