• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.289-309
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• 2022

In recent years, astronomy has been snowballing: including Higgs particle discovery, black hole imaging, extraterrestrial exploration, and deep space observation. Students are also largely interested in astronomy. The purpose of this study is to discover what needs to be improved in the current astronomy curriculum in light of recent scientists' researches and discoveries. We collected keywords from all papers published from 2011 to 2020 in four selected journals-ApJ, ApJL, A&A, and MNRAS- by R package to examine research trends. The curriculum contents were extracted by synthesizing the in-service teachers' coding results in the 2015 revised curriculum document of six subjects (Science, Integrated Science, Earth Science I, Earth Science II, Physics II, Convergence Science). The research results are as follows: first, keywords that appear steadily in astronomy are 'galaxies: formation, galaxy: active, star: formation, accretion, method: numerical.' Second, astronomy curriculum includes all areas except the 'High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena' area within the common science curriculum learned by all students. Third, it is necessary to review the placement of content elements by subject and grade and to consider introducing new concepts based on astronomy research keywords. This is an exploratory study to compare curriculum and the field of scientific research that forms the basis of the subject. We expect to provide implications for a future revision of the astronomy curriculum as a primary ground investigation.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.377-394
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• 2022

Criticism has been raised that the way of teaching weights in the 3rd and 4th graders of elementary school is different between the 2015 revised math curriculum and the 2015 revised science curriculum, causing confusion among elementary school teachers and students. This study tried to confirm the social recognition that should be considered in the process of didactic transformation which means transformation from knowledge to used into knowledge to taught and to compare the variations of didactic transformations differently according to didactic intentions. The research analyzes and synthesizes the root of the meaning of weight, weight in the international standard system of units SI, weight implemented in Korean mathematics curriculum and textbooks, Singaporean mathematics curriculum and textbooks, USA mathematics curriculum and textbooks, and Korean science curriculum and textbooks. Through this analysis, a pedagogical perspective on how to define and teach weight in elementary school as knowledge to be taught was derived.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.166-181
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to examine the change and appropriateness of inquiry tendency in elementary science textbooks by national curriculum period by comparing previous researches that reported Romey's Involvement Index in the science textbook and other subject textbooks. The results of the study are as follows: First, for the text index (T), the value of science textbooks by curriculum tends to continue to decline overall. The value of science textbook based on the 3rd curriculum is judged to be extremely inquiry oriented and the value of the textbooks based on the 2007 and 2015 revised curriculum are the values judged as somewhat authoritative textbook and as a textbook at the appropriate level of inquiry, respectively. There is no significant difference compared to the T values of other subject textbooks since the 2007 revised curriculum; Second, the index of figures and diagrams in the text (FD) of science textbooks also continues to decline by curriculum periods. In particular, the FD value of science textbook of the 2015 revised period is judged to be a authoritative textbook, which is lower than the value of other subject textbooks; Third, in the case of the activity index (A), it gradually decreases from the third curriculum to the 2015 revised curriculum, but it is judged as textbooks suitable for inquiry. However, after the 7th curriculum, the value of A is generally lower than those of other subject textbooks; Fourth, for the index of the questions at the ends of chapters (Q), the value of Q is reported to be extremely limited compared to the aforementioned three indices(T, FD and A), which may be mainly due to differences in the composition of science textbooks by curriculum period.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.300-317
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to suggest improvements in the science concepts and inquiry activities presented in the earth science section in the 2015 revised curriculum elementary science textbooks. For this study, two science educator and three elementary school teachers developed a survey questionnaire to investigate science concepts, inquiry activities, and suggest improvements. The survey was conducted two times, and 30 elementary school teachers and three earth science professors (geology, meteorology, astronomy) participated in the survey. As a result, it was investigated that eight concepts in the solid section, three concepts in the fluid section, and one concept in universe and integration section contained misconceptions. It was investigated that the content of inquiry activity needs to be supplemented, with seven elements in solid section, three elements in fluid section, and one in the universe and integration section. According to the research results, if the textbook is revised, it is necessary to accurately confirm the science concepts or content of inquiry activities. Also in the case of science concepts presented in textbooks, it will be necessary to consider not only the scope and sequence of contents but also the process of learning progression.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.183-192
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• 2021

