• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.353-366
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• 2011

An alternative vision for science inquiry that appears to be important and challenging is model-based inquiry in which students generate, evaluate and revise their explanatory model. Pre-service teachers should be given opportunities to develop and use their mechanistic explanatory models in order to participate in the practice of science and to have a sound understanding of science. With this view, this study described a case of pre-service elementary teachers' scientific modeling in magnetism. The aims of this study were to explore difficulties preservice elementary teachers encountered while they engaged in a model-based inquiry, and to examine how their understandings of the nature of scientific models changed after the model-based inquiry. The data analysis revealed that the pre-service teachers had difficulties in drawing and writing their own thinking because they had little experience of expressing their own science ideas. When asked to predict what would happen, they could not understand what it meant to make a prediction "based on their model". They did not know how to use or consider their model in making a prediction. At the end of the model-based inquiry they reached a final consensus of a best model. However, they were very anxious about whether the model was the "correct" answer. With respect to the nature of scientific models, almost all of the pre-service teachers initially viewed models only as a communication tool among scientists or students and teachers to help understand others' ideas. After the model-based inquiry, however, many of them understood that they could create, test, and revise their "own" models "by themselves". They also realized the key aspects of scientific models that a model can be changed as evidence is accumulated and a model is a knowledge production tool as well as a communication tool. The results indicated that pre-service elementary teachers' understandings of the nature of scientific models and their previous school science experiences could affect their performance on a model-based inquiry, and their experience of scientific modeling could help them enhance their understandings of the nature of scientific models.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.296-304
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• 2011

In this study, elementary school teachers' needs for the teachers' manual for science instruction were investigated. The participants were 143 elementary school teachers. The test for needs analysis consisted of thirty-seven 5-point Likert-scaled items: Seven items for the professional knowledge category, fourteen items for the laboratory category, ten items for the instruction category, and six items for the design category, respectively. Teachers' background variables such as sex, age, teaching career, major, and the frequency of using teachers' manuals for science instruction except for the teachers' manuals for science textbooks were also examined. The results indicated that elementary school teachers' needs were generally found to be high, which means they are not satisfied with the current teachers' manuals for science textbooks and/or other teachers' manuals for science instructions. In addition, teachers' needs for the laboratory category tended to be higher than those for the other categories. In several items, elementary school teachers' needs were also found to be different in terms of their characteristics.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.338-352
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• 2020

This study analyzed and compared the characteristics in plan and practice of elementary school teachers' science-gifted classes and invention-gifted classes based on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). To do this, we selected eight elementary school teachers with experience in conducting elementary science-gifted classes and/or invention-gifted classes were selected at the gifted education institutes in Seoul and conducted individual in-depth interviews. The analysis of the results reveal that the teachers tended to organize the science-gifted classes with a focus on the exploration of causes and application activities for scientific phenomena, but tended to organize the invention-gifted classes with a focus on producing creative output based on methodology. They were all emphasizing the enhancement of creativity in planning and practicing both science-gifted classes and invention-gifted classes. However, there were also some differences in the elements of creativity required by each class. They tended to select subjects for science-gifted classes based on regular science curriculum, while selecting subjects for invention-gifted classes focused on creative design rather than considering the practical art curriculum related to invention-gifted education. They tended to pursue and practice STEAM education in both science-gifted classes and invention-gifted classes. In a way that conforms to these class goals and points, they were using experiments and practices, providing feedback to students, and conducting evaluations. However, some shortcomings were also revealed in the processes. Educational implications of these findings are discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to analyze question's patterns in elementary school science teacher's guide books of 5, 6th grade under the 2009 revised curriculum. A modified analysis framework based on Blosser's classified system was used to analyze 1,982 questions extracted from elementary science teacher's guide books by grade, by domain, and by teaching and learning stage. The findings of this study were as follows. First, of the 1,982 questions, the most prominent type of question was the propositional question and the following was the reproductive question. And, in comparing the question's patterns between 5, 6th grade, it was found that 6th grade had higher rate of close typed question, while 5th grade had higher rate of open typed question in its curriculum. Secondly, a comparative study about two domains, material and energy science domain and earth and life science domain, showed that the number of questions of each domain was not much different. However, it was found that propositional questions and applicable questions showed a higher rate in material and energy science domain, and anticipated questions and open typed questions including divergent and evaluative question showed higher rate in earth and life science domain. Moreover, although the total number of questions from integration and my fun research domain's contents was small, the rate of open typed questions was higher than any other domains. Finally, as a result of comparing and analyzing question's pattern in teaching and learning stages, the rate of reproductive question and anticipated questions was high at the stage of introduction. At the stage of development, the rate of propositional and reproductive questions was high. At the stage of conclusion, the rate of synthetic and applicable questions was high.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.109-124
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• 2012

