• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.974-990
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study was to explore practical meanings of convergence education and to seek ways of implementing it in school science education. The study adopted focus group interview method in order to elicit science teachers' perceptions and practical knowledge related to various ways of integrating educational aims and contents from the perspectives of science education. Two focus group interviews were held with four science teachers with the themes of the concept and potential of convergence education, and the implementation and systemic support, respectively. The qualitative data was analyzed by deriving major themes comprising teachers' perception on convergence education: they are 1) related concepts and rationales, 2) contents, methods, and assessment, 3) the characteristics of the science subject that make it suitable for convergent education, 4) teacher perception and professionalism required for implementing convergent education, and finally 5) environmental conditions for putting the idea into practice. Based on this result, the study discusses conceptual and practical issues for implementing convergence education in ways that contribute to overcoming the problems of the traditional educational system and reorienting science education towards the future society.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.70-83
• /
• 2007

Reflection in teacher education is one reform effort that has taken hold in many teacher preparation programs. However, how to define it and how to foster it in a teacher's education are problematic issues. In this study, on the basis of literature review, science teachers' reflective thinking is defined as a process of thinking that deliberates on alternatives to solve conflict between one's previous knowledge/belief/practice and internal/external factors in science teaching context. Based on this definition, three types of science teachers' reflective thinking (i.e. technical reflection, professional reflection and critical reflection) were proposed. In addition, a framework of classifying the reflective thinking's types was also developed. To investigate science teachers' reflective thinking, two pre-service science teachers who majored in physics education participated in this study. The participants presented the monthly report on reflective practice, pre/post questionnaire, and education practicum journals. Individual interviews with them were conducted before and after their teaching activities. From the analysis of the data, it was possible to categorize the reflective thinking of the participants into three types. The major type of their reflective thinking was the technical reflection. However, it was difficult to find examples of the critical reflection.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.390-400
• /
• 2006

The purpose of this study is to propose an improvement plan based on an analysis of the current earth science teacher education curriculum in the department of education in the four fields of teaching profession theory: student-teacher practice, subject lesson education, and subject content education. The following are the conclusions and suggestions of this study. In case of teaching profession theory, too much emphasis is put on pedagogical theory over practical issues, and a problem arises upon completion. Therefore, it is sugguest that teaching profession theory might be completed before subject lesson education to ensure more authentic subjects performing teaching profession. The current term for student-teacher training is too short to understand the whole school system. Current school system does not have any off-job training course or internship system. Therefore, student-teacher training term should be increased by at least $3{\sim}6$ months to play a vital role in the current system. The credit number of subject lesson education is too small compared with subject content education. Consequently, the credit number of subject lesson education should be increased, and more professor majored in subject lesson education should be recruited. Significant deviation between the content of subject content education and that of middle school grade exists, and there is also much difference in the ratio of subject according to university. To get rid of these problems, subject content education should be connected with subject lesson education and appropriate number of credit needs to be assigned to each subject domain.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.96-108
• /
• 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate how prospective elementary school teachers perceived teacher's inquiryoriented teaching practice, with an emphasis on students' scientific explanations based on scientific evidence. For this study, 94 prospective elementary school teachers were participated. 14 among 94 participants had chances to intensively experience this particular teaching methods for 15 weeks. All of the 94 participants observed the intended science teaching practice for 4th graders in two different elementary schools, which utilized the science talks emphasizing students' scientific explanation activity. For quantitative data analysis, they were asked to provide their reaction to the science teaching methods after their classroom observation. For qualitative data analysis, 5 among the participants, who had relatively long term experience with this teaching practice, were chosen to interview in order to understand their individual reasons of the ways they perceived about the inquiry-oriented teaching methods boosting students' scientific explanation. The results show that the prospective elementary teachers generally thought the emphasis of students' scientific explanation based on scientific evidence could enhance young elementary students' science content understanding, stimulate their curiosity/interests, and further develop their ability to engage actively in scientific discussions. However, some prospective teachers tended to think that the science teaching. methods would not be effective in terms of managing science classes, though. This study concludes that the prospective teachers tended to hold an endemic dilemma. On the one hand, they had their clear preference to the inquiry-oriented teaching practice as the most ideal teaching methods. On the other hand, they also had their persistent hesitance in using these methods due to their fear that elementary students might not adequately grasp the important science content when engaged in scientific discourse through an inquiry-oriented class.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.31 no.8
• /
• pp.1055-1076
• /
• 2011

In this study, we investigated the changes in beginning chemistry teachers' teaching practice without mentoring program and after the implementation of mentoring program. Participants in our study included two chemistry teachers who have less than one year of teaching experience and three mentor teachers. We collected data such as video recordings of teacher's classes, interview, and recordings of mentoring after each class. The results show there were slight changes in teaching contents, teaching procedure, and explanation method without mentoring. On the other hand, there were a lot of significant improvement in classroom environment, teaching contents and teaching procedure, teaching-learning techniques, questioning and feedback, and explanation method after mentoring has been implemented. However, there were no easy changes in the teaching style, understanding of students, and ways of interaction with students in connection with teaching purposes. Based on the results of this study, we explored the possibilities of instructional improvement through mentoring on beginning chemistry teacher's teaching practice. Therefore, we consider that more systematic and long-term mentoring is necessary to improve professionalism in teaching beginning teachers. In particular, we propose mentoring programs reflecting the individual needs of beginning teachers.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.67 no.6
• /
• pp.462-474
• /
• 2023

