• Title/Summary/Keyword: Informal science education

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A Case Study of the Characteristics of Primary Students' Development of Interest in Science (초등학생들의 과학 흥미 수준의 변화와 발달 특성에 관한 사례연구)

  • Choi, Yoon-Sung;Kim, Chan-Jong;Choe, Seung-Urn
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.39 no.6
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    • pp.600-616
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    • 2018
  • The purpose of this study was to explore how primary school students develop their interest in science. A survey questionnaire was used to investigate students' interest, change of their interest, and engagement in science related activities three times a year. 201 students of two primary schools in Seoul Metropolitan City initially participated in this study. A follow-up case study was conducted with students who showed an increased interest in science. Finally, seven students were chosen in the case study. They were asked to keep a photo journal for 12 weeks, and were interviewed in every other week by one of the researchers. Among these seven participants, two (TK and QQ) were chosen for analyzing their data in this case study because they showed positive changes in developing science interest throughout the study. The results of two participants' survey, photo-journal and interview were analyzed qualitatively. First, TK, whose science interest developed from situational interest II to individual interest I, engaged in doing experiments at home, doing mathematics activities, raising pets or plants, observing phenomena, and visiting informal educational centers. He tended to participate in hands-on activities by himself in out-of-school settings. Second, QQ who developed from situational interest I to situational interest II, engaged in taking pictures as a representative activity at home and school. He tended to participate in activities with either his father or one of the researchers. Both students showed personal characteristics such as doing place-based activities, interaction with others and activity subjectivity. The goal of TK's interactions with others on the various places was to develop in cognitive domain. On the contrary, QQ's goal of interactions with others was to develop in emotional communication. This study reported the cases of characteristics of students who developed their interests in science including activities in- and out-of-school settings and their accompanying people.

Exploring Korean 4th Graders' Career Aspirations in Science with a Focus on Science Identity (과학 관련 진로에 대한 포부가 낮은 초등 4학년 학생들의 과학 정체성 탐색)

  • Kang, Eunhee;Kim, Chan-Jong;Choe, Seung-Urn;Noh, Taehee;Yoo, Junehee;Shim, Soo-Yean;Kim, Heui-Baik
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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    • v.34 no.7
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    • pp.613-624
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    • 2014
  • The aim of this study is to explore why Korean 4th graders' interest in science was not connected to career aspirations in science using the perspective of science identity. Forty-five students with a high interest in science but with low science-related aspirations have been chosen from 488 elementary school students who have completed a questionnaire exploring students' interest and career aspirations in science. Among them, 19 who have received parental permission participated in in-depth interviews examining students' science identities (interest, competence, and recognition by others in science) and their experiences and perceptions of science-related activities. The results showed that most students have limited or situational interest in science, a gap between the perception of their competence in science and their competence for a science-related career, and negative recognition by others in science. Also, participants' science identities and low aspirations for a science-related career constrained their attention and participation in science-related activities. Students' negative science identities and low aspirations for science-related careers were based on the high standards of science-related careers. It seems that these erroneous perceptions and expectations led them to differentiate themselves from students pursuing science-related careers, as well as to perceive that their interest, competence, and recognition by others in science were not enough to pursue a science-related career. This study has implications for understanding the current condition of young students with low aspirations for science careers and exploring desirable objectives and strategies to promote activities to raise their aspirations for science-related careers.