Developing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has been emphasized for teacher's professionalism and it should be done from systematic teacher training courses. In this study, we investigated changes of elementary pre-service teachers' PCK of science teaching and motivational strategies before and after a training course. For the analysis of pre-service teachers' PCK, their lesson plans, surveys, and interviews were collected. According to the results, in the beginning of the semester, pre-service teachers in the experimental group usually used didactic or combination of didactic and inquiry teaching strategies and a few pre-service teachers used inquiry or discovery teaching strategies when making lesson plans. However, at the end of the semester many pre-service teachers used inquiry teaching strategies in their lessons which included activities of asking students' prior knowledge, conducing experiments, finding conclusion, and comparing teachers' explanations with students' explanations. Regarding motivational strategies, in the beginning of the semester they focused using activities to create student's emotional interest in science lesson but at the end they used other strategies to create positive atmosphere for learning, capture intellectual interest in science, and connect science to students' everyday lives. The changes in pre-service teachers' PCK in the experimental group was meaningful because there was less change in pre-service teachers' PCK in the control group. This study implies the need for effective professional development programs for developing pre-service teachers' PCK.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.213-228
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the new introduction of elementary science experiment specialist is appropriate under the current situation of serious emphasis of the importance in science experiments in elementary science in Korea. For this study, the survey items were developed twice through the preliminary study. The results show that most elementary teachers consider the importance of experiment in elementary science and the critical role of science experiments to increase students' curiosity and scientific understanding. About 80% of the teachers stressed the professionalism in elementary science. Although 65% of the teachers believed their having basic professionalism, 53% of them appealed the difficulty in teaching science experiments to students. Nevertheless, 67.5% of the teachers opposed to the idea of teaching elementary science in separation between experiment and theory in science, and only 8% of them agreed the idea of induction or adoption of the college graduates majoring in science and engineering, or holding the secondary teacher's certificate. Further, over 60% of the teachers responded no necessity of inducing the new policy of elementary science specialist. Many numbers of teachers revealed their serious worries about the new policy because of their past experience to suffer from the side effects of inducing the teachers with secondary teacher certificate to the elementary school. In particular, they also made a proposal to make a good use of the current system of exclusive elementary science teacher in Korea. The educational implication and suggestions for policy making were discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.50-60
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• 2004

