• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.460-479
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• 2021

The crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes in education systems worldwide, including in Korea. Due to COVID-19's social distancing policies, the education system was suddenly switched to distance learning, resulting in many problems in primary schools without preparation. The purpose of this study was to investigate a teacher's awareness of science education techniques, responses to issues in science classes, including inquiry activities, advantages and disadvantages, and roles after experiencing distance learning. Survey and focus interviews were conducted for primary school teachers who had previously participated in distance learning, such as online content classes and real-time interactive classes. The study findings showed three conclusions: 1) Primary school teachers conducted one-way and interactive lectures in online classes. It is vital to improve a teacher's digital literacy to improve other teaching methods such as investigation and discussion in online classes. 2) Primary school teachers acknowledged the challenges of field feedback, inquiry item preparations, and safety in inquiry activities of science classes, by providing individual experimental packages and videos and using online discussion and feedback among teacher - student and student - student interactions. 3) Primary school teachers recognized that various types of classes using IT devices and individualized learning were possible as advantages of distance learning. As for disadvantages, it was acknowledged that inquiry activities, cooperative learning, immediate feedback, and interaction among students were challenging. Furthermore, learning gaps were wider in distance learning.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.90-102
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• 2016

Flipped learning is generally designed to allow students to learn on their own in advance with the help of scaffolding material such as videos and text, and in the classroom, it is operated with the help of a teacher while the class is being learner-centered. For flipped learning, each of the teachers has to design the class, collect information, and prepare for scaffolding material, so they get to face a lot of difficulties spending much time to reorganize the curriculum and produce a video and so on. Accordingly, this researcher has developed flipped learning textbook models applicable to science class by analyzing Korean and overseas textbooks, conducting an in-depth interview to six science teachers practicing flipped learning, and also developing and applying the science textbook sample model. The elementary, middle, and high school science textbook models developed include not only the textbook-based model with no videos presented in advance but also the lecture-type model, experiment-based model, and inquiry and research-based model to realize flipped learning. This study is expected to present crucial implications to develop textbooks and science class as a class to perform learner-centered inquiry activity.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.371-389
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• 2018

This study focuses on the fact that students and teachers commonly have difficulty in 'selecting the topic' in many activities including student-led research that is conducted from topic selection to the drawing of conclusion. The purpose of this study is to develop a manual for science teaching research. The instructional manuals of 4 stages were developed based on practical knowledge that can be implemented in the actual class through previous research and literature. Each stage is composed of , , , and . In the third stage, students are expected to find scientific questions and develop them into research topics through detailed class research on newspaper articles, scientific magazines, traditional knowledge, proverbs, daily life, and textbook experiments. In the experimental group, the final research topic was selected through a variety of sources such as textbook experiments, proverbs, YouTube images, newspaper articles, individual WHY NOTEs, and understood the conditions of the scientific research topic and expressed the variables in the research title. However, in the control group, some students did not consider the research scope of the selected research subjects to be specific or not to be able to study at their level. As a result of giving the students as much autonomy as possible, many groups did not fully understand the previous research and submitted it. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that development and use of a 'topic selection stage' centered practice manual for general high school teachers would not only improve the students' abilities to discover solutions to scientific questions, but it will also help shift their attitudes towards science in a positive direction.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.556-564
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• 2004

Two biology modules were developed previously for the purpose of improving creativity and scientific thinking of secondary school students. A hypothetical-deductive experimental procedure was reflected in the module when students themselves can perform a series of activities of making hypothesis and designing an experiment to solve the questions. They followed a series of scientific processes to determine some characteristics regarding plant pigments and the transport process of materials in living organisms. Four classes of 9th graders in'S' Science High School were divided into the experimental and the control group. The same contents of the modules were taught to the control group by the traditional experimental way. The students' creativity, scientific thinking, scientific inquiry skill and knowledge achievement were examined before and after the interventions. As results, the experimental groups showed more significant improvement on the areas of the students' creativity, scientific thinking, scientific inquiry skill and achievement than the control groups. Results indicated that the specially designed modules in terms of hypothetical-deductive experimental procedure were effective to improve science high school students' creativity and scientific thinking abilities.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.359-368
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to find out the factor that causes the difference on understanding the aim and perception of laboratory activities between teachers and students. For this study, in-depth interview was conducted for sixth grade students and teachers of 10 classes. The questionnaire of the interview can be divided into 3 sections: the aim of laboratory activities, whether teachers present the aim of laboratory activities, the method of laboratory class progress and the evaluation method. The factors that bring about the difference between the teachers and the students on perception of the aim are the absence of proper guidance on the aim of laboratory activities, the laboratory classes that the progress out of teachers' intention and evaluation method that is the performed without any relationship with the aim of the laboratory activities. Because the teacher-intended aim of laboratory activities is not properly presented, students can't percept the accurate aim. Even though teachers recognize the importance of the improvement of science process skill acquired through laboratory activities, this is not delivered practically in the class and students also can't percept the importance of science process skill.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.717-727
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• 2016

