• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.149-160
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• 2023

A Korean-version science curiosity questionnaire (Science Curiosity in Learning Environments [SCILE(15)]) was developed after factor analysis of the Korean-version SCILE(30) questionnaire. Pre-service elementary school teachers were surveyed using the Korean-version SCILE(30), and a factor analysis based on their responses was performed. The factor analysis demonstrated that the Korean-version SCILE(15) consisted of three curiosity factors: a 'science practices' factor, a 'stretching' factor, and an 'embracing' factor. Confirmatory factor analysis of the factor structure revealed correlations between all the factors, thus confirming their commonality as a science curiosity factors. The Cronbach alpha for the reliability of all items in the Korean-version SCILE(15) and of items by factor was greater than 0.700. The Korean-version SCILE(15) was therefore evaluated to be reliable as a science curiosity questionnaire. Pre-service elementary teachers who participated in the survey for the development of the SCILE(15) were aware of the 'science practices', 'stretching', and 'embracing' science curiosity factors. Analysis in a general linear model of the degree of recognition accorded by pre-service elementary teachers to the three science curiosity factors demonstrated significant differences between the curiosity factors in terms of recognition. This cohort of pre-service elementary teachers showed the highest level of recognition of the 'stretching' curiosity factor and the lowest level of recognition of the 'embracing' curiosity factor.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.175-190
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to find out how interest in thermal concepts and the perceived difficulty affect the stimulation of science state curiosity. To achieve this purpose, 410 elementary school students in 5th to 6th grade were asked to measure interest in the content of the thermal concept tasks, the perceived difficulty and science state curiosity while solving the thermal concept tasks. 2 (low interest vs. high interest)×2 (easy vs. difficult) ANCOVA was conducted with the covariate of the student's level of science curiosity, which is expected to affect the stimulation of science state curiosity. As a result of the analysis, students with high interest in the contents of the task were showed high science state curiosity. Meanwhile, there was no difference in the level of science state curiosity according to the perceived difficulty. In addition, science state curiosity level of the students with low interest in the content of the task were high when they perceived the task as easy, but science state curiosity level of the students with high interest in the content of the task were high when they perceived the task as difficult. This study was meaningful in that it empirically verified that interest in the content of the tasks has an effect on the stimulation of science state curiosity, and that the effect of interest on the stimulation of science state curiosity varies according to the level of the perceived difficulty.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.1-13
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• 2009

This study examined the extent to which young children's scientific inquiry capabilities and curiosity are affected by their mothers' awareness about science education and their mutual interaction. Instruments were Levels of Mothers' Awareness about Science Education and Interaction with Children (Jeon, 2006), Children's Scientific Thinking Capabilities (Lee, 2000), and Children's Curiosity (Lee, 2001). Differences between high-and low-ranked groups were analyzed by t-tests. Results showed that children whose mothers displayed high levels of awareness about science education and mutual interaction showed better scientific inquiry capabilities and curiosity than children whose mothers did not display such high levels. By confirming the significant role of mothers in their children's science education these results can be an aid to parent education.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.1-16
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• 2006

This study investigated the effectiveness of the Developmentally Appropriate Instruction Model for Science(DAIM-S) on increasing scientific curiosity and problem solving in young children. Subjects were 60 5-year-old middle class children, randomly assigned to one of two groups: either the DAIM-S group or the direct instruction group. For 2 months, the children in both groups took part in 21 science activity sessions. Both before and after treatment, subjects were tested on curiosity and scientific problem solving. The DAIM-S group showed higher achievement than the direct instruction group in the acquisition of curiosity and scientific problem solving. From these results, the researchers suggest application of the DIAM-S to the science teaching of young children.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.343-365
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of learner variables on triggering state curiosity and state anxiety in confronting scientific task situation for fifth to sixth grades of elementary school. Science curiosity, interest, need for cognition, science self-concept, science anxiety, prior knowledge, and perceived difficulty were selected as learner variables that are expected to affect state curiosity and state anxiety. As a result of this study, the variables that had a significant influence on evoking state curiosity in confronting scientific task situation were in the order of interest, need for cognition, science curiosity, and prior knowledge, and all of these variables had a positive effect. In addition, the variables that significantly affect on evoking state anxiety in confronting scientific task situation were in the order of science anxiety, perceived difficulty, need for cognition, science self-concept, and prior knowledge. Of these, only prior knowledge had a negative effect on evoking state anxiety, and the other variables had a positive effect. The results of this study are expected to broaden the comprehension of students' emotional states in science education, and provide a theoretical foundation for the studies of state curiosity and state anxiety in science learning.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.1119-1128
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• 2014

