• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.267-276
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• 2004

The purpose of this study was to explore factors influencing kindergarten teachers' science anxiety. The subjects were 182 kindergarten teachers. The career, educational background, scientific literacy, science-related experience, type of kindergarten, age of classroom students, science supporting environment of kindergarten, and students' interest in science were examined as possible factors affecting teachers' science anxiety. The results showed that the science-related experience, science supporting environment of kindergarten, and students' interest in science were related to the teachers' science anxiety. However, the most important factor influencing kindergarten teachers' science anxiety was science-related experience. These results can be interpreted that positive science experiences affect decreasing teachers' science anxiety

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.447-461
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of gender, science achievement, perceptions of science, and out-of-school experience on middle school students' science career aspiration. We conduced a survey on 181 middle school students and investigated whether there was a difference in perception of science and out-of-school experience according to science career aspiration, and derived the eight variables from survey items based on exploratory factor analysis. And we conducted a logistic regression analysis that explains the effects of eight derived variables, gender, and science achievement on science career aspiration. The result of analysis showed that only two factors such as 'interest and preference for science learning' and 'use of everyday tools' were significant to explain science career aspiration. It has thus been found that it is important to increase students' interest in and preferences for science learning and use of tools in everyday life in order to increase their science career aspiration.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.635-645
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to identify elementary school teachers' perceptions, practices, and background factors related to introducing students' everyday experience in science teaching process. The participants of this study were four elementary school teachers who have different features such as major, teaching period, gender, growth area, and age. The data was collected through semi-constructed and in-depth interviews. The results of the research are as follows: Teachers mostly used students' everyday experience during the introduction phase of science lessons for the purpose of motivation. They hold a positive view of using students' everyday experience during science lessons and thought that science teaching needs to actively use more of students' everyday experience, while in actual practice they disregarded or only passively introduced students' everyday experience. The various background factors found to affect teachers' practice are as follows: positive memory on their science class; educational experience of their own children; their own childhood environment; their learning style; their insufficient knowledge or enthusiasm; perceived educational value of everyday life in science education; teacher's duties; importance of students' achievement; difficulty in guiding experiment; reaction of students on introducing everyday experience; characteristics of science textbook and teacher's guidebook; lack of lesson time; realization of national common basic education; characteristics of their students; demands from parents or students; effect of introducing everyday experience. In addition, we found that the teachers behave not in accordance with what they thought due to external factors related to their profession and that, for a more active use of students' everyday experience in their teaching, teachers need support from textbooks and teachers' guidebooks.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.27-46
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of novelty space among pre-service elementary and secondary earth science teachers. We conducted a survey to explore the perceptions of 38 pre-service elementary school teachers at the National University of Education and 31 pre-service secondary earth science teachers at the Department of Earth Science Education at B University. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants, including three pre-service elementary teachers and nine pre-service secondary science teachers. In addition to the elements of novelty space, prior knowledge (cognition), prior outdoor learning experience (psychology), familiarity (geography) with outdoor field learning, and social and technical elements were added. When classified based on elementary and secondary levels, there were statistically significant differences in cognitive, psychological, geographic, and social areas for the elements of novelty space. Statistical differences indicated that the experience or capital related to outdoor learning may have resulted from more pre-service secondary earth science teachers than pre-service elementary teachers. In additional interviews, both elementary and secondary pre-service teachers reported that competencies in the technical domain would be emphasized in the future owing to the necessity and the technical development of virtual-reality-based outdoor field learning programs. This study emphasizes the academic significance of novelty space that should be considered to conduct geological field learning for elementary and secondary earth science pre-service teachers while considering the current post-pandemic educational context.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.553-568
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• 2022

This study investigated the level of academic passion for elementary school teachers' science pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and examined the factors that influence the passion. To this end, 161 elementary school teachers in Seoul were selected, and academic passion tests were then administered to evaluate their academic passion for science subject matter knowledge and science pedagogical knowledge. Individual in-depth interviews were also conducted with some of the participating teachers. The results revealed that 'importance' and 'harmonious passion' for learning science subject matter knowledge and science pedagogical knowledge were found at a high level. However, 'time/energy investment' and 'obsessive passion' for learning the knowledge were slightly higher or lower than normal. The 'like' for learning science subject matter knowledge was relatively high, but the 'like' for learning science pedagogical knowledge was slightly higher than normal. The differences in academic passion for science subject matter knowledge and science pedagogical knowledge were greater according to advanced major at undergraduate than teaching career. The teachers evenly selected some factors that influenced their academic passion for science subject matter knowledge and science pedagogical knowledge. These identified characteristics included 'individual interest', 'high school track', 'experience in advanced major at undergraduate', 'experience in science-related graduate school', 'experience teaching science in elementary school', 'experience teaching science at the gifted education institute', 'experience in charge of science subject teacher', 'experience in science-related teacher training', 'experience in developing science-related teaching and learning materials', 'experience in charge of science or science-gifted related work', and 'experience in a science-related teacher community'. However, a slight difference was noted in the selection ratio depending on advanced major at undergraduate. Based on these results, the practical implications for improving their academic passion for science PCK are suggested.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.64 no.5
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• pp.277-290
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• 2020

