• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.79-92
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to develop an inquiry-based argumentation task for use in science teachers' professional development by providing them with the substantial experience of argumentation. To do so, the study has developed an argumentation task by utilizing the experiment on the Charles' Law of gas and revised by applying to eight teachers three times. We have revised the questions by analyzing three issues that have been revealed throughout this process in ways that facilitated teachers' argumentation. The effects of revision have been confirmed by the improvements in teachers' argumentation pattern. Three issues have been identified in developing argumentation tasks for science teachers' professional development and they are as follows: determining the openness of the structure of a question, achieving cognitive conflict and convergence of opinions at the same time, and ways of utilizing various evidence. As the task has been revised in ways that enabled scientific approach to the inquiry topic and facilitated the convergence of various opinions, the participants' argumentation patterns have improved both quantitatively and qualitatively. Meanwhile, the inclusion of an actual experiment has not influence their argumentation, while the observation of experimental data has been used as the core evidence according to the character of the problem. Based on the study's result, we suggest practical implications for developing argumentation tasks for science teachers in more varying contexts.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.119-135
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to analyze components of conflicts and investigate causes of them between mentor teachers and mentee teachers, who participated in the collaborative mentoring program to improve beginning science teachers teaching practice. The most often occurring component of conflict for surveyed teams was class strategy on knowledge of teaching methods. Then, conflicts in understanding student characteristics as a component of understanding students and knowledge transfer of concepts in science as a component of teaching contents followed as main causes. Changes in conflicts showed that less frequency of conflict occurred with ongoing mentoring. Conflicts from class strategy decreased the most, which had been the most often occurring cause. This decrease was explained as mentees were changed gradually into the teacher's role recognition through continuous mentoring. This study suggests that education for mentor and mentee teachers be provided with consideration of causes of conflicts and reasons for those causes, which eventually lead sustainable and efficient mentoring program management.

• Korean Educational Research Journal
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.153-182
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• 2022

This study explored the experiences and difficulties of science teachers who participated in overseas educational voluntary activities. Seven science teachers who had visited Timor-Leste participated in the study. All collected data including the teacher interview were analyzed. As a result, teachers visited Timor-Leste to fulfill social roles and to meet the expectations of others. After returning from Timor-Leste, the teachers regained their passion for teaching and gained confidence in taking on new challenges. Teachers had difficulties in conducting seminars due to the unstable social situation and lack of awareness of Timor-Leste teachers, and experienced communication limitations due to language barriers. Nevertheless, teachers cooperate with local priest to improve these limitations. In addition, teachers supplemented the limitations caused by the non-establishment of the curriculum through the evaluation meeting. In order to improve teaching expertise and promote active participation of Timor-Leste teachers, the seminar method was modified. The experience of volunteering in Timor-Leste made teachers think about the importance of cooperation and the necessity of education. Based on the above results, we discussed ways to activate voluntary service.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.29-40
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to explore how a high school science teacher (Teacher E) shifted her understanding and facilitation of scientific modeling through participation in a professional learning community (PLC) for over a year. Based on socially situated theory of learning, I focused on examining Teacher E's frames about scientific modeling from her social interactions. Teacher E participated in her school-based PLC over a year and collaborated with other science teachers, coaches, and researchers to improve science instruction. I qualitatively explored her participation in 6 full-day professional learning opportunities-studios-where the PLC members collectively planned, implemented, and debriefed modeling-based lessons. Especially, I focused on two Studios (Studio 2, 6) where Teacher E became the host teacher and implemented the lessons. I also examined her classroom teaching in those Studios. To understand how the PLC inquiry affected the shifts observed in Teacher E's understanding and practice, I explored how the inquiry evolved over the 6 Studios. Findings suggest that in Studio 2, Teacher E viewed students' role in scientific modeling as to fill out the worksheet with "correct" answers. Meanwhile, in Studio 6, she focused on helping students collaborate to construct explanatory models of phenomena using evidence. The PLC inquiry, focused on supporting students' construction of evidence-based explanations and collaboration in scientific modeling, seemed to promote the shifts observed in Teacher E's understanding and facilitation of scientific modeling. These findings can inform educational researchers and practitioners who aim to promote teachers' professional learning to support students' epistemic practices.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.535-544
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to analyze the elementary teachers' professional performance about science teaching practice according to their personal variables. For this study, professional performance test was modified based on Woo's 'framework for progression and learning in the professional development of elementary teachers' science teaching practice', which included 6 elements such as 'lesson plans', 'creating the learning environment', 'inquiry', 'conceptual understanding', 'practical application', and 'assessment'. And then it conducted to 79 elementary teachers. The collected data were analyzed by the statistical package SPSS. The results of this study were as follows: There was statistically significant difference in the sub-domains of professional performance according to teachers' career, experience of training program, deciding method of exclusive subject. But there was almost no significant difference in other personal variables, such as gender, major, etc. Findings suggest that there are needs of further study about interaction effects of personal variables affecting teachers' professional performance of science teaching practice in detail.

