• Hwankyungkyoyuk
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• v.18 no.2 s.27
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• pp.113-125
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• 2005

Korea, China and Japan show distinct features in their school environmental education, which are derived from their own spreading processes. Japanese school environmental education has developed as a result of assimilating of anti-pollution education and nature education, and has a feature that makes much of nature experiences. The introduction of 'Period for Integrated Study' in 2002 seems to begin activating Japanese school environmental education. Chinese school environmental education started in higher education institutions around the middle of 1970's, and has a feature that makes a point of scientific approach, even in primary education schools. The two government ordinances,'National Action Program for Environmental General Knowledge ($1996{\sim}2010$)' and 'Educational Scheme of Environmental Theme Study for Elementary and Secondary School Students' issued in 2003, gradually promote school environmental education in China. It is remarkable that Science and Technology Centers for Youth and also increasing environmental NPOs often support environmental activities in elementary or secondary schools. The most notable feature of Korean school environmental education is that 'Environment' has already offered as a regular elective subject in junior high school, and official 'Environment' textbook has published since early 1990's. Though, the adoption rate of 'Environment' is not yet so high. Each country's peculiar issues are as follows. Japan: (1) Students often lack basic knowledge about environmental important problems. (2) 'Period for Integrated Study' is now threatened with cutting hours by the idea of increasing periods for basic subjects to keep high achievement. China: (1) There are large regional differences and school distinctions in operation of environmental education. (2) Adult environmental education needs to be expanded, because the most part of Chinese have no experience of school environmental education. Korea: (1) The relationship between the administrative division which plans school environmental education and teachers group is not quite well. The adoption rate of 'Environment' in junior high school needs to be improved. The training of many teachers for environmental education instructors may be the most important and effective cooperative action among Korea, China and Japan, and for that purpose we ought to work on making a better handbook for instructors, at first.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.13-35
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• 2023

Ocean currents play the most important role in causing and controlling global climate change. The water depth of the Yellow Sea is very shallow compared to the East Sea, and the circulation and currents of seawater are quite complicated owing to the influence of various wind fields, ocean currents, and river discharge with low-salinity seawater. The Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) is one of the most representative currents of the Yellow Sea in winter and is closely related to the weather of the southwest coast of the Korean Peninsula, so it needs to be treated as important in secondary-school textbooks. Based on the 2015 revised national educational curriculum, secondary-school science and earth science textbooks were analyzed for content related to the YSWC. In addition, a questionnaire survey of secondary-school science teachers was conducted to investigate their perceptions of the temporal variability of ocean currents. Most teachers appeared to have the incorrect knowledge that the YSWC moves north all year round to the west coast of the Korean Peninsula and is strong in the summer like a general warm current. The YSWC does not have strong seasonal variability in current strength, unlike the North Korean Cold Current (NKCC), but does not exist all year round and appears only in winter. These errors in teachers' subject knowledge had a background similar to why they had a misconception that the NKCC was strong in winter. Therefore, errors in textbook contents on the YSWC were analyzed and presented. In addition, to develop students' and teachers' data literacy, class materials on the YSWC that can be used in inquiry activities were developed. A graphical user interface (GUI) program that can visualize the sea surface temperature of the Yellow Sea was introduced, and a program displaying the spatial distribution of water temperature and salinity was developed using World Ocean Atlas (WOA) 2018 oceanic in-situ measurements of water temperature and salinity data and ocean numerical model reanalysis field data. This data visualization materials using oceanic data is expected to improve teachers' misunderstandings and serve as an opportunity to cultivate both students and teachers' ocean and data literacy.

• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.101-114
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• 2006

The content and method of geometry taught in secondary school is rooted in 'Elements' by Euclid. On the other hand, however, there are differences between the content and structure of the current textbook and the 'Elements'. The gaps are resulted from attempts to develop the geometry education. Specially, the content and method for the proportional relations of geometric figures has been varied. In this study, we reviewed the changes of the proportional relations of geometric figures with pedagogical point of view. The conclusion that we came to is that the proportional relations in incommensurable case Is omitted in secondary school. Teacher's understanding about the proportional relations of geometric figures is needed for meaningful geometry education.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.357-369
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• 2001

This study aimed to analyze the evolution of general ideas concerning the element and the atom. In the scientific viewpoint, the modern idea of the element has been variously revised by the ancient Greeks, Boyle-Lavoisier, and Dalton. The definition of the atom was confused with that of the element from the ancient Greecian era to Lavoisier's era. The definition was also changed by Dalton and Rutherford. An analysis of the definitions of element and atom as presented in science textbooks for secondary school students and in general chemistry textbooks revealed that these definitions from diverse eras are confusing and inadequately explicated. The definition presented in one textbook was contradictory to the definitions in other textbooks. This tendency has been sustained in the textbooks from the 4th to 6th science curriculum. Therefore, we need to clarify the definitions of element and atom in order to help the students gain a better understanding of these scientific concepts.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.32-48
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• 2006

The purposes of this study can divided into three parts: First, to investigate high school science teachers' understanding concerning geologic time; second, to analyze contents related to geologic time in the secondary school science textbooks and teachers' guidebooks; and third, to compare the response type of science teachers using the results of the contents. Forty high school science teachers in the Chungbuk province are chosen to answer to the questionnaire. Many teachers (50%) think that the age of Earth is simply measured by radioisotope. However, most of them do not know the measuring method in detail. The over 50% of the teachers think that the uniformitarianism, law of superposition, law of faunal succession law of unconformity, and law of intrusion are the great five laws of historical geology. Many part of the contents related to geologic time in the textbooks and guidebooks are incorrect and described distinctly from each other. Such content includes the age of Earth, age of the oldest rock in Earth, definition and range of geologic time, measuring method of the Earth's age, and law of historical geology. Many of the science teachers do not have a complete understanding of the contents related to geologic time. This study suggests that the reason lies heavily on the contents described in the textbooks and guidebooks. Therefore, it is necessary to review and revise the contents related to geologic time in the textbooks and guidebooks.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.363-377
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to improve the problems of the voltaic cell described in the science textbooks of secondary schools. For this purpose, the contents of science textbooks which are related to the voltaic cell were analyzed and the problems which were not explained clearly by theorems were tried to be explained by experiments, and lastly sug-gestions were made toward the improvements regarding the voltaic cell in the science textbooks. The findings are that there are problems on the ways of ensuring whether the voltaic cell operates properly as a chemical battery, on the explanation of why the hydrogen bubbles form at the zinc electrode, on the cell potential, on the unification of the electrode terminology used, and on the mention of the current. Solutions to the problems except the cell potential were suggested. According to the experiment, the theoretical potential was calculated by considering the potentials of redox reactions at the two electrodes of the cell and by taking into account the characteristics of the electrodes such as the work function, ionization energy, stan-dard reduction potential, and electronegativity.The cell potential of the voltaic cell is explained by several factors. In the improved version of the textbook's introduction section to the voltaic cell, it is necessary to describe the voltaic cell his-torically.For the conceptual section, it should be explained in terms of the Daniel cell.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.112-121
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• 2020

The photoelectric effect is a representative phenomenon explaining the particle nature of light and is an important theme that led to the transition from classical physics to modern physics. Although the secondary school curriculum deals with the photoelectric effect, teachers and students are often confused with terms because the explanation of the 'light intensity' is different from that of electromagnetic waves. Hence, this study examines how modern physics textbooks explain the intensity of light through photon model. We analyzed the photoelectric effect unit of 10 modern physics textbooks. Results show that there are two different types of representation on 'light intensity.' Especially those two different types were found even within a textbook. Modern physics textbooks do not seem to provide a unified presentation of the light and cautions to describe the photoelectric effect and its interpretation are suggested for teaching light intensity in modern physics.

• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.28
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• pp.117-153
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• 2010

It seems that the education of environment in a discipline of morality has not been systematically given in the middle school. In the Seventh Course of education, the aim of moral education for the middle school has no content concerning environment. And there is no chapter of environment in all the textbooks for the first, second and third grade in the middle school. The content of environment is largely introduced in order to explain a series of key content in the chapters of discussing 'personality', 'courtesy of neighborhood', 'conflict of value', 'civil morality' and so on. Even we can say that its descriptions are aimless, instrumental and secondary for education. Recently, it is no exaggeration to say that the education of environment is not effectively carried out in a discipline of morality of the middle school. In the 2007 revised course of education, there are some content of environment in the aim of morality and its education, and a chapter of "environment and Morality" is newly established. From now on, a new textbook of morality is being made according to the currently revised course of education. It will be gradually useful for the first grade in 2010, for the second grade in 2011, and for the third grade in 2012. It is possible to say that it will add momentum to effectively carrying out the education of environment as part of a discipline of morality in the middle school. Taking it into a detailed consideration, however, the education of environment in this revised course of education cannot help including a serious problem, either. This is because, a chapter of environment is included only in the first grade of middle school, and, according to a prescription of writing criterion established by the Ministry of Science and Technology, there can be no overlapping content for each grade. It will more likely that the education of environment will be given only in the first grade, not in the second and third grade at all. Therefore, it seems to me that, firstly, such a prescription established by the Ministry of Science and Technology will get free, and then the education of environment will be systematically given to the levels of the second and third grade.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.144-154
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• 2003

This study investigated the common features of the best practices in the science classroom, which is the core of school education. The underlying assumption of this research is that the fulfillment of school education is possible with substantial instruction of school curricular areas. The substantial learning of any curricular area depends on each classroom lesson. Data from classroom observations in-depth interviews with teachers and a group of students, a collection of instructional materials were used to extract common characteristics of best practices implemented by 10 exemplary secondary-school science teachers. Common features of best science practices were analyzed in terms of (1)reorganization of science content, (2)pedagogical skills, (3)evaluation, and (4)teachers' efforts for professional development. Results indicated that exemplary science teachers adapted curriculum and textbook content according to students' level and learning context, were able to use a variety of instructional methods and strategies, provided cooperative and intellectually challenging learning environment, and improved their instruction based on assessment results. Also, these exemplary teachers not only improved their own classroom practices, but also participated actively in various professional community of science teachers to share their practical knowledge with their colleagues. They took an active role in teachers' in-service education.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.149-160
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• 1998

The purpose of this study was to analyze the 6th national secondary science curriculum and classroom practices to collect the basic data for developing secondary science program focusing on creative problem-solving ability. The creative problem-solving ability was conceptualized as an active process of producing new solutions to problems and consisted of five components: general knowledge, domain-specific knowledge, motivation, divergent thinking and critical thinking. The research questions were generated as follows: (1) Whether creative problem-solving elements-domain specific knowledge(declarative knowledge and inquiry methods) were included or not in the 6th secondary science curriculum, textbooks and teacher's guide? If so, how are they represented? (2) Whether the teachers tried to enhance divergent and critical thinking of their students. Through content analyses, observations and interviews, these research questions were answered as follows: (1) Inquiry methods, which are important to develop creative problem-solving abilities in science, were underestimated in comparison with declarative knowledge. In other words. inquiry methods were regarded only as tools to understand the scientific concepts and principles. (2) It was hard to find the situations which teachers provided opportunities for divergent and critical thinking to their students. Based on these results, the followings were recommended: (1) Inquiry methods should be regarded as a goal not as a tool and be used to acquire inquiry methods themselves. (2) Teachers should not stick to the prescribed inquiry methods prescribed in the textbook, but to give opportunities for thinking various kinds of inquiry methods to improve divergent and critical thinking.