• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.210-224
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to investigate science teachers' orientation toward scientific inquiry-based teaching. In this study, five middle school science teachers formed and participated in a teacher learning community for scientific inquiry-based instruction during one year. Data collection consisted of pre and post questionnaire and interviews, audio-recordings of teachers' collaborative lesson planning and reflection on teaching practice, and field notes of participant teachers' teaching practice and follow-up interviews. Data analysis indicated that there were four orientations toward scientific inquiry-based teaching. They were knowledge and beliefs about 'goals of scientific inquiry-based teaching', 'scientific inquiry-based teaching and learning', 'argumentation-based teaching and learning', and 'nature of science and science inquiry'. Teachers' collaboration in a teacher learning community would be effective in facilitating teachers' orientation to scientific inquiry-based teaching.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1002-1016
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to investigate beginner and experienced Korean science teachers' perceptions about the science teacher preparation courses from which they graduated, and to compare them. The study was conducted as a qualitative study using in-depth interviews. For the study, interview questions were developed by the authors based on the questionnaire of 'The IMPPACT project' that was being conducted in America. The interview tool includes questions about their experience of science subject matter content knowledge, science pedagogical content knowledge, and general pedagogical content knowledge in their preparation courses. For the interview, seven beginning science teachers, less than five years of teaching experience, and five experienced science teachers, more than five years of teaching experience, were sampled from secondary schools in Korea. The research results are as follows: First, most of the beginner and experienced science teachers perceived that the teaching methods in the classes of science subject matter were not good model for teaching science in their secondary school, because they were not diverse enough and entailed mostly knowledge transfer just through lecture without teacher-student interaction. Second, most of the beginner science teachers perceived that they were affected positively by the teaching strategies and evaluation methods in the classes for science pedagogical subject matter and they could apply those strategies and methods in their current science teaching. Lastly, most of the beginner and experienced science teachers perceived that general pedagogical subject matter is important and prerequisite for science teaching in their schools, but the courses that they experienced at their university were not appropriate for their current teaching.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.269-277
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• 2016

Recently, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cases that have formed and operated teachers' learning communities through cross-curricular consulting at the school level. The purpose of this study is to explore cross-curricular instructional consulting as an activity of teachers' learning communities at the school level, and investigate the effect of cross-curricular instructional consulting on middle school science teaching. We analyzed features and limitations of cross-curricular instructional consulting revealed in three case studies in middle school, including open classes and instructional consulting sessions, and conducted additional instructional consulting on the same videotaped science classes with science experts from outside. According to the results, science inquiry experiments are often replaced with text reading and interpreting, students' misconceptions and exact scientific representations are ignored, and the goal setting as well as class coverage has been questionable and disputable in science classes resulted from cross-curricular instructional consulting. Discussed in the conclusion are the necessity of cross-curricular instructional consulting in middle school, and ways to overcome limitations of the method of cross-curricular instructional consulting, including alternatives to a praise-only policy in cross-curricular instructional consulting, ways to use cross-curricular instructional consulting without compromising the subject's essence, and ways to improve the undue authority of consultants.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.116-136
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• 2009

Since there are differences in the content, structure and functions of interpersonal communication during the practice of school science classes, it needs to articulate the difference of the modality of pedagogical practice in order to understand science teaching in detail. These characteristics of science teaching can be investigated by further insightful analysis on language in the science classroom. In this study, classroom discourse language codes using Bernstein's code theory were analyzed in the case of a middle school science class on the unit of minerals. The discourse language code was identified by the value of classification, which revealed power relations to the contexts of discourse and participants of discourse. It was also identified by the value of framing, which showed hierarchical relation between teacher and students as discourse subjects, and discursive control on the initiative of discourse. The results addressed that six types of discourse language codes were constructed and that those language codes reflected diverse modalities of science teaching from student-centered instruction to teacher-centered instruction in relation to classroom discourse. The modality of science teaching according to the transition tendencies of discourse language code showed dynamic variations of 'controlled student-centeredness inducing teaching' - 'positional student-centeredness permissive teaching' - 'controlled students' participation permissive teaching' - 'controlled student-centeredness facilitative teaching' - 'student-centeredness enhancing teaching'. In addition, results released that discursively and hierarchically weak control of discourse is necessary for enhancing student-centeredness of science teaching. Moreover, teaching practice enhancing student-centeredness can be accomplished by the harmony of a teacher's perception of discourse language code and his/her orientation to constructivist teaching and student-centered teaching.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.565-574
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to investigate the features of science classes of Science Core Schools (SCSs) perceived by students. 654 students from 14 SCSs were surveyed with two open-ended questions on the features of science classes. The students' responses were analyzed with NetMiner 4.5, in terms of the centrality (of betweenness and of degree) analysis and the community analysis. The results of the research are as follows: (1) the science classes of SCSs were perceived by students to be of the environment of free questioning, active participation and communication, caring teacher, more science experiments and advanced contents, and knowledge sharing; (2) science classes in SCSs were perceived to be different from those of ordinary high schools because SCSs provide more opportunities for science-related special courses (like project work, advanced science subjects), extra-curricular activities, inquiry and research activities, school supports, hard-working classroom environment, longer studying hours, R&E and club activities. The students' perceptions of SCS science classes appear to be in line with the characteristics of 'good' science lessons from previous studies. The SCS project itself and the features of SCS science classes would help us to see how we introduce educational innovations into actual schools.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.310-322
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• 2013

