• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.407-418
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to survey the problem of teachers' narrative reporting of children's science learning in elementary school report cards. For the purposes of this study, a questionnaire, comprised of 6 questions and an analysis tool (Cronbach's $\alpha=.70$) were developed to categorize the answers. The survey was conducted by 53 teachers, who are currently taking 5th ade in elementary school, and the results are as follows: First, they interpreted the same content of report cards in a variety of different ways. Second, they exhibited a number of different principles and criteria in terms of preparing the content of narrative report cards. Third, they experienced difficulties in preparing narrative report cards on science teaming which required explanation of complete processes. Fourth, most teachers surveyed answered that the content of their narrative reports on science learning did not communicate specifically the students' achievement and further studies. Fifth, the activities related to preparing the content of the science learning on narrative reports was widely perceived to be useless for teachers' professional development. Finally, teachers made a number of alternative proposals to overcome the current, perceived problems of teachers' narrative reporting for children's science learning in report cards. Based on the results of this analysis, alternative forms and content of narrative reports on science learning were discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.156-162
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to explore effects of 4MAT system program on the creativity, science achievement and science-related attitudesof elementary school students. 4MAT learning program is a model based on the whole brain learning including the learning styles and the cognitive specialization of left and right hemispheres. The study was conducted for 10 weeks during the 1998 second semester in H elementary school which is located in Incheon. 4MAT learning program was applied to the 5th and 6th grade students. One hundred 5th grade students and eighty three 6th grade students are selected for this study. The experimental group was taught in applying the 4MAT system, and the control group was taught by the traditional manner. The results of this study were as follows: There was a significant difference on creativity between the instruction by applying 4MAT system and the traditional instruction. In the 6th grade, there was a statistically significant difference on science achievement and science-related attitude. In the 5th grade, there was slightly increased, but statistically onsignificant. In conclusion, the instruction by applying 4MAT system was more effective in developing student's creativity than the traditional instruction in both grades.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.329-347
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• 2009

Science curriculums for elementary schools were, traditionally, developed to be balanced in content and contain equal proportions of the four branches of science: physics, chemistry, biology, and earth science. To develop a successful science curriculum, we asked some questions about how elementary students recognize these branches and about what they think of the domains of science in the science curriculum. Our study was designed to investigate how elementary students classify the domains of science in the curriculum. Previous research (Lee et al., 2001) seemed not to be successful, because verbal expressions in that research might be inappropriate for elementary students who were unaccustomed to the technical language of science. For this reason, instead of using only words, we developed image card instruments, made of picture duplicates of the introductory covers of each unit in the 3$^{rd}$, 4$^{th}$, and 5$^{th}$ grades' science textbooks. We asked students to classify these cards into their own categories and record the reasons for classifying them. The ratio and distribution of the units was then analyzed to identify their view of the science domains. 30% of the 4$^{th}$ grade students created the following categories: 'nature,' 'observation,' 'seasons,' 'living things,' 'sounds,' 'separating,' and 'the things necessary for everyday life'. In the case of the 5$^{th}$ grade, over 30% created the categories of 'living things,' 'weight,' and 'water.' Over 30% of the 6$^{th}$ grade created the categories of 'nature,' 'light,' 'water,' 'living things,' 'solution,' 'fire,' 'properties of an object,' and 'experiment.' Upon scrutinizing the above results, we discovered that the science domains selected by students into three types of domains: academic contents and concepts; activities related to a science class; and lessons and experiences in students ' lives. The last category was a new, complex kind of domain. We concluded that students did not utilize the four branches of science when constructing their own domains of science. Instead, they created many alternative domains, which reflected students' thoughts of and their experiences. The educational needs of elementary students suggest that when organizing science curriculum as 25 % allocation of the four science branches, newly-created domains should be considered.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.620-633
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• 2014

This study was to examine elementary students' expectations on informal science learning in science museums which have characteristics of free choice learning. $5^{th}$ and $6^{th}$ grade students in two different elementary schools in Gyeonggi province participated in the survey and 330 samples were collected. Subcategories for the survey were categorized on the basis of review of the literature about the learning outcomes from science museums. The survey instruments were developed following the idea of each subcategory from the learning in science museums and a content validity of the survey instruments was checked. The results were as follows: Generally students' had high expectations of all subcategories and developing their interests in science through science museums was confirmed the most. Moreover, expectations on learning in science museums were differences between gender and grade. Finally, it was found that grade differences of expectations on learning in science museums were affected by intrinsic motivation, and empirical activity were affecting the gender differences of those. Based on the results of study, elementary students could confirm that the science museums had the important values and possibility as a field of informal science learning. And this study implied that the science museums could enhance more educational roles of informal science learning.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.372-385
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• 2012

