• 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.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.147-158
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• 2016

This study examined the changes of preservice biology teachers' NOS pedagogical content knowledge through two consecutive science methods courses: NOS understandings; attitudes toward teaching science; difficulties of NOS teaching; NOS teaching strategies; and views of orientation of NOS teaching. During the science methods course I, the preservice teachers engaged in discussions and reflections on what science is and how scientific knowledge has produced, drawing NOS aspects from episodes of history of science, and planning the lessons cooperating NOS instructional objectives. Then the next semester, through the science methods course II, the preservice teachers had a chance of the simulated teaching by adopting NOS teaching and learning activities in the context of the secondary biology context. The preservice teachers, further, reflected on their NOS teaching. The results showed that the preservice teachers constructed the NOS pedagogical content knowledge. They significantly improved their views of NOS and its teaching(p<.05) after the science methods course I, and retained their understanding after the science methods course II(p>.05). The preservice teachers mentioned the difficulties of teaching NOS in the secondary biology context, and further suggested effective NOS teaching methods in their reflective journals.

• 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.26 no.6
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• pp.723-731
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• 2006

In this study, twenty-eight 7th graders were interviewed to explore their emotional responses and perceived teaching-learning strategies for effective conceptual change by the types of cognitive responses to a discrepant event. The results revealed that cognitive conflict was more induced by a discrepant event when its reliability and validity were emphasized. The students' cognitive responses to a discrepant event, the existence of alternative hypotheses, and their clearness influenced the patterns of emotional responses such as interest and anxiety. Many students perceived that emotional responses would have positive influences on concept learning processes. In the cases of the students exhibiting cognitive responses such as belief decrease, peripheral belief change, and belief change, opinions about teaching-learning strategies for effective conceptual change were different depending on whether they had alternative hypotheses or not. Educational implications are discussed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.259-265
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• 2015

This study examined high school students' acceptance of evolutionary theory, evolutionary knowledge, and epistemological belief. The Christian and non-Christian students' acceptance of evolutionary theory and evolution content knowledge were compared in relation to their 'scientific epistemological views' (domain-specific) and 'evolution in relation to nature of science' (context-specific). The Christian students' evolutionary knowledge was most predicted by the theory-laden exploration of science, while the non-Christian students' scores on evolutionary knowledge were most predicted by the scientific epistemological views. In addition, the Christian students' scores on scientific epistemological views and evolution in relation to evolution were not significantly related to each other, while the non-Christian students' scores on both variables were significantly related. Furthermore, 'evolution in relation to nature of science' is the strongest predictor of both Christian and non-Christian students' acceptance of evolution.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.267-275
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate relations between middle school science teachers' perception of students' learning styles and their teaching style. Data were collected by in-depth individual interviews with 20 experienced science teachers (14 years of teaching experience in average). Results indicated four categories of the relations: i.e. teachers implemented their teaching style (1) matching students' learning styles, (2) supplementing students' insufficient learning styles, (3) teacher-centered, but matching the diverse students' learning styles, and (4) based on their values and convictions. In general, teaching styles of the teachers did not match with their perceptions of students' learning styles. Instead, their teaching styles seemed to be more affected by their personal values and convictions.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.277-287
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• 2022

This study aims to investigate the main effects and interaction effects of individual variables on the epistemological beliefs of elementary school science teachers. For this purpose, a survey was conducted on 338 elementary science teachers in the metropolitan area on gender, teaching career, and epistemological beliefs. Epistemological beliefs show significant differences not only in gender and teaching career, but also in the interaction between gender and teaching career. Depending on gender, female teachers are more integrated in knowledge than male teachers, and process is more important than outcome in learning. Depending on the teaching career, it was found that high-career teachers generally value the process rather than the results, as knowledge is integrated and constantly evolving, knowledge is acquired by individual reasoning and justified through external interaction. On the other hand, teachers with low career perceive that efforts are indispensable in learning compared to other groups. Depending on the interaction between gender and teaching career, elementary school teachers believe that the higher the teaching career, the more integrated and constantly evolved, but low-career male teachers believed that learning ability was born with experience, while high-career male teachers value the learning process. Based on this study, it is expected that many training sessions aimed at improving the quality of teaching and learning will provide more effective opportunities to develop elementary science teachers' epistemological beliefs, considering teachers' personal characteristics.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.396-404
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• 2010

This study aimed to investigate a perception of teachers engaged in special education for scientifically gifted regarding nature of science and identify attitudes toward teaching nature of science. The sample of this study consists of 122 science teachers who are teaching or taught students attending gifted classes of any primary school in Korea and any gifted education center of every District Office of Education. We made a partial amendment of a VOSE that was developed by Chen(2006) and then used. We tested their perception and attitudes in regard to nature of science. In terms of nature of science, we devide it into 7 sub-areas to analyse. For attitudes toward teaching nature of science, we investigate and analyse following 5 sub-areas; tentativeness of scientific knowledge, nature of observation, scientific methods, theories and laws and subjectivity and objectivity. The result showed that the generally teachers have a desirable recognitions about a nature of science. For attitudes toward teaching nature of science, the teachers showed that they have positive attitudes. However between degrees of teachers' recognition about a nature of science and attitudes toward teaching nature of science showed a low correlation. To increase their understanding of nature of science and develop attitudes toward teaching nature of science, there should be more training time for the teachers and training contents also should be changed. In addition, we hope that this study contribute to develop contents and direction of training for the teachers as a basic reference.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.412-428
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to identify the teaching professionalism of the two teachers for secondary science-gifted students in perspective of teaching orientations. Both teachers have been taught biology to secondary science-gifted students for more than six years and they have received in-service training in gifted education. Teachers' orientations were investigated through in-depth interviews and observing lessons. For the data collection, videotapes were recorded during two lessons and two in-depth interviews for each participant were conducted. All recorded data were carefully transcribed and analyzed. Some unique characteristics of teaching were identified from the class instruction of each participant. Both teachers revealed 'Open Inquiry' orientation. This was reflected by their educational goals and beliefs that they should help science-gifted students to grow themselves as scientists by enhancing their inquisitiveness and creative problem solving ability. However, each teacher had shown different teaching orientations such as 'Academic Rigor' and 'Discovery' that seemed to have influence on the level or the range of subject matter covered in the classes. Teachers' science teaching orientations have been changed by their subject of teaching and their experiences in teaching the gifted. In the process, teachers' educational philosophy about gifted education plays an important role in teaching orientation. Based on the ongoing teachers' efforts for enhancing his/her professionalism, the teachers seemed to critically review theoretical knowledge of the science teachers in gifted education through self-reflection on their own teaching methods. When teacher's educational philosophy about gifted education was established and internalized, science teaching orientations in teaching practice seemed to be consistent with his/her goal of teaching.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.600-610
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was to design the new teaching strategy based on the particulate model facilitating the reflective thinking (RE-PM) in the learning of the particulate nature of matter, and to investigate the effect of the new teaching strategy in compare with the traditional teaching strategy (TS-PM) after treating with new teaching strategy on preliminary teachers of elementary school. The problems of traditional teaching strategy are as follows: 1) Most of students didn't think the particulate model connected with practical material. 2) Most of students have a tendency of the rote memory on learning of the traditional particulate model. 3) The ratio of changing the view of continuous matter into the view of particulate nature of matter was very low, after learning the particulate model using of the traditional teaching strategy. The new teaching strategy facilitating the reflective thinking was more effective on the understanding of particulate nature of matter and the driving of motivation than the traditional teaching strategy in the learning of the particulate nature of matter.