• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.290-303
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to introduce the practical model on the enhancement of the divergent and convergent thinking skills through inquiry instruction in science class. In this study, the creative thinking skill has been defined by divergent thinking skill as the narrow sense. In the science field, the problem solving thinking skill is just same as the inquiry thinking skill. Also, the problem solving thinking skill has been defined by convergent thinking skill as the critical thinking skill. This new instruction had been used for the college student in the class of general chemistry laboratory for the one semester. The first results had been founded that the students' divergent thinking skill had been increased significantly. Especially, the skills of recognition of problems, the skills of making hypothesis, and the skills of transformation and interpretation of data had been increased significantly. The second results had been founded that the students' convergent thinking skill had been increased significantly. Especially, the skills of making hypothesis, the skills of transformation and interpretation of data, and the skills of making conclusion and generalization had been increased significantly. The third results had been founded that the students' the creative and problem solving thinking skill had been increased significantly. Especially, the rest of all skills exception the skill of control variables had been increased significantly.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.58 no.5
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• pp.463-477
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to investigate the teaching-learning effects in the experimental classes for the 'Redox' unit of science textbook of 11th grade using self-regulated learning strategy. Simultaneously, the effects of teaching-learning through the student's characteristics of the scientific high school were also included. The experimental and the controlled groups were selected by the teaching-learning method established on self-regulated learning strategy and regular laboratory activity based on the teacher' instruction, respectively. The questionaries of the scientific inquiry and scientific attitude were examined by the student. For their achievement, the total score which was obtained from the formative evaluation and performance assessment was utilized. After the laboratory activity for the unit grounded on the self-regulated learning strategy, the mean values of the scientific inquiry, scientific attitude, and achievement by the experimental group were higher than those of the controlled group. There was significant difference between the two groups in the post-test. By the results of the post-test for the experimental group, there has been somewhat relationship between the self-regulated learning strategy and the scientific inquiry, the scientific attitude, and the scientific achievement.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.525-537
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate science integrated process skill of the students in science education center for the gifted. In order to do this, 'free-response test for the assessment of science process skills' developed by Yu-Hyang Kim(2013) was administered to 102 students(15 in elementary school science class, 58 in middle school science class I, and 29 in middle school science class II) who attend the program of science education center for the gifted in C university. The assessment tool measured 9 skills ; formulating inquiry questions, recognizing variables, formulating hypotheses, designing experiment, transforming data, interpreting data, drawing conclusions, formulating generalizations, and evaluating the designed experiments. As a result, the students in science education center for the gifted had relatively high scores in the area of 'formulating hypotheses' and 'recognizing variables', but they had relatively low scores in the area of 'transforming data', 'interpreting data', and 'evaluating the designed experiments'. The 2 items' percentage of correct answers were below 40% ; one is about a drawing a line graph in 'transforming data', and the other requires finding improvements of the experimental design in 'evaluation'. There was no significant difference between boys' scores and girls's one, and between the scores of students in the field of biology and those of students in the other fields(physics, chemistry, and earth science) in science integrated process skills. And there was significant difference according to the periods receiving the gifted education in 'formulating generalizations'. The teaching and learning has to focus on improving science integrated process skills in the program of science education center for the gifted and teaching and learning materials needs to be developed.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.73-81
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to find out chemistry teachers' perceptions on the aims and characteristics of the chemistry I course from the 7th national curriculum by means of investigating how frequently particular learning contents were selected and what the teachers' teaching styles were in order to find out how effectively teachers were working with the 7th national curriculum in teaching. For this study, data was collected by means of questionnaires, which was answered by 44 chemistry teachers in 40 different high schools. Results from this study are as follows: As for the perception on the aim and characteristics of chemistry I course, many chemistry teachers have already perceived that the aim of the course was to promote democratic citizens with the knowledge of chemistry. And the most appropriate way of teaching chemistry I course was inquiry-centered teaching such as experiment-practice and inquiry-discussion. However, these perceptions were not reflected when they actually taught students in the classroom. Instead, most of the class was concepts learning and there were a lot of differences in selecting learning contents among chemistry teachers. Furthermore, although chemistry I course was considered a good subject to make students have interest and curiosity in chemistry, it was not appropriate to make students understand the concepts of chemistry. Therefore, learning contents in chemistry I course need to improve. In conclusion, as the goal of 7th national curriculum of chemistry I course was to emphasize inquiry teaching, inquiry based teaching should be practiced in the class. Moreover, sufficient teacher training should be accompanied and alternative additional teaching contents should be developed. Finally teachers' experiences should be reflected in the national curriculum when it is revised.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.931-941
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• 2011