For decades, reflection has been recognised as a meaningful tool to bring forth teachers' ownership as well as knowledge and action empowerment in teacher education. Yet there have been few studies on elementary teachers' reflection on their science teaching in Korea. In this study, 71 reflective journals of 24 elementary teachers on their science teaching were analyzed. The characteristics of reflective journals were analyzed in terms of 'productive reflection', a concept suggested by Davis (2006). Unproductive reflection is mainly descriptive without analysis, whereas productive reflection can promote teachers' learning by integrating four aspects of teaching (learner/learning, subject matter knowledge, instruction and assessment). The result showed what elementary teachers consider and emphasize and how they integrate their ideas. Most of reflective journals included aspects of 'instruction', 'learner/learning', and 'subject matter knowledge'. However 'instruction' was emphasized most frequently (69.0%) than 'subject matter knowledge' (33.8%) and 'learner/learning' (26.8%). 'Assessment' was hardly included nor emphasized. More than half of the journals (56.3%) showed no integrations, which were unproductive reflection. A third of the journals (32.4%) integrated only two aspects among four. Average score of integrations was 1.6 on a scale of 4 points. The integrations were not affected by the length of reflective journals and the teaching experience. These findings suggest that productive reflection would not increase naturally with teaching experience and there needs more tactful guidance to develop elementary teachers' productive reflection on their science teaching.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.339-351
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to analyze the processes of observation teaching and the types of observation in elementary life science class. For the purposes of this study, 40 teachers majoring in elementary science education participated in surveys on the processes of observation teaching. In addition, after videotaping the observation classes conducted by three teachers, each teaching in the 3rd to 5th grade, and their one hundred and eight students, we analyzed the processes of observation teaching. As a result, the processes of observation leaching in elementary science class were categorized into 12 stages (motivation, stating the objective, recognizing objects to observe, free and subjective observation, introducing ways to observe, observing by the simple way, introducing additional ways, observing by the manipulative way, making a note of observation, looking over the contents of observation, finding regularities, consolidation). In the types of observation, teachers and students performed mostly simple observing by the visual way. Teachers introduced time-independent/non-compared/whole observing; students concentrated on time-independent/non-compared/particular observing as targets. Thus, students carried out observing in the types of observation that teachers had presented. Consequently, the analysis about the processes of observation teaching can establish an effective teaching program for observing in scientific activities by reconstructing its observing target and suitable topic. The analysis about the types of observation can be applied to set up strategies for improving observation skills.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.331-339
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to make a list of scientific terms to decrease students' difficulties of science learning. By using inductive method, database has established from elementary school science textbooks and laboratory observation books. All terms from physics area of science textbooks and laboratory observation books at the levels of grade 3 to 6 were analyzed based on the Standard Korean Dictionary (1999) and Book of Physics Terminology (2005). As a result, we made a list of 204 scientific terms by grade level. Those were 51 words for grade 3, 55 words for grade 4, 56 words for grade 5, and 42 words for grade 6. And there were some incongruities among textbooks, the Standard Korean Dictionary and the Book of Physics Terminology.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.437-445
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine about science gifted class student's effect of education for the science gifted class. For this, 21 item-questionnaires were given to 292 students at the 4th, 5th and 6th graders in 3 elementary gifted schools located in Incheon. The results of this study were as follows: First, science gifted students were positive in effect of gifted class. This was more positive as class is low. Second, gifted students are thinking that it is helped to own learning that study at gifted class in cognitive side but appeared relatively low regarding school record or utterance, study method, thinking faculty, creativity. Third, they did not think that is exerting a lot of effects about own habit that study, interest, pride in emotional side. Fourth, they thought that is effective in relation with new friends more than teachers and parents in sociocultural side. Fifth, in private tutoring side they thought that is not influencing to solve academy taking a course of decrease.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.35-46
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• 1999

The most of elementary school science textbook contents are composed of observation and experiment activities. When students study natural phenomena, observation and experiment are st rongly emphasized to improve understanding of scientific concepts and inquiry abilities. The purpose of this study is deep understanding about experimental science classes. This ethnographic study is conducted by observations of experimental science classes in natural setting and interviews of teachers, students of the 5th grade. The conclusions of this study are as follows: First, the general process of the elementary science experimental classes is 'identifying learning purposes -1 planning experiments -1 predicting the results -1 experimenting-t summarizing the results.' The experiments are conducted by group activities and the teachers conceived that the me st difficult step considered by students is 'planning experiments'. Second, students like hands-on activities, but they feel difficulty on less guided experiments. Students perform results oriented-activities. Third, in group activities, students prefer to work with the same gender or collaborative peers.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.191-205
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to explore strategies used by pre-service elementary science teachers in planning a science lesson. The participants were six senior students from a national university of education located in the midwestern area of Korea. Data regarding their planning strategies were gathered through both thinking-aloud and observation. Research findings suggest that: three of the teachers had little understanding of the necessity of reviewing unit contents or prior learning for planning a science lesson; five student teachers relied heavily on learning objectives presented in teachers' guidebooks without considering their appropriateness; all teachers exhibited an intention of composing different activities or teaching approaches from teachers' guidebooks; only two teachers thought about learners' prior knowledge or understanding levels; five and three teachers had poor understanding of discovery learning models and importance of teacher's questioning, respectively; and five teachers paid little attention to assessment.