• 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.19 no.4
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• pp.604-621
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• 1999

We analyze the admission test problems used in 1998 at the Science Education Center for Gifted Youth at Kyungpook National University (SECGY, KNU). The test consists of two parts, an evaluation of the scientific thinking skills and an evaluation of the achievement for Mathematics and Sciences, the former of which includes evaluations of scientific process skills and logical thinking skills. The problems for the test of scientific thinking skills were developed and standardized by the Korea Education Development Center, while those of the achievement for Mathematics and Sciences were made at SECGY. We calculate the indices of the difficulty and discrimination for each problem to determine whether or not the test is appropriate to apply for selecting number of gifted students among the recommended students from 389 middle schools in Taegu-city and Kyungsang-pook-do Province. We find that both indices of most problems for the test of scientific thinking skills were out range of the appropriate level and. moreover, even those problems which fall into the appropriate range showed very low efficiencies for distractors. We, thus, conclude that the problems of the test of scientific thinking skills are inappropriate to use as a test for admission to SECGY. On the other hand, the problems of the achievement test showed extreme results; the Mathematics problems appeared to be too difficult, whereas the Physics problems appeared too easy. However, overall scores showed a normal distribution, indicating that those problems played crucial role in selecting gifted students. We finally propose several suggestions in developing the test problems and in selecting students at the SECGY.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.773-796
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• 2011

This study examined the thinking styles of scientifically gifted students on the basis of Sternberg's theory of mental self-government, and the relationship between thinking styles and self-regulated learning ability of the students and their scientific inquiry ability by the different types of thinking styles. 110 middle school students who belonging to the university science-gifted education center participated in this study. 13 thinking styles were postulated that fall along 5 dimensions which are functions, forms, levels, scopes and leanings of the mental self-government. Scientifically gifted students responded to the Thinking Style Inventory (TSI) that standardized Korean version, Self-regulated Ability Inventory and Test of Science Inquiry Skills Inventory (TSIS). The results indicated that scientifically gifted students prefer legislative, liberal, external, hierarchical and judical thinking styles, rather than conservative style. This result also showed that subscales of thinking styles were significantly correlated with self-regulated learning ability and scientific inquiry ability. The legislative style, hierarchical style, local style and liberal style were significant predictors of self-regulation learning ability. The legislative style was significant predictor, whereas oligarchic style was negative predictor of scientific inquiry ability. The results of k-means clustering analysis and MANOVA showed that the self-regulated learning ability and scientific inquiry ability were significantly correlated with the pattern and level of thinking style.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1039-1051
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• 2014

This study aims to measure intelligence (cognitive characteristics), self-esteem, mathematical attitudes, and scientific attitudes (affective characteristics) of gifted students from low-income families, and to identify the relationship among these variables. 147 students in the lower grades of elementary schools who were enrolled to university-based gifted education centers were participants of the study. The results showed that the percentile scores of each variable were 85% for intelligence, 75.6% for self-esteem, 73.3% for mathematical attitudes, and 71.3% for mathematical attitudes. There was no statistically significant relationship between intelligence and the affective characteristics (i.e., self-esteem, mathematical attitudes, and scientific attitudes), while statistically significant relationships were shown between self-esteem and mathematical attitudes (r=.448, p=.000), between self-esteem and scientific attitudes (r=.522, p=.000), and between mathematical attitudes and scientific attitudes (r=.448, p=.000). The results suggest that although the gifted students from low-income families show lower levels compared to other gifted student groups, their potential level of giftedness is considerably high, which calls for appropriate educational support systems designed for this population.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.527-538
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to select the factors of 'Group scientific creativity' and to find out how 'Group scientific creativity' turns out in the creative problem-solving process of students. To select the factors that affect 'Group scientific creativity', this research extracted 27 influencing factors on the group creativity from the prior study and organized them according to opinions of education experts. To select factors that affect 'Group scientific creativity' in the creative problem-solving process of students, this research analyzed the group problem-solving process that has been done on 72 gifted students for two days. Main results of the study is as follows: First, nine elements such as scientific thinking, scientific knowledge, scientific information-processing capacity, motivation, challenge, age and gender, existence of diversity, creativity educational experience, and the group cohesiveness were selected as human factors. Four elements such as scientific communication skills, scientific inquiry process, autonomy, and leadership were selected as the combining factors. Also, three elements such as the learning environment, teacher types, and compensation were selected as the Environmental factors. Second, it was possible to find that the group scientific creativity influence factors affecting the creative process by analyzing the gifted students in creative-problem solving process. Based on these results, this study described additional points on the factors improving 'Group scientific-creativity.'

