• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.140-146
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• 2002

We have studied 73 pre-service science teachers' conceptions about the nature of science (NOS) using 120 true-false test items based on AAAS Benchmarks statements. We have found that participants have inadequate understanding of the NOS, especially in understanding of five categories of conceptions; change and continuity in science, bias in scientific investigations, hypothesis in scientific investigations, things common in science, and science ethics. The result also indicates that there is a difference between primary pre-service teachers and secondary pre-service teachers. From the analysis of consistency, we also found that this inadequate understanding comes from confusion rather than misconception. All the results support that there is a need of intense pre-service teacher education concerning thenature of science.

• 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 The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.565-578
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to search for the factors that influence students' understanding of the nature of science through the experience of the cognitive processes of authentic open inquiries. The freshmen of a science high school practiced authentic open inquiries reflecting epistemological characteristics of authentic science. The case study was conducted with four focus students who were successful or unsuccessful at learning the nature of science during the authentic open inquiry activity. Questions that the focus students asked during the inquiries as well as students' answers to pre- and post-VNOS (C type) were analysed, and then elaborated in the semi-structured interview. The findings suggest that open inquiry activities provide the inquiry contexts that help science high school students to understand the nature of science, and that the characteristics of students' cognition influence the understanding of the nature of science. For instance, designing experiments with their own research questions had an influence on the students' understanding about the scientific methods and the diversity of research types, and drawing conclusions from their own data made students experience scientific reasoning. In addition, the experience of collecting anomalous data helped students to understand the role of inferences in generating scientific knowledge and the creative nature of scientific knowledge. In this inquiry context, the reflective thinking that came from proactive discussion among students, made students think about the validity of the designing experiments and interpreting data, and helped them to understand the uncertain nature of reasoning and the diverse nature of scientific methods. Moreover, divergent thinking linked to analogical thinking helped students to understand the creative nature of science.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.46-54
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of students about pseudo-science in consideration to their personality traits, cognitive style, and awareness of the nature of science, which might all have a great impact on their behavior and thinking. The subjects of this study were 129 sixth-grade school children in a small urban community in Gyeonggi province. The way they looked at pseudo-science was investigated after three kinds of traits were selected as variables, including personality traits, cognitive style, and awareness of the nature of science. Four different instruments were utilized, which respectively covered personality traits, cognitive style, awareness of the nature of science and perception of pseudo-science. The results of the study were as follows: First, the children with higher emotional stability and liveliness showed higher permeability towards pseudo-science, while made no significant difference on their view of pseudo-science. Second, their cognitive style made no significant difference to their outlook on pseudo-science. Third, as for link between awareness of the nature of science and pseudo-science, the students with a poor understanding of the nature of science were significantly different from those who had a better understanding of it in perception of pseudo-science(p<.05).

