• Journal of Science Education
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.179-194
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to construct two equivalent science relevance recognition test tool after confirming the reliability and validity of the CARS(Changes in Attitude of Relevance to Science) questionnaire to determine the applicability of the items to Korean students and to compare gender and school differences. For this study, 59 items of the CARS scientific relevance test were translated and assigned to 787 middle and high school students (analyed the answer of 300 middle school students and 431 high school students). In order to determine the fit of the CARS question to Korean students and to overcome the limitation of the number of questions, we used the item-linking method of the Rasch model. By analyzing the results of the research, we constructed two equivalent scientific relevance recognition questionnaires of CARS-A and CARS-B with 25 items. The Pearson correlation coefficient of the Rasch scores of the two equivalent test was 0.78. The two types of scientific relevance recognition test tools generated through this study can be used to confirm students' attitude of scientific relevance to daily life, or to confirm the change after a certain class or grade. Through this study, we will discuss the implications of students' perceptions of science associations in science education, and the development and application of tools.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.189-202
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• 2016

This study aimed to investigate pre-service science teachers' perceptions of significance and usefulness of evolution and genetics. To this end, 82 pre-service biology teachers and 159 non-biology science teachers answered the items to measure the perceptions of significance and usefulness of evolution and genetics. The validity and reliability were examined using Cronbach alpha, two-dimensional rating scale model Rasch analysis, and factor analysis. The finding illustrated that the test items met the benchmark to be valid and reliable test items. Second, pre-service teachers' perception of significance and usefulness of evolution was independent to that of genetics. The level of pre-service teachers' perception of significance and usefulness of evolution was lower than the level of genetics. Lastly, the levels of pre-service teachers' perceptions of significance and usefulness of evolution and genetics were not significantly different across academic years and majors (biology and non-biology). The findings of this study stressed the importance of teaching significance and usefulness of evolution and genetics in pre-service science teacher education program.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.509-517
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• 2016

Previous studies have investigated the similarity between the development of evolutionary explanations and students' conceptual developments on evolution. However, the validity and reliability of the assessment method reflecting the similarity have not been quantitatively examined yet. In addition, no study has examined the conceptual progressions of evolution concept based on contexts although literature has addressed the contextual difference of evolutionary explanation in the history of science. This study examined the validity and reliability of history-of-science-based evolution concept assessment using ordered multiple choice (OMC) methods and Rasch analysis and explored conceptual progression by three contexts (e.g., human, animal, and plant). The evolution concept assessment developed by Ha (2007) was used to examine 1711 elementary, middle, and high school students, and pre- and in-service science teachers' (biology majors and non-majors) evolution concepts. Internal consistency reliability and item response fitness of the OMC method that provide 0- to 4-point scores to creationism, teleology, intentionality, use/disuse, and natural selection respectively met the benchmark based on the Cronbach alpha and MNSQ indices of Rasch analysis. The level of elementary and middle school students' evolution concepts were located between intentionality and use/disuse while the level of high school and non-biology science teachers' evolution concepts were located between use/disuse and natural selection. The conceptual progressions of evolution concepts were differentiated according to three contexts. This study provided the quantitative evidence for the similarity between the development of evolutionary explanations and students' conceptual developments on evolution and suggest new analysis methods (i.e., OMC) of evolution concept assessment.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.308-321
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• 2018

The purpose of the study is to develop a questionnaire that examines unskeptical attitudes in scientific inquiry context. The questionnaire items were developed through literature research, expert review, and statistical analyses for validity and the differences in scores were identified by gender and tracks. A total of 363 high school students participated in the study. To explore the validity evidence of items, the Rasch analysis and the reliability of internal consistency were performed, and the two-way ANOVA was performed to compare the scores of the unskeptical attitudes between gender and academic track. Self-reporting and Likert-scaling 23 items were developed to measure unskeptical attitudes in scientific inquiry context. The items were developed in the sub-domain of scientific inquiry: 'questioning and hypothesis generating,' 'experiment designing,' and 'explaining and interpreting.' Second, the validity and reliability of the unskeptical were identified in a rigorous method. The validity of items were identified by multi-dimensional partial score model analysis through the Rasch model, and all 23 items were found to be fit to model. Various reliability evidences were also found to be appropriate. It was found that there were no significant differences of unskeptical attitude score between the gender and academic track except one comparison. The developed questionnaire could be used to check an unskeptical attitude in the course of scientific inquiry and to compare the effects of scientific inquiry classes.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.123-134
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• 2014

This study aims to develop and validate an instrument to measure students' attitude toward convergence. To do so, we have defined five constructs (i.e. knowledge about convergence, personal relevance, social relevance, interest and self-efficacy) of 'attitude toward convergence' based on literature review, developed items, and collected data from 233 11th grade science track students. The validity of these items have been evaluated by Messick's framework (1995) (i.e. content, substantive, structural aspects of validity), experts' review, Rasch analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling. Our results have confirmed the five constructs and 23 selected items have met the benchmark of item validity. Moreover, the theoretical model illustrating that the high level of attitude toward convergence increases the level of science motivation has also been supported by the data. The items developed in this study will be used to measure students' attitude toward convergence and to estimate the effect of learning program for convergence science.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.27-41
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• 2022

