• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.701-724
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• 2022

In this study, the Nature of Science (NOS) instrument for elementary school students in the form of open questionnaires was developed specifically to reveal elementary school students' perceptions of the NOS, and its validity and effectiveness were investigated. To develop a NOS instrument for elementary school students, problems that may occur when applying the existing NOS instruments to elementary school students were analyzed and based on this, the development direction of the NOS instrument was established. In addition, after selecting seven NOS types suitable for the level of elementary school students, the preliminary instrument was produced by modifying and supplementing the items in the existing instruments for each type or by developing new items. Finally, the NOS instrument consisting of eight questions was developed by adding one question asking for a comprehensive understanding of science to seven questions related to each type of NOS after a content validity test of the science education expert group. To verify the practical effect of the developed instrument, pre- and post-tests were conducted on 50 students in two classes of sixth grade at two elementary schools in Seoul: 'existing instrument → development instrument' in one class, and 'development instrument → existing instrument' in the other class. The collected data were then compared and evaluated through summary content analysis and analyzed by executing the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. As a result of comparing and analyzing students' responses to the existing NOS instrument and the developed NOS instrument, students' perspectives on the NOS were more diverse when using the developed instrument, and the level of error in the response caused by misinterpreting the intention of the question was reduced. In addition, when using the developed instrument, the responses of the majority of students at a statistically significant level changed more specifically. In this study, the implications for the development of NOS instruments suitable for elementary school students were discussed based on these results.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.93-99
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to develop a new test instrument based on AAAS Benchmarks for Science Literacy, to assess k-12 students' progress in understanding nature of science (NOS). A total of 276 items were developed including 33 items for grade k-2, 36 items for grade 3-5, 78 items for grade 6-8 and 129 items for grade 9-12 and they were reviewed for validity and reliability. Key ideas that were the foundation of test items were extended, sophisticated and enriched according to the grade level. The general score of this test represents a student's cognitive state about an understanding of NOS. The result of this test can be expected to give some useful information for follow-up investigations, improving instructional design, and conducting further studies.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.292-306
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to review the current state and characteristics of instruments used to assess individual understanding of the nature of science (NOS). This study conducted a series of content analyses of the articles published in a total of seven Korean and international journals from 1990 to 2009. A total of 99 research papers and assessment tools were categorized according to their features such as item type, the method of development, philosophical perspectives and others. So, evaluation domains of the instruments were also compared with the features of the NOS endorsed in some standards science education documents internationally well known, such as Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993), National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996). It was found that VNOS was the most frequently used instrument used for the last 20 years. There was a difference between characteristics of instruments used in Korean journals and these in international journal, such as philosophical perspectives, item type. Moreover, the results showed that there were only a few of instruments to ask about ethics of scientists, significance of science process skill and the context. NOS instruments focused only on limited aspects of NOS emphasized by the standard documents.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.391-405
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• 2011

The nature of science has been recognized in a great deal in the field of science education. However, only few innovative programs are offered for science-gifted students to improve their recognition of the nature of science. The current study describes and analyzes science-gifted students' understandings of the nature of science (NOS). In addition, the study looks into contradictory views among the aspects of NOS, which are fundamental data in constructing target programs on NOS for science gifted students. Data used in this study were collected from 73 middle school science-gifted students using an open-ended questionnaire, VNOS. The results of this study showed that the participants' understanding of NOS was significantly distributed on naive or transition view except for 'tentative NOS', and the results revealed inconsistent view among the aspects of NOS. This study proposes two suggestions to enhance the recognition of science-gifted on NOS of science to informed state and to have consistent perspectives with other areas. First, the role of experiment has to be changed-it should be the process in constructing scientific knowledge rather than an instrument to check scientific knowledge to transform perspective on experimental data and scientific knowledge. Second, various opportunities must be provided to science-gifted students, so they can experience the culture and community of scientists and science to gain a wider insight of science.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.57-77
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• 2014

