• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.657-673
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• 2015

In this study, we are interested in the teachers' MCK about '$N{\div}0$' and MPCK in relation to the proper ways to teach it. Even though '$N{\div}0$' is not on the current curriculum and textbooks of elementary school mathematics, a few students sometimes ask a question about it because the division of the form '$a{\div}b$' is dealt in whole number including 0. Teacher's obvious understanding and appropriate guidance based on students' levels can avoid students' error and have positive effects on their subsequent learning. Therefore, we developed an interview form to investigate teachers' MCK about '$N{\div}0$' and MPCK of the proper ways to teach it and carried out individual interviews with 30 elementary school teachers. The results of the analysis of these interviews reveal that some teachers do not have proper MCK about '$N{\div}0$' and many of them have no idea on how to teach their students who are asking about '$N{\div}0$'. Based on our discussion of the results, we suggest some didactical implications.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.278-296
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to examine the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) elements and the changes in the science lesson planning and implementation difficulties experienced by high-career elementary school teachers with over 20 years of educational experience through the instructional consulting case of the Seoul City Office of Education Scholarship Support Group in order to find implications on effective instructional consulting support plan for improving the science teaching professionalism of high-career elementary school teachers. The result of this study is as follows : First, the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) elements on the science lesson planning and implementation difficulties experienced by high-career elementary school teachers with over 20 years of educational experience were related to teaching strategy and they experienced difficulties in lesson content organization using lesson model and experiment facilitation and questioning, as well as in the area of interest and motive management that are definitional characteristic of learner in the learner element. Second, as for the changes in the PCK through science instructional consulting, they recognized the importance of the designing and experimenting process as students become the subject in the experiment facilitation in lesson, and they ended up attempting the postscript for promoting the thinking power of students. In addition, it was found that not only the cognitive characteristic but also the definitional characteristic of learner is important in science lesson and that students' motive is also an element that needs to be continuously managed. Third, as for effective instructional consulting plan for enhancing the science teaching professionalism of high-career elementary school teachers, it was revealed that it is necessary to first develop lesson expertise improvement consulting program that takes into account of teaching profession advancement phase of high-career teachers, and establish instructional consulting system and human resource pool of high-quality consultants based on the administrative and financial support from the Office of Education. The academic significance of this study is in the fact that it examined and searched for support plan on science teaching professionalism of high-career elementary school teacher, but a more extensive and in-depth study is needed since there is a limitation in this study on the object of study and the period.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.625-634
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• 2014

This study has investigated the factors that make a science teacher effective by analyzing students' perception of teacher knowledge required in enhancing their science learning. The basic components of teacher knowledge identified by previous researchers have been confirmed through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Based on the findings of the EFA, the questionnaire has been further analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) by means of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). In addition, the differences in students' perception on the identified factors of effectiveness have also been analyzed in terms of gender and achievement level. The findings of the EFA showed that five factors of science teacher effectiveness were identified; namely, substantive knowledge, syntactic knowledge, knowledge of students' understandings, knowledge of instructional strategies, and knowledge of assessment. These five components have been divided into two categories of teacher knowledge, SMK and PCK. What we found from the CFA was the respective high correlation between substantive and syntactic knowledge, knowledge of students' understanding and instructional strategies and the low correlation between substantive knowledge and knowledge of instructional strategies. Students perceived substantive knowledge as the most effective factor, knowledge of assessment as the least effective factor. Also, there have been considerable differences in students' perception by gender and achievement level. We proposed, based on the findings, that SMK and PCK need to be integrated into a coherent manner for the effective science teaching practice. This study provides some implications for science teacher professional development and the improvement of science teacher preparation program.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.1021-1040
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• 2013

In order to explore the influences of coteaching through mentoring upon the teaching professionalism of beginning science-gifted education teachers, this case study deeply investigated the change processes in the aspects of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Two beginning teachers planned, performed and reflected together their science instructions for science-gifted students in secondary school during four 3-hour classes. Since the second instruction, pre-, during-, and post-mentoring were conducted, we collected various data related to teachers' planning processes, videotaped all coteaching science classes, and wrote field notes. We also recorded in-depth interviews with the teachers and the whole process of mentoring. All the data were analyzed by using the constant comparative method. The results of the analyses indicated that coteaching through mentoring positively changed the teachers' PCK. Above all, we found that coteaching and mentoring strategies generated a significant synergy effect through a mutually complementary relationship. The teachers developed deep practical knowledge about the enrichment curriculum, which placed more emphasis on developing cognitive and/or affective characteristics of science-gifted students. The teachers also improved their knowledge about the characteristics of science-gifted students and the instructional strategies appropriate for developing them. Moreover, practical knowledge about assessment domains and methods used in science-gifted education were improved. Knowledge on science content necessary for effective inquiry instruction was also improved.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.265-275
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• 2022

