• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.66 no.6
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• pp.493-508
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• 2022

Chemistry is the subject which includes properties, change, and composition of matter. Chemistry has the system which explains observable properties and change with microscopic level, it explains them using scientific theory and laws. In the national-level curriculum, the properties and changes of matter are continuously dealt with from elementary school to high school, and the curriculum are organized so that students could strengthen their understanding about matter. In other words, understanding of the properties and changes of matter is the base to explain everyday life with the view of chemistry, and these two are classified as domains of chemistry in the 2015 revised science curriculum. In this study, we confirmed students' understanding about properties of matter and change of matter, through the analysis about results of the National Assessment of Educational Achievement (NAEA). For that purpose, this study analyzed the 12 items about properties of matter, and 19 items about change of matter, which were used in the NAEA from 2015 to 2019. According to the results of classifying and analyzing questions according to the core concept, the understanding about the two domains significantly changed between the proficient achievement-level students and basic achievement-level students. Depending on the achievement-level, there was a difference in explaining the phenomenon by using the perspective of particles, and by associating scientific concepts and models, or there was a difference in understanding the inquiry related to these two domains. Based on this analysis, this study discussed some implications to be improved on teaching-learning for 'properties of matter', and 'change of matter'.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.194-209
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• 2023

This study aims to present implications for the appropriate establishment and development of a science-authorized textbook system through an understanding of the process of selecting science-authorized textbooks and analyzing the perception of teachers. Toward this end, this study conducted interviews with five elementary school teachers who participated in the science textbook selection process, surveys on 32 teachers, and analysis on the authors of the textbooks. The result demonstrated, first, that the "opinion gathering" stage was the most important one, and a council was formed in consideration of career and major. Moreover, the evaluation standard was reorganized and used according to the situation of the school. Second, in the process of opinion gathering, the teachers used a method for reviewing the entire textbook for each teacher. Inquiry activities and textbook composition (readability) were crucially considered as internal factors, and teaching and learning materials, such as videos, were deemed extremely important as external factors. The variable of the author, which is an indicator of the reliability and expertise of textbooks, was also recognized as vital. Third, the deliberation by the School Committee and the report by the principal were recognized as the administrative final step after selection. Finally, selecting the most suitable textbooks for each grade group was recognized as more important than arbitrarily unifying textbooks for the third and fourth grades and for the fifth and sixth grades.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.246-260
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• 2022

This study was conducted to analyze the creativity education contents of dance activities in physical education textbooks for the 3rd and 4th grades of elementary school. For this purpose, 16 types of textbooks and auxiliary data for physical education in the 3rd and 4th grades of elementary school were collected and analyzed using the creative education content analysis frame of the physical education textbook based on the 4P model. In order to secure the integrity of the research, expert consultation was operated. The results of this study are as follows. First, from the viewpoint of creative person, 'inquiry' was the most common in creative mind, and the rest of the elements appeared relatively evenly. As for the subject of activity, 'individual' and 'colleague (team)' showed similar frequencies. Second, from the viewpoint of the creative process, all activity areas appeared as 'learning', and most of the elements of the activity purpose appeared evenly, and the creative process was explored. Third, from the viewpoint of creative output, physical activity performance was the most common activity method, and two or three activity methods were used together. In the creativity factor, all factors appeared evenly, and sensitivity and sophistication were the most common with 4 factors. Fourth, from the viewpoint of the creative environment, most of the activity spaces were no restrictions, and the activity media consisted of many educational contents using the body. Through this study, it was requested that creativity education in dance activities should be expanded quantitatively and intensified in quality, and the necessity of spreading creativity education contents of dance activities to other areas was explored.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.583-594
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• 2023

