• Journal of Science Education
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.116-130
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difficulties of science classes experienced by newly appointed elementary school teachers in terms of science content knowledge and teaching method, and to suggest some implications for their effective adaptation. We recorded science lessons conducted by 3 beginning elementary school teachers with less than 5 years experience and also analyzed their classes and interview materials. The results were as follows. First, difficulties that they experienced in science content knowledge was the possession of scientific errors or misconceptions, the lack of awareness and confidence in scientific concepts and principles, and the possession of negative concept about learning materials. Second, difficulties that they experienced in teaching method was the absence of reorganization of the textbook contents, using closed questions, one-sided instructions and explanations by teacher, the application of incomplete analogy, and the lack of understanding about experiment activities. The implication from this study is that beginning teachers need to be provided with curriculum oriented in experiment at teachers college and to participate in various types of educational opportunities.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.635-645
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to identify elementary school teachers' perceptions, practices, and background factors related to introducing students' everyday experience in science teaching process. The participants of this study were four elementary school teachers who have different features such as major, teaching period, gender, growth area, and age. The data was collected through semi-constructed and in-depth interviews. The results of the research are as follows: Teachers mostly used students' everyday experience during the introduction phase of science lessons for the purpose of motivation. They hold a positive view of using students' everyday experience during science lessons and thought that science teaching needs to actively use more of students' everyday experience, while in actual practice they disregarded or only passively introduced students' everyday experience. The various background factors found to affect teachers' practice are as follows: positive memory on their science class; educational experience of their own children; their own childhood environment; their learning style; their insufficient knowledge or enthusiasm; perceived educational value of everyday life in science education; teacher's duties; importance of students' achievement; difficulty in guiding experiment; reaction of students on introducing everyday experience; characteristics of science textbook and teacher's guidebook; lack of lesson time; realization of national common basic education; characteristics of their students; demands from parents or students; effect of introducing everyday experience. In addition, we found that the teachers behave not in accordance with what they thought due to external factors related to their profession and that, for a more active use of students' everyday experience in their teaching, teachers need support from textbooks and teachers' guidebooks.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.377-394
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• 2022

Criticism has been raised that the way of teaching weights in the 3rd and 4th graders of elementary school is different between the 2015 revised math curriculum and the 2015 revised science curriculum, causing confusion among elementary school teachers and students. This study tried to confirm the social recognition that should be considered in the process of didactic transformation which means transformation from knowledge to used into knowledge to taught and to compare the variations of didactic transformations differently according to didactic intentions. The research analyzes and synthesizes the root of the meaning of weight, weight in the international standard system of units SI, weight implemented in Korean mathematics curriculum and textbooks, Singaporean mathematics curriculum and textbooks, USA mathematics curriculum and textbooks, and Korean science curriculum and textbooks. Through this analysis, a pedagogical perspective on how to define and teach weight in elementary school as knowledge to be taught was derived.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.273-285
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• 2023

Measurement in elementary school mathematics is one of the mathematical concepts that is directly used in real life. This study is based on the fact that mathematics textbooks for 3-4 and 5-6 graders were developed as the government designed and authorized textbooks and the general measurement instruction process is condensed and presented considering the limitation of the textbook's space for the capacity and weight. Its contents were analyzed. The results are as follows. The contents of authorized textbooks and government designed textbook are different in detail but similar overall in comparative activities, recognition, and situation of the need for the introduction of standard unit and estimation activities. Through this, it is proposed that efforts are needed to reform national textbook policies and develop textbooks that can highlight the meaning of each measurement activity and focus on students' activities.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.93-108
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• 2023

This study aims to analyze the types and roles of visualization materials presented in the third- and fourth-grade national and authorized science textbooks based on the 2015 revised curriculum. Using the type and role framework, 17 chapters were analyzed. The analysis revealed, first, that the national and authorized textbooks had different total amounts of visualization data and total amounts of simple illustrations. However, no difference in the amounts of simple illustrations and infographics used in the units was evident. The units that used the most infographics were Life, Earth and Universe, in that order, in both the national and the authorized textbooks. Second, simple illustrations were observed to have role differences according to the type of visualization data, but infographics had no such differences. Specifically, the motivational role in a simple illustration increased in all the authorized textbooks. Third, looking at the frequencies of the infographic subtypes, the Process, Structure, Comparative Analysis, and Timeline types accounted for 86% of the total, but the proportions of those subtypes varied in the national and authorized textbooks. Based on the results of this study, I suggest that to achieve differentiation in the types or roles of visualization materials, changes in the types, processes, and skills of inquiry must first occur, as must changes in the structure of chapters or lessons. Continuous research and discussion on the standards and methods for authorized textbooks are also needed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.240-251
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• 2002