In this study, focusing on science education in the future society, we explored students' key competencies to be cultivated for the future society, and the role and PCK expertise necessary for science teachers, who are the main agents of competency-based education to nurture these key competencies. A survey conducted among earth science teachers across the country results in 105 valid responses being obtained. The research results are discussed in terms of students' key competencies to be nurtured for the future society, the role and the expertise of science teachers required for competency-based education, and the structural relationship between the teacher role and teacher expertise. We also conducted network analysis to examine the relationship between student competency and teacher expertise, and the structure between the teacher's role and expertise. Main results include that communication and collaboration skills are the most important for students in the future society as core competencies. For science teachers, providing opportunities for collaboration-oriented activities are deemed as the most important. Regarding the structural relationship between the teacher's role and the teacher's expertise, there is a clear relationship with roles such as providing opportunities for collaboration-oriented activities and utilizing various materials and contents in relation to the expertise related to the science teaching practice. Based on the results, ways to promote student's agency based on raising teachers' awareness of the student's competencies, the inter-relatedness of the teacher's role and the teacher's expertise, and the totality of teachers' expertise were suggested.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2023

This study investigated the level of academic passion for pre-service elementary teachers' science pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and the factors that influence the passion. To this end, 182 first to fourth grade students in advanced non-science majors who were taking science-related courses in the second semester were selected, and two tests were then administered to evaluate their academic passions for science subject matter knowledge and science pedagogical knowledge. Individual in-depth interviews were also conducted with some of the participants. It was found that the factors such as "importance" and "harmonious passion" for learning science subject matter knowledge and science pedagogical knowledge were found at a high level. On the other hand, the factors such as "like" and "investment of time and energy" were slightly higher than normal, and the factor such as "obsessive passion" was slightly lower than normal. The differences in academic passion for science subject matter knowledge and science pedagogical knowledge were greater according to the high school track than the grade. The pre-service elementary teachers selected more often the factors such as "individual interests", "high school track", "contents of science-related courses at the university of education", "characteristics of professor in charge of science-related courses at the university of education", and "experience in teaching practicum" as the factors that influenced their academic passion for science subject matter knowledge and science pedagogical knowledge. However, there was a slight difference in the selection ratio depending on the high school track.

• The Journal of Korean Association of Computer Education
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.1-10
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• 2016

This study is for developing a programming education course to improve pre-service teachers' pedagogical content knowledge(PCK) of programming education. A 40-hour training course was designed with App Inventor, a block-based mobile programming environment, and with problem-based learning method and project-based learning method. After the curriculum was adopted to 12 undergraduate students, the effect of education was tested with a programming PCK questionnaire. As a result, after a 20-hour problem-based learning class, overall score and teaching method score were enhanced significantly. After another 20-hour project-based learning class, content knowledge, teaching method, and curriculum score were improved.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.99-114
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• 2011

Developing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has been emphasized as one of the requirements for science teacher's professionalism, and it should be done from systematic teacher training courses. In this study, we investigated the components considered in planning instruction and the difficulties encountered in implementing it in PCK held by secondary pre-service teachers. Twenty-seven juniors at a college of education in Seoul were asked to perform teaching demonstrations using scientific instruction models. They were also requested to write reflective journals and interview. Analyses of the results revealed that teaching strategies and learners' cognitive affective aspects were considered by most secondary pre-service teachers, whereas curriculum and assessment were regarded by few of them. For examples, choosing instruction models and organizing instructions were concerned in teaching strategies. They also considered learners' cognitive affective aspects for selecting experiments as main activities. Only few considered learners' prior-knowledge. Most difficulties encountered in planning instruction and implementing it appeared in teaching strategies. Educational implications of these findings are discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.150-162
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• 2022

In this study, we investigated pre-service science teachers' NOS-PCK by analyzing their NOS lesson planning and demonstration. Four pre-service science teachers participated in the study. They planned and demonstrated NOS lessons in the context of 'Science Inquiry Experiment' developed under the 2015 Revised National Curriculum. Their lessons were observed. All of the teaching-learning materials were collected, and semi-structured interviews were also conducted. The analyses of the result revealed that pre-service teachers mainly referred to the curriculum and textbooks when selecting the NOS learning objectives. However, they felt difficulty because the curriculum and textbooks did not clearly present the NOS to be dealt. Although all of them took explicit approaches, there were not many open and divergent reflective approaches. In addition, they expected that high school students would consider scientific knowledge absolute and would have negative perceptions of NOS lessons. They rarely assessed students' NOS learning, and were reluctant to assess. Finally, most of them had a negative perception that learning NOS is not necessary for all students. On the bases of the results, educational implications for improving the expertise of pre-service science teachers in NOS lessons were discussed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.527-536
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• 2006

This study investigated the components of science teacher professionalism, the meaning of PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge), examples of science PCK, and complementary measures that should be taken to improve teacher professionalism. Six science teachers recommended by their colleagues explained that the science teacher's professionalism (or professional knowledge) consists of science content knowledge, knowledge about teaching, knowledge about learners, and improvement efforts. Science teachers' definition of PCK, which is the professional knowledge that members of the wider society expect teachers to possess, is the teacher's materialized knowledge that aims at students' understanding and PCK is the accumulated know-how of teachers as they strive to make their teaching comprehensible by students. Science teachers also contended that teachers as professionals need to complement an accountability system, acknowledgement of continuous self-developmental efforts, collegiality, and securing validity in the teacher employment test. The teachers argued that the societal recognition of teaching professionalism is essential for a high quality teaching. Suggestions for how to improve science teaching professionalism are also discussed.