• 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.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.478-485
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• 2006

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between safety knowledge, health beliefs and self-efficacy in child care teachers. Method: The participants were 394 teachers from child care centers in Seoul city. Data collection was done using a questionnaire that included a Safety Knowledge Test, Health Belief Scale and Self-efficacy Scale. Descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to analyze the data. The SPSS 11.0 Win program was used for analysis. Results: The mean was 12.11 for safety knowledge, 38.31 for health belief, and 91.07 for self-efficacy. There were statistically significant differences in the degree of safety knowledge according to safety education, in the level of health beliefs according to length of service as a teacher and in the degree of self-efficacy according to age, and length of service as a teacher. There were statistically significant positive correlations between safety knowledge and health belief, and between safety knowledge and self-efficacy of child care teachers. Conclusion: According to the results, programs to improve safety knowledge, health beliefs and self-efficacy of child care teachers should be developed and used to decrease the proportion of accidents involving children in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.159-168
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• 2010

This study was done to come up with a solution to effectively increase nutrition knowledge and education among nursery school teachers in the Gwang-ju metropolitan city area. The scores of teacher's nutrition knowledge were around the average of 9.4 points on a 15-point scale, which is about 63.1 points on a 100-point scale. When the types of subjects were compared, we recognized that the nursery school teachers with a college degree or those who have any training/education in nutrition had the highest scores in nutrition knowledge. Also, the nursery schools who have more than 101 children or public nursery schools had the highest scores in nutrition knowledge (p < 0.05). We can conclude that the knowledge of nutrition of nursery teachers is very lacking and it is not as high as it should be. In addition, we can also see that the dietary guidance and nutrition education time spent towards the children was very short. The lack of professional knowledge and education seems to be due to shortage of educational materials and because the teachers themselves lack the knowledge to pass on to their predecessors. In fact, even the teachers themselves feel the need to set up more nutrition-related education programs, obtain more guides and materials to teach them, as well as implement more organized and systemized teaching methods.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.235-241
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to find out eco-friendly attitude and level of knowledge about environment of pre-service elementary teachers and find relationship between these. In this study, we investigate and analyse with surveys about eco-friendly attitudes and environmental knowledge questionnaire targeting the 2nd semester of 2013 32 people of fast stream class 2nd grade. Also, we analyzed correlation between environmental knowledge and the test results of eco-friendly attitudes. Results for the analysis are as follows. First, pre-service elementary teachers' average of eco-friendly attitudes test result is 'cognitive area(60.22)> definitional area(53.69)> behavioral area(52.72)'. These results are re-service elementary teachers are knowledgeable about the environment, but they are passive at the execution act about environment. Second, the average of pre-service elementary teachers' environmental knowledge result is the highest to the protect the environment, for the average(26.25). It is interpreted that they acquired the most the knowledge related to the conservation of the environment. Third, It is no significant correlation between pre-service elementary teachers' eco-friendly attitudes and environmental knowledge. It means that although they acquired a lot of knowledge related to the environment, it is not affected to environmental friendly attitude putting ideas into action about environment.

• East Asian mathematical journal
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.109-135
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• 2013

The purpose of the study was to investigate the reality of middle school mathematics teachers' subject matter knowledge for teaching mathematical conjecture and justification. Data in the study were collected through interviewing nine Chinese and ten Korean middle school mathematics teachers. The teachers responded to the question that was designed in the form of a scenario that presents a teaching task related to a geometrical topic. The teachers' oral responses were audiotaped and transcribed, and their written notes were collected. The results of the study were compared to the analysis of American and Chinese elementary and secondary teachers' responses to the same task in Ball (1988) and Ma (1999). The findings of the study suggested that teachers' approaches to explaining and demonstrating a mathematical topic were significantly influenced by their knowledge of learners and knowledge of the curriculum they teach. One of the practical implications of the study is that teachers should recognize the advantages of learning the conceptual structure of a mathematical topic. It allows the teachers to have the flexibility to come up with meaningful mathematical approaches to teaching the topic, which are comprehensible to the learners whatever the grade levels they teach, rather than rule-based algorithms.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.137-148
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• 2010

