• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.337-345
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• 2007

The purposes of this study are to investigate and compare the characteristics of classification criteria of secondary school students and science teachers in relation to the three statesof matter. For this research, 76 middle school students in the7th grade who studied microscopic viewpoints about classifying the state of matter for the first time, 69 high school students in the 12th grade who studied Chemistry I and IIcourses successfully, and 130 secondary school science teachers, through a questionnaire. As a result, while having learned the three states of matter in the microscopic viewpoints, the majority of middle school students showed a high percentage of classification in the macroscopic viewpoints. For high school students, their percentage of classification included highmicroscopic viewpoints about solid and gas, the percentage of classification included macroscopic viewpoints about liquid state as alsohigh. The secondary school teachers gave answers in the macroscopic viewpoints and microscopic viewpoints equally, but their answers were just representation of the viewpoints list without the meaningful connection of the two type of viewpoints. To solve these problems, It is necessary to form connective change from the macroscopic viewpoints to the microscopic viewpoints about the criteria for classifying the States of Matter and various educational efforts.

• 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 Science Education
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.133-143
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to analyze elementary school teachers' perception on application of STEAM education. For this study, a survey was administered to 80 primary teachers. The result showed as follows: First, even though, elementary school teachers have known about the meaning and aims of the STEAM education in detail, they often took a neutral attitude toward the actual teaching method. In addition, they take a negative attitude toward having the gathering. Second, only a few elementary school teachers prepared and used the teaching materials related to the STEAM education in class and teach students the concept based on the STEAM education. Only a few elementary school teachers said that they used the developed modules. However, the demand, developing the modules, was extremely high. This result means that the easy and available modules should be developed to establish the STEAM education. Third, only a few elementary school teachers applied the subject, activity, and estimation related to the STEAM education in actual class. Forth, even though, after applying, there much be the positive affects, most elementary school teachers could not recognize the positive affects. At the same time, elementary school teachers suggested the curriculum should be reorganized for students to connect between the results of the STEAM education and the contents of the textbook, and the easy and available program should be developed and spread, also. The attitude of elementary school teachers toward the application of the STEAM education was normally negative. Therefore, it is needed to include more STEAM related contents in the science textbooks and to develop various STEAM education materials and circulate them as well as to establish adequate teaching and assessment methods for STEAM education.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.885-893
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• 2015

In this study, we compared the use of information and communications technology (ICT) by middle school teachers in Korea and other countries utilizing the teacher survey data of the IEA International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2013. The ICILS target population consisted of all students in the eighth grade. We compared Korea with Australia, the Czech Republic, Norway, and Poland, which are nations showing the highest achievements in computer and information literacy. We selected nine questions from the teacher questionnaire and divided them into the categories of computer use, use of ICT for teaching and learning, and the ICT support environment in school. In comparison to their counterparts in other countries, Korean middle school science teachers used computers frequently and also had high ICT self-efficacy. They were confident in their ability to use computers for general tasks, but not in their ability to use computers for teaching and learning. The Korean teachers also had a high percentage of utilization of presentation and graphics software. Also, the proportion of activities concerning the information provided and teacher-led tasks was high, but the proportion of activities for student collaboration or peer interaction was low. In Korea, middle school science teachers had more negative than positive views of using ICT in teaching and learning. The teachers thought that computer-related resource support and digital learning materials were insufficient and that the computer model was outdated in schools. Therefore, we propose to build an ICT infrastructure and to develop and disseminate ICT teaching and learning methods for student activities.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.289-299
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• 1997

This study has been undertaken in the light of constructivist view of teacher education. Participant observation, unstructured interview and questionnaire were used to explore the process and the role of practicum in science teacher education. The subjects were 19 student teachers majoring in physics education; 8 had participated at boys junior high school, 11 at senior high school. The student teachers had very critical and negative perception on their school days' science lessons. They had expected to do 'better' in their practicum but there were only 3 to 5 opportunities of teaching under the umbrella of textbook. Explanation in the classroom and solving exercise problem were the main features of student teachers' lessons. Much of the lessons were similar when it is to same topic and the main reference for their lesson preparation was the textbook. The student teachers felt the design of teaching approach as the most difficult thing during their lesson preparation. They realized that teaching is harder than they thought and they should consider students' level and responses. Though they had become to have more positive perception on teaching job through their field experiences, their decision on job preference did not change. More than half did not want to be a teacher. The student teachers recognised the courses related with science education as the most useful to their teaching in practice among the program of college of education which they had taken. The experience of writing one lesson plan or teaching in front of their peers, designing a new demonstration equipment were recognised as valuable and helpful element of the courses. They proposed to reduce the amount of general education courses and to emphasize the courses relevant with science education and practicum. The limited opportunity of teaching in practicum was pointed out as problematic. Though the practicum was recognized as a 'good' experience to student teachers, it was confined by textbook and limited teaching opportunity. In conclusion, the practicum was not organized and implemented as a meaningful experience of science teaching and learning. There should be more structured studies on what kind of perceptions and experiences the student teachers had brought to the science teacher education program, how they interact with the elements of the program and how they affect to their science teaching. The structure and content of practicum also should be studied and developed so as to make practicum as a meaningful experience of science teaching and learning.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.562-571
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• 2000