The purpose of this study is to analyze the stress experienced by pre-service chemistry teachers during their teaching practice. To do this, a stress test tool for pre-service science teachers was developed, and a survey was conducted with 19 pre-service chemistry teachers to investigate their anticipated stress before the practice and the stress experienced after the practice. The survey, conducted online before and after the teaching practice, was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The interpretation of the stress test results for pre-service chemistry teachers was based on teaching portfolios and interview data compiled during the teaching practice. The research findings are as follows: First, pre-service chemistry teachers anticipated various stresses before the teaching practice, but the number of stress factors and the number of pre-service teachers experiencing stress were generally lower during the practice. Second, there are a difference in the factors and percentage of anticipated and experienced stress before and during the teaching practice depending on the school level where pre-service chemistry teachers gained their practice. Third, there was no gender difference in the stress experienced by pre-service chemistry teachers during the teaching practice.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.93-120
• /
• 2011

This study was aimed at inquiring into the role characteristics of a early childhood teacher, who can put an act of tending & examining into practice, and organizing a role by analyzing the concrete reality based on the relationship with a early childhood teacher's role in Korea and Japan. As a result, this study could take a look at the characteristics, such as relation with conversation, relation through sensation and body, relation with familiarity, and relation by living through the cases in Korea. As for the cases in Japan, there appear the characteristics, such as relation through natural things, relation as an equal participant, relation with bodily movement, and relation with daily life. Based on the result of the analysis, this study organized a early childhood teacher's role as relationship through object-oriented language, relationship based on sensation, relationship based on fellowship, and ecological relationship.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.27-44
• /
• 2021

This study is to identify the concept of action from the critical science perspective and to explore the agency of home economics teachers for the purpose of teacher education. The context and various characteristics of home economics teacher' agency were identified in terms of philosophy and teacher education. The results of the study indicates, first, the concept of action refers to an activity of individuals involving one's own intentions, and include the ability to reveal a unique identity that aims to reach a set purpose and decision, and this can be identified by mutual meaning in the public sphere. Second, teacher agency is influenced by a teacher's professional experiences and cultural and structural aspects, and it can create an environment which can promote self-directed and cooperative relationships among individuals and communities. Therefore, home economics teachers should be able to reasonably judge, contemplate, and act through reflections on the circumstances and consequences in which their agency is exercised. Third, home economics teachers can reflect and think critically about the values, roles, and sense of purpose of home economics education based on agency. Teachers should focus on the process of achieving their agency rather than on completing it, and they can continuously develop it through a perceived shared understanding among teachers. Therefore, the conceptualization of the agency of home economics teachers is to understand the practice revealed in a teacher's actions. This requires environmental support in school settings because it acts as a mechanism for strengthening the thinking and reflection of teachers through the creation of interactive environments in which professional knowledge and experiences can be shared.

• Journal of the International Relations & Interdisciplinary Education
• /
• v.1 no.2
• /
• pp.68-79
• /
• 2021

This study tried to analyze the case of character education class using reading for pre-primary early childhood teachers. To this end, the criteria for character education were established based on literature research, and a list of books appropriate for it was selected, and then applied to practice. The goal of character education class using reading for pre-school teachers is to cultivate the character that an early childhood teacher should have and to develop the ability to apply character education program through reading to young children. This study selected books based on the contents of personality virtues after taking a course on the concept and theory of personality contents for college students who are taking the 'personality and emotional reading' course in their major. Therefore, this study is meaningful in that it presents contents that can be practiced in connection with the family as a personality education program that can be applied not only to pre-primary teachers, but also to early childhood teachers and young children.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.36 no.5
• /
• pp.739-756
• /
• 2016

The purpose of the study is to reflect on 'myself' as a teacher educator of college of education in depth and to improve my instruction through self-study with three critical collaborators. 17 pre-service science teachers and I have participated in this study of a teacher educator's course since March 2016 after the preliminary practice in 2015. The video recorded the course for 11 weeks with about 40 hours of lessons. The data source also included teacher educator's reflective journals, lecture evaluations, online boards and so on. Questionnaires were distributed and answered both at the beginning and at the end of the course and pre-service teachers wrote their reflective journals. Four of them were in the focus group interviews. During the course, the weekly group meeting of critical collaborators analyzed the emerging issues based on the lesson clips and teacher educator's reflective journals with discussion for the course innovation. Four phases were revealed in the process and for the purpose of the course such as exploration, conflicts, challenges, and changes. The results showed that first, we identified tensions among the teacher educator's multiple identities as a lecturer, a faculty member, and a researcher. Second, there were differences between goals of teacher educator and pre-service teachers in the course, and this obstructed the success of the course sometimes. Third, these practices led to explore balanced alternative views and interpretations of the problem by critical views and to expand and improve our teaching practice and thinking. In addition, the self-study with critical collaborators helped to bring conflicts and issues below my practice to light for collaborative reflection and it gave a chance to understand ourselves as teacher educators in different ways.