Using TIMSS survey data, we analyzed whether there were any significant changes in the learning environment of middle school science classes over the last 10 years. Our study selected questions from teachers and school principals' questionnaires and divided them by category: science class, teacher professional development, and school environment. The science class components were subdivided into three categories: science learning activities, evaluation, and homework. Within teacher professional development, the sub-categories included teacher training, collaboration to improve teaching, and teacher evaluation. School environment subdivided into two aspects, these being school characteristics and school system. Our research confirmed that there has been a positive change overall in learning environments. However, most classes are teacher-conducted and also teacher-oriented; the proportion of science investigation activities has declined compared against the prior ten years. Our study show that students do not engage in a range of inquiry-related activities. The questions on tests and examinations involve mostly knowledge application and understanding, although recent methods of evaluation show improvement. As for the science teachers, they participate in many professional development programs but focus on science content, science curriculum, and pedagogy. In addition, teachers do not have many opportunities to participate in the training to integrate information technology into science, science assessment, or improving students' critical thinking or inquiry skills. The teachers are satisfied with their profession, and the shortage of science resources does not seem to affect instruction.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.307-320
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• 2019

This study explores how an elementary school homeroom teacher who continued to lecture, can use diversified science teaching methods for learner-centered instruction. Using an auto-ethnographic approach over the course of a year, self-memory data, facebook diaries, class diaries, and interview data of an elementary teacher's day-to-day preparations and practice of elementary science, in the context of a Korean elementary school, were collected. The data was analyzed through cultural historical activity theory, examining how the interplay of key elements (i.e., the subject as a homeroom teacher with instructional expertise, norms, community, division of labor, tools, and goals) was characterized within and across distinct two-activity systems, and how these elements shaped the teacher's teaching methods into either lecture format or diversified teaching. The study revealed that a non-cooperative community, lack of division of labor, and norms that neglect preparation for science class were the elements that perpetuated the lecture format, and that a contradiction between goals and tools occurred in the activity system. However, these elements were able to be transformed into a cooperative community, shared labor, and norms that saved preparation time for both science class and diversified teaching methods, and those changed elements facilitated the teacher in using diversified teaching methods (e.g., experiments, subject-integrated classes, field work), thereby mitigating the contradiction. This study also discusses that diversified teaching methods can be facilitated when dealing with norms, community, and division of labor elements in an elementary school context as well as improving individual teachers' instructional expertise.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.283-290
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• 2004

The purpose of this study were to develop of courseware using scaffolding strategy and to investigate the effect of courseware instruction upon students' conceptual understanding and affective domain including effort and self-checking. 10th grade students in the experimental and control groups were selected from high school at Cheongwon-gun in Chungbuk, and taught about chemical reaction rate for 3 class hours. The students in the experimental group studied individually through courseware using scaffolding strategy and worksheet and teacher-centered expository lesson was used in the control group. Prior to the instructions, test specification for problem-solving assessment (TSPSA) was administered and the scores of the previous science achievement test were obtained. After the instructions, the posttest on conceptual understanding and TSPSA were administered. Results of this study revealed that the mean score of the experimental group in the conceptual understanding test was similar to that of the control group at statistically significant level. This result implies that the courseware using scaffolding strategy could be a tool of the individualized instruction. The experimental group improved significantly better in three components of the TSPSA such as effort, self-checking, and cognitive strategy. From this result, it is considered that learners' self regulation is improved by being taken over responsibility of learning. So, it is suggested that instruction using scaffolding strategy is needed in science class to improve self-leading learning ability.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.221-232
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the CoRe-based density unit class on conceptual formation and on learner satisfaction with the class. For this study, two hundred and forty 8th grade students were chosen from six classes. The students were divided into two groups: an experimental group, which received a CoRe-based density unit lesson, and a control group, which was taught based on traditional teaching method. The CoRe-based density unit classes consisted of 4 periods based on the analysis of the previous studies on CoRe about density. The results showed the meaningful significant difference between the CoRe-based classes and the classes based on traditional teaching method both in the posttest on the extent of the conceptual formation on the density and in the retention test. The difference suggests that the lesson with CoRe is based on the consideration of the difficulties and limitations students face in various fields such as the students themselves, teachers, learning environment, evaluation, etc. during their learning process and even in the types of preconception they have, and the CoRe-based lesson is centered around the best teaching strategies to solve such difficulties. As a result of the analysis on the experimental group's class satisfaction, it is revealed that the students with a high level of attitudes related science or with a high level of science achievement showed especially high satisfaction in their learning. Analysis of questionnaire survey showed that the students in the experimental group got the opportunity through CoRe-based lesson to stretch their thoughts and ideas in a free way and preferred a teaching method which didn't just show the concept, but allowed them to find it for themselves or which let them predict the solution and then confirm the result on their own and a lesson which encouraged their active participation.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.632-648
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to investigate a process of change which was made by a science teacher for one-year long in-service education program in terms of constructivist teaching behaviors and beliefs. The in-service program was featured by the use of learning cycle model and Science-Technology-Society approach. One of science teachers, who attended an one-year long in-service program was selected for this study. She developed three teaching materials for the duration. The three teaching materials were analyzed to find components of Science-Technology-Society and the integration of science content and real life context. Also, an interview was performed to assess changes in her perspectives on science, science teaching and science learning through the program. The first material was constructed in the form of learning cycle with little emphasis on STS. The second material was embedded with personal matters such as a refrigerator. The final one was shown to be organized with science content in a personal context and with focus on the role play. The interview also showed that her perspectives on science and science teaching have changed toward the constructivist's during the participation in the in-service program. It is suggested that a long-term in-service program should be developed and implemented so that the science teachers may become constructivist teachers.