This study aimed to develop an e-PBL program for high school students using COVID-19 related data and to investigate the impact of the developed program on students' science core competencies. For this, the e-PBL program was developed in consideration of the characteristics of learners and e-PBL, and a science core competency analysis framework. The program was applied to 26 general high school life science club students. Test for science department core competency was conducted before and after class by questionnaires and their conversation data during class was collected and analyzed by the framework. As a result of the study, the developed program was effective in improving five science core competencies. In the results of the analysis of the science core competency questionnaire, there were significant effects on scientific thinking ability, scientific inquiry ability and scientific problem solving ability. Unlike in the results of the questionnaires, the five sciences department core competencies appeared evenly in student discourse analysis. Among them, scientific communication ability and scientific participation and lifelong learning ability did not show significant results in the questionnaire, but in the discourse analysis results. Both abilities were the most evenly displayed competencies through the program stages. Through the study, we expect that the program is possibles to be useful instructional material to make high school students increase science core competencies.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.591-604
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• 2023

This study investigated the impact of elementary science classes using metaverse on the academic achievement, positive experience in science, and digital literacy of elementary school students. In addition, we examined their perceptions. The respondents were derived from two classes in the sixth grade at an elementary school in Gyeonggi-do, who were selected designated as the experimental (n=29 students) and comparative (n=29) groups, respectively. Across five lessons under the "Plant Structure and Function" unit, the experimental group conducted science classes using the metaverse, whereas the comparative group conducted general textbook-based classes. To investigate instructional effects, the study performed ANCOVA using the pre-test score as a covariate, a survey on the perception of students about science classes using metaverse, and conducted interviews with a number of subjects. The result demonstrated that science classes using metaverse exerted no significant effect on scientific academic achievement and digital literacy. However, the study observed a statistically significant effect on science learning emotion which is a sub-element of positive experiences in science. The students were positively aware of science classes using metaverse in terms of interesting and diverse activities, and free expression of inquiry results and perceived the instability of smart devices and network connections as regrettable. Finally, the study posed the implications of the use of metaverse in science classes.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.136-147
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• 2024

It has recently be emphasized in science education that lessons that can develop "scientific participation and action" should be implemented to scientifically recognize various problems and respond to them as well as risks that occur in real life. This study aims to analyze the characteristics of scientific participation and action lessons as perceived by the preservice primary school teachers. To do that, the researchers collected and analyzed the lesson plans designed by the preservice teachers based on the achievement standard related to noise for grades 3-4 in 2022 revised science curriculum. Focusing on the stages of "problem recognition," "data collection and analysis," and "implementation and sharing," the results identity the four main characteristics as problem-solving activity, inquiry activity, investigative activity, and activity that encourages practical actions. The two or three features were found to be combinated in a lesson depending on its context. In some cases, only one feature was seen in a lesson. Based on the results, educational implications were discussed in terms of the teaching and learning methods and teacher education for implementing scientific participation and action.

• Journal of the International Relations & Interdisciplinary Education
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.85-111
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• 2024

Since the release of the 2000 PISA results, Finland's education has consistently been regarded as a competitor or benchmark for South Korea's educational system. However, recent indicators of division, opposition, and discontent within our educational sphere suggest a considerable departure from Finland's ethos of happiness in education. Against this backdrop, this study aims to analyze the trends in Finnish education-related research appearing in Korean academic journals. Utilizing network text analysis, we examined 160 papers indexed in RISS with titles containing "Finland" and "education". Key findings are as follows. Firstly, research on Finnish education has been steadily increasing, albeit showing recent signs of decline. Secondly, the majority of research topics were micro-level, with literature review-based methodologies predominating. Thirdly, a minority of researchers accounted for one-third of the total research output. Fourthly, countries compared with Finland predominantly included neoliberal states such as Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore. Fifthly, research themes and subjects primarily focused on primary and secondary education, particularly in domains such as mathematics and science, influenced by PISA. Future research on Finnish education should transcend localized and fragmented areas of inquiry, undertaking comprehensive investigations into the processes and history of Finland's happiness-oriented education. Such endeavors are essential for deriving insights crucial for our learning. Particularly, consideration should be given to moving beyond literature-based methodologies, fostering international collaborative discussions facilitated online, and linking the Finnish education community with educators, parents, students, local councils, and governmental stakeholders to collectively discuss and research.

