• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.542-561
• /
• 2000

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among elementary school teachers' high school and college backgrounds in science, their attitudes toward teaching science, their science teaching efficacy beliefs, and their instructional strategies. Both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, were utilized in this study. This paper, however, presents only the results of the quantitative data analysis while expecting to report the qualitative data analysis outcomes afterwards. Four instruments were used to ascertain information concerning teachers' backgrounds in science(the number of high school science courses they took and the grades of courses, the number of college science courses and grades, the number of college science methods courses and grades), attitudes toward teaching science, science teaching self-efficacy beliefs(personal science teaching efficacy and science teaching outcome expectancy), and their instructional strategies(indirect, direct, and mixed methods). A sample of 340 practicing elementary school teachers participated in this study. To determine statistically significant results, Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to relate teachers' backgrounds in science, attitudes toward teaching science, science teaching self-efficacy beliefs and their instructional strategies. The correlation coefficients were statistically significant regarding four variables, teachers' backgrounds in science, attitudes toward teaching science, science teaching self-efficacy beliefs, and instructional strategies investigated in this study. These results can be interpreted that programs of teacher preparations and trainings which include science and science methods courses should help prospective and practicing teachers change in their attitudes and beliefs toward science teaching. It is expected that future studies concerning teachers' attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors toward teaching science can help to improve science teacher education in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.235-249
• /
• 2003

The purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate the nature, role and development of pedagogical content knowledge in science teaching. Two research questions were considered: 1) What are the nature and the components of the pedagogical content knowledge in science teaching? 2) What is the value of pedagogical content knowledge and are there any routes and paths to developing pedagogical content knowledge for science teachers? In order to answer these questions instead of analyzing empirical data, former research literatures are reviewed. The results indicate that science pedagogical content knowledge is a special amalgam of science content knowledge and science method knowledge in a special context of science teaching that is uniquely the province of teacher based on their own special form of professional understanding. As a part of one's own distinctive bodies of knowledge, science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge is an important basis for professional development and competent teachers. It is knowledge of how to teach specific content in specific contexts, also it depends on each teachers' distinctive knowledge structure. Pedagogical content knowledge for science teaching is composed of five components: orientations toward science teaching, knowledge and beliefs about science curriculum, knowledge and beliefs about students' understanding of specific topics, knowledge and beliefs about assessment for teaching science, knowledge and beliefs about instructional strategies for teaching science. The development of science pedagogical content knowledge does not start until teachers have acquired a deeply principled conceptual knowledge of content, also it is promoted by the constant use of subject matter knowledge in teaching situations.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.242-258
• /
• 2002

This study investigated preservice teachers' understandings of the ontology and epistemology underlying constructivist notions of teaming. Throughout this study, the epistemological, ontological, and pedagogical characteristics for each teacher's developing views of learning were identified through four in-depth interviews. Data from interviews were used to create three profiles containing ontological beliefs, epistemological commitments and pedagogical beliefs. This study has demonstrated that the notion of a constructivist profile change has significant potential for informing the analysis and description of preservice teachers' beliefs changes. Major findings include: constructivist profile changes overtime, diversification of profile components over time, features of the teachers' pedagogical belief profile changes, and teachers' unawareness of their profiles. However, changes in ontological beliefs and epistemological commitments were not easy, nor were they easily internalized for these teachers. The implications of this research are that preservice teachers should be aware of coexisting different categories of their learning-to-teach profiles, and that teacher educators should provide these preservice teachers with instruction designed to change preservice teachers' profiles towards increasing constructivist views of teaching and learning and restricting other undesirable categories.

• Journal of Science Education
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.333-342
• /
• 2015

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of physics learning through the teaching-learning strategy of phased context in introductory physics classes. The participants in the study included 35 university freshmen. The teaching-learning strategy of phased context were developed by idealizing, extending and comparing contexts which were then applied in introductory physics classes : six hour classes about straight line motion, two-dimensional motion and Newton's laws of motion. The effects of the physics learning were then analyzed by the FCI (Force Concept Inventory) and MPEX (Maryland Survey on Physics Expectation) questionnaires. The results showed that the teaching-learning strategy of phased context helped change the force concept and did not change the belief about physics learning. Finally, based on the results of the study, we discuss possible educational implications for phased context in introductory physics classes.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.53-62
• /
• 2004

For teachers to develop new beliefs regarding science teaching and learning, they must undergo a process similar to what they are trying to provide their students. Seventy-one Korean secondary school teachers including 20 earth science teachers have participated in such process. In the four-week long summer workshop hosted by University of Iowa, science teachers were exposed to several activities and lectures wherein they experienced student-centered lessons by playing the roles of both teachers and learners. This study examined the influence of such experience on the teachers’ beliefs about science teaching and learning. Changes in teachers’ beliefs were found in seven question items on the subjects of goals of science learning, the roles of science teachers and students, and classroom practices after workshop participation; it was found that teachers’ beliefs of science learning and teaching shifted from teacher-centered to student-centered. Although this shift does not denote a complete shift from one extreme to the other, it is meaningful to note that teachers’ beliefs after attending the workshop were interpreted to be either anti- or contrary to teacher-centered. One of the possible factors for making such positive changes may have been teamwork or the teachers’ cooperative learning experience.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.221-233
• /
• 2002

