• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.204-217
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• 2008

This study analyzed the inquiry activities appearing in the astronomy sections of elementary, middle and highschool level science textbooks according to the five essential features of inquiry in the classroom as proposed by the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 2000), and SAPA (Science-A Process Approach). On the basis of this analysis, it is clear that the science textbook inquiry activities released the limitation to meet the goal of science education, namely scientific literacy, as it has been laid out by the 7th Science Educational Curriculum. This study revealed that the features of scientific inquiry which are most frequently used in the astronomy sections of science textbooks are 'data collection' and 'form explanation', whereas the features of 'oriented-question', 'evaluate explanations' and 'communicate and justify' rarely appeared. The analysis of inquiry activities by SAPA showed that the basic inquiry skills of 'observing', 'communicating' and 'manipulating materials' were used with increasing frequency according to grade level, and the integrated skills of 'investigating', 'creating models', 'interpreting data' and 'experimenting' were more emphasized in the textbooks. Therefore, it is suggested that students be provided with more opportunities to experience all the features of scientific inquiry and scientific processes as envisioned by the 7th Science Educational Curriculum in order to achieve the stated goal of scientific literacy. Science educators should be required to develop new lesson modules which will allow students to experience authentic scientific inquiry. It is crucial for science teachers to reflect upon and develop their understanding and teaching strategies regarding scientific inquiry through professional development programs in teacher education.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.161-177
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• 2009

This study aims to explore how teachers construct scientific explanation during instructional practices to help students' scientific inquiry. Before investigating teachers' classroom practices, elementary school science curriculum was examined to identify scientific concepts, particularly in earth science. Then, a total of six teachers' scientific explanation in actual teaching practices was analysed focusing on a) explanation of scientific concepts; b) rationale for scientific explanation; c) connection between scientific explanation and everyday explanation. The findings are as follows. First, the science curriculum provides $1{\sim}2$ main scientific concepts per unit, which are mostly appeared in the unit title. Those concepts and sub-concepts are not explicitly described but embedded in students' inquiry activities. Second, the teachers explain scientific concepts and discuss the rationale behind the scientific explanation, but rarely connect scientific explanation to everyday explanation. Also, the level of scientific explanations is low remaining level 1 or 2, not reaching 3, the highest level. Based on the results, the study suggests a) teachers need to provide explicit and clear explanations about scientific concepts; b) teachers are required to connect scientific explanation and everyday explanation; c) the level of teachers scientific explanation should be elevated by using an evidence, reasoning and claim, the components of scientific explanation as well as introducing new scientific concepts and inquiry activities.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.205-217
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• 2011

This study analyzed the reading materials presented in the existing 'Experiment Observation' targeting 31 elementary school students and conducted a preliminary investigation to examine the cause which makes the science reading materials of elementary school difficult to read. Also, on the basis of a preliminary investigation, this study developed the reading materials on science. After that, by examining the degree of understanding about existing reading materials on 'Experiment Observation' targeting 55 students of elementary schools and the newly developed reading materials targeting 44 students of elementary schools, the study proved its effect. As the result of the study, the causes for which students felt difficulty in reading were as follows: the scientific or non-scientific terms were explained by using more higher levels of Chinese characters compared to the levels of students; the scientific terms never treated in the classroom were used in the reading materials without any explanation; the overall structure of existing reading materials was distracted and listed the fragments of information, and the sentences were described complicatedly; the contents of a text and the photo materials were not connected functionally. In addition, the newly developed science reading materials were preferred by students because more various methods were devised, such as more systematic structure, arrangements of simpler sentence structure, additional explanation of scientific terms, divisions of paragraphs and postscript and their understanding was found to be improved.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.160-175
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• 2004

This study examined the knowledge and practices of scientific inquiry displayed by three student teachers and two beginning teachers at secondary levels. Observations using the instrument of OTOP designed by the research team of OCEPT (Oregon Collaborative for Excellent in the Preparation of Teachers) generalized similar teaching strategies of scientific inquiry between student and beginning teachers, such as using group work for students' first hand experience, using concrete materials for experimentation or visual tools for demonstration, using questions for factual knowledge mainly without opportunities to understand how scientific knowledge is constructed. Those scientific inquiry activities were very confirmative ones to follow the steps without opportunities of understanding nature of science or nature of scientific inquiry. However, all participants in this study hold knowledge of scientific inquiry envisioned by the National Science Education Standards [NSES] (NRC, 1996), where students identify their hypothesis, use critical and logical thinking, and consider alternative explanations through argumentation as well as experimentation. An inconsistent relationship between participating teachers knowledge and practices about scientific inquiry resulted from their lack of pedagogy skills of implementing it in the classroom. Providing opportunities for these teachers to reflect on their beliefs and practices about scientific inquiry was recommended for the future study. Furthermore, increasing college faculty interest in new teaching approaches for upgrading the content knowledge of student teachers and beginning teachers was recommended as a solution, since those teachers showed evidence of influence by college faculties at universities in their pedagogy skills.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.78-90
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• 2008

In most classrooms, teachers talk more than students. Teachers have been thought to be knowledge-donors and students have been thought to be knowledge-acceptors, so teacher-talks were thought to be more important than student-talks. But student-talks are very important to the students: not only to the students who speak out their opinions or answer to the questions given to them, but also to the others who say nothing in the class. Many students in Korea are not so fond of speaking out something to all the class, so some teachers are using a strategy: to say something as if he for she) is a student in the classroom. What teachers talk are not the words of the teacher-talks. They are only talked by the teachers, but they function like student-talks. To study this type of talks are needed to help both teachers and students but there are not much research about this. So in this paper we a) name it Pseudo Student Talk (PST), b) define it as 'a kind of talks that are not talked by students of the class but its functions are very similar to the student-talks', c) classify PST in 'EBS 2005 science class for 7th grade' according to types of student talks (categorized by Lemke, 1990), and d) show the usage of each kind of PST.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.53-62
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• 2004

