• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.75-82
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• 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
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.181-193
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• 2016

We examined the inquiry activities in the material domain of the elementary science textbooks and experimental workbooks based on 2009 revised curriculum. The analysis framework was SEP (Science and Engineering Practices) - 'Asking questions and defining problems', 'developing and using models', 'planning and carrying out investigations', 'analyzing and interpreting data', 'using mathematics and computational thinking', 'constructing explanations and designing solutions', 'engaging in argument from evidence', and 'obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information'. Sub-SEP of each grade band were also used. The results showed that the $3^{rd}{\sim}5^{th}$ grade science textbooks and workbooks mainly emphasized 'make observations and/or measurements', 'represent data in tables and/or various graphical displays', or 'use evidence to construct or support an explanation or design a solution to a problem' among around 40 sub-SEP. In the case of the inquiry activities for $6^{th}$ grade, majority of sub-SEP included were also only 'collect data to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence to answer scientific questions or test design solutions', 'analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for phenomena' or 'construct a scientific explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from sources'. The type of 'asking questions and defining problems', 'using mathematics and computational thinking' or 'obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information' were little found out of 8 SEP. Educational implications were discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.161-177
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• 2009

This study aims to explore how teachers construct scientific explanation during instructional practices to help students' scientific inquiry. Before investigating teachers' classroom practices, elementary school science curriculum was examined to identify scientific concepts, particularly in earth science. Then, a total of six teachers' scientific explanation in actual teaching practices was analysed focusing on a) explanation of scientific concepts; b) rationale for scientific explanation; c) connection between scientific explanation and everyday explanation. The findings are as follows. First, the science curriculum provides $1{\sim}2$ main scientific concepts per unit, which are mostly appeared in the unit title. Those concepts and sub-concepts are not explicitly described but embedded in students' inquiry activities. Second, the teachers explain scientific concepts and discuss the rationale behind the scientific explanation, but rarely connect scientific explanation to everyday explanation. Also, the level of scientific explanations is low remaining level 1 or 2, not reaching 3, the highest level. Based on the results, the study suggests a) teachers need to provide explicit and clear explanations about scientific concepts; b) teachers are required to connect scientific explanation and everyday explanation; c) the level of teachers scientific explanation should be elevated by using an evidence, reasoning and claim, the components of scientific explanation as well as introducing new scientific concepts and inquiry activities.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.30 no.7
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• pp.909-927
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• 2009

Inquiry became an essential methodology in science education. Recently, argumentation becomes more important in inquiry, but inquiry-based teaching in school science would not provide enough opportunities for students to have voluntary and active interactions during inquiry activities. Informal science learning can be an alternative for authentic inquiry. Accordingly, this study aims to find interaction patterns in dialogic inquiry of junior high school students in small groups in the natural history gallery. Inquiry elements and interaction patterns are analyzed with 42 dialogues of 13 small groups. As a result, seven interaction patterns are identified. First, five major interaction patterns were drawn as follows; Sharing questions, asking questions and simple response, asking questions and simple explanation, asking questions-simple explanation-(collecting data)-data based explanation, and asking questions-collecting data-data based explanation. Second, pattern 2, 'asking questions and simple response', is subdivided into three categories; passive and/or evasive response, inaccurate response, and repeated patterns of asking questions-simple response. The results of the study provide different patterns of dialogic interactions in a small group inquiry in informal contexts from formal contexts, and provide foundations to understand middle school students' interactive dialogues of inquiry occurred in the natural history gallery.

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

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 2009

Science field trip is a comprehensive learning activity in which students can solve problems by themselves, whose importance is emphasized in learning for the gifted. But because not much study has been done yet on this, and convergent activities such as solving too many problems or requesting given answers have generally been done, it has been criticized for not being enough to develop the abilities of gifted Students. Therefore, this study attempted to analyze the activity process of the gifted through field trip to which open inquiry is adapted so that the demands of the gifted can be met, and the abilities of the gifted can be brought out. The study focused on 18 gifted elementary science students at Institute of Science Gifted Education, Cheongju National University of Education, and in the field trip process of the students, analyzed the types of establishment of inquiry problems and inquiry process, and the behavioral characteristics of gifted science students shown during field trip activity through field trip proceedings, transcript contents, poster materials, questionnaires, etc. As a result, more inquiry problems were established after than before inquiry, and the level of inquiry problems was also higher after inquiry. The solution process for inquiry problems of the gifted science students were done in the following order: planning, inquiring, follow-up inquiring and consolidating. But it proceeded to open inquiry process, the next stage being decided according to circumstances. Also, in the inquiry that the students did, diverse factors were revealed such as basic and integrative inquiries, and especially, the students were competent in analyzing the results after transforming and interpreting them. And the analysis of the interaction among the students showed many behavioral traits of talented science students.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.415-429
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• 2011

