• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.273-290
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• 2017

The purposes of this study are to develop a measuring instrument for perception of science classes based on the view of 'Community of Inquiry in Science Classroom' and to investigate elementary school students' perceptions with the instrument developed in the study. A total of 417 6th grade students participated in this study. As a result, first, we developed two set of questionnaire: (a) the questionnaire for the 'process of inquiry' consisted of six factors: 'problem recognition I: recognition of inconsistency,' 'problem recognition II: interests,' 'problem explanation I: hypothesis generation and examination,' 'problem explanation II: cooperative review,' 'problem solving I: reflection on the change of relationship with objects/conceptions,' and 'problem solving II: reflection on the change of relationship with community/ inquirer,' comprising a total of 42 items; (b) the questionnaire for the 'basis of inquiry' consisted of three factors:'will of conducting inquiry,' 'attitudes of conducting inquiry,' and 'structure of communication,' comprising a total of 17 items. Second, we found that elementary school students had positive recognition generally on their science classes in terms of the 'community of inquiry in science classroom,' but they had relatively negative recognition on the factors of problem recognition based on recognition of inconsistency, problem solving accompanied with reflection on the change of relationship with objects/conceptions, and attitudes of conducting inquiry based on severity and fallibilism, Finally, several suggestions for the science education were given.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.359-370
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to explore the changes caused by using smart technology in school science inquiry. For this, we investigated 12 elementary school teachers' perceptions by using an open-ended questionnaire, group discussions, classroom discussions, and participant interviews. The results of this study indicate that the introduction of technology into classroom inquiry can open up the various possibilities and can cause additional burdens as well. First, teachers explained that smart technology can expand the opportunities to observe natural phenomena such as constellations and changing phases of the moon. However, some teachers insisted that, sometimes, learning how to use new devices disrupts students' concentration on the inquiry process itself. Second, teachers introduced the way of digital measurement using smart phone sensors in inquiry activities. They said that digital measurement is useful in terms of the reduction of errors and of the simplicity to measure. However, other teachers insisted that using new devices in classroom inquiry can entail additional variables and confuse the students' focus of inquiry. Communication about inquiry process can also be improved by using digital media. However, some teachers emphasized that they always talked about both the purpose of using SNS and online etiquettes with their students before using SNS. Based on these results, we discussed the necessity of additional analysis on the various ways of using digital devices depending on teachers' perceptions, the types of digital competency required in science inquiry using smart technology, and the features of norms shaped in inquiry activities using smart technology.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.117-130
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• 2007

This study investigated the university proffssors', pre-service teachers' and in-service teachers' perceptions of the specialized science education courses in the 11 national universities of education in Korea, analyzed their perception differences, and made suggestions the future directions for the specialized courses. For this study, 46 university professors, 402 in-service teachers, and 336 pre-service teachers were participated nationwide. The results show that there were significant differences in their perceptions between the three groups. For university professors, for example, the acquisition of science content knowledge appeared to be the most important objective of the courses, whereas the other groups preferred the acquisition of more practical knowledge and skills that they could easily use and apply in their classroom teaching later. The university professors tended to think that the science specialized courses would be very useful to the teachers' teaching and contribute to developing their professionality. On the contrary, the in-service and pre-service teachers tended to think that the courses would be not so useful because science theories construct the courses rather than practical knowledge. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the future science teacher education.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.61-78
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions and perspectives on meanings and use of manipulatives in mathematics lessons. For the investigation, the researcher reviewed related literature and analyzed the perceptions of preservice teachers on the meanings and use of manipulatives in mathematics lessons. The participants were 75 preservice elementary school teachers who took a teaching practice course at the 1st or the 2nd semester in 2015. These preservice teachers observed mathematics lessons for two weeks during the student teaching periods. They were requested to observed the use of manipulatives in mathematics lessons and wrote about their ideas on the meanings and use of manipulatives. Result of the research was that the perceptions on the meanings and use of manipulatives from the preservice teachers' perspectives are as follows. Manipulatives in mathematics lessons were self-made or pre-made manufactures. The using time of manipulatives during lessons varies, and the teachers provide the manipulatives with contexts. Providing in-depth observation during a teaching practice course is allowed opportunities for preservice teachers to reflect their mathematics teaching and learning methods in the classroom.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.201-208
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• 1998

Although cooperative learning strategies in many subject areas have been found to be effective, the effect of cooperative learning on academic achievement in science laboratory setting is not clear. Reported results on the effects of the strategies for higher achieving students are not also consistent. In this study, the cooperative learning strategies emphasizing student-centered learning which included higher order thinking activities were used in a elementary school science course. The cooperative and traditional learning groups were selected from fifth-grade classes, and taught about dissolution and solution for 16 class periods. The effects of the cooperative learning strategies upon students' academic achievement, science process skill, the attitude toward science instruction, and the perceptions of classroom environment were investigated. Two-way ANCOVA results revealed that the test scores of academic achievement and science process skill for the cooperative learning group were significantly higher than those of the traditional learning group. No interaction between the instruction and the level of previous achievement was found. The perceptions of confliction were higher in cooperative learning group. In the attitude toward science instruction and the perceptions of participation, however, no significant difference between the two groups was found. Educational implications are discussed.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.669-678
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• 2015

