• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.499-518
• /
• 2004

This study focused on research that illustrates the important interplay between learners' epistemological beliefs about science knowledge, physics textbook knowledge and knowing physics in the classroom. Also this study investigated learners' conceptual changes on the value of mechanical energy. To explore these topics, six sophomores were chosen as participants. Three categories were introduced to classify how participants' understanding of the nature of science knowledge, physics textbook knowledge has been linked with epistemological beliefs of knowing physics. The three categories were (1)receiving physics knowledge as authority, (2)receiving physics knowledge as the perception of teacher's role and (3)understanding physics knowledge as the perception that science knowledge is a product of a variety of human ideas. These categories were also concerned with construction of individual conceptions of mechanical energy. The participants who understood physics knowledge as the perception that science knowledge is a product of a variety of human ideas naturally used metacognitive strategy in classroom compared to other participants. And they had scientific conceptions about the value of mechanical energy. Others who were passive in classroom had unscientific conceptions about the value of mechanical energy due to definition of energy and epistemological beliefs about the nature of science knowledge. In the process of their conceptual changes on the value of mechanical energy, it was important to understand an instrumental aspect of scientific knowledge and to think about the relation between formulae and physical phenomena.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.9 no.5
• /
• pp.1328-1333
• /
• 2008

The new knowledge in the textbooks for Physiology and Hygiene in Korea 1905-1910 was focused on the problems of hygiene. Lighting, ventilation, dryness were proposed as main conditions fer hygienic housing, for which management and planning methods were explained. This knowledge was taught as 'scientific' or 'modern' knowledge based on the physiological theory and air property, thereafter the conditions were placed as important conditions of modern housing.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.455-460
• /
• 2002

The purpose of this study is to analyze the sixth curriculum textbooks of high school science courses in relation to the greenhouse effect concept and find the incorrect descriptions of that concept and then suggest some improved schemes. Some incorrect descriptions, pictures and tables on the greenhouse effect concept were found in texts. They might contribute to forming and/or reinforcing misconceptions about that concept: the important greenhouse gases, the changes caused by the greenhouse effect, global warming, energy sources, greenhouse experiments and physical processes. Therefore some improved schemes were suggested

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.592-598
• /
• 2003

The purpose of this study is to analyze the tenth grade science textbooks as an origin of misconception on greenhouse effect concept and find incorrect descriptions on that concept and then suggest some improved schemes. Some incorrect descriptions, pictures. tables and experiments related to misconceptions on greenhouse effect were found in textbooks. They are considered to contribute to form and reinforce misconceptions on that concept : the most important gas of greenhouse effect, the role of $CO_2$ on the change of greenhouse effect. global warming. energy sources, greenhouse experiments and the physical processes of greenhouse effect. So some improved schemes were suggested

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.53 no.4
• /
• pp.453-465
• /
• 2009

In this study, the descriptions of salt solubility in the textbooks of secondary school and college were reviewed to figure out the reason of low understanding of elementary and secondary school students and teachers about the solubility of a salt in the presence of other ions. The ionic strength dependence of salt solubility was not introduced in the secondary school textbooks and general chemistry textbooks. It appeared in the physical chemistry textbooks as a direct or an indirect explanation. However, most of college senior students who had learned the physical chemistry could not relate the salt solubility with the ionic strength change. The factors might affect salt solubility, such as the ion pair formation and the activity coefficient change by ionic strength, were mentioned and an experimental result was also shown to resolve the questions that college students and teachers might have. Because these explanations are beyond the secondary school level, we need to develope an easier and better explanation suitable for the secondary school students.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.176-188
• /
• 2003

Self-induction is an important concept in the field of electromagnetism, which is dealt with in all the high school physics textbooks. According to the results of the survey on self-induction, most of general high school students and even science high school students have overgeneralized concepts that high self-induced emf. are produced whenever the switch is turned off in the circuit containing inductors. The reasons of this overgeneralization on self-induction could be explained through the analysis of current high school physics II textbooks. Main reasons can be attributed to the fact that, by depending on their intuitive ideas, students try to vaguely explain the concept, based on lighting up of Ne tube in the special circuit. This study found out qualitative method to have students effectively understand self-induction based on quantitative interpretation to gain scientific understanding on self-induction.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.383-395
• /
• 2006

