• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.327-345
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• 2013

This study aims to investigate how pre-service elementary school teachers understand 'something scientific', 'being scientific', 'scientific events' and 'scientific questions' through semantic network analysis. To achieve this purpose, this study carried out a central analysis of the frequency and density of words and the degree of connection between key words, a concentric analysis, a click analysis and a common network analysis through text semantic network analysis by using NetMiner 4.0 Program. Based on the results of these analyses, this study came to the following conclusions. Firstly, in perceiving 'something scientific', pre-service elementary school teachers recognized 'verification', 'objective' and 'experiment' as most important words. In other words, they perceived that main grounds for something scientific should be provided through clear facts, possible to be verified and accompanied by an exact and logical theoretical system. In regard to 'being scientific', they perceived 'explanation', 'objective' and 'verification' as most important words, while having a traditional point of view that science is a set that can be explained objectively. Secondly, in regard that the term, 'observation', is contained in 'scientific events', they showed a high rate of understanding it as a scientific event. In regard to scientifical reasons, they showed the highest frequency of 'observation', and for unscientific reasons, they showed the highest frequency of 'behavior'. In perceiving 'scientific questions', they showed the highest frequency of determining bacteria-related questions as scientific. As a reason why they thought as scientific, they mentioned 'observation' most frequently like 'scientific events', while mentioning 'value judgement' as a reason why they thought as unscientific most frequently. From the results of integrated network analysis, this study found out that words pre-service teachers commonly used in stating scientific events or scientific questions were overlapped with words they mentioned for scientific events or scientific questions. As a result, it was found there were many pre-service teachers having interpreted scientific words without clearly distinguishing scientific events or scientific questions.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.153-167
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• 2007

In this study, it is assumed that understanding the nature of science (NOS) would enhance students' performance of scientific inquiry in more authentic ways. The ultimate goal of this study is to suggest new models for developing scientific inquiry activities through understanding the NOS by linking the NOS with scientific inquiry. First, the various definitions and statements of the NOS are summarized, then the features of the developmental nature of scientific knowledge and the nature of scientific thinking based on the philosophy of science are reviewed, and finally a synthetic list of the elements of the NOS is proposed, consisting of three categories: the nature of scientific knowledge, the nature of scientific inquiry, and the nature of scientific thinking. This suggested synthetic list of the NOS is used to suggest a model of scientific inquiry through the understanding of the NOS. This list was designed to provide basic standards regarding the NOS as well as practical guidance for designing activities to improve students' understanding of the NOS.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.27-41
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• 2010

Scientific texts are some of major sources for scientific understanding. Therefore, reading scientific texts should be considered as an important learning activity. However, there is little research about reading scientific text in Korea. In this study, as a starting point for research about reading scientific text, lists of scientific text constituents and scientific text functions are suggested based on a comprehensive literature review. The study also reviewed how scientific text structure, familarity of scientific text and analogy involved in scientific text can affect students' scientific understanding through reading scientific text. Finally, further study plans, such as analysis of actual science textbooks using the lists suggested in this study as well as the investigation of actual students' thinking processes when reading scientific text, were described.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.525-540
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• 1997

The present study tested the hypothesis that maturation of the prefrontal lobes is a crucial factor determining the performance of scientific reasoning tasks, Functions of the prefrontal lobes, such as activating relevant information, sequential planning and monitoring, and inhibiting irrelevant information, are related thinking patterns with scientific reasoning. Therefore, we inferred the idea that the prefrontal lobes play an important role in scientific reasoning. To test the hypothesis. the present study investigated a prefrontal lobe patient's task solving procedures in scientific reasoning tasks and the correlation and regression analysis between a test of prefrontal lobe function and two scientific reasoning tasks, The perseverative errors in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test(WCST) was used as a measure of the prefrontal lobe function, The Melinark Type Task and the Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning were used as measures of scientific reasoning abilities. Ages and Group Embedded Figure Test were also used as measures of two alternative hypotheses, general maturation and field independency respectively. The prefrontal lobe patient showed a crucial deficiency in solving scientific reasoning tasks. In the tasks, the patient could not used the reasoning of If... and... then... therefore pattern. In correlation study, the perseveration errors of the WCST showed a significantly negative correlation with two scientific reasoning tasks. Multiple regression study also showed that the perseveration errors measured as a function of the prefrontal lobes have more contribution to scientific reasoning ability than contributions of alternative hypotheses. Therefore, the present study supported the hypothesis that prefrontal lobes play a crucial role in scientific reasoning ability, What function of the prefrontal lobes do play crucial role in scientific reasoning? The present study provided an explanation for the question, which inhibiting ability of the prefrontal lobes is responsible for the scientific reasoning ability, in a part at least. That is, perseverative tendency in task-solving procedures causes a deficiency of an ability to inhibit the wrong information to solve a task. The present study provided a possibility of neuropsychological approach in science education research. The present study also showed an importance of the prefrontal lobe development in the performance of scientific reasoning task.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.711-723
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• 2007

