• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.56-68
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to investigate the elementary school teachers' perceptions about the science subject exclusive system. For this study, we developed the questionnaire to investigate teachers' perceptions and 43 elementary school teachers participated in the questionnaire test. And we used participation observation method to investigate characteristics the exclusive elementary science teacher and the elementary school homeroom teacher's science classes. After participation observation, we had interviews with exclusive elementary school science teacher and elementary school homeroom teacher. The results showed that elementary school teachers thought the science subject exclusive system was very necessary. And elementary school teachers thought that the exclusive elementary science teacher had higher professionality about teaching science subject than the homeroom teacher. Then, they expected that the strong points of science subject exclusive system would be some solution to the weak points of homeroom teachers' science classes. We suggested that it must be to enlarge the science subject exclusive system and develope in-service teacher program for the exclusive elementary science teachers.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.227-245
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility of implementing 'responsive teaching (RT)' in elementary school science classrooms. A review of relevant literature yielded a tentative framework of RT which consisted of three characteristics of RT and example practices for each characteristic. The RT framework was used to analyze elementary science lessons on the topic of the transpiration in plant leaves. The data sources were audio recordings of three $5^{th}$ grade classrooms which included both the whole-class instruction and student group activities. The data were examined through collaboration between the teacher who had taught the lessons and a university-based science education researcher. It was revealed that the implementation of RT was limited when the teacher's intervention was focused on completing tasks; when it was out of the contexts of student activities; when the teacher provided earlier what students were supposed to find out by themselves; and when the teacher's comments were evaluation-centered. By contrast, the implementation of RT was made highly possible when the teacher's intervention induced an intellectual debate among students; when the teacher negotiated meanings with students; when the teacher connected what students shared to scientific knowledge; and when the teacher prompted students to solve a new problem. Implications about implementing and studying RT were discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.683-699
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics of teacher learning and changes in teachers' epistemic beliefs within a learning community of elementary science teachers. Three in-service elementary teachers who majored in elementary science education in a doctoral course of a graduate school of education participated in the study, and learning activities in the teachers' beginning learning community provided a context for the study. Data sources included field notes produced by the researcher who engaged jointly in the teacher learning community as a coach, audio-recordings of the teachers' narratives, and artifacts generated by the teachers during the process of teacher learning. Complementary analyses of these multiple sources of data revealed that epistemic beliefs of the three elementary teachers were different and that each teacher made a different plan of science instruction based on his own epistemic belief even after the learning experiences within the teacher community. It was therefore suggested that science teacher education programs should be organized in consideration of the nature of teachers as constructivist learners and their practical resources.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2005

This study is purposed to research the present status and outcomes of adaption of science teacher system in elementary school. The subjects of this study are science teachers, schoolmasters, science supervisors, and 3rd$\~$6th grade students in western office of board of education, Gwangju Metropolitan city. It was found that there are 264 teachers who teach one subject and only two of them were science teachers. In elementary schools, most classroom teachers didn't want to be science teachers and schoolmasters or science supervisors could not afford to adapt science teacher system. After applying science teacher system to 3$\~$6th grade students during one school year, many students were improved in academic achievement and inquiring ability, and they have increased of interest and participation in science activities. This means that science class by science teacher is more effective than that by classroom teacher. Therefore, science teacher system should enlarge to science class in elementary school.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.244-262
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to explore how the practical knowledge used by an elementary school science teacher during learner-centered science instruction can promote elementary students' construction of positive emotion. Using an auto-ethnographic approach over a period of three months, the researchers collected students' interest diaries, post interviews with students, video recordings in science classes, and students' personal diaries and analyzed them by means of the constant comparative method. In this way, the researchers categorized the structure of the practical knowledge held by the teacher and explained how it was applied in learner-centered science instruction to promote students' construction of positive emotion. Three images of an elementary science teacher's practical knowledge emerged and can be categorized under the following headings: 1) 'From science classroom to science $caf{\acute{e}}$', 2) 'Pleasant experiment class for all students and the teacher', and 3) 'A science class for students who were marginalized'. These images were backed up by principles and rules, and the teacher came to embody these images as he implemented these rules. This study also discusses how the impact of a science teacher's practical knowledge on students' construction of positive emotions can be interpreted as promoting positive outcomes rather than negative sanctions, meeting students' expectation from lab activities, and meeting the specific needs of marginalized students in a science class.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.217-230
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• 2014