This study was conducted on 175 child-care teachers, who participated in in-service education, to research the methods to improve child-care teacher's nutrition management capability for infants and children. Investigated results of child-care teachers' nutrition knowledge, dietary attitude status, and needs on nutrition education in child-care centers are as follows: The score of child-care teachers' nutrition knowledge was 10.83 points out of 15, which is about 72%. Total score increased as teachers' age but not significantly different from their career duration, since teachers who have a child-care career less than 5 years acquired 10.91 points, which is higher than 10.64 points of teachers having more than 5 years of child-care career. Teachers' average recognition to the nutrition knowledge was 90.6%, increased significantly by the older they are, and decreased according to the accumulation of their career. The average accuracy of the nutrition knowledge was 79.7%, increased in proportion to the teachers' age. The marks of child-care teachers' dietary attitude were 41.3 points (possible score range 5-50) and 83%, older teachers tended to have more desirable dietary attitude. As indicated by the increment of child-care career, the score of emotional attitude tended to be increased but which of cognitive and behavioral attitude showed a declining tendency. Nutrition information which child-care teachers were mainly interested in were correct selection of food (58.1%), obesity and weight management (52.7%), and nutrient content of food (44.9%). Nutrition education contents which child-care teachers needed were 'nutritious food and menu for child' (72.2%), 'health management of child' (69.2%) and meal management of child (40.2%). Nutrition education methods, which child-care teachers considered as of desirable ones, were cooking class of small scale (31.8%), visiting class at child-care center (26.5%). In consequence, the nutrition knowledge and dietary attitude of child-care teachers were not good and showed different issues by age and career duration. Therefore, it is requisite to intensify nutrition management courses in child-care teachers' qualification and in-service education courses which has actual necessity and suitability based on teachers' age, career, and the type of child-care center, and to disseminate these through public health centers and child-care & education information centers to pursue the efficient balance of nutrition education programs.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.147-163
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are any differences among kindergarten teachers', primary school teachers', and children's mothers's perceptions-belief, knowledge, practice-about the educational articulation between kindergarten and primary school. The results of this study were as follows; First, there were differences among kindergarten teachers, primary school teachers, and mothers about the belief of articulation content. Second, in the knowledge of educational articulation, kindergarten teachers's understandings of the counterpart's curriculum were higher than that of primary school teachers's. Third, in the practice of educational articulation, kindergarten teachers and mothers were focused language and mathematics learning for educational articulation. But primary school teachers were focused school adjustment.

• School Mathematics
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.469-492
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• 2015

This study explored secondary mathematics teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching [MKT]; in particular, it focused on teachers' knowledge of functions. In order to measure teachers' MKT, we developed items according to Ball, Thames & Phelps (2008)'s domains and conducted to 34 secondary mathematics teachers in 5 high schools in Seoul. The findings from the data analysis suggested as follows: a) overall, the teachers scored average 67.4 out of 100, 87.43 in Common Content Knowledge[CCK], and the average score of Specialized Content Knowledge [SCK] was the lowest; b) correlations among SCK, KCS, and KCT were statistically significant; and c) there was no sign of statistical significance between CCK and the rest.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.611-625
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• 2009

The purpose of this research is to investigate the characteristics of beginning science teachers' subject matter knowledge (SMK) as revealed in their classroom teaching methods. In this research, we explored six beginning teachers' classroom teaching episodes on the 'work and energy' unit. Using open-ended interviews with the teachers and group discussions taking place on a regular basis to analyze and compare the classes of six beginning teachers, we extracted the features of beginning science teachers' SMK. Using grounded theory methods, the characteristics of beginning science teachers' SMK drawn from this research are: (1) beginning teachers' positivistic epistemology on science, (2) claiming the teacher's authority based on rich subject content knowledge, and (3) beginning teachers' science elitism. These epistemological characteristics are realized such PCK as (1) representational errors caused by the teacher's own science misconception, (2) doing harm to students with too much content knowledge, (3) sporadic content presentation lacking a focus, and (4) surplus class hours with lack of effective science teaching explanations. Suggestions for alternative perspectives on science SMK are presented by experienced teachers. In conclusion, science teachers' SMK is necessary, but not sufficient, for effective teaching. Science teachers' SMK does have an effect on science teaching, mediated by other types of teacher knowledge. The beginning teachers need a systematic support to transform their SMK into a viable PCK.

• Hwankyungkyoyuk
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.82-96
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• 2010

The purposes of this study are to investigate the perception of renewable energy technology among elementary school teachers, and confirm whether elementary school teachers have basic knowledge about renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, and tidal power generation. We conducted preliminary interviews to gather information related to other studies about renewable energy. We developed the last interview question about the perception and knowledge of elementary school teachers regarding renewable energy. This study analyzed the transcribed responses of 10 elementary school teachers in Siheung-city, Gyeonggi-do, following 30-minute interviews. The study's findings are as follows. First, elementary school teachers recognize that they are unfamiliar with concepts and they have only shallow content knowledge about renewable energy. And they tended to distorted to other concepts, and analyze to different meanings. Second, elementary school teachers thought that knowledge about renewable energy should be part of a well-rounded education. And they felt positively about solar energy and wind power energy generation but they had a negative view towards tidal power generation because it destroys tideland. Third, teachers tended to confuse solar heat energy and geothermal energy, they tend to think this two energy sources the same. Teachers had generally correct concepts about wind power energy generation. In the case of tidal power generation, elementary school teachers answered mechanically that it is possible on the western sea, and that 'the difference between the rise and fall of the tide' grows. But they could not talk in depth about 'the difference between the rise and fall of the tide' and the force of waves. This suggests that they are answering by simple memorization and without deep understanding.