• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.73-88
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to explore elementary teachers' difficulties on teaching science by analyzing questions that have been posted for a long time in an autonomous online teacher community named Indischool. For this purpose, 409 question postings(the 2007 and 2009 revised curriculum, third to sixth grade) were analyzed using the framework for analyzing questions about elementary teachers' science teaching(modified from Alake-Tuenter et al., 2013). The study revealed that there were more science-SMK questions than science-PCK questions, and most of the questions were 'about lenses' and 'in 2014 and 2015, when the curriculum was changing from the 2007 to the 2009 revised curriculum'. The long-standing difficulties in science-SMK were 'an application of facts and concepts in lenses' and 'an unexpected experimental error in electricity'. In particular, there are the principle of transparent cup-shaped objects acting as lenses, the process of image formation by convex lenses, experimental errors of 'compass movement due to current flow change' and experimental errors 'serial connection of bulbs'. The long-standing difficulties in science-PCK were 'understanding and response to context' and 'understanding and response to aims mentioned in standard document' and these are not related to physical units but to others. In particular, there are request class materials, activity ideas at the end of the semester and understanding the national curriculum guidelines. These teachers' difficulties should be reflected in the science teaching support system like a teacher's guide compilation, teacher's training curriculum development, etc.