• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.187-195
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to diagnose the operation status of high school integrated science newly introduced in the 2015 revised national curriculum and first applied in 2018, to examine teachers' perception on the new educational policy, and then based on this, extract implications for settling down the policy. A survey was administered to science teachers who participated in the in-service teacher training on integrated science, and the responses of 384 high school science teachers were analyzed. According to the results of the survey, integrated science was allotted six units to each school, and two or more teachers divided achievement standards and were responsible for them in many cases. Science teachers pointed to the increase of student-oriented activities as the biggest change due to the application of integrated science and also showed a positive attitude towards increasing the proportion of performance-based assessment, diversifying evaluation methods, increasing teacher consultations, and enhancing the holistic understanding of natural phenomenon, etc. In particular, teachers with 15 years or more of teaching experience were significantly positive about the increase of student-oriented activities, diverse assessment methods, and opportunities of teacher consultations. For teachers with a sub-major in science, teaching about non-majored contents was the most difficult and it was also difficult to determine the appropriate level of contents to teach. Teachers who majored common science, however, rarely complained about teaching non-majored content. In the case of two teachers in charge of integrated science, there was a statistically significant demand for subject matter knowledge as training content, and for mixed education incorporating theory and practice and customized training as a training method. In the case of one teacher responsible for the subject, there was a relatively lower demand. From these results, some implications for the successful implementation of integrated science were discussed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.97-111
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• 2020

In the 2015 revised curriculum, 'Integrated Science' was established to increase convergent thinking and designated as a common subject for all students to learn, regardless of career. In addition, the 2015 revised curriculum introduced 'competence' as a distinctive feature from the previous curriculum. In the 2015 revised curriculum, competencies are divided into core competencies of cross-curricular character and subject competencies based on academic knowledge and skills of the subject. The science curriculum contains five subject competencies: scientific thinking, scientific inquiry, scientific problem solving, scientific communication, scientific participation and life-long learning. However, the description of competencies in curriculum documents is insufficient, and experts' perceptions of competencies are not uniform. Therefore, this study examines the perceptions of science subjects in science high school teachers by deciding that comprehension of competencies should be preceded in order for competency-based education to be properly applied to school sites. First, we analyzed the relationship between achievement standards and subject competencies of integrated science through the operation of an expert working group with a high understanding of the integrated science achievement standards. Next, 31 high school science teachers examined the perception of the five subject competencies through a descriptive questionnaire. The semantic network analysis has been utilized to analyze the teachers' responses. The results of the analysis showed that the three curriculum competencies of scientific inquiry, scientific communication, scientific participation and life-long learning ability are similar to the definitions of teachers and curriculum documents, but in the case of scientific thinking and scientific problem solving, there are some gaps in perception and definition in curriculum documents. In addition, the results of the comprehensive analysis of teachers' perceptions on the five competencies show that the five curriculum competencies are more relevant than mutually exclusive or independent.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.121-149
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• 2022

Descriptive assessment is a meaningful assessment method in relation to problem solving ability, reasoning ability, and communication ability as emphasized in mathematics curriculum. In Korea, as performance assessment has been emphasized since the 7th mathematics curriculum, descriptive assessment is being conducted as a method of performance assessment in schools. However, descriptive assessment has not been introduced in the university scholastic ability test for various reasons. Considering that descriptive assessment is emphasized in the mathematics classroom and has sufficient educational value, a serious discussion on the implementation of descriptive assessment in the university scholastic ability test will be necessary. In this study, we analyzed the descriptive assessment of Russia's unified state examination (USE) in the mathematics, which corresponds to Korea's university scholastic ability test. Through a literature review, we investigated how mathematics examination problems were structured in the USE and which mathematical abilities were required for the examination. In particular, the outer structure of the problems was analyzed focusing on the mathematics problems of the USE 2021, and the scoring method of the descriptive problems was also analyzed. The results of this study are expected to provide a variety of information on the possibility of introducing descriptive assessment in the Korean university scholastic ability tests.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.499-510
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• 2019

History and philosophy of science has been consistently emphasized in science education for various purposes. In accordance with the introduction of the 2015 revised curriculum, history of science could be implemented for the curriculum; designing well-organized learning strategies is required. This study examines the case of undergraduate students who solved the convergence problem based on history and philosophy of science in the problem-based learning program. In particular, this study tries to find strategies for integrated education by comparing the problem structuring process and the meaning of problem solving experience of science/engineering and humanities/social sciences students. Participants were three students majoring in science/engineering and humanities/social sciences. Participants constructed and solved their own convergence problems by integrating the domains that were familiar to them into history and philosophy of science. While the process of structuring the problems and the use of history and philosophy of science were similar, there were differences between the science/engineering and humanities/social sciences students' point of view on history and philosophy of science and the other domain which they choose. Moreover, there were differences between the two group's meanings of problem solving experience. Finally, based on the results of this study, history and philosophy in science provided some implications in the context of science education and integrated education.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.417-428
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• 2022

