• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.167-178
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to explore characteristics of sixth grade students' opistemological beliefs in science and the relationship to learner's characteristics: learning motivation, learning strategies, and logical thinking. The subjects were 265 sixth graders and data was collected through two types of questionnaires, translated and modified by researchers: opistemological beliefs regarding science, learning motivation & strategies. The results of this study were as follows. The students believed that the goals of science were related to activations such as 'Science is experiment', or 'Science is invention: These beliefs were connected with the emphasis of science classes or the focus of the science curriculum. However, the students' beliefs related to the changeability of science knowledge, the source of science knowledge, and the role of experiments in developing knowledge were oriented to modern opistemological views. Moreover, the beliefs were meaningfully related to students' characteristics: learning motivation, learning strategies, and logical thinking. Among the students' characteristics, logical thinking was especially related to all of the factors of students' beliefs: the changeability of science knowledge, the source of science knowledge, and the role of experiments in developing knowledge. However, the students who believed that scientific knowledge came from scientists, science teachers, or science textbooks had high levels of self-efficacy. Therefore, the belief that scientific knowledge is formed by self-discovery, in order to generate high self-efficacy, needs to be encouraged. From the results, it is possible to check the orientation of current science education based on the students' opistemological beliefs. In addition, the resources can be accumulated for persevering in our efforts to achieve a positive orientation for science education.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.127-140
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• 2020

This study investigated the influence of an explicit and reflective modeling instruction on the metamodeling knowledge of fourth-graders. Two fourth-grade classes in an elementary school in Seoul were selected and each class was assigned to an experimental group and a control group, respectively. The experimental group was engaged in explicit and reflective modeling instruction, whereas the control group was engaged in implicit modeling instruction. The two groups were surveyed before and after instruction on the basis of five metamodeling knowledge categories: definition, purpose, design/construction, changeability, and multiplicity. The experimental group showed positive changes in model's meaning, examples, purpose, changeability as well as multiplicity. In contrast, fewer students in the control group understood the meaning of the model and modeling. They also showed limited changes in their understandings with regards to the modeling instruction, and could not expand their understanding of the nature of model and modeling. The findings indicate that an explicit and reflective modeling instruction has positive influence on elementary students' metamodeling knowledge.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.859-877
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to probe secondary science teachers' perception on scientific models and modeling. A total of 50 experienced science teachers were surveyed with 10 open-ended questions about several aspects of models and modeling: definition, examples, purpose, multiplicity, changeability, design/construction, evaluation and beliefs in the use of models and modeling as a teaching tool. The analysis of the data shows the following results: 1) understanding of models and modeling held by a majority of experienced secondary science teachers was far from that of experts as they concentrated on a model's superficial, representative, and visual functions, 2) when it comes to their view toward the use of a model, a model does not remain in the stage of 'doing science' but in the stage of being a subsidiary teaching tool for the teacher's explaining and the students' understanding of scientific concepts, 3) the subjects they majored in made meaningful differences in their contextual understanding of models and modeling, 4) though most of the teachers acknowledged the importance of teaching about models and modeling, even a lot of them showed a negative position toward the opinion that they are willing to apply modeling to their classes. Implications of the results were discussed in terms of intervention in order to enhance secondary science teachers' understanding and pedagogical content knowledge of models and modeling.