As the discourse of scientific literacy has broadly summed up the goals of science education in the current decade, this study attempts to question how we contextualize appropriate interpretations and feasible approaches to scientific literacy in K-6 science education. With respect to the complex praxis of scientific knowledge and practice, this study emphasizes the participatory framework of scientific literacy which interweaves children's everyday experiences and science learning. This study also concerns children's abilities to understand and enact scientific enterprises (i.e., children's fundamental sense of scientific literacy). As a way of developing K-6 scientific literacy, this study investigates how using science books can broaden the scope of children's understandings of science in life connections and promote a fundamental sense of scientific literacy through talking, reading, and writing skills in Grade two science classrooms in Canada. Second graders were engaged in learning "sound" for five weeks. During science lessons, children's talks were recorded and their writings were collected for data interpretation. This research finds that using science books can encourage children to become engaged in communicative activities such as talking, reading, and writing in science; furthermore, using science books develops children's inquiry skills. These findings open a further discussion on scientific literacy at the K-6 levels.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.181-191
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• 2003

In this study, the effects of metacognitive teaching strategy on the students' scientific inquiry ability and scientific attitude were investigated. For the study, two classes of fourth grade from an elementary school in Busan were chosen. Each class was assigned to the experimental group which metacognitive teaching strategy was applied to and the comparative group that traditional teaching method was applied to. The tests of scientific inquiry ability and scientific attitude were administered before and after the instruction period. The results of this study were as follows. There were significant differences between the experimental group and comparative group in scientific inquiry ability and scientific attitude. It was concluded that metacognitive teaching strategy was more effective in the improvement of students' scientific inquiry ability and scientific attitude.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.181-191
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• 2007

The purposes of this study were as follows; to investigate elementary school teachers' understanding of scientific inquiry, experiences in learning/teaching, their educational experience of scientific inquiry, and to study the difficulties they experience in teaching scientific inquiry methods to elementary students and their suggestions for future inquiry materials. For the purposes of this study, 157 elementary school teachers participated in a survey and 10 teachers were interviewed in-depth in relation to their ideas and experiences of scientific inquiry. The results show that most elementary school teachers had a lack of understanding of scientific inquiry skills, and lacked educational experiences of inquiry methods in general. They generally perceived the 7th science text-books as being inappropriate and inadequate for teaching students scientific inquiry processes. The educational implications are discussed to help practitioners implement scientific inquiries successfully through the various types of teaching materials and professional developments.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.213-223
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• 2012

This study explored practicing elementary school teacher's beliefs of scientific inquiry and scientific inquiry teaching methods. Defining teacher's beliefs as a broad construct, we tried to examine the teachers' understandings about the scientific inquiry and scientific inquiry teaching method. This study drew on interview data from 10 elementary teachers in busan and changwon area of korea. Conclusions of this study include; First, we found that elementary teacher's beliefs of inquiry were represented variously. And they considered that inquiry is the important goal of science education. They though that the goal of science education is development of Scientific inquiry skills, Scientific thinking skills, development of Creativity and problem solving ability, increasing interest about science, understanding of the basic concepts of science and apply of real-life. second, most of the teachers though that Scientific inquiry is scientists activities, they defined 'the process of creation of new knowledge', 'the process of deriving theory', 'solving process of intellectual curiosity', 'Problem-solving process'. third, they considered that teaching method of scientific inquiry is open inquiry activities. however, they thought that there are many difficulties to actually apply. Understanding teachers' beliefs has implications for both the enactment of inquiry teaching in the classroom as well as the uptake of new teaching behaviors during professional development, with enhanced outcomes for engaging students in Science.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.133-143
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of scientific discussion classes focusing problem finding on the primary school students' scientific creative problem solving ability, science process skills and attitude toward science class. To verify this research problem, the subject of this study was fifth-grade students selected from four classes of M elementary school located in Busan city. For four months, the experimental group of 51 students was taught using the "scientific discussion classes focusing problem finding". The control group also of 53 students was taught in normal classes which used a text-book. All students were given pre and post test to verify the effects of scientific discussion classes focusing problem finding on the primary school students' scientific creative problem solving ability, science process skills and attitude toward science class. The results from this study are as the following. First, the scientific discussion classes focusing problem finding were effective in scientific creative problem solving ability among the primary school students. It is possibly because in the process where one student compare his/her own thoughts with the others' ones and discuss them. Second, the scientific discussion classes focusing problem finding were effective in science process skills among the primary school students. Third, the scientific discussion classes focusing problem finding were effective in attitude toward science class. In conclusion, the scientific discussion classes focusing problem finding had positive effects on improvement of primary school students' scientific creative problem solving ability, science process skills and also could lead to a change in students' cognition about science class to a positive way. Therefore, the scientific discussion class focusing problem finding is hopefully to be provided as an effective instructive strategy of science class in school in the future.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.200-209
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• 1996

Recent literature in science education has emphasized nature of science in science teaching. The theme has been considered to be an important element for scientific literacy.The purpose of this study was to identify Korean science teachers' points of view on topics related to nature of science, such as definition of science, characteristics of scientific hypotheses, scientific theories and scientific laws, and their construction, scientists, and scientific methods. The relevant 13 items were selected from Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS) by the authors for this study. Most teachers perceived science as an exploratory process or problem solving. Some perceived science as an application of knowledge to make this world a better place to live in. Teachers viewed scientific activities as scholastic and individualistic instead of pragmatic or collective. They did not hold clear understandings of the idea that scientific knowledge is subject to change. As identified in previous studies, teachers thought that scientific ideas develop from hypothesis to theories, and finally to scientific laws. They did not show sound understanding of inventiveness of scientific hypotheses and theories, nor discovery of scientific laws. In summary, teachers' major points of view reflected 'realism'. It suggested that they needed to understand nature of science in the ways which it has been described in recent literature of science education, in order to teach science with personal and social contexts.