This study analyzed the frequency and level of scientific practices presented in secondary science textbooks. A total of 1,378 student activities presented in 14 middle school science textbooks and 5 high school integrated science textbooks were analyzed, using the definition and level of scientific practice suggested in the NGSS. Findings show that most student activities focus on three practices. Compared to the textbooks for the previous science curriculum, the practice of 'obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information' was more emphasized, reflecting societal changes due to ICT development. However, the practice of 'asking a question', which can be an important element of student-led science learning, was still rarely found in textbooks, and 'developing and using models', 'using math and computational thinking' and 'arguing based on evidence' were not addressed much. The practices were mostly elementary school level except for the practice of 'constructing explanations'. Such repeated exposures to a few and low level of practices mean that many future citizens would be led to a naïve understanding of science. The findings imply that it is necessary to emphasize various practices tailored to the level of students. In the upcoming revision of the science curriculum, it is necessary to provide the definition of practices that are not currently specified and the expected level of each practice so that the curriculum can provide sufficient guidance for textbook writing. These efforts should be supported by benchmarking of overseas science curriculum and research that explore students' ability and teachers' understanding of scientific practices.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.131-140
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• 2019

In this study, a block-base coding that could develop computing thinking was applied to Earth science teaching and learning to identify how the perception of computational thinking and scientific attitude was changed as part of creativity education. Based on the results of the study, the conclusions are as follows: First, an Earth science education program was developed using a block-based coding for elementary school students. The 12-hour program was designed for inquiry activities to encourage students to engage in various thinking by providing them with activity-oriented problems. Second, the Earth science education program using a block-based coding showed significant results in confidence in the use of a computer program, integrated learning with a computer, computational thinking, and problem-solving factors with computational thinking. Third, the Earth science education program using block-based coding showed significant differences in the categories of curiosity, criticism, cooperation, persistence, and creativity. It could be judged that it was effective for students in the process of questioning and trying to solve the problem themselves.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.775-789
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relevance of the school science contents that have been implemented for the 7-10th grade students in Korea since 2001. To fulfill the purpose of the study, we 1) analyzed the 7th national science curriculum of Korea, California science standards, the national science curriculum of England, Japanese national science curriculum, and current Korean and Japanese science textbooks, 2) conducted a nationwide survey in order to gather opinions from students, teachers, and science specialists. The main findings of this research were as follows: First, the number of topics presented at each grade level should be reduced and similar topics and themes should be integrated for students' deeper understanding. Second, science contents were excessive compared to the allotted teaching time and to foreign countries. Thus, the excessive overlapping and repetition of science contents should be avoided among the primary, middle and high school level, and the number of science concepts and activities should be reduced to an appropriate level considering time allotment for science classes, teachers' workload, laboratory conditions, etc. Third, to cope with the decreasing students' understanding and interests in science as school level and school year goes up, the science curriculum and textbooks should be developed to allow for student to learn science concepts by solving problems confronted in their daily lives. Fourth, a differentiated curriculum such as in-depth and supplementary course should be described not in science contents, but in teaching and learning strategy.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.231-248
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• 2024

This study developed a chatbot for first-year high school students, employing open-source software and the Korean Sentence-BERT model for AI-powered document classification. The chatbot utilizes the Sentence-BERT model to find the six most similar Q&A pairs to a student's query and presents them in a carousel format. The initial dataset, built from online resources, was refined and expanded based on student feedback and usability throughout over the operational period. By the end of the 2023 academic year, the chatbot integrated a total of 30,819 datasets and recorded 3,457 student interactions. Analysis revealed students' inclination to use the chatbot when prompted by teachers during classes and primarily during self-study sessions after school, with an average of 2.1 to 2.2 inquiries per session, mostly via mobile phones. Text mining identified student input terms encompassing not only science-related queries but also aspects of school life such as assessment scope. Topic modeling using BERTopic, based on Sentence-BERT, categorized 88% of student questions into 35 topics, shedding light on common student interests. A year-end survey confirmed the efficacy of the carousel format and the chatbot's role in addressing curiosities beyond integrated science learning objectives. This study underscores the importance of developing chatbots tailored for student use in public education and highlights their educational potential through long-term usage analysis.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.93-108
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• 2023

This study aims to analyze the types and roles of visualization materials presented in the third- and fourth-grade national and authorized science textbooks based on the 2015 revised curriculum. Using the type and role framework, 17 chapters were analyzed. The analysis revealed, first, that the national and authorized textbooks had different total amounts of visualization data and total amounts of simple illustrations. However, no difference in the amounts of simple illustrations and infographics used in the units was evident. The units that used the most infographics were Life, Earth and Universe, in that order, in both the national and the authorized textbooks. Second, simple illustrations were observed to have role differences according to the type of visualization data, but infographics had no such differences. Specifically, the motivational role in a simple illustration increased in all the authorized textbooks. Third, looking at the frequencies of the infographic subtypes, the Process, Structure, Comparative Analysis, and Timeline types accounted for 86% of the total, but the proportions of those subtypes varied in the national and authorized textbooks. Based on the results of this study, I suggest that to achieve differentiation in the types or roles of visualization materials, changes in the types, processes, and skills of inquiry must first occur, as must changes in the structure of chapters or lessons. Continuous research and discussion on the standards and methods for authorized textbooks are also needed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.890-902
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• 2012

This study intended to analyze science-arts integration activities in science textbook and explore the artistic elements of science-art integrated activities. For this purpose, we selected science-arts integration activities in elementary science textbooks of Korea by revised curriculum in 2007. We analyzed them by the type, the function and the role of arts. The analysis of artistic element was based on 'design element' suggested by Baron & Eisner. Results revealed that the science-arts integration activities were using a visual art form than any other and the role of arts was mainly to apply science concepts. Through the artistic element analysis, we found that most activities were emphasized on 'empathic understanding' category than other categories. Based on the results, science-arts integration activities with more diverse form of art should be developed. Also the artistic element should be considered in developing future science-arts integration activities.