• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.707-715
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• 2019

The self-directed inquiry to improve students' core scientific competency is an important teaching method. Students experience a variety of difficulties in carrying out their inquiry tasks, sometimes fail to produce the desired results, or fail to perform a meaningless inquiry. This study was conducted to identify the causes of difficulties and failures in students' self-directed scientific inquiry. The study involved 16 high school students with experience in science research at science high schools and science-focused high schools. The data collection consisted of in-depth interviews centered on semi-structured open questions. Qualitative data analysis was imputed by finding paragraphs from the interview material that might reveal the difficulties and failures experienced by participants and the reasons for them. The study found that most of the causes of failure were lack of ability, incomplete procedures, and selection of complicated tasks. A variety of cognitive biases, such as overconfidence, planning fallacy, and groupthink, were also analyzed as causes. Based on the results of the study, it is necessary to develop an educational strategy that students can be fully prepared to reduce their trials and errors in a self-directed inquiry maximally.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.89-96
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• 2020

This study explores the characteristics and ways to improve the area of science education in secondary teacher employment test (hereafter, TET). We investigated ways to differentiate second-phase science education tests from those of the first phase in the TET, and ways to improve practical tests such as designing instructional plans, teaching demonstrations, in-depth interviews, and science experiment tests. Major findings of the study include increasing the proportion of teaching demonstration while maintaining the test of designing instructional plans, which have a different focus from the paper-based exam in the first phase of the TET. Teaching demonstration tests, applying the credit of student-teaching to the TET, assessing teaching expertise in real classroom contexts focusing on subject teaching expertise, etc. along with science experiment tests, making the science experiment test compulsory for all municipal offices of education, and the necessity of evaluating the experimental design and teaching of scientific inquiry. Based on these results, developing and implementing tests such as teaching demonstrations, in-depth interviews, etc. at the local municipal education offices, introducing the apprentice teacher system, and introducing graduate schools of education were suggested.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.95-112
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• 2012

The research evaluated the effects of the improvements in scientific inquiry for elementary school students and focused on the development and application of the explicit and reflective learning strategy through observation and classification. The explicit and reflective learning strategy was modified and completed with the review of the experts after the development of the draft based on the theoretical approach. The students were evaluated for their academic achievements in scientific inquiry skills before and after taking the course. The results were as follows: First, the steps of the developed learning strategy (1) to motivate, (2) to explore reflectively, (3) to guide explicitly, (4) to inquire explicitly, and (5) to verify reflectively were set to reflect the verification. Second, the results of applying the developed model to the lessons based on the quantitative analysis was effective for observation and classification skills in the quest for improved performance of the whole (the sum of observation and classification, inquiry skills) and the observed features, but there was no effect on classification. Also, the lessons applied the developed teaching strategy and showed effectiveness in improving academic achievement. Particularly in analyzing the relationship between the academic achievement and exploration capabilities, in order to improve academic achievement, the importance of improving inquiry skills was found. Third, the qualitative analysis of teaching and learning strategy developed by applying the lessons of this teacher guide and small group activities through the explicit and reflective observation and classification of the student learning activities showed the significant improvement of ability of the scientific inquiry skills. In addition to the improvement in the abilities of the classification showed after the formation of the most basic observation skills of the scientific inquiry.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.29-47
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• 2004

