• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.76-92
• /
• 2002

OECD/PISA(Programme for International Student Assessment) is significant in that it is the first international comparative study assessing 15-year-old students' scientific literacy. Based on Korean students' results of percent correct in 35 science items, several characteristics such as followings were revealed. First, from the perspectives of science application area, Korean students showed the highest achievement in the area of 'science in technology' followed by in the areas of 'science in life and health' and 'science in earth and environment'. Male students achieved significantly better than female counterparts in all three areas. Second, the achievement in items of science knowledge was significantly higher than in items of scientific processes. Whereas the achievement difference between science knowledge- and scientific process items was larger for male students. Third, from the perspectives of application contexts, Korean students showed the highest achievement in the historical context and the lowest achievement in the personal context. Fourth, from the perspectives of item format, Korean students performed significantly better in open-constructed items rather than in multiple-choice items. Fifth, Korean students showed low performance in items of biotechnology and environment-related issue, which was more prominent for female students. Sixth, whereas male students performed significantly better than female students in most aspects, it is noteworthy that there was no significant gender differences in items of scientific processes and females performed significantly better than male students in open-constructed items which require long sentence.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.229-237
• /
• 1997

Due mainly to the complexity of educational system, it is difficult to comprehend the phenomena and nature of the science education. Educators have developed various kinds of means and methods useful for easy understanding of the phenomena and nature. This study added another method supporting that the phenomena and nature of the science education should be understood in the context of educational system. System approach into thought is holistic and contextual in nature. It focuses on both the whole and its relevant parts, and is concerned with environmental context. By its definition, a system interact not only with another system but also with its environments. The purpose of this study was to answer such questions as "What is the science education?", or "What is the meaning of the science education?", "Why do we teach science?", "Why are we ought to teach science?", and "How do we know that those facts and methods are valid?" The results for the study are as follows: 1. Science education is the human behavior with the purpose to attain something through science and education. It is socio-cultural process, social and organizational activity into which the public deeply involved. The process and activity are usually undergirded upon the value of science education. 2. The science education system is analyzed in the light of the legislative institution. The system model that characterize of the system and the interrelationship among the systems is suggested in terms of the conceptions of boundary, components, variables, parameters and linkage, etc. Then, the science education system is divided into the plan-system, do-system and see-system by the use of the criterion of plan-do-see that is the general process of human activity. The study also identified that the system of science education is consisted of the aspects of science education administration, school science education, and science education evaluation. 3. As the frame of thought on the contextuality in the science education system, the contexts of meaning, organization, legislation and policy were presented, along with the main cognitive interest, the system, the orientation, and the premise of each context which were used to explain the reasons. The results of this study suggested a new approach into the comprehension of the educational phenomena in teaching science and the possibility of understanding science education as a whole.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.141-150
• /
• 2020

The purpose of this study is to critically review the skill-based approach to scientific inquiry in science education and to explore the meaning of science practices that are emphasized in recent science education reform movement. An extensive review of relevant literature was carried out, and the results were summarized according to the detailed themes of the study. In the skill-based approach of which Science-A Process Approach (SAPA) is a representative example, science process skills were presented as hierarchically connected with one another, they were believed to be transferable or generalizable, and science learning through discovery was stressed. These points of view are, however, contradicted with those of the modern philosophy of science which suggests the theory-laden nature of using the skills. The skill-based view has also been criticized by the fact that the use of inquiry skills is content-specific or context-dependent and that science theories or principles cannot be discovered by induction. In contrast, the recent view understands science practices holistically, emphasizes the diverse ways of doing the practices which vary with different contents or contexts, and considers student ideas importantly in the science classroom. The findings of this study can contribute to the development of a new science curriculum by providing implications for establishing a consistent view on scientific inquiry.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.62-69
• /
• 2016

Narrow-mouth frog (Kaloula borealis) is the only amphibian species of genus Kaloula living in South Korea. They are designated and managed as endangered class II wildlife by the Ministry of Environment, Korea. Therefore, there is a desperate need of a habitat restoration study to prevent the extinction of narrow-mouth frog. This study is primarily for the purpose of presenting the direction and practical applications to restore damaged narrow-mouth frog habitats or to suggest alternative habitat options. The habitat suitability index (HSI) of narrow-mouth frog was applied to the research area in Mokpo City of Jeollanam-do Province, in order to present a new narrow-mouth frog habitat. We analyzed the research area based on historical contexts, ecological environment, ecology, and habitat requirements. The research area was divided into the core, buffer, and transition zones according to UNESCO MAB (Man and Biosphere) to establish local land-use plans. As for the foundation of the plan, we divided the habitat composition of the core, where narrow-mouth frog live in, into wetland (spawning area), grassland (shelter and feeding grounds), and forestland (feeding ground). We had a comparative analysis of habitat suitability in pre and post planning of narrow-mouth frog habitat restoration. For the validation study of habitat restoration plans, the future research should be on the composition of test-bed, continuous monitoring, and scientific habitat maintenance.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.533-551
• /
• 2015