Scientifically Talented Students' Image of Science Museums and Their Preferred Topics for Exhibits - Focused on Students in Gwangju City - (과학 우수아의 과학관에 대한 이미지와 기대 전시 내용 - 광주지역 학생을 중심으로 -)

  • Kim, Jinkuk;Park, Jongwon
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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    • v.33 no.7
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    • pp.1431-1449
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    • 2013
  • This study is based on the assertion that science museums should consider visitors' views and expectations as they are not satisfied in many cases. In this study, we investigated 31 scientifically gifted students and 177 science high school students about their image of science museums. Using the questionnaire, it was found that only 51% of students visited science museums; however, the average number of visits was 4.2. This means that students tended to re-visit after the first visit of the science museum. Students had a 'good' image of science museums when they incurred hands-on experiences and observed new, interesting, curious and funny exhibits. And students had a 'bad' image of science museums due to the following aspects: lack of new and interesting exhibits, information and guide, diverse contents, and hands-on experience; deficiencies in environment; and inadequacy of the management, operation and composition of exhibits. Therefore, they hoped that science museums will provide more hands-on experiences and experiments, new and interesting exhibits, systematic management and composition of exhibits, information and guides, and a good environment. So science museums need to pay special attention to aspects like management, information guides and environment for the first-time visitors. Based on the above results, we suggested "Directions for a good science museum based on students' views". While asking students what topics they wanted to know and learn in a science museum, each student was given the choice of four topics; eventually, 2.9 answers overlapped for each topic. When classifying students' topics into four main themes for the Gwangju National Science Museum, the order from the most popular theme to the least one was 'science in everyday life', 'ocean/space/future science', 'light and science', and 'culture, art and science'. Among the topics mentioned by students, only 37% are exhibited in Seoul, Gwacheon, Daejeon, or Gwangju science museums. We hope that the results and research methods will be used for evaluation, re-construction, and reinvigorated presentation of science museums.

Analysis of Scaffolding Phase in the Discourse during Docent-led Tours in a Science Museum (과학 박물관 도슨트의 관람 안내 담화 내에 나타난 스캐폴딩 양상 분석)

  • Choi, Moon-Young;Kim, Chan-Jong;Park, Eun Ji;Jung, Won-Young
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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    • v.34 no.5
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    • pp.499-510
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    • 2014
  • The purpose of this research is to understand interactive learning during docent-led tours in a science museum focusing on scaffolding. We developed a scaffolding framework by collating the work of other researchers in related fields. The results show that scaffolding included three dimensions: purpose, interaction, and domain. The purpose dimension, divided into six categories, is related to the intention of the scaffolder and what the scaffolding are for: strategic, social, procedural, conceptual, verbal, and metacognitive. The interaction dimension reflects students' interaction with the scaffolder in two ways: dynamic (situation specific) and static (planned in advance). The domain dimension is related to two contents: domain-general and domain-specific (such as science). The scaffolding framework was applied to dynamic interactions between docents and visitors. The data was collected from elementary school students' family visits with the guidance of two docents at the Seodaemun Museum of Natural History. The data collected consisted of surveys, interviews, video-recordings, and transcripts. The analysis shows that five guiding contexts and scaffolding phases were recognized; 1) strategic scaffolding in a poorly illustrated exhibit; 2) conceptual scaffolding in a thoroughly explanative exhibit; 3) verbal scaffolding in misleading interpretation; 4) procedural scaffolding in a manipulative exhibit; and 5) metacognitive scaffolding with inaccurate content. In addition, the results show that the docents used the dynamic and static scaffolding synthetically so that the docent-led tour was effective. In conclusion, this study presents the usefulness of understanding visitors' science learning through the scaffolding framework, as well as the how docents can scaffold actively.

The Occupational Socialization of the Security Guards in the Casinos - Case of Security Science Majors - (카지노 시큐리티 종사자의 직업사회화 과정 - 경호학 전공자들을 대상으로 -)