A longitudinal study traced changes in students' understanding of Nature Of science (NOS) through the public secondary science education in Ontario Canada. Although the concepts of NOS are complicated, and students' understandings are not easy to change, not many longitudinal studies have been done across the world. The current study tried to identify the changes of participating students' understandings of NOS for two and half years of public secondary science education in Ontario Canada. Pretest was administered using Views of Nature of Science (VNOS-C) when six participants graduated from a middle school of Toronto. Two and half years of secondary education, the posttest was carried out using the same instrument. After pre and posttest, probing interviews were performed. The analysis of the data was founded on the Standards and the conceptual framework for this study. The findings were that the initial views have little changed. Most examples and explanations the participants provided were from their science classes. Lab activities for confirming the existing laws and theories and observable photos in science textbooks made students regard the knowledge as a truth. Naturally, their knowledge has been expanded for 2 and 1/2 years, but this expansion of scientific knowledge led students toward Universalist views on science. On the other hand, when science was presented with a historical approach or was networked with other concepts, students acknowledged science and scientific knowledge had been induced from inferences as well as observations and experimental results. Based on the findings the authors of this research suggest that educating the knowledge of science should be historical and networked approaches rather than teaching the knowledge as concise and true statements of the nature.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.428-445
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• 2012

The objective of this study is developing an instrument for investigating views of the respondents on nature of science(NOS) by using experienced scientific knowledge, atomic model. It consists of total six questions and 36 detail items, and each question is reflected the aspects of different NOS which are 'recognition on the model', 'tentativeness of scientific knowledge', 'subjectivity in science', 'use of inference and imagination', 'myths of the scientific method', and 'comparison between science and art'. Particularly, 'comparison between science and art' is addressed almost for the first time in this questionnaire. In the class environment almost not to teach nature of science linking with concrete scientific knowledge, to inquire how the students recognize nature of science, relating to experienced scientific knowledge through this questionnaire will give the data of scientific knowledge based recognition on the nature of science and an important implication for nature of science teaching with concrete scientific knowledge. Developing processes have gone through four steps. In first step, we chose aspects of NOS and developed questions and details. In second step, we tested the draft into fifteen science teachers and, reflecting their opinions, corrected the form and contents of questionnaires. In third step, we tested the questionnaire included writing section for expressing thoughts of the respondents into 55 students in science high school and checked index of coincidence between Likert and open-ended responses which shows 88.2% degree of consensus. Furthermore, to identify the feature of using concrete scientific knowledge we applied this and views on science and education questionnaires together into six university students. We performed final test to 68 university students and measured Cronbach's, and ultimately completed final questionnaire in last step.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.955-963
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• 2008

This study was conducted to assess any change in students' views on the nature of science (NOS) after lessons through the activities of model construction and pattern identification. The instrument used to examine NOS views was the Views of Nature of Science questionnaire (VNOS). Four students' responses on VNOS before and after instruction were analyzed. The two levels of their views, novice and expert, were judged by the authors based on criteria set by several science educators. The instruction consisted of six hours of the so-called black box and cube activities developed for model construction and pattern identification, respectively. Students' views were at the novice level in definition of scientific theory, tentativeness of scientific knowledge, difference of hypotheses, theories and laws, model construction, and creativity and imagination in experiments and investigations. Students' views on NOS knowledge such as model and theory have improved for two students after instruction. The improvement seemed to be due to an explicit approach using the activities of model construction and pattern identification. The factors of changes and no-changes of views on NOS were identified and discussed in terms of improvement of the views.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.315-320
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• 1984

The newly discovered minerals found during 30 years have been discovered with election microprobe analysis, and several other new minerals have been described largely on the basis of probe analysis. Widely used types of instrument are the wavelength dispersive spectrometer (WDS) and the energy dispersive Spectrometer (EDS), with emitted X-ray dispersed by a curved crystal that is arranged to satisfy the Bragg equation ($n{\lambda}=2dsin{\theta}$). Atomic Nos of Z 4 to 92 can be analyzed quantitatively if they present in amount exceeding 50~100ppm. The application of the microprobe in mineralogical and geological research is quantitative chemical analysis of grains as small as a few microns in diameter, individual grains in a rock or can be analyzed in thin section and polished section, analysis can be made comparatively short time, methods in non-destructure, to photographical and crystallographical information. This paper was written in order to document data evaluation procedure for quantitative energy dispersive election probe analysis.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.585-601
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• 1994

