• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.583-594
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to investigate beginning elementary teachers' characteristics and improvement of their teaching skills in science class. The methodology of this study was a qualitative approach that included interviews, classroom observations, and teaching materials. In urban area, low beginning elementary teacher were selected. Four beginning elementary teachers were observed and recorded with VCR in their classroom at seven-times. The results showed that the beginning elementary teachers did not improve in their teaching skills in science teaching, and their characteristics of teaching skills in science were summarized as following; 1) their teaching methods were not inquiry-based science teaching, but explaining-based science teaching, 2) their main aims of the science teaching were focused on the science knowledges, 3) there were little students' science processes involved in their classes, 4) they focused on using textbook as teaching materials, 5) there were little waiting times after their questioning, and they usually used closed-questions rather than open-ended questions.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.51-64
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent the teacher's guides for science based on the 7th national curricula were utilized and what problems there were, in an effort to propose in which way they should be prepared and arranged to be of substantial use to teachers. For that purpose, the contents of the 7th teacher's guides for science were analyzed. Surveys and interviews were carried out to find out how many teachers used each of the areas included in them and what their needs were. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS WIN 9.0. The findings of this study were as follows: Many teachers utilize the teacher's guides in science more frequently than in other subjects, and they found them much more helpful to preparing for instructions. But many of them didn't utilize the standards of evaluation on science that were suggested in the teacher’s guides, and this is why the guides seem just to give theoretical explanation about how to assess, which was neither practical nor substantial. It's required to provide more concrete and detailed examples for each of the units. They felt a higher need for alternative experiments and substitute materials, especially in biology unit because of the different conditions of each school or each local community. In short, teacher's guides should include more diverse and ample materials in response to the teacher's needs, moreover teachers should reconstruct the teaching materials and then teach more creatively.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.134-143
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• 2008

We investigated the understanding of elementary school teachers on the current science issues. As a first step of the research, we choose 10 science issues which are influencing current society. Then we asked 119 elementary school teachers in Seoul, Inchon and Daejeon how important they think and how much they know the issues. As a result, we found that almost elementary school teachers know much on alternative energy, atomic bomb, nuclear power generation and global warming while they less know about high technology as Korean supersonic trainer($T-5^{TM}$) and Synchrotron radiation accelerator. Also we know that teachers take an interest on the articles about current science issues only for a while and forget to study on the issues for themselves. It is more important than whatever for the teachers to have exact understanding on current science issues in order to make civil society by acquiring the science literacy. Therefore elementary teachers and preliminary teachers should have a chance to study on current science issues. We suggest that teacher communities should be supported to improve the competency by cooperation.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.305-314
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• 2011

In this study, the analogies on saturated solution generated by elementary school teachers were analyzed in their numbers, materials, and types aspects. The results were also compared with those of general and science-gifted elementary students. A test on the self-generating analogies on the target concept was administered to 111 elementary school teachers, 60 fifth graders at four science-gifted education institutes and 91 fifth graders at three elementary schools. The results revealed that the teachers made more analogies than the general and science-gifted students. In general, both the teachers and the students tended to make the analogies using the materials in family, riding, digestive, and school situations. However, there were a little difference between the teachers and the students in the cases of the analogies using other situations including body/physical activity. Similarly to the cases of the students, the teachers made more functional analogies than structural or structural/functional ones and did more concrete ones than abstract ones. However, they made more verbal, artificial, and enriched analogies than the students. They also made more highly systematic analogies than the general students, and did less ones than the science-gifted students. Educational implications of these findings are discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.597-606
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to survey and analyze difficulties in teaching and learning elementary school science on the chapter titled 'electric circuit'. 28 elementary school teachers who teach 5th grade science and 73 5th grade students in elementary school were taken part in this survey. The pilot questionnaire was distributed to find out both the degree and the reason of difficulties in teaching and learning. The answers are analyzed with four areas to extract elements which make class difficult; Learner factors (L), Instruction factors (I), Curriculum & textbooks factors (C), and Environment factors (E). The results are as follows. (1) It can be seen that both students and teachers feel the highest difficulty in 7th lesson 'the direction of current', while they felt little difficulty in lesson 3 'conductor and nonconductor' and lesson 8 'the safety of electricity'. (2) The most mentioned reason of difficulties in teaching and learning was Learner factors (L). (3) Teachers felt many difficulties in experimental environment. On the other hands, students didn't think experimental failures as serious trouble. (4) Students felt many difficulties in new terms and hazy concepts or expressions. (5) Teachers felt a lot of difficulties in those from Curriculum & textbooks factors.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.102-116
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• 2008