The college of education should support pre-service science teachers to develop various abilities as a teacher, in which the teaching ability is the most fundamental one. This study is the result of a longitudinal research project following the processes that pre-service science teachers develop their teaching ability in a college of education. The data gathered include movie clips of seminar presentation, teaching demonstration, secondary school science experiment, and classes in the practicum. In order to analyze the teaching abilities in various context, a framework was developed. The framework consists of 'content,' 'progress,' and 'verbal/nonverbal' with which the movie clips of 5 pre-service science teachers were analyzed. The teaching abilities of pre-service science teachers showed overall development, that include the understanding of learners and curriculum in the 'content,' the time-management and the interaction with learners in the 'progress,' and the nonverbal behavior in the 'verbal/nonverbal.' The implications were discussed on the education in the college of education, such as the increase of teaching opportunities for pre-service science teachers and the support for those opportunities.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.159-166
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• 2016

This study analyzed perceptions and difficulties in applying Flipped Learning with an interview method grounded on understanding and experience of Flipped Learning in science class. The interviewees selected were six teachers working in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. Three teachers having over two years of experience in operating Flipped Learning in science were selected, one each from elementary, middle, and high school and another three teachers who had just started to operate Flipped Learning this year were chosen, one each from elementary, middle, and high school. According to the result of a 3-step interview conducted with the participating teachers, they indicated very high satisfaction with the implementation of Flipped Learning in elementary, middle, and high school science classes. They responded that Flipped Learning was particularly more helpful for inquiry activity. The teachers, however, felt burdened by the class preparation and had difficulty in organizing the class. To explore ways to get rid of the difficulties in Flipped Learning, this author discussed the textbook system where one could draw various implications for improving the current class.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.208-227
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to analyze secondary science teachers' planning process for an integrated science lesson. For this study, relevant references were collected from various sources, including literatures, previous studies regarding integrated science education, and individual studies. Two teachers (one from middle school and the other from high school) participated and 'the five-step instructional design' was adopted from former studies in this subject. The teachers were asked to develop an instructional plan based on 'the design' provided. While the consultation provided a framework for an instructional plan, the teachers were asked to take a leading role in terms of selecting the chapter to be taught; analyzing the course structure; and making detailed teaching plans. In the course of consultations, discussions, records, and analysis were organized into a journal. Based on the journal, the aspects of the planning process, including difficulties and problems faced by teachers, were analyzed in-depth. From the study, it could be observed that both high school and middle school teachers face various difficulties in preparing for the integrated science lesson. Among other things, the teachers emphasized the difficulties in the stages of selecting the topic, collecting the relevant information, and restructuring and organizing the lecture contents.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.88-106
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• 2023

This study aims to investigate the disparity between the teacher's perception of student-centered inquiry classes and the actual implementation of such practices. Specifically, we compared an elementary science teacher's self-perception of her science lessons with the observers' evaluation using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) of the "Temperature and Heat" unit. Research data were collected through classroom teaching survey, interview, and science lessons video which were analyzed using the RTOP. As a result of the study, the teacher recognized that she was practicing inquiry-oriented/student-centered classes, but the results judged by the RTOP score were found to be transitional/student-affected classes by a slight difference. Teacher H planned and practiced classes based on a high understanding and content knowledge of the curriculum and created a science classroom culture that promotes active interaction among students as well as students and teachers. However, teacher-led aspects were still emphasized in teaching design and implementation, and the project theme and content were inappropriate to improve the quality of students' science inquiry experience. In the end, the slight difference between teacher's perception of inquiry-oriented/student-centered classes and actual implementation is related to how student-centered "lesson design" is and how to plan and implement classes supported by "procedural knowledge" for students' experience in the science inquiry process. These results indicate that the teacher's self-evaluation alone is not enough to determine whether the teacher's intentions and efforts are actually being implemented, and that it is necessary to conduct objective analysis, evaluation, and discuss the results of science classes by the external observers.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.494-502
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• 2005

This study investigated the current science teaching evaluation system implemented in schools and directions for improving teaching evaluation using literature review, survey, and teacher interview. The first part of this paper analyzed the types, roles, and major issues of the current science teaching evaluation. In-service teachers argued that the current teaching evaluation system was discredited because of the bureaucratic procedures of teacher performance review, showcase classrooms, teachers' views on classroom as their own personal space, low ratio of teaching component in the current teacher evaluation, untrained evaluators, and the absence of professional teaching standards. The second part of the paper investigated the need for a formative teaching assessment, an ideal type of teaching assessment, and the role of participants in the teaching evaluation processes. The way forward, therefore, is to start not at the level of the administrative superstructure but at the level of teachers who will assume responsibility for developing standards of practice as the basis for evaluating their own work and improving their own professional learning to provide quality assurance.