This study aimed to examine the effects of argument-based chemistry laboratory investigations using the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) approach on students' use and embedding of multimodal representations in summary writing. Participants of this study were thirty-nine freshman students majoring in science education at a National University in Korea. Argument-based chemistry laboratory investigations using the SWH approach were implemented for twenty-three students enrolled in one cohort, and the traditional chemistry laboratory teaching was implemented for 16 students enrolled in the other cohort. Summary writing samples were collected from students before and after the implementation. Summary writing samples produced by students were examined using an analysis framework for examining the use and embeddedness of multimodal representations. Summary writing was categorized into one of verbal mode, symbolic mode, and visual mode. With regard to the embedding of multi-modal representations, summary writing samples were analyzed in terms of 'constructing understanding,' 'integrating multiple modes,' 'providing valid claims and evidence,' and 'representing multiple modes.' Data analysis shows that the students of the SWH group were better at utilizing and embedding multimodal representations in summary writing as they provided evidence supporting their claims. This study provides important implications on pre-service science teacher education.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.290-296
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• 2012

This study analyzed the research papers published in three (2 domestic and 1 foreign) journals, in order to understand the recent trend of chemistry education research. We selected Journal of the Korean Chemical Society (JKCS) and Journal of the Korean Association for Science Education (JKASE) as the domestic journals, and Journal of Chemical Education (JCE) as a foreign journal. The papers published from 2000 to 2009 were analyzed. As the result, the chemistry education research theme focused on 'teaching method and education technology', 'learner's characteristics', and 'chemical concept and experiment' in the order of frequency. The research on 'curriculum and textbooks' was performed often in JKCS reflecting Korean social environment. The most researched chemistry education goal was the 'conceptual understanding/change' followed by 'achievement/grade' in JCE and 'experiment/inquiry skill' in JKCS, and 'attitude/interest/motivation' in JKASE. The research subjects were focused to 'middle or high school students' in JKCS, in contrast to the 'university students' in JCE. More concern to the higher education is required in the domestic research. The most frequently used research method was 'survey/ examination' followed by 'experimental research' in JCE and JKASE and 'data/material analysis' in JKCS. We discussed the implication on future chemistry education research.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.328-337
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• 2006

purpose of this study was to find out problems in experiments for electrolysis of an aqueous CuCl2 solution in high school science textbooks and to suggest an improved experiment considering students' capability of experimenting and laboratory safety in high schools. For this study, the experiments for electrolysis of an aqueous CuCl2 solution presented in 11 high school science textbooks were classified by their experimental methods. After high school chemistry teachers performed the experiments as presented in the high school science textbooks, an analysis was performed on problems of the experiments, and an improved experiment was devised. According to the results of this study, in the experiments for electrolysis of an aqueous CuCl2 solution using a U type tube and a U type tube with branch, reaction velocity of the electrolysis was slow, therefore, a side reaction was generated. In the experiment using a beaker, reaction of each electrode could not be observed separately. And in the experiment using an electrolysis instrument, it was difficult to identify property of the reaction product. In the improved experiment using a reaction vessel of ㅂshape, reaction velocity of the electrolysis was fast, reaction of each electrode could be observed separately, and the side reaction decreased. From these results, it was suggested that the improved experiment would help high school students understand scientific conception regarding electrolysis.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.1056-1073
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to develop teaching materials using Pyramid model of divergent thinking, Inverse pyramid model of convergent thinking and Diamond model of divergent-convergent thinking. And the teaching materials was implemented to 120 students in middle school over 10 weeks. Results indicated that the experimental group presented statistically meaningful improvement in creative thinking skills, especially in fluency and flexibility(p<.05). Also the teaching materials contributed to improve critical thinking skills, especially in inquiry process of recognizing problems, making conclusion and generalization(p<.05). Moreover, academic achievement was improved(p<.05). But, there was no significant improvement in creative personality(p<.05).