• Journal of the International Relations & Interdisciplinary Education
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.57-83
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• 2024

This study aimed to investigate the impact of scores on the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) among foreign exchange students on academic adaptation. Recruited students, approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), totaled seven, and their interview contents were analyzed using a comprehensive analysis procedure based on pragmatic eclecticism (Lee, Kim, 2014), utilizing six stages. As a result, factors influencing academic adaptation of Korean language learners for academic purposes were categorized into three dimensions: academic, daily life, and psychological-emotional aspects. On the academic front, interviewees pointed out difficulties in adapting to specialized terminology and studying in their majors, as well as experiencing significant challenges with Chinese characters and Sino-Korean words. Next, from a daily life perspective, even participants holding advanced TOPIK scores faced difficulties in adapting to university life, emphasizing the necessity of practical expressions and extensive vocabulary for proper adjustment to Korean life. Lastly, within the psychological-emotional dimension, despite being advanced TOPIK holders, they were found to experience considerable stress in conversations or presentations with Koreans. Their lack of knowledge in social-cultural and everyday life culture also led to linguistic errors and contributed to psychological-emotional difficulties, despite proficiency in Korean. Based on these narratives, the conclusion was reached that in order to promote the academic adaptation of Korean language learners, it is essential to provide opportunities for Korean language learning. With this goal in mind, efforts should be directed towards enhancing learners' academic proficiency in their majors, improving Korean language fluency, and fostering interpersonal relationships within the academic community. Furthermore, the researchers suggested as a solution to implement various extracurricular activities tailored for foreign learners.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.432-446
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• 2007

The purpose of the study is to explore the science teaching orientations of secondary science teachers, and how they influence the planning and execution of reform-based lessons. Professional development workshop for constructivist teaching consisted of three different phases; five lectures, small group discussion, and preparing lesson plans. Four teachers who participated also executed their lesson plans in their own classroom. All workshops were videotape recorded. Classroom observations and interviews were conducted and recorded. Instructional materials were also collected for each science class. All data recorded were transcribed and analyzed. Based on the data collected from multiple sources, we identified each teacher's teaching orientations, and through this lens, we also tried to understand their classroom practices. We expected teacher-participants to implement constructivist science teaching. However, the differences among teachers in the course of actual planning and implementing activities for constructivist science was wider than we expected and even some teachers were unsuccessful. Teaching orientations can act as a filter for teachers when they decide whether to accept and apply new knowledge about teaching and learning to actual lessons or not. Even if a teacher plans a guided-inquiry lesson, her/his didactic teaching orientation could be revealed in actual classroom, and lead her/his class to other direction which is quite different from her/his original intention. Although the teachers participated in the same workshops in our study, they planned and executed differently and their own teaching orientations contribute substantially to their practice. Understanding the role of science teaching orientations could be an important step in addressing issues of diverse difficulties in supporting reform efforts in science.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.525-537
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate science integrated process skill of the students in science education center for the gifted. In order to do this, 'free-response test for the assessment of science process skills' developed by Yu-Hyang Kim(2013) was administered to 102 students(15 in elementary school science class, 58 in middle school science class I, and 29 in middle school science class II) who attend the program of science education center for the gifted in C university. The assessment tool measured 9 skills ; formulating inquiry questions, recognizing variables, formulating hypotheses, designing experiment, transforming data, interpreting data, drawing conclusions, formulating generalizations, and evaluating the designed experiments. As a result, the students in science education center for the gifted had relatively high scores in the area of 'formulating hypotheses' and 'recognizing variables', but they had relatively low scores in the area of 'transforming data', 'interpreting data', and 'evaluating the designed experiments'. The 2 items' percentage of correct answers were below 40% ; one is about a drawing a line graph in 'transforming data', and the other requires finding improvements of the experimental design in 'evaluation'. There was no significant difference between boys' scores and girls's one, and between the scores of students in the field of biology and those of students in the other fields(physics, chemistry, and earth science) in science integrated process skills. And there was significant difference according to the periods receiving the gifted education in 'formulating generalizations'. The teaching and learning has to focus on improving science integrated process skills in the program of science education center for the gifted and teaching and learning materials needs to be developed.