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of several intracoronal base materials to prevent cervical leakage of a bleaching agent into the dentinal tubules and along the root canal. In this study, thirty-two anterior teeth were used. After lingual access was prepared in each tooth, tooth was instrumented with a step-back technique to a Nos. 40-50 using K-type files. All teeth were obturated with a lateral condensation technique. Excess gutta percha was removed with a warm instrument to the facial level of the CEJ. Teeth were divided into four groups : Teeth in control group were not filled with base material. Teeth in groups 1, 2, and 3 had 2mm of gutta percha removed with a warm instrument, then Dycal, Fuki II LC and Z-100 were filled with palstic instruments on the top of the gutta percha respectively. All teeth were bleached for 7 days, fresh bleach was added for another 7 days, then a 10 % methylene blue dye was placed inside the access preparation. They were stored at $37^{\circ}C$ and $100^{\circ}C$ humidity for 5 days. Each tooth was sectioned perpendicular to the long axis using a diamond disk. Initial cuts were made at the most coronal level of facial and lingual CEJ's, then another cuts continued appically in the levels of 0.5mm, 1.5mm, and 2.0mm respectively. The amount of dye leakage through the dentinal tubules was determined at each cut section. In addition, when the cut specimen was determined to be last penetration of any dye, this level was recorded as depth of apical leakage from the coronal terminus of the gutta percha, Dycal, Fuji II LC and Z-100. The acquired data were analyzed by Tukey's Multiple Range Test adn Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel Test to see if there was any statistically significant difference in dye penetration and linear apical leakage among the groups. The results were as follows : 1. Control group at levels of CEJ and 0.5mm, group 3 at level of 1.5mm, and group 2 AND 3 at level of 2.0mm showed the least dye penetration through the facial or lingual dentinal tubules, but there were no significant difference among three groups. 2. Group 2 at levels of CEJ and 0.5mm, group 3 at level of 1.5mm, and group 2 and 3 at level of 2.0mm showed the least dye penetration through the proximal dentinal tubules, but there were no significant difference among control group, group 2, and group 3. 3. Group 1 showed the greatest dye penetration through the facial or lingual and proximal dentinal tubules at all levels, and there were significant difference with other three groups. 4. Control group and group 1 showed 2mm apical dye leakage at facial or lingual and proximal aspects, group 2 showed 1.5mm, and group 3 showed 0.5mm.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.105-109
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• 2010

The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2000/60/EC) was transposed into Irish law by Statutory Instrument Nos. 722 of 2003, 413 of 2005 and 218 of 2009, which set out a new strategy and process to protect and enhance Ireland's water resources and water-dependent ecosystems. The Directive requires a novel, holistic, integrated, and iterative process to address Ireland's natural waters based on a series of six-year planning cycles. Key success factors in implementing the Directive include an in-depth and balanced treatment of the ecological, economic, institutional and cultural aspects of river basin management planning. Introducing this visionary discipline for the management of sustainable water resources requires a solemn commitment to a new mindset and an overarching monitoring and management regime which hitherto has never been attempted in Ireland. The WFD must be implemented in conjunction with a myriad of complimentary directives and associated legislation, addressing such key related topics as flood/drought management, biodiversity protection, land use planning, and water/wastewater and diffuse pollution engineering and regulation. The critical steps identified for river basin management planning under the WFD include: 1) characterization and classification of water bodies (i.e., how healthy are Irish waters?), 2) definition of significant water pressures (e.g., agriculture, forestry, septic tanks), 3) enhancement of measures for designated protected areas, 4) establishment of objectives for all surface and ground waters, and 5) integrating these critical steps into a comprehensive and coherent river basin management plan and associated programme of measures. A parallel WFD implementation programme critically depends on an effective environmental management system (EMS) approach with a plan-do-check-act cycle applied to each of the evolving six-year plans. The proactive involvement of stakeholders and the general public is a key element of this EMS approach.