• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.1021-1040
• /
• 2013

In order to explore the influences of coteaching through mentoring upon the teaching professionalism of beginning science-gifted education teachers, this case study deeply investigated the change processes in the aspects of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Two beginning teachers planned, performed and reflected together their science instructions for science-gifted students in secondary school during four 3-hour classes. Since the second instruction, pre-, during-, and post-mentoring were conducted, we collected various data related to teachers' planning processes, videotaped all coteaching science classes, and wrote field notes. We also recorded in-depth interviews with the teachers and the whole process of mentoring. All the data were analyzed by using the constant comparative method. The results of the analyses indicated that coteaching through mentoring positively changed the teachers' PCK. Above all, we found that coteaching and mentoring strategies generated a significant synergy effect through a mutually complementary relationship. The teachers developed deep practical knowledge about the enrichment curriculum, which placed more emphasis on developing cognitive and/or affective characteristics of science-gifted students. The teachers also improved their knowledge about the characteristics of science-gifted students and the instructional strategies appropriate for developing them. Moreover, practical knowledge about assessment domains and methods used in science-gifted education were improved. Knowledge on science content necessary for effective inquiry instruction was also improved.

• The Journal of Korean Association of Computer Education
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.11-19
• /
• 2018

The informatics computer teacher appointment examination is the only national test to measure the competence of educators in teaching students relevant informatics content. The purpose of this study is to provide suggestions and directions for improvement of the informatics computer teacher appointment exam. To this end, we collected appointment exam questions from 2002, when the informatics computer teacher appointment exam first started, to 2017. Based on evaluation areas and evaluation content factors of the indication subject of informatics computer, we built the analysis framework and criteria used in this study. The analysis took into account the revision of basic required courses and changes in the types of exam questions. We analyzed the percentage of points allotted to the subject matter compared to the total number of points, and also the trends of exam questions by school year. The results of the analysis are as follows: first, improvements should be made to avoid concentration in certain areas of the basic required courses of the informatics computer subject. Second, the discrepancy between the exam and the curriculum of basic required courses must be addressed to properly teach and evaluate preliminary teachers. It is significant that this study serves as a stepping stone in supplying highly competent teachers to the field through improving the informatics computer teacher appointment examination.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.251-278
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study is to obtain implications for mathematical education by analyzing how the multiplication and division of decimal numbers are presented in the elementary mathematics textbooks in Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Finland. Compared to the fact that students often have misconceptions about multiplication and division of decimal numbers, there have been not many comparative studies in recent elementary mathematics textbooks. For this study, we selected elementary mathematics textbooks those are widely used in Japan, Singapore, and Finland along with Korean elementary mathematics textbooks. We chose the textbooks because the students in the selected countries have scored high in international achievement studies such as TIMSS and PISA. The analysis was examined in terms of elementary mathematics curriculum related to multiplication and division of decimal numbers, introduction and content, real-life situations, use of visual models, and formalization methods of algorithms. As a result of the study, the mathematics curricula related to multiplication and division of decimal numbers includes estimation in Korea and Finland, while Japan and Singapore emphasize real-life connections more, and Finland completes the operations in secondary schools. The introduction and content are intensively provided in a short period of time or distributed in various grades and semesters. The real-life situations are presented in a simple sentence format in all countries, and the use of visual models or formalization of algorithms is linked to the operations of natural numbers in unit conversions. Suggestions were made for textbook development and teacher training programs.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.527-536
• /
• 2006

This study investigated the components of science teacher professionalism, the meaning of PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge), examples of science PCK, and complementary measures that should be taken to improve teacher professionalism. Six science teachers recommended by their colleagues explained that the science teacher's professionalism (or professional knowledge) consists of science content knowledge, knowledge about teaching, knowledge about learners, and improvement efforts. Science teachers' definition of PCK, which is the professional knowledge that members of the wider society expect teachers to possess, is the teacher's materialized knowledge that aims at students' understanding and PCK is the accumulated know-how of teachers as they strive to make their teaching comprehensible by students. Science teachers also contended that teachers as professionals need to complement an accountability system, acknowledgement of continuous self-developmental efforts, collegiality, and securing validity in the teacher employment test. The teachers argued that the societal recognition of teaching professionalism is essential for a high quality teaching. Suggestions for how to improve science teaching professionalism are also discussed.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.109-125
• /
• 2009

