• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.309-323
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• 2002

This qualitative study investigated preservice teachers' understandings of the ontology and epistemology underlying constructivist notions of learning through four in-depth interviews. Of the sixteen participants in a larger study, five significantly changed ontological and epistemological beliefs and eleven did not. This study focused on these eleven teachers who have hardly changed their philosophical beliefs throughout the teacher education program. Ten teachers who consistently maintained the scientific realist beliefs were presented as a composite case (Young's case). Among the eleven teachers, there was one outlier who had consistently maintained an idealist and relativist epistemological position from the beginning of the study and was subjected to another case analysis (Ben's case). These cases corroborated the assertion that each individual's deeply entrenched ontological and epistemological beliefs are very hard to change. For researchers, this study offers insights into the reasons that preservice teachers give for non-changes in their thinking about learning to teach. The study also examines preservice teachers' perceived constraints in implementing their ideal pedagogies and the influence of the teacher education program on their pedagogical beliefs changes. The benefits and influences of the M.Ed. program's theoretical coursework and the field experiences on these teachers' learning-to-teach experiences are addressed with rich data. The implications for teacher educators as well as for the instructional practices of preservice teacher education programs are discussed. This research emphasize necessity of the field-based teacher education program and the need of empowering experienced school teachers as teacher educators in teacher preparation and professional development.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.173-187
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• 2002

The purpose of this study through ethnographic inquiry is to describe how an elementary teacher teaches mathematics with understanding. The ways that teachers'beliefs affect instructional activities, what means understanding from the view of cognitive psychology, and ethnographic research tradition were reviewed to anchor theoretical background of this study. A third-grade teacher and his 45 students were selected in order to capture vivid and thick descriptions of the teaching and learning activities of mathematics. Three major sources of data, that is, participant-observation with video taping, formal and informal interviews with the teacher and his students, and a variety of official documents were collected. These data were analyzed through two phases: data analysis in the field and after the fieldwork. According to data analysis, ‘teaching mathematics with understanding’ was identified as the teachers central belief of teaching mathematics. In order to implement his belief in teaching practices, the teacher made use of three strategies: ⑴ valuing individual student's own way of understanding, ⑵ bring students' everyday experiences into mathematics classroom, and ⑶ lesson objectivies stated by students. It is suggested for future research that concrete and specific norms of mathematics classroom for the improvement of mathematics understanding are needed to be identified and that experienced and skillful teachers' practical knowledge should be incorporated with theories of teaching mathematics and necessarily paid more attention by mathematics educators.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.347-357
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• 2005

Since 1998, an elementary teacher education institute in Korea has hosted the center for the gifted education. The institute hired undergraduate students to escort and liaison each class of the gifted student participants with assisting classroom activities. These liaison teachers observed the gifted classroom activities and evaluated them by using a given checklist and filling out pre-made evaluation forms. Currently this system is being transferred from part-time jobs for students to earn allowance into well organized pre-service teacher program focusing on the gifted education. In other words, the purpose of system is being shifted from how liaison teachers facilitate the gifted program to how the system helps the liaison teachers to be quality teachers for the gifted who can understand what the gifted are and how to facilitate them. Analyzed were the self reports of the liaison teachers regarding their perceptions and beliefs of the gifted and their education program. It was found participant liaison teachers purposed to have more live experiences with getting along with students as well. Liaison teachers’ perceptions on establishing a gifted teacher professional education sequence were reported in this study. The potential scaffolding of the pre-service teacher education program model of the gifted education was provided as a consequence of this study.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.41-55
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• 2009

This study explored the meaning of beginning teachers' first-year experience in an eco child educare center. Participants were 4 teachers at survival stages of teacher development; they had had the same preservice experience. Data were collected by semi-structured in-depth interviews, participant observation, researcher's field notes, and document collection. Five themes emerged as first year teachers' struggles and strategies for survival : (1) caring for children's daily lives vs. responsibility for formal education, (2) planned lessons vs. ease in teaching, (3) agreement or disagreement on philosophy of running the education program, (4) paradox of teacher empowerment, (5) overcoming struggle through voluntary peer supervision. These results indicated that beginning teacher' experiences at the survival stage varied by contextual and personal factors.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.21-36
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of infant temperament on adaptation at childcare centers and the moderated effects of teacher-infant relationships between a vertical transition group and horizontal transition group. Methods: The subjects of the study were 284 infants, aged 1-years-old and 2-years-old, who were hospitalized in childcare centers. To investigate the correlation between variables, Pearson correlation analysis was used. Regression analysis was performed to check the effects of temperament and teacher-infant relationship on childcare adaptation. Results: Infant temperament influenced childcare adaptation in both vertical and horizontal transition groups. The quality of teacher-infant relationships was found to moderate the relationship between infant temperament and childcare adaptation in both groups. Conclusion/Implications: The results of this study, which showed different moderating effects of the teacher-infant relationship in the vertical transfer group and the horizontal transfer group, suggest the need for more diverse studies on the various transition experiences regarding childcare transition.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.203-233
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• 2023

Recent international reform movements call for attention on modeling in mathematics classrooms. However, definitions and enactment principles are unclear in policy documents. In this case study, we investigated United States high-school mathematics teachers' experiences in a professional development program focused on modeling and its enactment in schools. Our findings share teachers' experiences around their discovery of different conceptualizations, appreciations, and conflicts as they envisioned incorporating modeling into classrooms. These experiences show how professional development can be designed to engage teachers with forms of modeling, and that those experiences can inspire them to consider modeling as an imperative feature of a mathematics program.