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.139-165
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• 2008

This paper is focused on the development of sea wave experimental module for the science gifted students and the potential of its application in high school earth science. Sea wave experimental module for the gifted was characteristics by five phases: Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Expansion. Subjects were 16 gifted students, who were 10th graders and have been taught in the adjacent Education Institute for the gifted of Education Districts, Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education The changes of inquiry ability and knowledge achievement were analyzed according to analysis of experimental report and pre-test and post-test. Experimental module for the gifted was very effective on inquiry skills as follows: control of variables, experimental designing, and selecting tools of experimental process. And also it was positively effective on achievement. The result of this study suggested that experimental module for the science gifted should be very meaningfully to improve scientific ability of them, and the development and application of experimental module for the science gifted be needed for them.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.376-388
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to develop the experiment-based problem for evaluating scientific ability of elementary scientifically gifted students, and to examine its potential of application for them. The problem for evaluating scientific ability was related to the plant vascular structure of 'the structure and function of plants' unit of elementary school science, and consisted of three components such as observing and inferring, designing an experiment, and concluding. In order to apply for scientifically gifted students, scoring criteria were detailed. For the observing and inferring domain, the arrangement and structure of vascular bundles of the dicotyledon and the monocotyledon, xylem position, reason of putting plants in ink were included. Those of designing an experiment domain were method of dissecting stems of plants, and design experimental procedures, those of concluding were the prediction of experimental results, and comparison and verification with prediction and results. Finally, the scientific ability evaluation problem was applied for 22 scientifically gifted students, who had been taught in the Science Education Institute for the Gifted adjacent University, and we had found the potential of utilization for scientifically gifted students.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.464-472
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to analyze the science inquiry problem finding ability of gifted elementary students of science and general elementary students. For this purpose, this study analyzed the types of science inquiry problems in an ill-structured problem finding situation. Also, this study has compared science inquiry problem finding abilities of those two groups. From the results of this study, new ways of improving student' science inquiry problem finding ability and selection of gifted students of science were suggested. The results of this study can be summarized as follows. First, most of the inquiry problems generated by the scientifically gifted and the general students in an ill-structured problem situation could be categorized into seven types (measurement, method, cause, possibility, what, comparison, relationship) according to the inquiry objectives, and both group found more problems in scientific context than in everyday context. Regardless of the context of problem, scientifically gifted students found more problems and the type of problems generated by them were more various than those of general students. Second, there were differences in problem finding ability between scientifically gifted and general students. Scientifically gifted students found more problems and the quality of problems were higher than general students.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.139-149
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable instrument for measuring scientific problem-finding ability for the scientifically-gifted student. On the basis of an operational definition of scientific problem-finding ability, this instrument consists of five sections(appropriateness, flexibility, originality, elaboration, and valuation) which are designed for measuring the ability of the scientifically-gifted. This instrument was checked the validity of content and evaluation criteria by the five experienced specialists in science education, and then was administered to 38 students of science high school. Because the validity of content and evaluation criteria, construct validity, inter-rater reliability, item difficulty, and item discrimination are suitable for the criteria of good test, this developed instrument in this study is considered valid and reliable.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.721-746
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of science experience with their children on mothers who have children who are science gifted children and how they perceive what kind of parenting methods are appropriate for the growth and development of children who are science gifted children. To do this, we interviewed 13 mothers of the gifted education center of the Ministry of Education and conducted two in - depth interviews with them. Results, mothers who have scientific gifted children have various science experiences with children who are scientific gifted. In this process, mothers of gifted children understand the gifted children through science experience with their children, I have come to realize that it is necessary to provide an educational environment that can express my child's talents and help to determine the direction of my career. For this purpose, leadership education that reminds the importance of relationships between people, providing opportunities for various experiences so that they can decide their life, career education through inquiry of deep science experience and meeting with senior scientists, humanities for integrated thinking And the arts. In this way, it is possible to provide in-depth research results to the mothers of the gifted and talented to provide specific directions for the various supportive methods and teaching methods that the gifted children should provide for intellectual and emotional growth and development. Development of educational programs is necessary.