• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.134-143
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to devise a new method for examining the readabilities of textbooks and to compare the readabilities of elementary school science textbooks. Third and sixth grade science textbooks were compared in terms of word, sentence, and paragraph in this study. In the word analyses, criterion suggested by Kim (2003) who classified about 238,000 words into seven categories according to their educational importances was adopted. In this study, the words from 3rd and 6th grade science textbooks were classified into four categories, and then the kinds and frequencies of words in each category were investigated. In the sentence analyses, sentences were classified either a simple sentence or a compound/complex sentence, and the ratios of each type were calculated. The average number of words in a sentence was also calculated in the sentence analyses. The ratios of conjunctions and demonstratives were examined in the paragraph analyses. The results indicated that both the kinds and frequencies of words in 3rd grade science textbook were smaller than those of 6th grade one. However, both science textbooks were similar in the distributions of words across the four categories. The ratio of simple sentences in 3rd grade science textbook was higher than that of 6th grade one, and the length of a sentence in 3rd grade science textbook was also shorter than that of 6th grade one. Both the ratios of conjunctions and demonstratives in 3rd grade science textbook were lower than those of 6th grade one.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.453-464
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• 2019

In this study, the types of inquiry activities in the $5^{th}$ & $6^{th}$ grade science textbooks according to the 2015 revised science national curriculum were analyzed and compared according to grade level and science area. Science textbooks for elementary school $5^{th}$ & $6^{th}$ graders contain quite diverse types of inquiry activities, which are student-centered inquiry activities. There were comparatively higher proportions of inquiry types such as experiment & observation and simulation, but relatively lower of inquiry types of investigation-discourse & presentation, discussion, expression. Elementary science textbooks are expected to cultivate science key competencies for elementary school students. Considering the science area, the motion & energy, substances, earth & space, and integration areas had the most experiment & observation among activity types, while the life area had the most simulation activities. Even in some area of the 6th grade science textbook, there was little or no data interpretation, discussion, and simulation activities. In order to achieve the goal of elementary science education, science textbooks should be developed considering the revision of future elementary science curriculum.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.229-242
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to analyze the elementary teachers' conceptions on the inquiry activity about 'make a fossil model' focusing the 6th, 7th, 2007 revised, and 2009 revised elementary science textbook. This study is intended to find causes of teachers' conceptions and to derive educational implications. We have analyzed questionnaires which were collected from 77 elementary school teachers. It was carried out about comparisons actual fossil with fossil model in each step of the inquiry activity, the lesson goal, the thought for changes of the inquiry activity, the improvement of the inquiry and conception related fossil. Teachers have a general understanding about the contents of the inquiry activity but some of them have partially incorrect understanding. And they emphasize the understanding of the concept on lesson goal. It is necessary to improve inquiry activity reflecting teachers' thinking about the merit and weaknesses. There was not statistically difference in understanding of fossil related concepts according to teachers' career, teaching or training experience. Through this research, there is a need to improve a textbook, a guide book, a teachers' training. So, teachers who have professionalism about science textbook be able to teach students.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.55-69
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to investigate statistical units of elementary school mathematics textbooks upon on the statistical problem solving process to provide useful information for qualitative improvement of developing curriculum and teaching materials. This study analyzed the statistical units from the textbooks of 1st to 6th year along the 2009 revised national curriculum. The analysis frame is based on the 4 phases of the statistical problem solving process: formulate questions, plan and collect data, present and analyze data and interpret data.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.475-488
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary students' difficulties when they read the illustrations on scientific textbook. 5 illustrations were selected on basis that they had some of the textual/graphical features. The data were collected from open-ended questionnaires and follow-up interviews. To investigate difficulties of reading illustrations, 100 sixth grade students participated in this study and interviews were taken to 9 volunteers among those participants. The results showed that many students had difficulties in the integration of verbal representation and realistic image representation on the illustration, therefore they often misunderstood the meaning of illustration. These results gave several recommendations when we used illustrations as educational materials. Teachers would be better to guide that students could understand illustrations with the integration of the reading of one or more representations.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.194-209
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• 2023