Practical research, as well as theoretical research, about performance assessment is important for the successful application of performance assessment in school. To do this, two school teachers with professional educators studied theoretical basics of performance assessment for several months. As a result, 4 categories of issues for designing performance assessment were generated and described by teachers. Based on those issues, 5 directions for development were established, and finally, 7 types of performance assessment were developed. Developed items were disseminated to other two middle school teachers for application in school. After application during several months, interviews with them were conducted to obtain the informations and implications about the practical application of performance assessment.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.165-172
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• 2009

Korean 7th national curriculum gave the right to elect the advanced subject such as physics II, chemistry II. Students could elect the subject by their aptitude and interest. But, actually, the choice was constrained by school circumstances such as the number of teacher and the number of class. high school students. We investigated the demand about school science and perception about scientifically specialized high school in which the students could have all advanced science subjects by the survey of 336 middle school students including 148 students in the science education center for the gifted, 220 high school students, and 70 science teachers in capital region. As results of this study, most of the high school opened chemistry and biology advanced subjects, but only 37.1% of them opend physics advanced subject. This constrained students' right of elect the subject by their interest. While most of middle school and high school students normally demanded the more experiment in the class and the easier science content, the students in the science education center for the gifted demanded more science class time. The students who wanted to have science career had very positive recognition of scientifically specialized high school and science teachers agreed to running the scientifically specialized high school.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.240-247
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• 2010

The purposes of this study were to analyze the contents of sulfuric acid in Science textbooks and Chemistry II textbooks, and to survey 10 pre-service teachers' perceptions who majored chemistry education related to sulfuric acid. As results, most of the Science textbooks represented that sulfuric acid was divided into two $H^+$ and one $SO_4{^{2-}}$. But this mistake might be corrected because sulfuric acid was divided into one $H^+$and one $HSO_4{^-}$. Most of Chemistry II textbooks represented ionization steps of sulfuric acid, but same mistake was represented in some of Chemistry II textbooks. $HSO_4{^-}$ is a weak acid, but some Chemistry II textbooks represented $HSO_4{^-}$ as a strong acid. As results of the survey related to pre-service teachers' perceptions, some pre-service teachers didn't know the situation of particles in sulfuric acid solution, and they were affected on by the learning of high school classrooms.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.76-86
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• 2021

Purpose: This study was conducted to describe the experience of school health teachers in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using content analysis. Ten school health teachers were recruited from 6 elementary schools, 2 middle schools and 2 high schools in Seoul, using purposive sampling. They participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews in person or using an online communication system from January to February, 2021. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Three main categories and nine generic categories emerged from the analysis. Firstly, it was discovered that school health teachers had psychological and physical stress to cope with COVID-19 due to the 1) fear of the unexpected infectious disease, 2) burden of having to deal with it alone, 3) breakdown of personal life and physical exhaustion and 4) heavy duty as a health teacher caused by the lack of an organic cooperation system with institutions related to school infectious diseases. Secondly, school health teachers had an increased sense of empowerment in regard to infectious disease management as a result of 1) feeling rewarded and appreciated and 2) gaining confidence and trust in infectious disease management. Finally, school health teachers experienced the urgent need for an effective response strategy for infection control because of the 1) confusion over infectious disease response due to lack of practical manuals applicable to the field as well as training, 2) disappointing response system without an expert response team dedicated to managing infectious diseases in schools, and 3) growing awareness of the need for change. Conclusion: It is expected that school health teachers' experience of COVID-19 will be used as important data for building effective and advanced school infectious disease response systems.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.567-578
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• 2022

In this study, we examine whether the description of the elementary science curriculum guide, the concept of evolution, and the beliefs of teachers affect the teaching practice in classes related to adaptation of elementary school teachers. First, we examined the alternative concept among the sentences described in the bio-adaptation-related unit of the 2009 Elementary Science Curriculum Teacher's Guide and identified the effects of this description on the teaching practice of elementary school teachers. Next, six elementary school teachers were classified according to the results of the evolutionary concept test paper and the evolutionary belief test paper, and based on the class recording data and interview data, whether there is a difference in teaching execution. As a result, it was confirmed that there were a total of 18 descriptions corresponding to the concept of evolutionary alternatives in the analysis of instruction descriptions, and that these descriptions influenced elementary school teachers' adaptation concepts and teaching practice. Next, the group with high and low levels of evolution differ in the areas of "recognition of importance in the unit, distinction between adaptation concepts in the general sense and adaptation concepts in the biological sense, errors in the class," and "recognition of evolutionary education needs in the elementary curriculum." This study is meaningful in that it qualitatively confirms the research on the evolution concept of elementary school teachers, which has been approached quantitatively, and in-depth, confirms how the description, evolution concepts, and evolutionary beliefs affect elementary school teachers' biological adaptation concepts.