• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.377-387
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• 2016

Whether textbooks faithfully reflect the curriculum contents is an important educational issue. The previous studies on the textbooks did not analyze the relationship described in the textbooks or the structure. In this regard, this study aims to analyze how the concept of life science area in the elementary school science textbooks developed on the basis of the 2009 revised curriculum is linked. In addition, it seeks to analyze how the concept presented in the learning content achievement standards of the curriculum is connected to other concepts. Towards this end, the conceptual linkage of eight units in the life science domain of elementary school science textbooks based on the 2009 revised curriculum was analyzed. The contents of the life science domain in the science textbooks were analyzed through a semantic network analysis, and the semantic network on the concept linked to the one described in curriculum's learning objectives was also analyzed. The results are as follows: 1) It will be difficult for students to understand the concept due to the complexity of the semantic network resulting from a number of concepts. 2) The curriculum's learning objectives presented in the curriculum are not faithfully reflected in the textbooks. 3) The textbooks are described on the basis of specific curriculum's learning objectives. Based on the findings of this study, the number of concepts described in the elementary school science textbooks needs to be significantly reduced so that the concepts can be meaningfully linked to each other.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.635-641
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• 1998

The purpose of this study was to suggest a new direction of learning method in botany based on the analysis of a classification system and concepts in Science(Biology) textbooks of elementary and secondary school. Elementary and secondary school textbooks of Biology have been analyzed for plant classification system and concepts. Findings are summarized as belows. 1. In textbook of elementary school, the organization of life is grouped into Plantae and Animalia. Learning contents of plant are divided by the size and habitat. However, this system of classification might cause false concepts. Therefore, learning contents should be organized as whether they are flowering plants or not. 2. In a textbook of middle school, the organization of life is grouped into Plantae and Animalia. For a textbook of high school, it is grouped into three kingdoms; Plantae, Animalia and Prorista. With the idea of new age of Life Science, we should change the standards to 5 kingdoms; Plantae, Animalia, Proristae, Fungi and Monera. Moreover, it would be desirable if the concept of plant classification could be explained with a general outline, not by an individual interpretation focusing on characters of species only. In addition to the above indications, a learning course should provide present a standard classification according to a cognitive developemental level. It also has to teach students how to classify plant, in secondary school. Learning materials focusing on algae of the present system, but should be organized based on Seed plants.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.102-111
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• 2010

This study examined the instructional influences of MBL programs on elementary school students' science achievement, scientific inquiry skills, and science learning motivation. The perceptions of students and their teacher toward science classes using MBL programs were also examined. The subject of this study was sixty four 4th grade students from two classes. The experimental group engaged in science classes that applied MBL and the control group engaged in traditional science classes based on the textbook and experiment workbook. As results, there was no significant difference in academic achievement, scientific inquiry skills, however, were significantly higher for the experiment group compared to the control group. There was also significant difference in the relevance and confidence, the sub-categories of science learning motivation. In the analyses of students' perceptions toward science classes using MBL, students showed positive perceptions in aspects of interests of science classes, content comprehension, and convenience of experiments. The teacher also showed positive perceptions using MBL in elementary science classes. Educational implications of appling MBL in elementary science classes were discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.341-358
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to develop performance assessment materials of scientific inquiry skills on sixty scientific activities in elementary science textbook for fifth and sixth grades. For this study, a total of 500 elementary teachers were sampled and surveys were carried out to examine the status of performance assessment of scientific inquiry skills in school. The classification system of assessment methods by Hart(1994) was also analyzed to create' assessment strategy of scientific inquiry skills' for elementary school students. Based on the quantitative data analysis and literature study, performance assessment materials were developed and applied to science classes for fifth and sixth grades. Teachers and students were interviewed after the classes for asking about merits and improvements and the performance assessment materials were revised. This study can provide elementary school teachers with reliable sources for performance assessment of scientific inquiry skills utilized in their science classes.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.331-339
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to make a list of scientific terms to decrease students' difficulties of science learning. By using inductive method, database has established from elementary school science textbooks and laboratory observation books. All terms from physics area of science textbooks and laboratory observation books at the levels of grade 3 to 6 were analyzed based on the Standard Korean Dictionary (1999) and Book of Physics Terminology (2005). As a result, we made a list of 204 scientific terms by grade level. Those were 51 words for grade 3, 55 words for grade 4, 56 words for grade 5, and 42 words for grade 6. And there were some incongruities among textbooks, the Standard Korean Dictionary and the Book of Physics Terminology.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.473-486
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• 2008

This study was to compare 'experiment' presentation types of middle school science textbooks of Korea, Japan, and China and to draw some implication for the improvement of Korean science textbooks. It analyzed the experiments from the unit 'Light' of science textbooks which is common content in all three different science textbooks. The researchers analyzed the experiments with two questions. First, how is the experiment organized? Second, what role does each element of the experiment is playing in the experiment setting? The findings of international comparative analysis of experiment presentation types of middle school science textbooks of three countries were as follows. First, the Korean and Chinese textbooks tended to present the experiments without enough information for the experimental process and method, whereas the Japanese textbook tended to present the experiment with detailed information for the experimental method and process. Second, whereas the Korean and Chinese textbooks tended to have a loosened relationship among pre-experimental content, experiment, after-experiment content, the Japanese textbook tended to have an organic relationship among pre-experimental content, experiment, after-experiment content.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.129-142
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• 2017

