• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.535-547
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• 2014

This study analyzed the characteristics of National Science Curricula in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, and Korea with respect to core competencies. In the case of overseas countries, literature review on their curricula was conducted, and four common features were extracted: 'association of cross-curricular competencies with science-specific competencies', 'a combination of science contents and scientific practices', 'an emphasis on communication skills', and 'representation of an achievement level of competency'. In addition, the common core competencies of science education were 'critical thinking', 'creative thinking', 'problem solving', 'inquiry skills', 'communication skills', 'cultural literacy', 'ability to integrate discipline', 'application skills', and 'personal/social competency'. In relation to these features, this study also investigated Korean science teachers' perceptions of core competencies in science education. A survey was conducted on 135 teachers in elementary, middle, and high school in Korea. Teachers were not well aware of what core competencies are, and after introduction, they thought that they wanted to and needed to teach core competencies to their students. Teachers claimed that critical core competencies in science education are 'creative thinking', 'problem solving', and 'inquiry skills'. Teachers thought that core competencies-based science class would help develop students' scientific literacy and communication skills. However, they have difficulties in conducting core competencies-based science class because they are not familiar with how to conduct the class and they expect that it will take a long time to prepare such a class.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.368-377
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• 2013

The purpose of this research was to investigate ways of restructuring key competencies (KCs) in preparation for a revision of Korean science curriculum. Recently a number of countries have reformed their curricular using competencies as a key element because they believe that competencies-based curriculum helps students build up the necessary skills to live in the future society. Through literature reviews, in-depth interviews with experts and teachers, expert meetings, Delphi methods, and surveys with teachers, three major categories of KCs emerged as follows: Character competencies, Intellectual competencies, and Social competencies. For each major category, its definition, characteristics and teachers' comments are discussed. The specific components of KCs for each major category and implementing KCs should be determined at the subject- and teacher-level based on teacher professionalism. In the conclusion section, we suggested a couple of important points that deserve readers' attention when we reconstruct science curriculum by incorporating three major categories of KCs. When we develop a science curriculum in the future, we need to include three major categories of KCs, and set up KCs as a minimum set of goals for all students. We need to remember that specific components of KCs for each major category and linkage among KCs may vary depending on science topics and objectives.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.265-275
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• 2022

In this study, focusing on science education in the future society, we explored students' key competencies to be cultivated for the future society, and the role and PCK expertise necessary for science teachers, who are the main agents of competency-based education to nurture these key competencies. A survey conducted among earth science teachers across the country results in 105 valid responses being obtained. The research results are discussed in terms of students' key competencies to be nurtured for the future society, the role and the expertise of science teachers required for competency-based education, and the structural relationship between the teacher role and teacher expertise. We also conducted network analysis to examine the relationship between student competency and teacher expertise, and the structure between the teacher's role and expertise. Main results include that communication and collaboration skills are the most important for students in the future society as core competencies. For science teachers, providing opportunities for collaboration-oriented activities are deemed as the most important. Regarding the structural relationship between the teacher's role and the teacher's expertise, there is a clear relationship with roles such as providing opportunities for collaboration-oriented activities and utilizing various materials and contents in relation to the expertise related to the science teaching practice. Based on the results, ways to promote student's agency based on raising teachers' awareness of the student's competencies, the inter-relatedness of the teacher's role and the teacher's expertise, and the totality of teachers' expertise were suggested.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.855-865
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• 2012

The goal of this research is to investigate ways to improve science teaching methods to develop students' key competencies. Since the OECD DeSeCo (Definition and Selection of Key Competencies) project, key competencies are redefined as 'what people should know and be able to do in order to lead a successful life in a well-functioning society, which leads many countries to emphasize competency-based curriculum. In this research, we collected and analyzed foreign and domestic classroom cases that have implemented competency-based curriculum in science teaching. Through open-ended interviews with the teachers and principals, we explored ways to improve science teaching methods to develop students' key competencies. In foreign cases, science teachers emphasized students' knowing what KCs to accomplish, activities and student-centered learning, students' group activities and collaboration, and greater curriculum integration among subjects and contexts. Korean science teachers argued that the KCs should be realized through teaching methods and emphasized scientific inquiry learning whereby non-science track students could also benefit from science lessons. Korean science teachers also emphasized links to real-life situations, providing students with various learning experiences that supported students to develop the KCs, and the delivery of an integrated curriculum. In the conclusion section, the difficulties with the implementation of key competencies are discussed.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.143-152
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• 2016