• Journal of Korean language education
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.169-199
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to examine Korean teachers' needs in in-service teacher training and variables related to their needs. This study was conducted with teachers from Korean language centers in Korean universities. The following three research questions were investigated: (1) What are the teachers' experiences of Korean language teaching and in-service teacher training? (2) What are the teachers' needs and expectations for the content and components of in-service education programs? Are there any disparity between teachers' needs and institutional needs? (3) What are the variables to be considered in designing an effective in-service teacher education program? In order to answer the research questions, a survey was developed and distributed to university Korean language institutions and Korean language teachers. The results indicated that both institutions and teachers are highly aware of the importance of the need for in-service teacher training. The results also suggested that a more teacher-centered, bottom-up approach should be implemented for successful outcomes of teacher education programs. Based on the results, this study offers a summary of the need for in-service teacher training and variables (both individual teacher variables and environmental variables) to be considered in designing the content and components of a teacher education program.

• 대한공업교육학회지
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.1-29
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the vocational identity through the reflection of the major experience as the teacher through the life history of the technical high school. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, two technical high school mechanical and career teachers were selected as research participants and in-depth interviews were conducted with them. The data obtained through the in-depth interviews were analyzed through six steps. Six major experiences of the participants were identified as results of the research: (1) the experience of trying to train the specialist of precision machining in the beginning of teacher's life, (2) experience as a skill competition team teacher, (3) experience of innovating public education by introducing new industry field, (4) experience of constant learning new field and sharing with colleagues, (5) experience in the rapid change of the status of technical high school, (6) experience in the prevention of students' safety accidents and maintenance of the practice field. Through these educational experiences, each research participant was forming one's vocational identity as a mechanical teacher. The vocational identity of the research participants were identified as follows: (1) identity drifting phase, (2) identity stability stage, (3) transition stage of the teacher role, (4) suspended stage to preserve identity, (5) identification sublimation stage, (6) identification of the true meaning of the teacher, and integration of the identity. Through these six steps, their identities were formed, strengthened and changed at each stage.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-26
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• 2024

As the limitations of professional development programs and individual attempts to improve teaching expertise have been reported, mathematics teachers have operated various types of teacher learning communities as alternative teacher professional programs. A teacher learning community can be considered a Community of Practice(CoP) in that it satisfies three factors of Cop, which are common purpose, mutual participation, and shared repertoire, so the 'learning' of a teacher community can be interpreted based on the theory of CoP. The purpose of this study is to investigate the process of identity development of five mathematics teachers who have been continuously involved in teacher communities. For this, the researcher collected data on the entire process of community activities through participant observation and conducted individual follow-up interviews to explore mathematics teachers' narratives and personal experiences. Results indicated that mathematics teachers experienced the development of practical knowledge related to mathematics teaching and learning, improvement of teaching practice through continuous reflection and introspection, and recognization the shared value of togethering through community immersion. Based on these experiences, implications for the effective operation of learning communities such as national support of teacher learning communities and horizontal and cooperative teacher norms were discussed, and follow-up research was proposed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.276-285
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to observe five teachers' science classes and analyze the patterns of their analogies. To analyze the data, investigator triangulation was used, and the results were as follows: First, among the patterns of analogy used, expressions of similes and metaphors were utilized by all the teachers; teachers with over ten years' experience used adult's daily phrases, and teachers with under ten years' experience tended to use anthropomorphism. Regarding pictorial analogies, these manifested themselves in the sixth period, while teachers with over ten years' experience drew a simple picture about circulation of water, teachers with under one year's experience made additional materials for their analogy and they put an emphasis on the concept of the circulation itself. Teachers tended to use analogs according to their interests; teachers who majored in science education used pictorial analogies for further study. Second, the patterns emerging from the correspondence of the analogy manifested themselves in all the teachers equally, but they have no relation to the teacher's background. Third, routine analogy and artificial analogy appeared equally in consideration of degree of artificiality among the patterns of the analogies used. Regarding routine analogy, most teachers tended to look for analogs from things and experiences from themselves or their own backgrounds rather than those of the students. Regarding artificial analogies, teachers tended to purposely choose analogs to help students to understand; energetic teachers sometimes failed to choose appropriate analogs because they approached the topic with too much intensity. While a teacher who lacked experience and interest in science used many expressions of analogy, a teacher who felt some degree of constraint rarely used expressions of analogy. Fourth, most of the teachers used analogs familiar to their own experiences but students often found understanding these analogs difficult. Therefore, teachers need to make greater efforts to utilize analogs which are especially familiar to students when they attempt to explain science concepts.