In this study, the characteristics of the reading materials in elementary school science textbooks developed under the 2009 revised National Science Curriculum were investigated. The criteria for classifying the reading materials were the types of topic, purpose, students' activity, and presentation. The visual images in the reading materials were also analyzed from the viewpoint of type, role, caption type, and proximity type. The results indicated that the number of the reading materials in the 2009 revised science textbooks decreased compared to that of the 2007 revised science textbooks. It was also found that the frequencies of the reading materials expanding concepts of the text and/or requiring corresponding students' inquiry increased. More visual images were used in the reading materials of the 2009 revised science textbooks. However, several limitations were still found to exist; most visual images were illustration and/or picture; many visual images were presented without a caption; there was a problem in the proximity of visual image to text.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.11 no.7
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• pp.611-620
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to analyze the elementary school teachers＇perception toward the environment-related subjects in science education and to investigate their instructional methods in delivering the subjects in the classroom. The participants of this study were 300 elementary school teachers sampled from elementary schools in Kyung Nam Province. The findings of this study were as follows; First, more than half of the teachers surveyed showed that the environment-related units and contents in the science textbook were insufficient to the existing issues. Second, the large portion of teachers responded that the teaching materials in the textbook were insufficient to deliver the contents. Third, the largest portion of respondents replied that their preferred instructional method was a teacher-directed instruction followed by a case study approach. Fourth, in terms of the effectiveness of environmental education, both male and female teachers showed negative responses. Furthermore, male teachers were more negative than female teachers. Fifth, total means of their preference of the environment-related units was 3.13. The unit for sixth graders titled｀Environmental Pollution and Protecting Nature＇showed the highest preference, whereas the unit for fifth graders titled｀Structure and Functions of Plants＇showed the lowest preference. Sixth, there was no statistically significance in gender and their working areas. Seventh, there was statistically significant differences between male and female teachers in terms of teaching experience. In detail, the teachers with 5 to 9 teaching experience showed the lowest scores, while the teacher with more than 15 years teaching experience showed the highest scores in their perception of the units. Eighth, there was a significant difference between two groups in terms of their educational background. For example, two-year college graduates showed higher preference than four-year college graduates.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.420-435
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• 2009

The aims of this study are to analyze and compare the elementary textbook contents of science in Korea, USA and England and to make suggestions for the improvement of integrative contents in Korean science textbooks. For this study, lessons on living things in the three grade science textbooks of three different countries were selected and analyzed according to the five criteria: component elements of the lesson, integration of knowledges and investigations, integration of subject and life, connection with other subjects and focus of integration. From this comparative study, five suggestions are inferred for the improvement of the Korean elementary science textbooks. First, it is recommended that Korean textbooks should present unit objectives and evaluative components in the introductive part and last part of each lesson. Second, Korean textbooks should include scientific knowledges as a way of presenting educational contents. Third, Korean textbooks are recommended to include integrated contents fitting for students' life context. Fourth, Korean textbooks are recommended to integrate contents in connection with mathematics, arts, literature and so on. Fifth, issues which can facilitate students to understand contents in the textbooks and to relate to their life should be more employed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.26-38
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to grasp the characteristics of composition regarding the material-centered integrated unit of environmental and natural studies, a science subject in Finland, to investigate a need for applying the material-centered integrated unit to the science curriculum of Korea. For the purpose, the study made an analysis on contents, inquiry activities, and visual materials (the most important in the elementary science curriculum and textbook composition), and it brought following results: First, as a result of analyzing the area of contents, the bicycle material-centered integrated unit comprised a large proportion of 44 pages (25.3%) of the whole 174 pages from the environmental and natural studies textbook for the third grade. The contents included such various concepts as traffic rules, safety, environmental protection and pollution, recycling and separate collection, tubes and triangular structures, wedges and screws, leverage, wheels, axles, gears, elasticity (spring), friction, and so on. Second, as a result of analyzing contents related to the thinking ability of inquiry activities, "expecting or confirming expectations" and "application" are included in every lesson, and one lesson is composed in such a way that students can study on bicycles as a practical material for their daily life and they can improve various thinking abilities. Third, as a result of analyzing the circumstances of inquiry activities, daily circumstances made up eight lessons (80.0%) and technical and social circumstances made up two lessons (20.0%) by focusing on bicycles, a material related to students' daily life. Fourth, as a result of analyzing visual materials, the percentage of pictures and photos was high at 53.4% and 45.2% respectively. As a result of analyzing the role of visual materials, the percentage of the illustrative role and explanatory-complementary role was high at 52.1% and 47.9% respectively. Lastly, as a result of analyzing from the epistemological view to interpret the relation between visual materials and students and the position of visual materials, the visual textbook materials were provided toward a way that students can decrease their feeling of epistemological separation in the three fields of ideational metafunction, interpersonal metafunction, and textual metafunction.