This study investigated preservice science teachers' understandings of philosophical foundations(i.e., ontological and epistemological beliefs) underlying constructivist notions of learning. The teacher education program these subjects participated in explicitly addressed philosophical notions consistent with different views of constructivism. For these preservice science teachers, the program provided them with the opportunity to reflect upon the implications that their ontological and epistemological commitments had for their role as a science teacher. Data from four in-depth interviews were used to explore changes in each preservice science teacher's ontological beliefs, epistemological commitments, and pedagogical preferences. Results indicated that ontological beliefs and epistemological commitments were not necessarily consistent with conceptions of science teaching and learning for these preservice teachers. While some students internalized idealist and relativist perspectives, they did not integrate these relativist epistemological views into their preferred instructional practices. Also, regarding the fallible and tentative nature of knowledge, data in this study indicated that participants' epistemological beliefs about scientific Knowledge did influence how they were thinking about their roles as science teachers. Implications for teacher education programs and research on preservice science teacher's philosophical beliefs are discussed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.42 no.6
• /
• pp.567-578
• /
• 2022

In this study, we examine whether the description of the elementary science curriculum guide, the concept of evolution, and the beliefs of teachers affect the teaching practice in classes related to adaptation of elementary school teachers. First, we examined the alternative concept among the sentences described in the bio-adaptation-related unit of the 2009 Elementary Science Curriculum Teacher's Guide and identified the effects of this description on the teaching practice of elementary school teachers. Next, six elementary school teachers were classified according to the results of the evolutionary concept test paper and the evolutionary belief test paper, and based on the class recording data and interview data, whether there is a difference in teaching execution. As a result, it was confirmed that there were a total of 18 descriptions corresponding to the concept of evolutionary alternatives in the analysis of instruction descriptions, and that these descriptions influenced elementary school teachers' adaptation concepts and teaching practice. Next, the group with high and low levels of evolution differ in the areas of "recognition of importance in the unit, distinction between adaptation concepts in the general sense and adaptation concepts in the biological sense, errors in the class," and "recognition of evolutionary education needs in the elementary curriculum." This study is meaningful in that it qualitatively confirms the research on the evolution concept of elementary school teachers, which has been approached quantitatively, and in-depth, confirms how the description, evolution concepts, and evolutionary beliefs affect elementary school teachers' biological adaptation concepts.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.427-447
• /
• 2001

Science teachers need to understand what science is, how students learn, how to teach science effectively, and the rationale for their teaching methods. Along this line, this article discusses constructivist learning theory as an alternative to the traditional pedagogy and the origin of various versions of constructivism. Constructivism is defined and used in a variety of contexts including philosophical constructivism, constructivist research paradigm, sociological constructivism, and educational constructivism. Educational constructivism (or psychological constructivism) can be divided into three distinct versions (i.e., individual, radical, and social constructivism) depending on unique ontological and epistemological beliefs that underlie each version. Each version of educational constructivism supports different conceptions of science teaching and learning that are consistent with its specific ontological and epistemological beliefs. In this article, the main tenets of each version of educational constructivism are examined with regard to ontological beliefs, epistemological commitments, and pedagogical beliefs. In addition, two major criticisms on constructivist pedagogy as well as implications for research methods for each version are also discussed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.65-72
• /
• 2015

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between moral sensitivity for topics related to science and preference for science, and belief about learning science. 129 middle school students were involved in this study and completed questionnaires to measure moral sensitivity for topics related to science, preference for science, and belief about learning science. Students' responses were analysed to show the distribution of variables and the correlation between variables by gender and grade. As a result, moral sensitivity was not affected by respondents' grades and genders, but was affected by different topics. Preference for science was not affected by respondents' grades and genders, while belief about learning science was not affected by respondents' genders but affected by lower grade. There were correlations between students' moral sensitivity and preference in case of female students and higher grades, as well as relationship between moral sensitivity and belief about learning science. This result infers that students who have higher moral sensitivity can prefer science and show more positive belief about learning science. Also, it can implicate that affective domain including interest or belief can play an important role in the context of science education focusing on moral aspect or ethics, and that teachers should be aware of personal differences in case of teaching moral aspect of science.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.93-101
• /
• 2013

This study investigated how the unique educational contexts in the Republic of Korea (RK) impacted two science teachers' teaching practices in a public middle school and what the science teaching experience means to them. In particular, we explored how the middle school science teachers decide pedagogical approaches to use in their teaching based on classroom climate, students' attitude toward learning science, school curriculum and classroom culture. Using a phenomenological research approach, we analyzed classroom observation data and interview data to interpret the teachers' science teaching experience. Results of the study showed that the teachers' practice was dominantly affected by two external factors. First, the teachers' teaching practice was affected by the amount of science content knowledge they need to cover within a given class time. Second, the teachers' teaching practice was affected by students' attitudes toward science learning and their science preparedness in private tutoring centers. Implications of the study results are discussed in the paper.