This study explores the features of sociocultural context of experiment classes taught by a science subject teacher. Two experiment classes on electric circuit for fifth graders were observed and video recorded. The data was also collected through student interviews and teacher interviews. Using the cultural historical activity theory, we extracted the six sociocultural factors and analyzed their interactions. This study could identify that four features of the sociocultural context of the cases. First, the rules of science classes were not decided by the teacher, but formed and modified through the negotiation between the teacher and students or between the students. Second, elementary students played a game, i.e. 'Countdown game', during their electricity experiments, which had both positive and negative influences on science learning. Third, the science teacher feels a limit on life guidance because of the position as a subject teacher in an elementary school. Lastly, although the science teacher had enough time to prepare science classes, there was no guarantee of the improvement of teaching quality. Based on the results of this study, educational implications are discussed in terms of teaching science experiments and of the science subject teacher system.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.117-126
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• 2023

In an elementary school science teacher's guide, the guide in details that can help elementary school teachers with difficulties when preparing and conducting science classes are essential. To gain insights into the development of the 2022 revised curriculum elementary school science teacher's guide, it is necessary to investigate the perceptions and needs of elementary school teacher's guide in details. In this study, we developed a questionnaire by analyzing the components and design of an elementary school science teacher's guide in details to explore elementary school teachers' perceptions and needs. For this purpose, we first investigated elementary school teachers' perceptions of their needs, satisfaction, and the utilization of each component of the current guide in details. Next, we investigated teachers' needs regarding the specific components and design of a guide. The findings were as follows. First, elementary school teachers were delighted with the components that help them prepare and conduct lessons. Second, elementary school teachers wanted an easy-to-read design with a layout that allowed them to see the components they needed for their lessons at a glance. In conclusion, the elementary school science teacher's guide in details to be readable and organized to provide at-a-glance information on lesson preparation, lesson flow, and teaching and learning materials needed for science teaching-learning. Based on the results of this study, new approaches and attempts should be made to develop a textbook that elementary school teachers can utilize in the future.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.430-439
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• 2018

The preservice elementary teachers' goal orientations for science teaching (mastery/ability-approach/ ability-avoidance/work-avoidance goal) were measured. We also examined how the goal orientations were related to their images of science class (preferred/avoided). The results showed that the student teachers (75 males and 82 females) tended to have the mastery or ability-approach goals rather than the ability-avoidance or work-avoidance goals for science teaching. For avoided class, they tended to show teacher-centered components (eg., teacher: lecturing, students: watching and listening, environment: chalkboard), while rarely to show such teacher-centered components for preferred class. Regarding the relationships between the goal orientations and the images of science class, the significantly positive relationship was found between the ability-approach goal orientation and teacher-centered image of avoided class. However, the teacher-centered image for preferred class was positively related to the ability-avoidance goal orientation. The educational implications and future directions were discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.75-89
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• 2001

The purpose of this study is to get the more qualified elementary science teacher's guide as a major curriculum material for teachers and to find more improvement suggestions by analyzing of the teachers' perception and using status of it. To examine the problems of this study, 183 teachers from the elementary schools were surveyed by the questionnaire that was developed by researcher, and statistical technique for data analysis was frequency, using SPSS win(version 7.5). Teachers generally thought that the general remarks of the elementary science teacher's guide were helpful to understand elementary science education and the detailed subjects were useful, but teachers less satisfied about 'practice of teaching' of the detailed subjects. The most interested sector of the teachers' was the sector of the teaching methods. The results of this study were that the sector' the methods and evaluation of the elementary science education' of the general remarks and the sector' practice of teaching' of the detailed subjects were mostly interested. So it is necessary to be more detailedly guided when the development of the elementary science teacher's guide are considered.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.205-215
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• 2016

This study aims to investigate how elementary teachers use teachers' guide in preparation for science lessons. First, different uses of teacher's guide were analyzed. Second, how and why teachers use each section in teacher's guide were analyzed. For the study, 24 elementary school teachers were interviewed in depth. The semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted individually and/or in small group, and additional interviews were held when necessary. The results showed that most of the teachers used teacher's guide only substitutionally, and some teachers rarely use teacher's guide, while only 3 out of 24 teachers used teacher's guide in detail. The reasons that teachers used the teacher's guide substitutionally or rarely were that most science lessons include experiments, and science textbook itself provides enough information for preparation of science lessons for 3rd and 4th grade students. The results also revealed that only few teachers read the general guideline in teacher's guide. Some sections of teacher's guide were not used. The sections that many teachers used were the aims of lesson, the learning system of the unit, background knowledge, flow of lesson, learning contents and activities. This study specifically examined the actual use of teacher's guide for lesson preparation and discussed implications for the development of more helpful teacher's guide.