• Journal of Science Education
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.143-155
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• 2021

The goal of this study is to examine the Integrated Science and Science Laboratory Experiments of the 2015 revised curriculum applied since 2018, and to explore ways to improve these two subjects in preparation for the 2022 revised curriculum. A survey was conducted by randomly sampling high schools across the country, with a total of 192 science teachers participating. In addition, 12 high school science teachers were selected as focus group, and in-depth interviews were conducted to investigate ways to restructure common science courses for the next curriculum. Main research results include that most schools were operated in 6~8 units for Integrated Science, and the teachers in charge of Integrated Science per class averaged 2~3 over the three years. For Science Laboratory Experiments, it has operated for a total of two semesters, one unit per semester, and it was found that several science teachers are in charge of Science Laboratory Experiments to fill the insufficient number of hours regardless of major. In the in-depth interview, science teachers argued that Integrated Science should be reduced and restructured by strengthening key competencies in preparation for the high school credit system. Based on the research results, ways to reorganize Integrated Science focused on big ideas, ways to construct common science courses based on fundamental science concepts that can guide elective courses, the necessity of career guidance through common science courses, and the necessity of strengthening teacher professionalism for teaching interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary subjects were suggested.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.186-198
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• 2022

With the science curriculum about to be revised in 2022, this study aimed to guide curriculum revision by addressing suggested approaches to the electromagnetism education in elementary school science curriculum. The core concepts of electromagnetism are "electric field" and "magnetic field" as a medium of force, but the current curriculum does not properly describe the core concepts of electromagnetism. Mechanics and electromagnetism should be linked in elementary schools to form science curriculum based on core concepts to solve this problem. Additionally, the nine aspects of technology extracted in this study offer various educational contexts to match the development of engineering technology based on electromagnetism. However, the current curriculum does not comprise these various contexts and focuses on the limited content of electric circuits using light bulbs. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the scope of the curriculum to better mirror real-life technology. Through the use of more diverse materials and contexts, the scope and level of STS education as well as conceptual learning could be expanded. Finally, in the case of electric circuit learning, various issues such as difficulty in connecting electric circuits and electric field concepts, representativeness of electric circuit, students' learning difficulty, and phenomena-oriented learning should be considered.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.123-132
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• 2024

The purpose of this study was to extract hierarchical learning elements in the area of 'Algorithms and Programming' in the 2022 revised secondary informatics curriculum. Intrinsic validity was secured by considering the core ideas presented in the curriculum and the content elements of 'knowledge/understanding', 'process/skills', and 'values/attitudes', and extrinsic validity of the learning elements was obtained through FGI and CVR with 25 experts. The learning elements derived from this study are 7 in the first stage, 18 in the second stage, and 26 in the third stage for middle schools, and 8 in the first stage, 23 in the second stage, and 27 in the third stage for high schools. Although the scope and size of knowledge in each stage may differ, the hierarchy of knowledge in the first stage, which is materialized in the second and third stages, provides direction on how knowledge should be taught. This study is expected to contribute to the implementation of the new curriculum in schools and to improve teachers' understanding of the curriculum.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.592-592
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• 2022

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.369-385
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• 2023

As the 2022 revised mathematics curriculum emphasizing competency cultivation was announced, the researcher analyzed the connection between competency, content system, and achievement standards in elementary school mathematics curriculum. The results of the analysis of the link between the competency of the curriculum revision research report, its sub-elements, the 'process and skills' of the curriculum content system, and the achievement standard verb are as follows. First, most of the five curriculum competencies (problem solving, reasoning, communication, connection, and information processing) of the mathematics department are implemented as "process-skills" of the content system, which is further specified and presented as an achievement-based verb. Second, the five competencies were not implemented with the same weight in all areas, and the appropriate process-skills were differentiated and presented according to the content of knowledge-understanding by area/grade group. Third, verbs of the achievement standards were more rich than before in the 2022 revised elementary school mathematics curriculum. Fourth, 'understanding' throughout the entire area was still presented as the highest proportion. Through the research results, the researcher discussed clearly establishing the meaning of problem-solving capabilities in the future and developing and presenting "understanding" as a more specific process or skills.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.219-229
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to analyze the concerns and difficulties encountered by authors involved in the development of integrated science textbooks. Specifically, it focuses on their experiences with understanding and implementing the 2022 revised science curriculum. We collected 89 opinions from textbook authors and categorized them into several key areas: understanding the terminology and descriptors provided in the curriculum, structuring learning content, inquiries and activities, and the depth and scope of learning content. The analysis revealed that the most difficulty encountered by the textbook authors was in defining the level and scope of learning content. Many also expressed concerns and difficulties related to the ambiguity of terms and predicates. In terms of the composition of learning content, difficulties were identified in concerning the repetitive descriptions of achievement standards and the discrepancy between the arrangement of achievement standards and the flow of learning. Regarding inquiries and activities, there were experiments presented that were difficult to experience or actually implement, along with limitations in activity composition due to the need to optimize learning volume. Given the importance of high-quality textbooks for effective science education at the national level, it is crucial to establish effective communication channels between curriculum developers and textbook authors. Additionally, a robust support system for textbook development should be established.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.441-454
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• 2021