In the elementary science classroom, inquiry-based learning activities are often limited to students' hands-on experiences. As a result, students often overlook core concepts they are supposed to acquire from the inquiry activities and show difficulties in applying those concepts in a real life context. To make a connection between the hands-on activities and the concept leaning, a small-group discussion can be considered. In this study, we designed a team-based learning (TBL) model for the elementary science classroom. We developed teaching and learning materials for the "Comfortable Environments" unit in the 6th grade curriculum based on the TBL model. After appling the model with 32 6th grade students, we compared the TBL participants' level of concept understanding and attitudes toward science before and after the intervention, and also compared them with their counterpart control group who participated in a traditional classroom. The results showed that the level of concept understanding of the TBL participants were higher than that of the control group. However, there was no statistically significant difference found in attitudes toward science between the TBL participants and the control group. In addition, the interviews with the TBL participants showed that they positively perceived the TBL experiences.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.930-943
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate if students may actually experience scientific reasoning based on an epistemology of authentic science during authentic open inquiry. The samples were 86 10th graders in a science-high school in Seoul. The experimental group practiced authentic open inquiry and the control group practiced traditional school science inquiry in five weeks. Then, the questions students asked while performing inquiry tasks were analyzed. The frequency of the questions asked by students was almost same between two groups, however, the types of questions were different. The frequency of thinking questions in experimental group was higher than the control, and the difference was statistically significant (P<.01). Particularly, the frequency of expansive thinking questions and anomaly detection questions was much higher in experimental than the control group. Judging from the result, with the students from the experimental group asking questions reflecting on the epistemology of authentic science such as scientific methods, anomalous data, and uncertainty about reasoning, students may understand authentic science features during the activities of open authentic inquiry. The result from comparing questions according to the inquiry subject showed that more openness caused the higher frequency of anomaly detection questions and strategy questions, but that inductive thinking questions and analogical thinking questions were connected to inquiry subject rather than the openness of the inquiry.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.100-110
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• 2008

To evaluate the educational programs at Science Education Center for the Gifted (SECG) on how it had influenced its graduates, we have surveyed the graduates with questionnaires categorized into four sections: scientific motivation, self-confidence, knowledge/inquiry activities, and peer-to-peer interactions. Of the graduates who studied at SECG for more than two years and are currently attending college, we questioned 26 students and interviewed 10 students. According to our research data, most students evaluated highly the quality of education they received at SECG; especially, in the areas of science knowledge/inquiry activities and social interactions with their peers. Based on the results from the interviews, for these gifted students with highly developed aptitude in science, we concluded that interactions with real-world scientists, investigative approach to and application of newly-learned scientific concepts, and emphasis on interactive activities with other gifted students at SECG were regarded as effective in promoting motivations towards science and self-confidence.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.685-695
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• 2008

An analysis on the Inquiry unit of Science 10 textbooks was conducted in terms of nature of science (NOS). The subject of the analysis was instructional objectives, activities and sentences in the unit of ten Science 10 textbooks. Contents of the instructional objectives could be grouped into nature of science, nature of scientists, scientific methods, and Science-Technology-Society. The concrete nature of scientific knowledge (SK) and constructing scientific theory or model, however, were not found in the objectives. The total number of activities in the Inquiry unit was 38. Seventeen out of them were presented without any supplemental or introductory materials, and 21 activities were provided with information followed by questions, discussions or investigations. For the most activities, any clear statements about NOS elements and desired/informed views of NOS were not made. The sentences of the Inquiry units were mixed up with constructivist and inductive views on NOS. The definition of science tended to be described based on the inductive view. And the generation of SK tended to be described as discovering regularities in natural phenomena rather than constructing theories. For science teachers who want to teach NOS effectively, stating clear learning objectives and elements of NOS and presenting reading materials with relevant views on nature of science were necessary.