School science is often criticized as being too remote from both learners' interests and needs and as maintaining scientist-oriented approaches rather than humanistic ones. Although science is mainly taught on the basis of textbooks inside classrooms, the learning of science can not be confined to the boundaries of curriculum and school. Firstly, this paper briefly reviews and characterizes the historical development of science education with a series of analogies, and then suggests a new analogy, a so-called 'Hearts-On' approach to science education which emphasizes the humanistic aspects and the contextual dimension of science education. Secondly, it critically examines how much traditional school science teaching, particularly in physics, is limited in terms of the context of learning (i.e. textbook, laboratory, classroom, local, and global) as well as in terms of the context of the contents (i.e. physical, personal, social, and global). Thirdly, some recent attempts initiated by the author and colleagues are explained as examples of the Hearts-On approach to science education. In particular, a series of community-based science programs led by SNU and the development of a series of books on 'Contextual Physics'(i.e. Body Physics, Wearing Physics, Dining Table Physics, and Sports Physics) are outlined. Finally, the idea of scientific humanism is explored in relation to the context-rich approaches in science education. It is hoped that this paper helps us to reconsider how we can expand the world of science education beyond the boundaries of the curriculum and school and into a more humanistic one.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.848-863
• /
• 2011

The purpose of this study is to explore how high school physics teachers perceive and understand fundamental physical constants as well as how they explain them and what methods they currently use in class. This study developed a questionnaire survey to recognize physics teachers' level of understanding of fundamental physical constants, which were measured by many scientists and contributed the to generation and improvement of scientific theories. Those questionnaire surveys were conducted among 130 high school physics teachers in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon. Among them, 124 participated in the survey and six were interviewed. The content of the survey consists of three parts: (i) basic questions about teachers, (ii) questions to measure the teachers' understanding of fundamental physical constants, and (iii) questions about the educational use of fundamental physical constants. The survey was distributed via e-mail, and respondents submitted their responses via e-mail as well. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for 30 minutes each, and all interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed twice.

• Journal of Science Education
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.139-152
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study is to provide some suggestions for future improvement of scientific inquiry activities in Korean elementary science textbook. The modified framework of Lee(2005) and Millar et al.(1998) was used to compare inquiry activities in the Korean and Singaporean science textbooks. The results of this study are as follows: Korean text books have more activities than Singapore's, but both countries have similar time allotment for science classes. In the area of 'inquiry process skill', Singapore is more balanced in 'Basic inquiry process skills' and 'Integrated inquiry process skills' than Korea. Singapore's integrated inquiry rate is also higher than Korea's. Next the results of comparing leaning objectives to scientific inquiry activities shows that Korean text books tend to focus on 'contents objectives', while Singapore's text books focus on balancing 'contents objectives' and 'process objectives'. Korean science textbooks encourage students to communicate the results of experiments but in most case these communication activities are actually not performed. Lastly Korea and Singapore have low degree of openness in inquiry activities. Remarkably 'Suggest questions' are totally conducted by teachers. This study implies that Korean science textbooks should have lower amounts of inquiry activities to accomodate enough time for communication about results. Next we need to make balance not only 'Basic inquiry process skills' and 'Integrated inquiry process skills' but also 'Content objectives' and 'Process objectives'. Lastly we need to make student to be the leader in science classes through encouraging them to plan procedures for experiments and to discover results by themselves.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.735-750
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this study is to relieve the difficulties caused by science terminology in science learning and increasing the efficiency of science education. The reason why students experience difficulties in science terminology is because science words are used without being filtered by a criteria and students have not had the opportunity to be educated properly in science terminology. As a way to solve this problem, we propose establishing a criteria about the science words used in science education and to teach the science words systematically to the students under the criteria. In this study, we used the method of empirical linguistics that investigate the science terminologies actually used in science education to establish a criteria for science words. As a basic research for this, we analyzed all words contained in the physics section of science textbooks for elementary and secondary schools. And then, we collected all words used in the physics section of science textbook, and selected the science words for teaching, and rated them by grade. As a result, a total of 930 physics terms were selected as the science words for grade 3 to 10. The numbers of physics terms per grade were as follows: 66 words for the 3rd grade, 38 words for the 4th grade, 35 words for the 5th grade, 28 words for the 6th grade, 203 words for the 7th grade, 135 words for the 8th grade, 123 words for the 9th grade, and 302 words for the 10th grade.