The purpose of this study was to define teachers' learning motivation strategies and students' responses by analyzing science classes and interviews. The subjects were first grade and sixth grade teachers and students of an elementary school. The analysis tools are based on Keller's ARCS theory. The differences of teachers' motivation strategies were analyzed by grades and teachers' and students' backgrounds. The interviewers were composed of three teachers and three students of first grade, and three teachers and three students of sixth grade. The data were collected by recording of the classes using tape recorders, video cameras, and notebooks written by researchers. The results are as follows. First, teachers had their own styles of teaching strategies in their classes. Especially teachers' teaching backgrounds affected on the teachers' instructional strategies. The teachers who had long teaching experiences of lower grade students used to show a lot of attention strategies. While the teachers with long teaching experiences of higher grade students used to show few learning motivation strategies. Especially, sixth grade teachers used to show fewer confidence strategies than first grade teachers. Second, all of the teachers used to show few satisfaction strategies commonly in all the classes observed. Third, the students' recognition of the motivation strategies were not different according to their conceptions or activities of the classes. Commonly first grade students focused on the attention strategies, while sixth grade students focused on negative motivation strategies. Fourth, the teachers who believed that students need detail guidance and control recognized the needs of satisfaction strategies by students' autonomous activities after observing video tapes of other teachers' classes.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.345-359
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to analyze the educational effects and the improvements of the 'Science Field Trips' Program which developed with the aim of fostering the prospective elementary school teachers' ability to manage science field trips. The participants were 13 senior students from a national university of education. The results of the study are as follows: First, with regard to the effectiveness in the science instruction aspect of the prospective teachers' geological field trip as an experiential activity, the responses of the participants were children's 'scientific knowledge'(69.2%), 'science related attitudes'(46.2%), and 'science inquiry'(30.8%). Second, regarding the effectiveness of the geological field trip in their management of science field trips aspects in the future, the responses of the participants were 'teaching strategies'(92.3%), 'plan implementation'(76.9%), 'teacher's science knowledge'(61.5%), 'self-confidence'(38.5%), 'enhancement of awareness of field trips'(23.1%), and 'career guidance'(7.7%). Third, with regard to the effectiveness in the science instruction aspect of their activities of planning a science field trip in their future working districts, the responses of the participants were children's 'science knowledge'(38.5%), 'science-related attitudes'(38.5%), and 'science inquiry'(23.1%). Fourth, regarding the effectiveness in their management of science field trips aspects of the activities of planning a science field trip, the responses of the participants were 'plan implementation'(92.3%), 'the identification of science field trip sites'(84.6%), 'teaching strategies'(76.9%), 'administrative affairs'(69.2%), 'teacher's science knowledge'(30.8%), 'enhancement of awareness of field trips'(23.1%), 'career guidance'(15.4%), and 'self-confidence' (15.4%). The improvements plans of the program and the suggestions for future research is also described in this study.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.173-190
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• 2019

The self-efficacy of pre-service teachers has been reported as a major factor in the instruction of the curriculum. In particular, considering the importance of science learning instruction for underrepresented students from the viewpoint of science education for all, pre-service elementary teachers' self-efficacy about science instruction for underrepresented students will be an important factor of science education for these students. The purpose of this study is to investigate the self-efficacy of pre-service elementary teachers in science instruction for underrepresented students. To this end, the science teaching and learning self-efficacy test tool (Lee & Im, 2010) was revised in accordance with the context of science teaching for underrepresented students into a total of 24 items using 5 Likert scales. Through using the test tool consists of 3 dimensions as Learning Efficacy, Teaching Efficacy and Outcome Expectancy, 81 pre-service elementary teachers were surveyed and the reliability of test tool was verified through factor analysis and assessing construct validity by using the responses. As a result of the analysis, setting 5 as the standard perfect score, the average score of self-efficacy per dimension was shown as 3.29 in Learning Efficacy, 2.89 in Teaching Efficacy, and 3.39 in Outcome Expectancy. We confirmed the tendency and difference of self-efficacy of the research objects according to their background factors in which direct and indirect experience relating to the science education for the underrepresented students. Also, we verified that pre-service elementary teachers' interest in science subject matter, teaching science and their perception of the value of science learning had significant relations with self-efficacy on science teaching for underrepresented students.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.115-127
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• 2012

This is a survey research which investigated perceptions of 85 elementary and secondary school science teachers on inter-disciplinary teaching in general. It is expected that the results of this survey will help to find out the necessity, the appropriate time, the proper approach and the obstacles of inter-disciplinary education. Results indicated that 49.5% of the teachers were aware of inter-disciplinary teaching and 61.2% of the teachers agreed with the necessity of implementing inter-disciplinary strategy. However, considering difficulties in objective assessment and burdens of college entrance exam preparation, they responded that inter-disciplinary teaching could be more appropriate and feasible to be implemented for lower graders at elementary schools than secondary school students. Of the answers to the integrated approaches, 57.6% of teachers chose the theme-based approach, and 16.5% chose the problem-based approach. When they chose the theme-based approach, they stated the reason of educational readiness. On the other hand, when they chose the problem-based approach, they stated the reason of educational obligation which assumes that a problem solving needs inter-disciplinary approach. The teachers also selected 'lack of knowledge on other subjects' and 'lack of time to prepare teaching materials' as major predicaments in implementing inter-disciplinary approach. This suggests that there needs a clear and specific teaching strategy along with a guidance to teaching materials for inter-disciplinary teaching.