As part of the second-year monitoring study on the implementation of the 2015 revised science curriculum, this study investigated high school science teachers' perception and realization of instruction and assessment of elective courses to derive measures to settle and improve the science curriculum. A total of 244 high school science teachers responded to the survey questionnaire, and 9 teachers participated in interviews. In survey results, science teachers are contemplating ways to increase students' science competencies and their participation in classes, but still, lecture-oriented classes are most often used in their teaching. Regarding assessment, teachers responded that there were positive changes in all of the questions related to process-based assessment (PBA). Regarding the difficulty of managing science elective courses, teachers most often selected increased numbers of subjects being covered, overload of work, and the burden of restructuring classes considering various ways of teaching and assessment. Through in-depth interviews, teachers argued the difficulty for Science I courses to emphasize student participatory classes compared to integrated science, and the difficulty to implement student participatory classes for Science II courses, which are mainly placed in the third grade. Teachers also argue that it is necessary to secure time to implement PBA in science elective courses, and that there is no need to implement PBA for the science experiment since there are no tests on the SAT. Based on the results of the study, discussed in the conclusion are support plans for the settlement of PBA in elective courses, and the need for in-depth analysis of the direction and cause of student participatory classes and PBA at the school.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.94-118
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to explore the multi-faceted understanding and issues of science subject matter competencies from the trends of competency-based curriculum discourse, and to examine the relationship between general core competencies and science subject matter competencies. First, we examined the theoretical background of competency-based curriculum focusing on behaviorism, humanism, and its comprehensive synthesis. After that, we reviewed OECD's competency-related projects (DeSeCo; OECD Education 2030), US Next-Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Korea's 2015 Revised National Curriculum from the viewpoint of competency-based curriculum. After that, we summarized and systematically analyzed a list of competencies, 105 general core competencies and 45 science subject matter competencies proposed by 15 important documents from home and abroad. The results of this study are as follows: First, the issues of the proper number, appropriate dimension, and how individual competencies should be unique and independent were pointed, in terms of defining and categorizing competencies. Second, it was suggested that the competency items are presented in various dimensions such as personal-micro dimension, community meso-dimension, and social-macro dimension. Meso-dimension was placed on both general core competencies and subject matter competencies. Third, in the relationship between general core competencies and subject matter competencies, the former emphasizes macro-dimension, and the latter emphasizes micro-dimension, revealing an existing gap, and where the two can meet each other is the meso-dimension. These discussions are thought to provide insight into the understanding of competencies in the national curriculum, including the 2015 Revised National Curriculum.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.64 no.5
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• pp.277-290
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• 2020

In this study, four gifted students in the second year of middle school at Gifted Education Center of the National University in Jeollanam-do were surveyed students' perceptions of the effectiveness of science class using science writing heuristic in terms of metacognition and the goals of the 2015 revised science curriculum. Through questionnaires and interviews with gifted science students, science gifted students recognized that the science class using science writing heuristic had a positive effect on the four subdomains (planning, monitoring, control, and evaluation) of metacognition. For this reason, the science gifted students presented self-directed experience in designing experiments, continually checking the collected experimental data, feedback process, and reflecting experience in preparing conclusions. Science gifted students recognized that science class using science writing heuristic had a positive effect on the goals of the 2015 revised science curriculum(attitudes, inquiry, knowledge, Science·Technology·Society(STS), and the enjoyment and usefulness of science learning) that correspond to through inquiry science writing lessons. For this reason, the science gifted students presented self-directed inquiry experiences, continual inquiry experiences on the same subject, thinking process at each stage of inquiry, learning experiences through inquiry, experience of the whole inquiry process, and inquiry of phenomena closely related to real life. Therefore, for the effective science class, it is necessary to apply the characteristics of science class using science writing heuristic which is responded by science gifted students to general science class as well as science gifted class later.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.110 no.4
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• pp.689-710
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to analyze contents of the elementary school textbooks on 'Forest Education' based on the 2015 revised curriculum. This study is designed to determine the status of forest educationrelated content in the curriculum. Thetypesofforesteducationintextbooksweredividedintoanalysis. In addition, the standards of achievement of the curriculum were analyzed into the areas of forest education curriculum to determine the similarities between the curriculum and the achievement of forest education. This study shows that, first, the field of knowledge in forest education was included in all subjects and grades except mathematics. It noted that the curriculum includes areas of knowledge that directly convey knowledge related to forest education. This showed that the forest education knowledge area is linked to various courses. Second, the types of forest education included in the curriculum appeared differently depending on age. In the lower grades, there was the most information on the tools and sensibilities of forest education, and in the higher grades, the more knowledge and value-related areas were addressed. As the school year increases, so do forest education levels. Third, when analyzing the achievement criteria in the curriculum, the curriculum achievement criteria included key points in forest education. Thus, this study confirmed the link between the curriculum and forest education.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.563-571
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to analyze the safety contents presented in high school science textbooks of the 2015 revised national science curriculum. For these, we found safety contents in the inquiries and appendices of 63 science textbooks: integrated science, science inquiry experiment, physics I, II, chemistry I, II, biology I, II, and earth science I, II. We analyzed these safety contents using six safety factors based on the seven standards for safety education. The main results are as follows: First, 81(46.0%) inquiries among 176 curriculum inquiries contain safety contents, and these contents are mainly found in chemistry textbooks, and the least in 'science inquiry experiment' textbooks. Second, safety contents are found the most in 'laboratory safety rule', followed by 'safety symbol' and 'usage of protection equipment'. Third, the safety contents of appendices are mainly in 'laboratory safety rule' and 'accident treatment'. Based on these results of this study, it is concluded that these textbooks have problems; that there is a big difference in describing safety contents in each textbook; that these safety contents are not presented in detail and that the educational effect is reduced. Furthermore, the safety symbol is not standardized. We also discussed ways to improve the safety contents of science textbooks.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.217-235
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• 2022

This study aimed to analyze the changes in the physics curriculum of elementary schools over the past years and to discuss the issues faced by the science curriculum for elementary education prior to the next curriculum revision. We analyzed changes in the elements of the contents from the 7th curriculum to the 2015 revised curriculum and reviewed studies conducted after the revision in 2015. Additionally, three professors majoring in physics education discussed the results of the curriculum analysis. The result indicates that content of the physics curriculum for elementary education was generally reduced after the 7th curriculum. Specifically, difficult concepts were omitted or designated to a higher school level. Concerns related to the science curriculum pertain to the content adequacy and difficulty of the current curriculum, its relationship with mathematics, connection between the Nuri curriculum and the integrated curriculum for the 1st and 2nd grades, and the achievement standard predicate problem.