In this study, we propose the composition of contents on the area of astronomy for high school Earth Science elective courses for the 2022 revised curriculum based on high school students' perceptions of changes in Earth Science core concepts over the curriculum revisions, and analysis of learning elements in the area of astronomy for domestic and foreign Earth Science curriculum. Four Earth Science education experts compared and analyzed the astronomy contents presented in Korea, the US, British Columbia (BC) in Canada, Japan, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) curriculum. According to the survey results, high school students who answered that they were most interested in the core concepts of astronomy expressed a lot of regret that the contents related to astronomical observation were eliminated from the 2015 revised curriculum. As a result of comparing domestic and foreign curriculum, Korea and IBDP curriculum dealt with the largest amount of learning elements in astronomy. In the case of BC in Canada and IBDP, astronomy was offered as an independent subject, and the curriculums of Japan and Korea dealt with astronomy in the Earth Science subject. According to the results, it is necessary to develop general elective courses in Earth Science with astronomy-related contents with high discriminating power in order to strengthen astronomy education. Since astronomy requires background knowledge from various disciplines and inter-disciplinary learning was required, it is necessary to organize the career-related elective courses in Earth Science so that astronomy can be dealt with according to the knowledge structure of general Astronomy. Based on the research results, ways to organize astronomy contents for Earth Science elective courses were suggested.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.125-145
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• 2023

This study investigates the integration of astronomy-related topics in the Korean national science curricula spanning from 1945 to 2023. We analyze the placement and extent of astronomy content across different school levels. Astronomy contents in the science curricula have changed in response to social needs (e.g., practical knowledge required for agriculture and fishery) and advancement in astronomical research (e.g., the discovery of exoplanets and the suggestion of new cosmological parameters). Contents addressing the motions of celestial objects and stellar physical properties have remained relatively consistent. In the latest 2022 revised national curriculum, scheduled for implementation in 2024, several elements, such as coordinate systems, have been removed, while the inquiry activities using digital tools are emphasized. The incorporation of the cosmic perspectives in the national curriculum, as well as astronomy education within the context of education for sustainable development, remains limited even in the most recent curriculum. For future life revisions, the active participation of researchers is needed to reflect the latest astronomical research progress and scientific characteristics in the field of astronomy.

• 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 Association For Science Education
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.87-103
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• 2024

The content system table of the subject-matter curriculum is considered important in the Korean national curriculum, textbook writing, and teaching and learning in the classroom. However, studies that comprehensively organize the issues concerning the format of the subject-matter curriculum content system have been scarce. This study scrutinized the evolution of the content system from its inception in The 6th Curriculum to the most recent 2022 Revised National Curriculum, focusing on science curricular. The following issues and suggestions were derived for the format of the subject content system. First, caution should be exercised in using terms such as "domain," "field," and "category," and it should be clarified whether these terms are intended simply for logical differentiation or to serve as a content organizer with a specific emphasis. Second, the nature of components such as "core ideas," which can serve as innovative content organizers, should be strictly defined. Third, while the introduction of three-dimensional content elements such as "knowledge and understanding," "process and skill," and "value and attitude" is viewed positively, it is suggested that a further delineation be made, elaborating how each can be utilized to form core competencies. Fourth, the construction of the subject-specific content system in national curriculum needs caution because whether it will resolve or exacerbate the 'disparity between general curriculum and subject-matter curriculums' is uncertain. Finally, as an apparent pendulum motion of the subject-matter content system is observed in national curriculum documents, efforts should be made to ensure that it does not result in meaningless repetition, but instead achieves meaningful dialectical progress.