In this paper, we attempted to provide the bases of effective educational programs for fostering ICT competencies of gifted students in science. For this purpose, we tried to answer the questions like 'What are the ICT core-competence for gifted students in science?' and 'How can we educate those competencies effectively?' We started by reviewing existing studies on ICT competencies for talented people in future society and then adopted one[6] as the basis for further validation. We tried to work with as many G/T experts as possible, and decided to use the online survey methodology because the experts are scattered all over the country. The survey was sent to the corresponding person who is in charge of G/T education in each area, and then e-mailed to G/T experts in that area. Through these procedures, three hundred four(304) G/T experts from all around the country participated in this survey. The results showed the followings: (1) G/T experts agreed with the importance and necessity of ICT competencies for gifted students in science; (2) G/T experts agreed with the validity of three core ICT competencies, which are 'knowledge and skills competence, creativity competence, and characteristic competence,' for gifted students in science; (3) G/T experts agreed with the validity of educational goals, which are suggested for fostering each ICT core-competence of gifted students in science; and (4) G/T experts regarded 'product-oriented education' and 'ICT device-oriented education' as important and effective types of education programs for fostering ICT competencies of gifted students in science.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.94-118
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to explore the multi-faceted understanding and issues of science subject matter competencies from the trends of competency-based curriculum discourse, and to examine the relationship between general core competencies and science subject matter competencies. First, we examined the theoretical background of competency-based curriculum focusing on behaviorism, humanism, and its comprehensive synthesis. After that, we reviewed OECD's competency-related projects (DeSeCo; OECD Education 2030), US Next-Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Korea's 2015 Revised National Curriculum from the viewpoint of competency-based curriculum. After that, we summarized and systematically analyzed a list of competencies, 105 general core competencies and 45 science subject matter competencies proposed by 15 important documents from home and abroad. The results of this study are as follows: First, the issues of the proper number, appropriate dimension, and how individual competencies should be unique and independent were pointed, in terms of defining and categorizing competencies. Second, it was suggested that the competency items are presented in various dimensions such as personal-micro dimension, community meso-dimension, and social-macro dimension. Meso-dimension was placed on both general core competencies and subject matter competencies. Third, in the relationship between general core competencies and subject matter competencies, the former emphasizes macro-dimension, and the latter emphasizes micro-dimension, revealing an existing gap, and where the two can meet each other is the meso-dimension. These discussions are thought to provide insight into the understanding of competencies in the national curriculum, including the 2015 Revised National Curriculum.

• New Physics: Sae Mulli
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• v.68 no.12
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• pp.1338-1346
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to analyze the curriculum of a university-affiliated science gifted education center based on the core competencies and to suggest a direction for improving the education at the gifted education center. For this purpose, we set the 12 core competencies as follows: 6 cognitive competencies such as knowledge, creativity, scientific thinking ability, inquiry ability, problem solving ability and fusion ability, and 6 non-cognitive competencies such as task commitment, self-directed learning ability, motivation reinforcement and challenge, communication skills, collaboration ability and leadership. The curricula of the science gifted education centers reflect all the competencies, but some competencies are only potentially included in the contents of the programs. In this study, we present examples of education programs by each competences and suggest additional descriptions for the development of gifted education centers.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2023

This study investigates the effects of the operation of science activity program on scientific literacy focusing on science cultural literacy and core competencies for pre-service teachers. 255 pre-service teachers of K University participated, and the effects of the program were examined through a paired-sample t-test with one group pretest-posttest design for science cultural literacy. Only the post-test was conducted on core competency growth perception, and differences in growth perceptions by competency were compared using ANOVA. As a result of the study, the average of pre-service teachers was higher than the pre-test for science culture literacy, and this difference was statistically significant (p<.05). In the core competency growth perception, 70.6% of pre-service teachers reported growth in scientific communication ability, and as a result of the post-hoc test using LSD, it shows statistically significant growth compared to other competencies (p<.05). Through this, it was possible to confirm the educational value of the science activity program as a way to develop pre-service teachers' scientific literacy.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.67 no.4
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• pp.271-280
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of chemistry program based on metacognitive learning strategies using realistic contents on prospective teachers' creative thinking skills and science core competencies, and their perception. In particular, it was intended to further improve the effectiveness of the program by introducing a strategy to strengthen metacognition. Participants were classified into the experimental group subject to the newly developed chemistry curriculum and traditional group subject to general programs that exclude realistic contents and metacognitive strategies. Both groups were surveyed before and after the application of the program to measure the degree of change in metacognitive competencies, creative thinking competencies, and science core competencies. It also analyzed the impact of metacognitive competencies and science core competencies on creativity thinking competencies. As a result of the study, relevance and rationality among sub-factors of metacognitive competencies and creative thinking competencies of the experimental group were improved, and all sub-factors except for scientific participation and lifelong learning ability among science core competencies were significantly improved. In addition, it was found that metacognitive knowledge among metacognitive competencies, scientific inquiry ability and scientific thinking ability among science core competencies affect creative thinking competencies. Through the results, it was suggested that realistic content that incorporates metacognitive learning strategies is needed to improve creative thinking competencies, and learning models and programs that can utilize them are needed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.136-145
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• 2021

The Gifted Education Program is re-constructured into core competency-based program in line with fourth industrial revolution, where talented people with comprehensive ability are required. Therefore, competency-based elementary science gifted education program which is provided from Gifted Education Database(GED) is developed in accordance with 2015 revised edition in science and 5 main core-abilities; scientific thinking ability, scientific investigation ability, scientific problem solving ability, scientific communication ability and scientific participation and lifelong learning ability. This research, which is provided from GED, is focused on earth science area among competency-based elementary science gifted education program and analyse quantitatively and qualitatively how science and core-ability is appeared in 3 programs developed in science area. This research can be another guideline when someone would like to use competency-based earth science gifted education program in gifted education. Also, the purpose of this research is to help suggesting a right direction for competency-based earth science gifted education program. The conclusion based on research problem is as follow; Firstly, in competency-based earth science gifted education program, influence rates of scientific communication ability and scientific thinking ability are highest, where influence rates of scientific investigation ability, scientific problem solving ability and scientific participation and lifelong learning ability are relatively low. Secondly, in competency-based earth science gifted education program, single activity may includes several core-abilities. Following research is quite meaningful in aspect of giving out the information to choose topic in core-ability when using competency-based earth science gifted education program in gifted education. Also by supplementing lowly-influenced ability in competency-based earth science gifted education program, it is expected for gifted students to build scientific core-ability.