The purpose of this study was to analyze research trends in clothing and textiles education focused on primary and secondary school education. Among the reviewed articles published between 1989 and 2008 in four journals including The Journal of Korean Home Economics Education, The Journal of Korean Association of Practical Arts Education, Journal of the Society of Clothing and Textiles, and Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association, 175 articles were related to clothing and textiles education. The most popular research field was teaching contents followed by teaching-learning method and teaching material, while clothing selection and self-expression, the general focus on home economics education and making clothing and household utensils were the popular research topics. In terms of research methods, about three quarters of articles used survey methods followed by experiment method and documentary studies. The rapid increase in research on clothing selection and self-expression and the decrease in articles on making clothing and household utensils seem to have had an influence on the government revision of The $7^{th}$ Curriculum.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.570-585
• /
• 2012

The Korean national curriculum for secondary school emphasizes scientific problem solving. In line with the national curriculum, many educational studies have been conducted in relation to science education. The objects of these studies were well-defined and well-structured problems. The studies were criticized for overlooking ill-defined and ill-structured problems. Some research has dealt with problem finding in ill-structured problems, which is related to creativity. There is a need for a study of scientific problem finding process in an ill-structured problem situation, because this study will help teachers wanting to teach scientific problem-finding in an ill-structured problem situation. The objective of this study was to conduct an empirical study on the scientific problem finding process in an ill-structured problem situation. One task of scientific problem finding in an ill-structured problem situation was assigned to 92 university students; thereafter, 32 of them participated in the research through interviews. Results indicated that the scientific problem finding process depended on initial clues and tentative solutions. Initial clues were affected by students' experiences, such as major classes, films, and novels. Tentative solutions were influenced by background knowledge of the tasks. Students screened information browsed on the Internet. They applied some standards for selection, particularly emphasized reliability standards, which are supposed to be studied in other contexts. All the students used assumptions to make their problems appear probable, which could be a useful tool to articulate.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.34 no.5
• /
• pp.437-447
• /
• 2014

Learning progressions (LP), which describe how students may develop more sophisticated understanding over a defined period of time, can inform the design of instructional materials and assessment by providing a coherent, systematic measure of what can be regarded as "level appropriate." We developed LPs for the nature of matter for grades K-16. In order to empirically test Korean students, we revised one of the constructs and associated assessment items based on Korean National Science Standards. The assessment was administered to 124 Korean secondary students to measure their knowledge and submicroscopic representations, and to assign them to a level of learning progression for the particle nature of matter. We characterized the level of students' understanding and models of the particle nature of matter, and described how students interpret various representations of atoms and molecules to explain scientific phenomena. The results revealed that students have difficulties in understanding the relationship between the macroscopic and molecular levels of phenomena, even in high school science. Their difficulties may be attributed to a limited understanding of scientific modeling, a lack of understanding of the models used to represent the particle nature of matter, or limited understanding of the structure of matter. This work will inform assessment and curriculum materials development related to the fundamental relationship between macroscopic, observed phenomena and the behavior of atoms and molecules, and can be used to create individualized learning environments. In addition, the results contribute to scientific research literature on learning progressions on the nature of matter.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.32 no.7
• /
• pp.832-859
• /
• 2011