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.31 no.8
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• pp.1158-1174
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• 2011

In this study, we examined the compositions, basic principles, and the area of the National Higher Education Entrance Examination (GaoKao) in 2009, we also analyzed the categories and characteristics of items. Also, the GaoKao was analyzed in terms of test specifications, the number of items, item patterns, difficulty levels, and implications of the College Scholastic Ability Test(CSAT) were explored. Results show Natural Science section of the National Test 1, 2 are 300 points per 150 min, and Natural Science, and Chemistry of Shanghai is 150 points each per 120 min. Also, the GaoKao contained multiple choice and fill in the blanks questions, and the description items are composed of experiments of various types. The GaoKao Natural Science section is composed of physics, chemistry, biology but not earth science, which is different from the CSAT. GaoKao requires basic understanding or the observation ability to reasoning, the complex thinking ability, especially emphasized on the experiment ability. The range of possible questions is in the examination outline, not the curriculum, and the ratio of questions from the University level is high. In the analysis of the behavioral domain, the ratios of the understanding and application items is higher than the CSAT, and inquiry items is lower, but the inquiry items are deeper. In case of the ratio of the expected correct answer, National Test 1 and National Test 2 is similar, but the difficult items or about 20~39% of the test is 4~5 times to that of the CSAT, making the GaoKao very difficult. The peculiar characteristics of GaoKao is the emphasis on the experiment, and even though the practical items is of lower ratio, they are very useful in life.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.291-305
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• 2010

The aim of this study was to survey the perceptions of the elementary school teachers on the smallscale chemistry(SSC) following its training session. The teachers participating in the survey were 266 teachers in the Gyeongnam province. They were given a questionnaire that focused on the nine areas of the SSC: Needs for the teacher training and its application, its benefits, issues of safety and danger as well as treatment of environmental pollution, its economic efficiency and the development of investigative skills. The designed questionnaire was checked by an authority, and the responses to each question were tallied and analyzed. The results are as follows. The biggest problems of the traditional experimental methods as rated by the teachers were, in the order of importance, the preparation time, the legal liability of teachers for the safety and accidents, financial issues, disposal of the experimental wastes and the lack of relevant data. Since most of the teachers had not experienced the SSC lab programs in the field, they responded positively to the questions of need for its introduction and training. The implementation of the experimental SSC lab programs should proceed in the following order: introduction into the textbook, teacher training program, after-school education and the invitation of instructors. The most useful materials for the SSC program were CDs, videos, books and various printed materials, in that order. The responses regarding benefits of the SSC program included its simplicity, convenience, time savings, diversity, qualitative and quantitative aspects, integration into the regular class and use of toys. In particular, the teachers mentioned the increased safety due to the small amount of experimental reagents needed and the durability of plastic instruments. The familarity from the use of everyday tools as well as easy access to and the low-cost of the instruments were other important benefits. The teachers in general rated the educational content of the program highly, but many also found it to be average. Some pointed out the lack of sufficient discussion due to the individual or pair groupings as a potential shortcoming. The potential for development of problem solving ability and improvement of skills was rated positively. The number of teacher who rated the development of creativity positively was just over the half. As for the area of improving investigative skills, many found its assessment difficult and confusing because of the lack of its systemic definition and categorization. Based on the findings of this study, I would like to recommend the application and a wider dissemination of the small-scale chemistry lab program into the elementary school science curriculum.