• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.524-534
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• 2011

This study is to ascertain pre-service teachers' conceptions for the causes of season change, to verify their conceptional mistakes, and to analyze how their conceptions are changed while presenting Disproof-Experiment Model where they cannot explain it with their current conceptions. 32 junior students of Education universities, pre-service elementary teachers, located at the middle of Korea participated in this research including two interviews and one experiment activity. As a result of analyzing of the data, the pre-service teachers held diverse conceptions for the causes of season change such as to mistake the phenomena, the distance between the earth and the sun, the tilting of the rotation axis and the revolving around the sun while changing the tilting direction of the rotation axis as the cause. After applying Disproof-Experiment Model designed by the researchers in order to change the current conception above, the conception changes of the pre-service teachers were investigated. Diverse Disproof-Experiment Models were used differently depending on the pre-service teachers' conceptions. As a result of the application of Disproof-Experiment Model, 26 out of 28 pre-service teachers were changed to scientific conceptions. It was determined that in order to modify pre-service teachers' conceptions, designing and presenting the Disproof-Experiment Model appropriate to their conceptions are effective after analyzing their conceptions. In case of conceptions that pre-service teachers feel difficult, it was established that unraveling experiment models prescribed after investigating the preconceptions and identifying the misconceptions are important.