• Asia-pacific Journal of Multimedia Services Convergent with Art, Humanities, and Sociology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.281-290
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• 2019

The aim of this study is to explore the status and tasks of selecting, expanding, and supporting the gifted teachers to efficiently manage the gifted education. This study addresses that the ratio of applications for new teachers is lower and the current teachers are aging in primary school. In addition, it points out that the ratio of new teacher applications and teacher acquisitions compared to the number of teachers hired for middle school were lower. The gifted teachers are basic in their classes and work at regular schools, and they suffer from considerable exhaustion and a lack of time because of other gifted work. As a result of these discussions, it has shown the need for substantial improvement and supplementation such as school hours reduction or reinforcement adjustment, complete support for research society, invitation professional teachers other than current ones, and friday after school classes for the gifted teachers should be encouraged to work passionately. For professional development, if the positive perception and results of gifted education from the interactions between general education and gifted education be formed, and the education programs for gifted teachers be expanded, they will also contribute to the overall improvement in the quality of our education.

• The Journal of Korean Association of Computer Education
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.47-54
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to improve expertise and substantiality of teachers by analyzing the level of satisfaction and the needs assessment of e-learning instructional contents on vocational subject at vocational high school. For the above purpose, we carried out a questiones to the 126 teachers and the 646 students in the second and the third grade of vocational high school. As a result, even though teachers knew the e-learning contents, they does not actively use the e-learning contents in class. They feels in need of contents which are able to be reconstructed. Students also prefer the contents focused on problem-solving to prepare for the national academic aptitude test and indirect experiences through simulation ways.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.718-736
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• 2014

This study was intended to determine PCK of the middle school science teachers on Mendelian genetics and factors influenced to form their PCKs. Two science teachers with biology major with a teaching experience over 5 years were chosen as the subject. Data were collected by class observation, semi-structured interview, teacher questionnaire survey, Content Representation and Pedagogical and Professional-experience Repertoire. The collected data were analyzed based on Magnusson's PCK for science teaching consisting of five components: (a) the orientation toward teaching science, (b) the knowledge of science curriculum, (c) the knowledge of students' understanding, (d) the knowledge of assessment, and (e) the knowledge and belief in the instructional strategies to teach science. Teachers could have the orientation toward teaching science served as an assisting role to support students' abilities. Both subject teachers seemed to focus on giving lectures. Their efforts to improve students' exploration methods and abilities were not expressed enough in their real classes and they found that students struggled to understand Mendelian genetics. Therefore, they should have explained them in an easier way and worked harder to make their students understood accurately and applied basic and advanced concepts of Mendelian genetics. They found students' preconception and misconception regarding Mendelian genetics and wished to enhance their learning effects by various teaching strategies such as correcting misconception, adding the history of science and simply assessing students' affirmative domains. It was also found that factors influenced to form PCK regarding Mendelian genetics by both teachers were as follows: teacher's personality and endeavor, textbooks and guidance books, schools and their circumstances, teaching experience, experience as a learner, interaction with their colleagues, and university curriculum. Both teachers said that it was important for teachers to make every efforts to give better classes.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.115-131
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• 2021

As the global climate change emergency is escalating, the need for 'Social Action-Oriented SSI (SAO-SSI) on climate change topics' in science education that can change society through social activity is increasing. By employing sociocultural theory, this study explores the challenges of limiting teacher's agency in implementing SAO-SSI on climate change topics in science education. Data from participant observation for 46 lessons, in-depth interviews with participants, field notes, and teacher reflection notes were analyzed by the structure of into micro- (classrooms), meso- (school), and macro- (Korea society) level. At the micro-level, the teacher's new attempts of SAO-SSI on climate change topics class made it difficult for him to identify students' understanding of climate change, because they have a low sense of perception that climate change is also their problem. In addition, the teacher had difficulties leading students' into an engagement for social action because students were skeptical about the feasibility of planned social behavior by positioning themselves as children or had difficulty in understanding social action and sympathizing with its values. At the meso-level, a school culture that encourages the implementation of a curriculum similar to that of colleagues, it was difficult to implement one's own curriculum. And it was difficult to develop expertise without the support and communications with colleagues who revealed the burden of unfamiliar science topics of climate change. In addition, conflicts arose in the process of implementing out-of-school social actions with the principal's passive support. At the macro-level, the insufficient proper material resources for SAO-SSI on climate change topics class, and negative perceptions on the students' social action in the society were acting as constraints. We offer implications for what kind of structural support and efforts from various subjects in the educational community should be provided to implement SAO-SSI on climate change topics class in science education.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.901-921
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary teachers' views on the barriers in implementing inquiry-based instruction in science education. For this, semi-structured in-depth interviews were performed with 22 elementary school teachers who have served for more than five years in the Gyeonggi province. The interview questions were developed through triangulation of Seidman's phase to achieve reliability in the interview data, then interview questions were modified and completed through an analytic induction method in pre-interviews. In-depth interviews were performed individually and all the interviews were recorded. The data of teachers' views on the barriers were categorized and analyzed into external and internal factors of teachers. The study found that the external factors referred by teachers included the following; the lack of a unit time, lack of materials and equipments, too many students in a class, problems in science curriculum management, difficulty in the assessment of students' inquiry activities, the students' learning, lack of opportunities for teaching inquiry activities, harmfulness of accidents, and so on. Internal factors included the following; lack of preparation for inquiry activities, lack of self-confidence, lack of patience, and so on. The various barriers presented and their causes were analyzed in detail, and possible efforts in activating inquiry activities in elementary science education were suggested.