The importance of scientific education on accurate oceanic currents and circulation has been increasingly addressed because the currents have played a significant role in climate change and global energy balance. The objectives of this study are to analyze errors of the oceanic current maps in the textbooks, to discuss a variety of error sources, to suggest how to produce a unified oceanic current map of the East Sea for the students. Twenty-seven textbooks based on the 7th National Curriculum were analyzed and quantitatively investigated on the characteristics of the current maps by comparing with both the previous literature and up-to-date scientific knowledge. All the maps in the textbooks with different mappings were converted to digitalized image data with Mercator mapping using geolocation information. Detailed analysis were performed to investigate the patterns of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) in the Korea Strait, to examine how closely the nearshore branch of the TWC flows along the Japanese coast, to scrutinize the features of the offshore branch of the TWC south of the subpolar front in the East Sea, to quantitatively investigate the northern range of the northward-propagating East Korea Warm Current and its latitude turning to the east, and lastly to examine the outflow of the TWC near the Tsugaru Strait and the Soya Strait. In addition, the origins, southern limits, and distances from the coast of the Liman Current and the North Korea Cold Current were analyzed. Other erroneous expressions of the currents in the textbooks were presented. These analyses revealed the problems in the present current maps of the textbooks, which might lead the students to misconception. This study also addressed a necessity in a bridge between scientists with up-to-date scientific results and educators who needed educational materials.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.360-376
• /
• 2001

This qualitative research investigated in-service science teachers' perceptions about cooperative learning and their perceived barriers in implementing cooperative learning in their classrooms. The underlying premise for cooperative learning is founded in constructivist epistemology. Cooperative learning (CL) is presented as an alternative frame to the current educational system which emphasizes content memorization and individual student performance through competition. An in-depth interview was conducted with 18 in-service science teachers who enrolled in the first-class teacher certification program during 2001 summer vacation. These secondary school teachers's interview data were analyzed and categorized into three areas: teachers' definition of cooperative learning, issues with implementing cooperative learning in classrooms, and teachers' and students' responses towards cooperative learning. Each of these areas are further subdivided into 10 themes: teachers' perceived meaning of cooperative learning, the importance of talk in learning, when to use cooperative learning, how to end a cooperative class, how to group students for cooperative learning, obstacles to implementing cooperative learning, students' reactions to cooperative learning, teachers' reasons for choosing (not choosing) student-centered approaches to learning/teaching, characteristics of teachers who use cooperative learning methods, and teachers' reasons for resisting cooperative learning. Detailed descriptions of the teachers' responses and discussion on each category are provided. For the development and implementation of CL in more classrooms, there should be changes and supports in the following five areas: (1) teachers have to examine their pedagogical beliefs toward constructivist perspectives, (2) teacher (re)education programs have to provide teachers with cooperative learning opportunities in methods courses, (3) students' understanding of their changed roles (4) supports in light of curriculum materials and instructional resources, (5) supports in terms of facilities and administrators. It's important to remember that cooperative learning is not a panacea for all instructional problems. It's only one way of teaching and learning, useful for specific kinds of teaching goals and especially relevant for classrooms with a wide mix of student academic skills. Suggestions for further research are also provided.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.532-543
• /
• 2004

The teacher appointment examination is consisted of a written test, an interview, a demonstration of teaching practices, one's academic record etc. The primary written test(full credit of 100) consists of multiple-choice test of general pedagogy(30%) and constructed response test of science(70%). The science test consists of science education($20{\sim}30%$) and science content($70{\sim}80%$). Five science exams were implemented for appointing general science, physics, chemistry, biology and earth science teachers in 2002 and 2003. The credits alloted to science education domain decreased from $25.7{\sim}30%$ in 2002 to $24.3{\sim}25.7%$ in 2003. The percentage of correct answer was similar between science education and science content domain in 2002, but the percentage of correct answer in science education domain(70.2%) was 29.8% higher than that of science content domain in 2003. Earth science exam almost reached the target mean score of 60 but the other four exams showed the mean scores ranging from 45.0 to 52.7 in 2002 and from 40.1 to 49.6 in 2003. The percentage of high difficulty items(p<40%) was 41.2% in physics and chemistry in 2002, 50% in physics and chemistry, and 45% in biology in 2003. Seventy eight percent of the items showed fairly high discrimination index(r>.30). In addition, the reliabilities of 5 tests were from .79 to .88. In conclusion, it is recommended that the credits alloted to science education domain should be increased up to 30%, and exam difficulties should be lowered to a proper level by making science content items easier.