Objectives: There should be an objective analysis on the academic competency for incorporating Computer-based Test (CBT) in the education of traditional Korean medicine (TKM). However, the Item Response Theory (IRT) for analyzing latent competency has not been introduced for its difficulty in calculation, interpretation and utilization. Methods: The current study analyzed responses of 390 students of 8 years to the herbology test with 14 items by utilizing Rasch model, and the characteristics of test and items were evaluated by using characteristic curve, information curve, difficulty, academic competency, and test score. The academic competency of the students across gender and years were presented with scale characteristic curve, Kernel density map, and Wright map, and examined based on T-test and ANOVA. Results: The estimated item, test, and ability parameters based on Rasch model provided reliable information on academic competency, and organized insights on students, test and items not available with test score calculated by the summation of item scores. The test showed acceptable validity for analyzing academic competency, but some of items revealed difficulty parameters to be modified with Wright map. The gender difference was not distinctive, however the differences between test years were obvious with Kernel density map. Conclusion: The current study analyzed the responses in the herbology test for measuring academic competency in the education of TKM using Rasch model, and structured analysis for competency-based Teaching in the e-learning era was suggested. It would provide the foundation for the learning analytics essential for self-directed learning and competency adaptive learning in TKM.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.382-404
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• 2017

This study aims to explore a learning progression for eight core concepts of middle school science using constructed response items in the national assessment of educational achievement (NAEA). For this purpose, a total of 7,390 responses of the 9th graders on 8 constructed response items in NAEA conducted in 2015 were inputted by computer and the inputted answers were analyzed and classified into different levels. After completing this process, five levels were set for each construct and a construct map was created according to the levels. In this study, the construct map was written in a progression-based rubric format, which was used as a criterion for leveling the answers of all students. In addition, the Rasch model was applied to measure the scores and achievements of the respondents by means of statistical analysis to correlate the scores of the students with the achievement levels of the constructs. Lastly, a preliminary learning progression was created by revising the construct map reflecting the results of Rasch model application. This study was meaningful in that it explored the possibility of developing the learning process by using constructed response items in NAEA. However, the preliminary learning progression developed in this study is still hypothetical and inferential because it is not longitudinally traced to individual students. Therefore, it is necessary to continually revise and supplement through iterative research process.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.29-43
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• 2016

There have been much efforts to reconstruct the science curriculum focusing on Disciplinary Core Ideas(DCI) in many countries such as America and Europe, the most practical effort has been to design a curriculum with learning progressions(LPs). LPs describe stepwise how students can systematically move toward the understanding of more sophisticated ideas or scientific activities and explain in succession the process of understanding the ideas while the students learn. In this study, a LP for ecosystems has been developed, and the developed LP is then evaluated accordingly. The Ecosystem is one of the DCI of the life science in Next Generation Science Standards(NGSS). The development process of the LP was set at step 4(Development, Assessment, Analysis, and Amendment), and developed through an iterative process of sequences. As a result of analyzing the developed LP, an assessment based on the LP provides reliable information to identifying student ability. This study proposes the development process of the LP and its methodological aspects to use Core Achievement Standards, Ordered Multiple-Choice items and the Rasch model. In addition, using the empirically proven LP suggests a way of strengthening curriculum linked to educational content, teaching methods and assessment. Utilizing the proposed development process in this study will be to present the standard into the direction of becoming part of the curriculum. Currently, the state of domestic research for the LP is still lacking. This study determined the development process of the LP and the need to conduct future research on the LPs.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.75-86
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• 2016

The purpose of the present study is to develop and validate an instrument to assess STEM career motivation. We developed 32 items for 7 constructs (i.e. education experience, career value, academic self-efficacy, career self-efficacy, career interest, parents' support, and career motivation) on STEM career motivation based on Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent et al.,1994). 767 first year high school students participated in this study. The items were validated by Messick's framework (1995). In this study, we examined the validity of items in four aspects (i.e. content, substantive, structural and generalizability of validity). Methodologically, we used Rasch analysis, Exploratory factor analysis, confirmative factor analysis based on structural equation modelling. We confirmed that our instrument with 32 items as valid and reliable for measuring the STEM career motivation. In addition, we tested the STEM career motivation model based on SCCT. Our model explained the data well, suggesting that external factors (education experience and parents' support) and cognitive factors (perception of value, self-efficacy and interest) were significantly related to STEM career motivation.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.74-83
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to investigate motivation to learn physics in order to understand engineering college students' physics learning. Therefore, in this study, 374 engineering students at the university located in Seoul were studied using the Physics Motivation Questionnaire (PMQ), which was a Science Motivation Questionnaire II modified into the context of learning physics. The PMQ is composed of five factors: intrinsic motivation, career motivation, self-determination, self-efficacy, and grade motivation. It involves 25 Likert scale items. Through exploratory factor analysis, PMQ confirms that the five factors are structurally valid in measuring the motivation of engineering students to learn physics. In addition, item fit (MNSQ) was also confirmed using a Rasch model analysis. The results show that grade motivation has the highest mean with 4.2, followed by job motivation mean with 3.76. The mean of intrinsic motivation was 3.42, the self-efficacy was 3.38, and self-determination was 3.32. The results of this study confirm that the physics learning motivation of engineering college students is characterized showing high external motivation related to job and grade. Therefore, we should try to develop the teaching strategy to increase intrinsic motivation by developing mastery goal orientation of physics learning for engineering students.