In this study, we analyzed differences of explanation on gas pressure and atmospheric pressure in elementary and secondary school science textbooks and general chemistry and general earth science textbooks based on three types of explanation criteria: first, explanation of mass; second, explanation of air pressure on unit area; third. explanation of molecular motion. The results were as follows. Elementary science textbook belonged to the first type. All of the secondary school chemistry textbooks belonged to the third type. But most of the general chemistry textbooks belonged to the first and second type. Most of the earth science textbooks for secondary school and most of the general earth science textbooks belonged to the first type. Therefore, the differences of explanation could disturb students' understanding on gas pressure and atmospheric pressure.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.48-58
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to analyze the contents related to the strata in the elementary science textbooks and to investigate the strata concepts of preservice elementary teachers. As a result of the study, most of the strata knowledge in elementary textbook has an explicit sentence structure, such as A is B. it is limited to being used as a subject of discussion and debate among students in science classes. Formal knowledge, although its meaning is clear, is disadvantageous as a material for core competency education. Regarding strata concepts, 70% of preservice elementary teachers thoughts that heat and pressure were the only key factors in turning sediments into hard rocks. Regarding whether information about the natural information in the geological period can be obtained through the strata, 20% thought that information on the natural environment could be obtained only through fossils and not from the strata. Even 80% of preservice elementary school teachers who thought that informations on the past natural environment could be obtained from the stratum showed a lot of scientific misconceptions in the information contents. In conclusion, in order to increase the effect of core competency education through elementary science education, it is necessary to review the form and contents of strata knowledge presented in elementary science textbooks.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.533-547
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• 2023

This study is an action research aimed at improving the instruction of a teacher educator who teaches science teaching methods to elementary preservice teachers. After identifying the cause of their low levels of curiosity and interest in physics, teaching plans addressing this problem were explored, applied to classes, and reflected upon. Through this process, ways to improve teaching practice in science classes for elementary preservice teachers and pique their scientific curiosity and interest were proposed. A spiral implementation structure that repeats implementation and reflection a total of three times was designed for the prospective preservice teachers who participated in elementary science textbook research physics classes. Self-reports, student participation data, and results from both peer and self-evaluations were collected and analyzed. The reasons for the preservice teachers' low levels of curiosity and interest in science were identified as their inability to recognize and express information gaps and their low levels of willingness to resolve this. Practice expressing information gaps, raising the level of knowledge to be able to recognize information gaps, and a strategy to have the will to resolve information gaps were introduced into the class. To the extent that changes can be made by improving unit classes, elementary preservice teachers can express their curiosity and interest in science through this process.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.783-790
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• 2016

The 'Integrated Inquiry' unit is a new addition in the 5th~6th grade science textbooks, and was developed for the 2009 revised national curriculum. The unit deals with six integrated inquiry process skills: problem cognition, formulating hypotheses, controlling variables, transforming and interpreting data, drawing results, and generalization. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions and the teaching practices of elementary school teachers on this unit in their school curriculum and where improvements can be made. Data was collected from questionnaires filled out by 92 elementary school teachers. The results are as follows: First, teachers do have a positive perception on the importance of teaching integrated process skills. Second, with that being true, this unit ended up receiving both positive and negative reviews by teachers. This research found that there were good and bad responses on the educational aspects of this unit in three particular areas: dealing with the development of integrated inquiry process skills, facilitating science learning in other units, and implementing open inquiry. Third, teachers have difficulties particularly in problem cognition, formulating hypotheses, controlling variables, transforming and interpreting data, generalization, and drawing results. There is a lack of student understanding as well as a lack of professionalism for teachers on this unit, and many issues related to the composition of the textbook. This study may have important implications for making improvements in this unit and teaching integrated process skills.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.383-393
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• 2015

This study analyzed the 6th grade elementary science textbook 'Science stories' reading process of students by utilizing eye movement tracking techniques. Participants read 3 articles in the new experimental science textbooks and solved 9 problems about each article. By understanding and academic achievement results, participants were divided into high-groups, middle-groups, and low-groups. The results of eye movement characteristics of the high-groups and low-groups had the following differences. Number of fixations and number of regressions were higher in high-groups. Average fixation duration and average regressive fixation duration were longer in low-groups. Fixation time for the key sentence of the article was longer in high-groups. Analysis of a scan path and post-interview, high-groups had frequent regression between sentences and they knew where the core of the article is and paid much attention there. In contrast low-groups are sequentially read most articles and some of them had a leap of abnormal range. Problem-solving approach is also different between groups. In conclusion reading style is associated with the science stories comprehension and students who had more regressions, much core search process, effective attention distribution, high concentration showed better understanding results. Also words or sentences used in textbooks are associated with science stories comprehension.