For teachers to develop new beliefs regarding science teaching and learning, they must undergo a process similar to what they are trying to provide their students. Seventy-one Korean secondary school teachers including 20 earth science teachers have participated in such process. In the four-week long summer workshop hosted by University of Iowa, science teachers were exposed to several activities and lectures wherein they experienced student-centered lessons by playing the roles of both teachers and learners. This study examined the influence of such experience on the teachers’ beliefs about science teaching and learning. Changes in teachers’ beliefs were found in seven question items on the subjects of goals of science learning, the roles of science teachers and students, and classroom practices after workshop participation; it was found that teachers’ beliefs of science learning and teaching shifted from teacher-centered to student-centered. Although this shift does not denote a complete shift from one extreme to the other, it is meaningful to note that teachers’ beliefs after attending the workshop were interpreted to be either anti- or contrary to teacher-centered. One of the possible factors for making such positive changes may have been teamwork or the teachers’ cooperative learning experience.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.12-24
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• 2015

This study aimed to investigate how middle school teachers perceived major features of the 'Free Learning Semester'. In 2013, the Free Learning Semester has been proposed by Korean government to provide students with the educational programs which deals with various activities in classroom in order to increase student's learning ability. The Free Learning Semester helps students to figure out their dreams and develops their talents. The government plans to expand the Free Learning Semester to all middle schools by 2016. Since teacher's perception is an important matter in the application of the Free Learning Semester, this study seeks to document the changes in curriculum by observing the perception of teachers in the school that implemented the Free Learning Semesters and those that did not implemented the Free Learning Semesters. 172 teachers from nine middle schools in Busan that their school schedules allowed were surveyed. Two school which operated the Free Learning Semester were compared to seven schools which did not operate the Free Learning Semester. The results are summarized as follows: First, almost all (97.7%) teachers in the Free Learning Semester schools have completed a training whereas 74.6% of the teachers in the non-Free Learning Semester schools have not. The usefulness of the training was satisfactory, but the teachers in the Free Learning Semester Schools wanted more practical help with the curriculum. Second, the result, which was statistically significant(p<.05), revealed that the first grade second semester of middle school was the best time to implement the Free Learning Semester. In order for its successful establishment in schools, there needs to be a reliable and effective evaluation system. However, the results regarding the introduction and management of the new system were not statistically significant. Lastly, in the Free Learning Semester Schools, the changes in teachers' perception were statistically significant (p<.05). The results show that the teachers need the training and the teacher's community to implement the curriculum and set a basis for valuation.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.798-812
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to investigate beginning teachers' views of scientific inquiry envisioned in science education reform, which is the main goal of science education at schools. Teachers' views about scientific inquiry influence their students' learning in the classroom, so it is significant to investigate teachers' views about the scientific inquiry. 126 beginning science teachers participated in this study. The survey asking teachers' view of general scientific inquiry, nature of science (NOS) and the relationship of science, technology, and society (STS), was developed and implemented for 30 minutes. Alternative views of scientific inquiry including NOS and STS were emerged through data analysis with open coding system. The reliability and validity of data collection and data analysis were constructed through the discussion with experts in science education. The results of this study were as follows. Participants defined scientific inquiry as opportunities of 'Hands-On' and 'Minds-On' or its combination rather than 'Hearts-On'. However, teachers demonstrated the view of 'Hands-On' for the purpose of scientific inquiry and for teachers' roles in its implementation. The view of 'Hearts-On' about scientific inquiry was not identified. The naive view of NOS were identified more than informative one. More positive attitude about the relationship of STS was released. The implication was made in teacher education, especially structured induction program for beginning teachers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.39-53
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate the way applying a school garden for the creative experience activity on the school learning program. For this study, the 27s elementary students who were the 5th and 6th grades participated in this program. And the 10units lessons programs what were consisted with the inquiry, debating, and cooperating activities were developed, and applying to classroom and school garden. The key concepts of developing program were 'rocks which were in the school garden'. he results are follows, for the creative experience activity on the school teaching/learning program, the school garden has useful value as teaching/learning field. The teaching/learning activity applying the school garden makes an offer the awareness to students that the knowledges learned in school were actually relative with their life. Also, the students are affirmatively participate to learning, debate, and cooperate activities because the school garden is very familiar environment to them. Lastly, the students are interesting in learning classes because they think that the school garden environments will reform actually to new shape of their ideas. After this learning were finishing, most of students indicated their intention with satisfaction. Some of them suggested applying the additional program using the school garden. Consequently, the school garden has the very useful value for applying program of the teaching/learning in elementary school education.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2017

This study presents an out-of-school problem-solving lesson we designed for American Indian students using a culturally relevant STEM topic. The lesson was titled "Shelter Design for Severe Weather Conditions." This shelter design lesson was developed based on an engineering design allowing us to integrate STEM topics within a traditional indigenous house-building context. This problem context was used to encourage students to apply their prior knowledge, experience, and community/cultural practice to solve problems. We implemented the lesson at a summer program on an American Indian reservation. Using the lesson, this study explores how American Indian students use cultural knowledge and experience to solve a STEM problem. We collected student data through pre- and post-STEM content knowledge tests, drawings and explanations of shelter models on the students' group worksheets, and classroom observations. We used interpretive and inductive methods to analyze the data. This study demonstrates that our culturally relevant, STEM problem-solving lesson helped the American Indian students solve a complex, real-world problem. This study examines how students' prior experiences and cultural knowledge affect their problem-solving strategies. Our findings have implications for further research on designing problem-solving lessons with culturally relevant STEM topics for students from historically marginalized populations.