This study aims at investigating students' perceptions and peer feedback to practicum for teaching English in the English Department at a Korean university. The participants were forty-two students at an elective course, 'Method for teaching English', and the data comprised questionnaire, 12 teams of practicum, and 15 sets of PF. A 'Word Count System (WCS)' was adopted to analyze the data. The findings show that students regarded 'practicum' (52.4%) as more important than 'teacher's lectures' (42.8%), and most students (80%) applied more than 70% of lesson plans to their practicums. The practicum gave them experience of a teacher, development of confidence, recognition on their weaknesses and values of teaching. While the strengths shown in PF were mainly 'teaching methods and technique', 'use of multimedia', and 'teaching materials', the weaknesses were 'classroom interactions', 'teaching methods and techniques' and 'use of blackboard'. Overall praises were 1.8 times more than the matters which needed to be developed. The conclusion suggest that the students had their own insights toward teaching practices and how learners can be motivated.

• School Mathematics
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.259-276
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• 2007

There have been a number of lesson analysis studies, yet not many studies address the issue of the perspective of students who play a key role in the lesson along with the teacher. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the teacher and the students interpret the mathematics lesson they experienced, and to find out the potential discrepancy between the teacher and the students in their perceptions of mathematics lesson. To pursue this purpose, 10 consecutive lessons were videotaped in the 8th grade mathematics classroom, and the video-stimulated post-lesson interviews were also conducted with the teacher and the students. Based on the lesson videos and the interview data, six discrepancies between the teacher and the students in their perceptions of mathematics lesson were dentified: the discrepancy between the teacher's intention and students' interest in the lesson; different interpretation and response to the teacher's mistake; formal abidance; topaze effect; different recognition of the students' preference among the topics; teacher's insufficient response to students' needs. These six discrepancies were further categorized and some implications were drawn.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.293-304
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• 1999

A Calculator-Based Laboratory (CBL) system was introduced to science teachers and their perceptions to its classroom application was assessed. A CBL survey instrument was responded by 54 middle and high school science teachers who undertook a three-hour workshop of science experiments with CBL system. There were significant differences in teachers perceptions to CBL system among gender, school level, school location, teacher's degree, and years of teaching in terms of learning CBL system, applicability of CBL system for science classrooms, and effects on science achievement. Male teachers showed significantly (p<.05) higher agreement to learning of CBL system and applicability for science classrooms than female teachers. Compared to middle school teachers, high school teachers showed significantly (p<.05) high interests in CBL applicability for science classrooms and perceptions that there will be an increase of science achievement. Teachers with 4-8 years of teaching experience also showed significantly (p<.05) higher interest toward learning CBL system and its applicability. It was concluded that science teachers perceived CBL system as a promising science teaching method in Korean middle and high schools. However, a science teacher inservice training program for CBL system should be developed in consideration of gender, school level, school location, and years of teaching.

• Educational Technology International
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.31-57
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• 2015

This study aims to understand the overall experiences of students who use notebook computers in class by using a qualitative approach. Interview data were collected from 23 Korean college students at a Korean university, who use notebook computers in their classes; the data were analyzed through the constant comparison method. The results from this study can be categorized into two themes: the positive and negative effects of using a notebook computer in class, and different perspectives on the effects of using a notebook computer in class. The positive effects of notebook computer usage were specified as production of lecture notes, performing searches for information, management of learning materials, and effective time management. However, behaviors such as perusing other works not associated with the class were indicated as negative effects. The participants had different perceptions about the effect of notebook computer usage in increasing academic performance, although they were satisfied in their experience with notebook computers in general. These results imply that appropriate methods of technology usage are needed and that the support of an instructor is essential to achieve fully beneficial use of notebook computers in class.

• Educational Technology International
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.143-170
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• 2014

As it was argued that students' cognitive engagement can be, at least in part, modified by individual or learning environmental factors, prior studies have attempted to identify the factors explaining the variability of students' cognitive engagement. This literature review has shown that students' cognitive engagement can be altered by various elements in the learning environment design such as factors related students' perceptions of teaching quality, characteristics of tasks and learning activities, teachers' behaviors during instruction, classroom goal structures, the integration of student oriented learning, action learning, problem-based learning, and constructivist learning, and academic disciplines. Based on the review, this study suggests that more studies are required to focus on understandings how the integration of instructional design principles into courses and the levels of student cognitive engagement in these courses are related. Also, an investigation of direct and indirect effect of learning environments taking into account students' personal factors would provide a more accurate picture of the relationship between learning environmental factors and students' cognitive engagement.