In this study, four gifted students in the second year of middle school at Gifted Education Center of the National University in Jeollanam-do were surveyed students' perceptions of the effectiveness of science class using science writing heuristic in terms of metacognition and the goals of the 2015 revised science curriculum. Through questionnaires and interviews with gifted science students, science gifted students recognized that the science class using science writing heuristic had a positive effect on the four subdomains (planning, monitoring, control, and evaluation) of metacognition. For this reason, the science gifted students presented self-directed experience in designing experiments, continually checking the collected experimental data, feedback process, and reflecting experience in preparing conclusions. Science gifted students recognized that science class using science writing heuristic had a positive effect on the goals of the 2015 revised science curriculum(attitudes, inquiry, knowledge, Science·Technology·Society(STS), and the enjoyment and usefulness of science learning) that correspond to through inquiry science writing lessons. For this reason, the science gifted students presented self-directed inquiry experiences, continual inquiry experiences on the same subject, thinking process at each stage of inquiry, learning experiences through inquiry, experience of the whole inquiry process, and inquiry of phenomena closely related to real life. Therefore, for the effective science class, it is necessary to apply the characteristics of science class using science writing heuristic which is responded by science gifted students to general science class as well as science gifted class later.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.113-123
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to understand the elementary student's growth and its implications from the students' experience participating in the science fair by phenomenological study. The results are as follows. First, the students have various experiences. They acquire scientific knowledge and inquiry skills by conducting in-depth experiments, visiting several places, and interviewing experts. They have some experience in writing experiment journals to record the inquiry process in their own language, and presenting their results in public. Second, the students suffer several difficulties while preparing for the science fair. They have some difficulties when the results were not consistent with the hypothesis, or they had to repeat the experiment over and over. They feel burdened in writing the experiment journal. They had a few time to meet friends or for hobbies. Third, the students improve scientific attitude through the science fair, and they receive a positive effect on the affective side. They developed scientific interest, curiosity, cooperation, etc. And they also gained a sense of accomplishment, confidence, friendship, good relationship with teachers, career interest, etc. This study finds out that students participating in the science fair have a lot of experience that cannot be done easily in a normal science class. Even though students confront some difficulties in the inquiry process, they make good progression and feel accomplished. So the science fair is valuable experience for them.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.44-64
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• 2022

This study explored the elementary school teachers' experiences while teaching students with low achievement in science based on the grounded theory. In-depth interviews and analysis were conducted on 13 teachers with experiences in teaching students with low achievement in science within the last three years and more than five years of field experience until the theoretical saturation of data on the teaching experiences for students with low achievement in science. The analysis results were as follows. First, the teaching experiences of elementary school teachers for underachievers in science were classified into 119 concepts, 41 subcategories, and 17 categories. Based on the paradigm model, the categories were structured and presented as causal conditions, contextual conditions, intervening conditions, action/interaction strategies and consequences based on the central phenomenon of 'difficulty in teaching students with low achievement in science'. Second, the core category of elementary school teachers' teaching underachievers in science was assumed to be 'overcoming difficulties and teaching underachievers in science'. And according to the properties and dimensions of the core category, teachers who teaching students with low achievement in science were divided into four types: 'compromising-', 'overcoming-', 'accepting-', and 'conflicting-reality type'. Third, a conditional matrix was presented to summarize and integrate the results of this study by classifying the teaching experience of elementary school teachers for underachievers in science into educational providers and educational demanders. On the basis of these findings, educational implications for teaching students with low achievement in science were discussed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.507-521
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to investigate a meaningful path model among the components of students' positive experiences about science and science learning to understand the interactive relationships among different variables of affective domains. Positive Experiences about Science (PES) means whole experiences that have positive effects on students' affectional achievement related with science learning, which consists of science academic emotion, science-related self-concept, science learning motivation, science-related attitude, and science-related career aspiration. We conducted an online survey with 1,841 students consisting of 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th graders from 17 provinces and cities using Test for Indicators of Positive Experiences about Science (TIPES). To explore the structural relationships among variables, we selected and analyzed an optimal structural equation model and then conducted multigroup analyses among groups. According to the analysis of the structural equation model, 'positive as well as negative science academic emotion' has effects on science learning motivation, science-related attitude, and science-related career aspiration via science-related self-concept. According to the independent t-test results for TIPES scores by participants' characteristics, there were statistically significant differences in the average scores of five sub-components of PES depending on gender, school-level, school location, and participation in science-related activities. According to the multi-group analysis results, the difference of path coefficients by gender and school-level were statistically significant, whereas the difference of path coefficients by school location and participation were not significant. Discussed in the conclusion are the implications of this research for science education research and ways to help students' affectional achievement related with science learning.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.743-752
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of scientifically gifted students' views on the nature of science. A multiple-choice format questionnaire was administered to 237 Korean 10th, 11th and 12th graders at the Korea Science Academy. The differences and similarities by gender and experience of R&E program on the students' views of the nature of science were investigated. The questionnaire developed by Lim(2004) was implemented for this investigation. We found that the majority of scientifically gifted students had highly possessed the tentativeness of scientific knowledge. The students who experienced R&E program have relatively high apprehension of scientists' motivation for researches and activities in social context compared to the students who did not experience an R&E program. Scientifically gifted students had relatively high apprehension that government should not control researches of scientists and relatively low apprehension of social responsibilities of scientists comparing to general high school students. The experience on R&E program was identified as a factor to effect changes in the students' views on the nature of science. The study has implications for the development of gifted program and curriculum such as running and assessing R&E program, and also the pre-service preparation of science teacher, teacher education reformat in both the practical and the policy levels.