Problem posing in school mathematics is generally regarded to make a new problem from contexts, information, and experiences relevant to realistic or mathematical situations. Also, it is to reconstruct a similar or more complicated new problem based on an original problem. The former is called as problem generation and the latter is as problem reformulation. The purpose of this study was to explore the co-relation between problem generation and problem reformulation, and the educational effectiveness of each problem posing. For this purpose, on the subject of 33 pre-service secondary school teachers, this study developed two types of problem posing activities. The one was executed as the procedures of [problem generation${\rightarrow}$solving a self-generated problem${\rightarrow}$reformulation of the problem], and the other was done as the procedures of [problem generation${\rightarrow}$solving the most often generated problem${\rightarrow}$reformulation of the problem]. The intent of the former activity was to lead students' maintaining the ability to deal with the problem generation and reformulation for themselves. Furthermore, through the latter one, they were led to have peers' thinking patterns and typical tendency on problem generation and reformulation according to the instructor(the researcher)'s guidance. After these activities, the subject(33 pre-service teachers) was responded in the survey. The information on the survey is consisted of mathematical difficulties and interests, cognitive and affective domains, merits and demerits, and application to the instruction and assessment situations in math class. According to the results of this study, problem generation would be geared to understand mathematical concepts and also problem reformulation would enhance problem solving ability. And it is shown that accomplishing the second activity of problem posing be more efficient than doing the first activity in math class.

• School Mathematics
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.19-41
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this article was to a) identify how preservice teachers conceive feedbacks and subsequent classroom discourses, and b) compare them with those in reform-oriented mathematics classroom video for mathematics teachers' professional development about classroom discourse. This article analyzes feedback patterns and subsequent classroom discourses in preservice teachers' imaginary classroom scripts (lesson plays) and compares them with those in the reform-oriented classroom video dealing with the same teaching situation. Most of the preservice teachers' feedbacks focused the evaluation of students' responses and transmission of meaning (univocal function), whereas the teacher's feedback in the reform-oriented classroom allowed the whole class to validate or challenge the answers, thereby facilitating students' generation of meaning (dialogic function). The comparison analysis between the univocal discourse in a preservice teacher's lesson play and the dialogical discourse in the reform-oriented classroom video shows that teacher feedback serves as an important indicator for the main function of classroom discourse and the levels of students' cognitive participation, and also as a variable that determines and changes them. This case study suggests that to improve the quality of classroom discourse, preservice and in-service teachers need experience of perceiving the variety of feedback patterns available in specific teaching contexts and exploring ways to balance the univocal and dialogical functioning in their feedback move during the teacher training courses.

• School Mathematics
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.1-19
• /
• 2004

Recently, we have been listening such a words, that is, the crisis of public education through the mass communication such as newspaper or broadcasting. This means that we didn't have an enough opportunity to think it over about good education programme which the education of school can be normalized or the design of curriculum in the current problems such as overcrowded class, teacher and poor finance which is not still solved. As we know, it is true that the older generation is familiar with the rote learning which was under the control of behaviorism for about three hundred years. Fortunately, The 7th curriculum which had made public by the ministry of education on 30 Dec. 1997 have changed so many things such as real life based or activity based and so on. But it still leaves something to be desired in reflecting the demand of teachers of field. Taking into account this real situation, I have wondered how they run curriculum and how math learning programme of lower grade is different with ours in New Zealand, etc and so I had tried to find some suggestive points through the comparison of curriculum and text between Korea and New Zealand. But, if we want to compare all the strands of curriculum between two countries, it is too global and so in this paper, we deal with only number and operations(number), measurement, figure(geometry), equation and patter(algebra), probability and statistics(statistics) which are dealt with more comparatively in the lower grade of primary school. Because the main purpose of this paper is a comparison and analysis of the curriculum and math learning program of the lower grade in the primary school between two countries and so we compare global characteristics of education system and curriculum between two countries, at first and then we dealt with the very core part of the content of New Zealand curriculum within the ranges of level 1, 2 and 3 and global characteristics of learning program simultaneously.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
• /
• 2009.05a
• /
• pp.2169-2175
• /
• 2009