This study was aimed at analyzing the correlation among each factor after finding out the difference between the gifted elementary students of science and general students with their parents' learning involvement, the children's intellectual curiosity and scientific creativity. The results of the study were as in the followings. Firstly, there was a significant difference in the intellectual curiosity between the gifted students and general students. Secondly, there was a significant difference in the parents' learning involvement perceived by the gifted students and general students. Thirdly, there was a significant difference in scientific curiosity of the gifted students and the general students. Forth, as the results of the correlation analysis among the talented child's father's learning involvement, the child's intellectual curiosity and scientific creativity, there was a positive correlation between the father's pursuit for appropriateness and the talented child's special curiosity, and another positive correlation between the father's encouragement for academic improvement and the child's flexibility and originality.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.433-448
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• 2020

In this study, the tasks of thermal equilibrium and heat insulation concept were divided into scientific and everyday contexts to analyzed the level of familiarity, feeling of knowing, state curiosity, and state anxiety that students feel in task contexts and their relationship. The subjects of this study were One hundred nine students in sixth grade of elementary schools located in metropolitan cities. The results of this study were as follows. First, there was no difference in the level of feeling of knowing, state curiosity, and state anxiety in the task of scientific and everyday contexts. In the case of familiarity, there was no consistent tendency in the concept of thermal equilibrium and heat insulation. And the group who recognized the task context familiarly had higher feeling of knowing and lower state anxiety than the group who recognized the task context unfamiliarly. Second, familiarity and feeling of knowing showed high positive correlation, state anxiety and familiarity showed negative correlation, and state anxiety and feeling of knowing had also negative correlation. In addition, familiarity had a negative effect on state anxiety, and FOK had a positive effect on state curiosity and a negative effect on state anxiety. There was no significant moderating effect of the task context. Third, in case of state curiosity, the group perceived the knowledge gap was very small had the highest state curiosity, and the group perceived the knowledge gap was very large had the lowest state curiosity. In case of state anxiety, the less the knowledge gap was perceived, the lower the anxiety was triggered. This study broadens our understanding of the learning process and provides implications for effective instruction strategies for students' cognitive and emotional states.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.515-524
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• 2019

This study was conducted based on the fact that children in institutions for early childhood education located in cities lack the opportunity to experience nature. Therefore, urban parks are where it is possible to observe nature and natural environment, through which we examined the effects of nature activities on kindergarten children's curiosity and scientific problem-solving ability. The subjects of this study were 5-years old kindergarten children in attending public kindergartens in Cheonan and Asan and 42 children were randomly selected. The pretest and posttest were conducted on curiosity and scientific problem-solving ability before and after nature activities. The results showed that nature activities in urban parks had significant effects on improvement of kindergarten children's curiosity and scientific problem-solving ability (p <.05). Therefore, nature activities in urban parks had positive effects on preference for unknown and exploratory behavior, which are sub-factors of kindergarten children's curiosity. Nature activities also had positive effects on discovery and statement of the problem, creation and application of ideas, and conclusion to problem solving.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.485-502
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument for the measuring students' state curiosity and anxiety by dividing science learning context into three stages: when confronting scientific task, checking the results, learning science concepts, and verify the validity and reliability of the measurement tools developed. For this purpose, based on the theoretical background of various prior studies, science state curiosity and science state anxiety were defined in three stages of the learning context, and preliminary items were developed according to these definitions. The preliminary items were developed with the same number and the basic framework for each stage to identify changes in state curiosity and anxiety. Some preliminary items were refined during the confirming face validity and content validity. As a result of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the measurement tool consisted of five items of state curiosity and five items of state anxiety (two factors, ten items) at each stage, and confirmed the construct validity of the measurement tool. The Cronbach alpha was 0.8 or higher for each factor or for all items. This measurement tool is meaningful in that it can measure the state curiosity and anxiety applicable in three stages of science learning context and identify the changes.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.197-207
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to assess pro-environmental behavior of elementary school students by school year and gender and to investigate the relationships of their emotional affinity toward and intellectual curiosity about life, and experiences about nature and life with the pro-environmental behavior. A total of 436 elementary students participated in the study: 189 3rd grade; 247 6th grade students, and 233 boys; 203 girls. The variables were measured by using a self-report questionnaire with 5-point Likert scale items. The results showed the levels of pro-environmental behavior of the 3rd grade students and the girls were higher than that of the 6th grade and the boys, respectively. Their pro-environmental behavior was significantly related with all measured variables. However, it was found that the direct predictors of their pro-environmental behavior were the intellectual curiosity and the indirect experience, while the emotional affinity and the direct experience did not have a direct impact on the behavior. The predictive power of the intellectual curiosity and the indirect experience for their pro-environmental behavior was higher in 3rd grade than 6th grade. While the indirect experience was a stronger predictor of the boys' pro-environmental behavior than the intellectual curiosity, the curiosity was a stronger predictor of the girls.