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.329-335
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to suggest the modification of activities to introduce the nature of science in earth science classrooms. A small modification can turn ordinary textbook activities into the nature of science activities. Since earth science could provide a good basis for the tentative, creative, and socially and culturally embedded nature of science, as well as appropriate understanding about scientific methods, careful modification of earth science activities could be effective for students to understand the nature of science. Considering which aspects of the nature of science are appropriate, along with the possible change in the activity, teachers will be able to modify textbook activities effectively. An example modification of H-R diagram activity was also suggested.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.313-326
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to explore the applying possibility of the Earth Systems Education(ESE) in elementary school science education through the improving of students' recognition with the earth systematic nature by systems thinking education - for this was the recognizing as earth systematic nature was the key element of ESE, and the systems thinking skill is accredited very effective tool for the understanding with earth systematic nature. For this, the systems thinking's teaching-learning programs were developed and applied to the 6th students (21s) for 10hours' classes. The results of this study are as follows; In most of the 6th students didn't recognize with earth systematic nature from a lack of understanding of the vapor being in every nature environments. In systems teaching-learning classes, most of students participated positively in learning activities and achieved the aim of a lesson. In the testing results for students' recognition improving to earth systematic nature after the systems thinking education, about 24% students were showed the improving results of the recognition with earth systematic nature. Consequently, It is suggested that just as the achieving of the points of ESE in elementary school science education, the approaching method of the systems thinking education is worth attempting to applying of the ESE.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.399-416
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between science teaching practices and beliefs about the nature of science. Defining teachers' beliefs as a broad construct, the researcher tried to examine not only the teachers' understanding about the nature of science, but also the effect and reflection in science teaching practices with regards to the nature of science. Guiding research questions were how the teachers' science teaching practices reflected their beliefs about the nature of science. The methodology of this study was qualitative approach that included interviews, classroom observations, and instructional materials. At an urban area of Korea, five beginning elementary teacher was chosen. The cross-case and grounded theory study design were adopted as data analysis process. The results of data analysis were checked by teachers for internal validity. This study identified the teachers' beliefs about the nature of science suggested by many researchers and revealed that these teachers' beliefs reflected a little in science teaching practices. On the occasion it was reflected, restricted merely within the narrow limits the way to teach the concepts and contents presented in science curriculum. In addition, some of the obstacles that these teachers' beliefs did not reflect the science teaching practices with regards to the nature of science were investigated in this study.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.539-556
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine preservice secondary science teachers' understanding of the nature of science, by using nature of science (NOS) questionnaire on the basis of atomic model, and compare this to pre-studies. 'Understanding of nature of scientific model,' 'Tentativeness of scientific knowledge,' 'Subjectivity in science,' 'Use of inference and imagination,' 'Myths of the scientific method,' and 'Comparison between science and art.' were examined. Preservice teachers showed great comprehension of the tentativeness of scientific knowledge (the orbital model) and the subjectivity in science (the different interpretation about the experiment of particle scattering), but displayed the lowest comprehension of the scientific method. For understanding of nature of scientific model (the atomic model) and the comparison between science (Bohr's atomic model) and art (Picasso's work), preservice teachers brought out a combination of ontological and constructivist perspective and showed the contradictory thought about imagination in science research. In the result of comparison to pre-studies using the NOS instruments contains general terms, represented high levels of agreement about the tentativeness of scientific knowledge by using concrete examples of 'atomic model'. When concrete scientists such as Thomson, Rutherford, Bohr were presented, respondents revealed more informed views about the scientists' research method.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.996-1007
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• 2004

In this study, we investigated the effects of small group discussion using episodes from the history of science on students' understanding about the nature of science (NOS), achievement, enjoyment of science lessons, and science learning motivation. Participants were 138 ninth graders from a middle school in Seoul and they were assigned to a control group and a treatment group. Students in the treatment group were provided with two contrasting perspectives concerning the NOS and were encouraged to discuss them in small groups. The intervention lasted for 5 class periods. The results revealed that students of both the control group and the treatment group were found to possess similar views about NOS in a NOS pretest, whereas students of the treatment group exhibited more sophisticated understanding in a NOS posttest. The scores of the treatment group were also significantly higher than those of the control group in an enjoyment of science lessons test and a learning motivation test. However, there was no significant difference between two groups in the achievement test scores.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.57 no.6
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• pp.821-829
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to develop 'Science History Based Chemist Inquiry Program' for the science-gifted in high school and investigated the application effects on the understanding toward the nature of science, scientific attitudes, and science career orientation. This study was conducted with one class of 17 scientifically gifted high school students, and the 'Science History Based Chemist Inquiry Program' was applied during 22 class hours. The results of this study were as follows: First, the science gifted students' understanding toward the nature of science showed a statistically significant improvement (approximate significance probability .005). Property of the scientific model, sub-domain of the nature of science, is significantly improved (approximate significance probability .029). This result show that 'Science History Based Chemist Inquiry Program' can improve the scientifically gifted high school students' perception about nature of science. Second, the scientifically gifted students' scientific attitude wasn't changed significantly. However, the openness and creativity in the sub-domains of the scientific attitude showed a statistically significant improvement (p<.05). Third, science career orientation of science-gifted did not show a statistically significant change. But the value of the level of awareness about the science career has been significantly improved (p<.05).