This research aims to evaluate the concept of eco-efficient water infrastructure and provides a list of case studies in order to help understand the applicability of eco-efficient water infrastructure to Asia and the Pacific. A set of indicators have been explored to assess eco-efficiency in water infrastructure for the region on a micro and macro scale. The core idea of eco-efficiency, 'more value with less impact (on the environment)', has proven to be applicable in management of water infrastructure. The fundamental elements in eco-efficient water infrastructure should encompass physical infrastructure and non-physical infrastructure, which is more needed particularly in Asian countries. The case studies have demonstrated the applicability of the concept of eco-efficient water infrastructure. The Republic of Korea has provided the case of the eco-friendly approaches to enhance dam management and its innovative solutions how to use water more efficiently through state-of-art technologies. The experiences of Singapore are some of the best evidence to establish eco-efficient water infrastructure, for instance, the NEWater project via application of cutting edge technologies (recycled water) and institutional reform in water tariff systems to conserve water as well as enhance water quality. A list of indicators to assess eco-efficiency in water infrastructure have been discussed, and the research presents a myriad of project cases which are good to represent eco-efficiency in water infrastructure, including multipurpose small dams, customized flood defense systems, eco-efficient ground water use, and eco-efficient desalination plants. The study has presented numerous indicators in five different categories: 1) the status of water availability and infrastructure; 2) production and consumption patterns of freshwater; 3) agricultural products and sources of environmental loads; 4) damages from water-caused natural disaster; and 5) urban water supply and sanitation. There are challenges as well as benefits in such indicators, since the indicators should be applied very carefully in accordance with specific socio-economic, political and policy contexts in different countries in Asia and the Pacific Region. The key to success of establishment of eco-efficient water infrastructure in Asia primarily depends on the extent to which each country is committed to balancing its development of physical as well as non-physical water infrastructure. Particularly, it is imperative for Asian countries to transform its policy focus from physical infrastructure to non-physical infrastructure. Such shift will help lead to implementation of sustainable in Asian countries.

• Journal of Distribution Research
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.59-84
• /
• 2005

Most of previous studies have proposed representative product categories which are likely to be sold on the on-line based only on the on-line benefits and risks. However, on-line shopping can be perceived another form of distribution channels from the perspectives of consumers. Therefore, in order to identify product categories which have a great potential to be sold on on-line stores, it is necessary to consider the perception and behavior at off-line shopping contexts as well as on on-line shopping circumstances. In this paper, we investigate the consumers' perception and behavior under both on-line and off-line shopping situations and classify them into several groups based on their perceptual and behavioral characteristics. Based on this classification, we empirically examine the product categories selling well on the on-line shopping. The empirical results show that there exist some patterns between distribution channels (on-line and off-line) and product categories. In addition, there are some differences among consumers regarding the perceptions and behaviors at on-line and off-line situations. Consumers who have high preference for on-line shopping tend to buy much wider product categories from on-line.

• School Mathematics
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.375-399
• /
• 2002

When a curriculum change is being an issue, the editorships and the promotive directions reflect to supplement the social requests. However it is often criticized that such changes in the textbook itself are not satisfactory enough as to coherent to the editoships. And we set the following research questions; (1) One of the most important changes in the new 7th curriculum is to encourage the students' activities. We checked if it is well suited in the new textbooks. (2) Often textbook itself is not important In class, while instructor or students want something else other than the one suggested in the textbook. We asked 187 teachers how they use the textbooks in class. To answer (1), we checked up the introductory - activity - contents with 7 categories, which are ${\circled1}$ of real life sources ${\circled2}$ in use of concrete manipulative ${\circled3}$ in use of computers or calculators ${\circled4}$ in use of historical resources ${\circled5}$ stimulating to recall a relevant previous knowledges ${\circled6}$ of coherence between the activity and the exploratory contexts. ${\circled2}$ were increased, rewarding to the decrease of ${\circled5}$, in the new textbooks, while changes in ${\circled3}$ and ${\circled4}$ were not enough to talk about increments. Especially slight decrease in ${\circled6}$ were detected and it seemed to attribute to the unmatchable use of ${\circled1}$ and ${\circled2}$ with the explanation of mathematical subjects, which also implies how difficult to match ${\circled1}$ and ${\circled2}$ with ${\circled6}$. Analyzing the reponses of (2), about 70% of the teachers used the introductory activities in the textbook, which led better attention of sudents, while 30% of teachers do not use it because they felt that its inroductory activities had not been adequate for their purposes. Teachers counted inadequacy reasons for not being helpful in class, lack of time or lack of support of students, etc. Those teachers use introductory activities invented of their own for classes. As some results of the study, we suggest firstly that authors of textbooks have to get more informations to provide ways to entcourage students' interest in mathematics classes. The ways must be practical and brain storming as well as More use of computers and calculators and mathematical history are expected. Secondly, we are emphasizing the feedbacks between the textbook authors and the users(teachers and students) through internet. Which, we anticipate, will get better communications between them and be a good foundations of continuous modifications of textbooks.