• Journal of Science Education
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.153-165
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• 2012

This study investigated the frequent mistakes and the causes of the alternative conceptions in the animal classification by using the questionnaire and interview with the middle school students (N=300). As results, some students have difficulties classifying suggested animals into vertebrates or invertebrates : snakes (31.7%), shrimps (28.3%), turtles (25.6%), frogs (24.7%), and starfish (10.7%) in order of precedence. These errors seemed to be caused by intuitive thinking over characteristics of physical motions and appearance of suggested animals, wrong inference from comparing to features of familiar animals and the lack of observation experience of the vertebrate backbone. Furthermore, the results showed that relatively many students made a mistake classifying subgroup members of vertebrates such as classifying salamanders into the class Reptilia (45.3%) and turtles into Amphibia (40.3%). It is likely that those errors are affected by ambiguousness of classification terminology (e.g. the term of Amphibia) and weak ability in relating the physiological and ecological feature to standard of classification feature. In addition, sociocultural factors could influence animal classification as 'bat in birds', 'whale in fish, and 'penguin in mammals'. The present study implied that teaching and learning animal classification may require an appropriate guide focused on activities to explore major characteristics used for the animal classification standard through providing more chances of animal observation rather than the cramming method of learning induced by technical memorizing.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.16 no.4 s.34
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• pp.1-8
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• 2004

The purpose of this study was to investigate as to how much of changes has occurred in the newly revised Home Economics Textbooks required by the 7th Curriculum as compared to those by the former 6th Curriculum. and to seek future policy direction which can be improved even better. if any. for further revision. To implement this proposal, this study employed 8 different textbooks published among 12 textbooks developed for the 7th Curriculum for data base. The results of this study were as follows: It was covered such areas of change and develope in the composition of category and system in the Home Economics Textbooks required by the 7th Curriculum as compared to those by the former 6th Curriculum. The whole system of textbook was composed of cover page, the inside of a book cover. the title page, introduction. table of contents. appendices. It was same in the total pages with the exception of table of contents. appendices. the inside of a book cover and it was much alike in contents of introduction. In the aspect of the unit system of the textbooks. their whole flows were similar to each other. but the writers' intention and the stress on the focal points had appeared well in topic introduction and texts for the units of the textbooks. In addition. it can be said desirable that much more middle school teachers took a participation in the development of textbooks as textbook writers than before. In the organizational aspect of the sub-area organization of textbooks in the 7th Curriculum, it was not dispersed in grade 1, 2, and 3, but was centralized in a certain grade to increase its efficiency. The number of activity and experiment & practice that students could try to do actually were drastically increased compared to the 6th Curriculum. but it showed a wide difference between textbooks.