  • Chun, Yong-Tae
    • The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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    • v.10 no.3
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    • pp.337-346
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    • 2010
  • The purpose of this study is to explore how security science graduates in casinos are socialized into the workplace. Participants for this study were seven security guards who work for two of three casinos for foreign customers in the city of Seoul. All the participants majored in the security science in colleges. They had 1 to 5 years of work experience. Their main job responsibilities were deterrent to crimes and watch for impending danger in the casinos. A variety of qualitative data collection techniques for this study included formal and informal interviews, stimulated-recall interview, observations, and field notes. Analytic induction and constant comparison were utilized to analyze data. Triangulating and member checks were employed to enhance trustworthiness. The findings of this study were as follow: Firstly, In acculturation, sports experience and media attraction were revealed as factors. Secondly, In professional socialization, college education and senior students in the program were found. Lastly, organizational socialization, Difficulty of relationship, lack of risk management training, lack of team cohesion, pride himself as a security guard, and unclear evaluation system. In conclusion, a variety of influential factors appeared through his occupational socialization even though there were negative and positive factors.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Students' Conceptions on Evolution and Characteristics of Concept Formation about It in Terms of the Subjects: Human, Animals and Plants (설명대상에 따른 학생들의 진화 개념과 진화 개념 형성의 특성에 관한 횡단 연구)

  • Ha, Min-Su;Lee, Jun-Ki;Cha, Hee-Young
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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    • v.26 no.7
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    • pp.813-825
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    • 2006
  • The purpose of this study was to identify students' conceptions and their conceptualization traits in terms of the explanation of subjects: human, animals, and plants. A questionnaire was specially developed to make sure students' conceptions of evolution, students' explanation patterns with the five evolutionary explanations: creationism, internal will explanation, theological explanations, use and disuse explanation and natural selection after mutation and perceived ideas of evolution in terms of the genetic characters of human, animals and plants. 1,540 elementary, middle and high school students participated in responding to the questions. The data was collected and analyzed cross-sectionally by age. Results showed that students' evolutionary explanations were different among each subject: human, animals and plants. Students had concentrated with more 'theological explanations' than 'internal will explanation' and 'use and disuse explanation' about plant evolution. 'Natural selection after mutation explanation' was less represented in explaining human characters. This result showed that the anthropocentric thoughts had influenced students' evolution conceptions. Accordingly, as student's age, 'theological explanation' and 'internal will explanation' became least used in explaining the theory of creation. 'Use and disuse explanation' attained more representation in their explanation. In addition, the diversity of students' evolutionary explanations was getting less attention as age increases. Among youngers, 'theological explanation', 'internal will explanation' and 'use and disuse explanation' showed an even number of responses. The elders responded with more 'use and disuse explanation'. This result let us infer that 'use and disuse explanation' was strongly adhered to by student cognitive structures. Many students recognized that evolution was a kind of scientific hypothesis with little evidence. They have had a little interest in evolution and conceptualized it through informal educational sources. This study mentions that to teach evolution more effectively, teachers should make 'use and disuse explanation' adhere strongly to students' cognitive structure.

A Study on Functions and Present Situation of Subject Specialists for Information Services in Korean College and University Libraries (한국의 대학도서관 정보서비스에 있어서 주제전문사서의 현황과 기능에 관한 조사연구)

  • Han, Sang-Wan
    • Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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    • v.3 no.2
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    • pp.42-74
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    • 1986
  • The objective of the study is to search for a theoretical and practical solution for the question "what is the most effective and Qualitative method of information service for the college and university libraries in Korea." Assuming the maximum service, or total service theory in information services, it needs the subject specialist who has highly qualified in his subject. This research adapted the survey method by questionnaire to the reference/information librarian who worked in college and university libraries, 159 librarians returned the questionnaires. By the analysis of this questionnaires, the following major results were found: 1. There were only 7.6% who could be called as subject specialist in Korean college and university libraries. 2. The subject specialist system is necessary to enhance the Information services in college and university libraries. 3. The major functions of subject specialists are information services In given subject fields; to prepare the bibliographies, guides, reading lists, indexes and abstracts; distribution of information and current awareness services; well balanced collection developments; liaison function between academic departments, students and faculty members; formal and informal lecture on the use of the library and the resources; and the cataloging and classification. 4. The best library and information education system is the graduate level study which is offering the M.L.S. or M.S. of library and information science with the emphasis on the study of subject background. 5. They will establish the faculty status for academic librarian by the development of subject specialist system in college and university libraries in Korea.

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