In their teaching practice, teachers encounter multi-dimensions of pedagogical challenges. The recognition and reflection on these challenges is crucial to advance our science teaching. This study looked into science teachers' dilemmas of their teaching practical work through their written cases. Dilemma cases are teachers' narratives organized around important events of teaching and learning. It can reveal teachers' situated cognition and be used as lens to investigate complex realities of science teaching and learning. 26 pre- and in-service elementary teachers' dilemma cases of science practical work were carefully collected and analysed to interpret what constitute tensions in elementary science practical works. They were largely grouped into three: Curriculum and Institutional Relevance, Students Relevance, Nature of School Experiments Relevance and divided into 7 subheadings: 'Authority of Curriculum(textbook)', 'Disappointment at external support', 'Students' interests and safety', 'Students' unscientific and inert attitude', 'Difficulty of showing expected results', 'Generalization through experiment', 'Knowledge acquisition and authentic inquiry'. Each dilemma was interpreted in terms of the tensions which constitute contradictory beliefs, values, expectation and realities. These dilemmas enabled to expose actual conditions of elementary science practical work and teachers' challenges otherwise can not be seen easily. Science teacher educators also can get some implications to overcome the gap between theory and practice in their teacher education.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.144-154
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• 2010

This study was conducted among elementary pre-service teachers who participated in creative story writing exercises related to science. It aimed at analyzing their perceptions, based on their own experiences in the story writing exercises, about story writing as a pedagogic method, to discover the implications on science education. First, creative story writing exercises were carried out over a period of eight weeks by 114 elementary pre-service teachers at a college of education, all of whom were non-science majors taking a course on earth science as a liberal arts elective. Afterward, an open-ended survey was conducted among them to discover their attitudes and opinions, both as students and as teachers-to-be. The majority of the subjects expressed a positive opinion about creative story writing as a pedagogic tool, stating that they would apply it in their future teaching by telling stories they wrote or having students write their own compositions. Pre-service teachers conclude a creative writing improves students' studying, leads interest and motivation. In addition, it linked with daily life and other school subjects. Creative story writing, when used at colleges of education, has didactic value as an empirical exercise for pre-service teachers who are not majoring in science.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.155-165
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to look into self-concept and teaching anxiety of elementary school teachers about inquiry instruction in science class, and investigate correlations among them. For this study, the survey was carried out on 338 elementary school teachers, and the interview was conducted with 5 of them. The results of this study are as follows; Self-concept of elementary school teachers about inquiry instruction in science class was more positive than usual. And the teachers who were male, older and majored in science education showed more affirmative self-concept about inquiry instruction in science class. Teaching anxiety of elementary school teachers about inquiry instruction in science class was less than usual. And the teachers who were male, older and majored in science education showed less teaching anxiety about inquiry instruction in science class. The correlation of self-concept and teaching anxiety of elementary school teachers about inquiry instruction in science class was an negative interrelation. This presents that the teachers, who have more positive self-concept about inquiry instruction in science class, have less teaching anxiety than those who have more negative one. Consequently, teacher training and retraining programs should be developed and conducted by grasping teachers' self-concept and their anxiety, to reduce anxiety about inquiry instruction in science class.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.89-97
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• 2016

Science contest is one of the important programs of extracurricular school science activities which give various experience for science learning. In order to understand teachers' perceptions on science contests in elementary school, this study investigated teachers' awareness of science contests, perceptions and difficulties in carrying out science contests in each school, their perceptions on the preparing process of statewide science contest, and the preference of the types of preliminary science contests. 196 teachers were responded to survey, and 8 teachers were interviewed. The results showed that elementary teachers were aware of various science contests through their in-school experiences. The main difficulties of teacher on science contests was lack of professionalism on science and science contests. While teachers preferred the preliminary round of contest by contest's host to the preliminaries of science contest in each school. They also worried about the intimidation of science month's festival in schools. Based on the understanding of the teachers' perceptions on science contests, educational implications were discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.98-110
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to identify pre-service elementary school teachers' difficulties and needs in the science class utilizing smart technologies. The participants were nine pre-service elementary teachers who had practical training at an elementary school and took classes related to technology, pedagogy, and science knowledge. The data was collected through semi-constructed and in-depth interviews. The documents such as participants' guidance plans, daily records produced in teaching practice was collected and analyzed. The results of the research are as follow: Pre-service teachers have usually used the technology as a secondary transfer media to convey the knowledge. We found that the pre-service elementary teachers had 15 difficulties in the science class utilizing smart technologies. In addition, they needed a class to focus more on teaching them by integrating technology knowledge, pedagogy knowledge, and science knowledge, and by sharing a real case of science class utilizing smart technologies.