This study aims to present implications for the appropriate establishment and development of a science-authorized textbook system through an understanding of the process of selecting science-authorized textbooks and analyzing the perception of teachers. Toward this end, this study conducted interviews with five elementary school teachers who participated in the science textbook selection process, surveys on 32 teachers, and analysis on the authors of the textbooks. The result demonstrated, first, that the "opinion gathering" stage was the most important one, and a council was formed in consideration of career and major. Moreover, the evaluation standard was reorganized and used according to the situation of the school. Second, in the process of opinion gathering, the teachers used a method for reviewing the entire textbook for each teacher. Inquiry activities and textbook composition (readability) were crucially considered as internal factors, and teaching and learning materials, such as videos, were deemed extremely important as external factors. The variable of the author, which is an indicator of the reliability and expertise of textbooks, was also recognized as vital. Third, the deliberation by the School Committee and the report by the principal were recognized as the administrative final step after selection. Finally, selecting the most suitable textbooks for each grade group was recognized as more important than arbitrarily unifying textbooks for the third and fourth grades and for the fifth and sixth grades.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.113-137
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• 1985

It is the purpose of this study that is to develop the materials of the Scientific activities by the medium of "play" having influence on the growth of the lower grades in elementary school. For the sake of this object, this study develops and presents the materials of tile basic logical thinking play and sense-thinking play activities. And it analyzes the degree that they can be applied to the elementary science textbook of nature current now. As a result this provides 39 of materials of the sense-play and 23 of materials of the logical thinking play activities. And then, if the materials presented here are changed adequatly and have the same main subject as contents of the present textbook, we shall be able to utilize them for the textbook of nature.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.301-319
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• 2013

This study is to explore the directions for developing the lesson assessment of the math textbook in elementary school level, which is to embody the recent trends of math assessment and the emphases about assessment given in the revised 2009 math curriculum. To this end, we examined the recent trends of math assessment and the assessment framework of RME (Realistic Math Education) as the theoretical backgrounds. Also we analytically looked at the math-assessment emphases given in the revised 2009 math curriculum, and tried to establish the directions for developing the lesson assessment of the math textbook on the basis of the preceding studies. In addition to, we gave the math items in line with the established directions about lesson assessment. Finally we suggested the issues in relation with the math assessment in the elementary school level.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.56-65
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to investigate how elementary school student understands or students understand the illustrations on the phase change of the Moon in science textbook and to find out how textbook illustration helps students form the conception of the phase change of the Moon. To identify this purpose, we selected illustrations on the phase change of the Moon in the science textbook revised in 2007 and 2009 revised science textbook. For this study we selected and interviewed 20 students in the fifth grade. We integrated all data collected through interviews and created a transcription and a protocol and then, confirmed scientific conceptions related to the phase change of the Moon in students' illustration reading. The result are as followings: First, students read more scientific conceptions related to the phase change of the Moon in illustration of the 2009 revised science textbook which is presented with the universal observer's view point and the earth observer's view point. Second, students who find meaning in the various elements of the illustration and interpret with the integration of the various elements, get a lot of relevant information from illustration. All students have no differences recognizing the elements presented in illustration. But there are differences of contents of illustration reading depending on how students interpret the illustrations with integration of the various elements and if students cannot figure out the four scientific concepts needed to understand the phase change of the Moon, they ignore the information provided by illustration or analysis in their own way according to information provided by illustration. So misconception appears in this process.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.307-324
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• 2022

This study examined the content diversity of seven authorized science textbooks by comparing the characteristics of the science concept description and the contents of inquiry activities in the "weight of objects" unit. For each textbook, the flow of concept description content and the uniqueness of the concept description process were analyzed, and the number of nodes and links and words with high connections were determined using language network analysis. In addition, for the inquiry activities described in each textbook, the inquiry subject, inquiry type, science process skill, and uniqueness were investigated. Results showed that the authorized textbooks displayed no more diversity than expected in their scientific concept description method or their inquiry activity composition. The learning elements, inclusion of subconcepts, and central words were similar for each textbook. The comparison of inquiry activities showed similarities in their contents, inquiry types, and scientific process skills. Specifically, these textbooks did not introduce any research topics or experimental methods that were absent in previous textbooks. However, despite the fact that the authorized textbook system was developed based on the same curriculum, some efforts were made to make use of its strengths. Since the sequence of subconcepts to explain the core contents differed across textbooks, this explanation process was divided into several types, and although the contents of inquiry activities were the same, the materials for inquiry activities were shown differently for each textbook to improve and overcome the difficulties in the existing experiments. These findings necessitate the continuation of efforts to utilize the strengths of certified textbooks.