Two project-centered secondary school programs were studied as part of an effort to elucidate successful components for science reform-based curriculum development. The Teachers for Exciting Science (TES), and Foundational Approaches in Science Teaching (FAST) programs in Korea and U.S., respectively, are project-centered programs because their curricula are centered on the activities initiated and engaged in by the students. Students serve as principal investigators in their projects, and teachers serve as guides. Both programs were analyzed based on criteria such as curriculum design, teaching, lives of students, lives of teachers, evaluation of program, from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). In the programs, teachers and students directed the development of curricula and their implementation. Students assumed teacher roles as mentors of other students. And emphasis was on development of communication skills through student-delivered talks and written papers, and professional development of teachers as educators and scientists. Participation in TES stimulated secondary school student interest in science, encouraged inquiry thinking, increased achievement in learning science, and promoted better awareness of science related to real life. FAST students practice laboratory and field techniques, experimental design, hypothesis formation, generalization, and practical implications of research as academic and applied disciplinarians. These project-centered programs have been successfully implemented in field, lab, and classroom curricula for secondary science education. Comparison of these programs will provide an opportunity for identifying key elements instrumental in successful implementation of guidelines for science education, as measured through successful outcomes.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.57 no.6
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• pp.845-854
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to develop a teaching strategy focused on science writing and to investigate its effects on enhancing students' creative thinking skills. In advance, students in the experiment were led to write by inquiry elements. And students in the experiment group were taught by science writing strategy. Students in the control group were taught by traditional lecture-based instructions. The program was implemented over a semester. The results indicated that the experimental group presented statistically meaningful improvement in creative thinking skills(p<.05). Especially, science writing was effective on fluency and flexibility development(p<.05). This study suggests that science writing can be effective for improvement of creative thinking skills.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.357-370
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• 2022

In this paper, we developed an augmented reality learning tool suitable for chemical bond learning and proposed a process-oriented guided inquiry learning using mobile augmented reality (POGIL-MAR) to find out how it affects science achievement, science learning motivation and learning flow. Participants were 139 10^th-grade students from a coeducational high school in Gyeonggi-do, and they were randomly assigned to the control group (TL), the treatment group 1 (POGIL), and the treatment group 2 (POGIL-MAR). They learned the concept of the chemical bond from the Integrated Science subject for four class periods. Results of two-way ANCOVA revealed that the POGIL-MAR group scored significantly higher than the other groups in a science achievement test, science learning motivation test, and learning flow test, regardless of their prior science achievement. In addition, in the case of the low-level group, the POGIL-MAR group showed a statistically significant improvement in achievement compared to the TL and POGIL groups. The MANCOVA analysis for sub-factors of science learning motivation show that the POGIL-MAR group had significantly higher scores in intrinsic motivation, career motivation, self-determination, self-efficacy, and grade motivation. In particular, the interaction effect between the teaching and learning method and the level of prior achievement was significant in the intrinsic motivation. Meanwhile, the MANCOVA analysis for sub-factors of learning flow show that the POGIL-MAR group had significantly higher scores in clear goals, unambiguous feedback, action-awareness merging, sense of control, and autotelic experience. Based on the results, educational implications for effective teaching and learning strategy using mobile augmented reality are discussed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.855-865
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• 2012

The goal of this research is to investigate ways to improve science teaching methods to develop students' key competencies. Since the OECD DeSeCo (Definition and Selection of Key Competencies) project, key competencies are redefined as 'what people should know and be able to do in order to lead a successful life in a well-functioning society, which leads many countries to emphasize competency-based curriculum. In this research, we collected and analyzed foreign and domestic classroom cases that have implemented competency-based curriculum in science teaching. Through open-ended interviews with the teachers and principals, we explored ways to improve science teaching methods to develop students' key competencies. In foreign cases, science teachers emphasized students' knowing what KCs to accomplish, activities and student-centered learning, students' group activities and collaboration, and greater curriculum integration among subjects and contexts. Korean science teachers argued that the KCs should be realized through teaching methods and emphasized scientific inquiry learning whereby non-science track students could also benefit from science lessons. Korean science teachers also emphasized links to real-life situations, providing students with various learning experiences that supported students to develop the KCs, and the delivery of an integrated curriculum. In the conclusion section, the difficulties with the implementation of key competencies are discussed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.515-529
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• 2020

'Scientific inquiry experiments', which was newly created subjects in the 2015 revised curriculum, was expected in the aspect of learning science and developing core competences through science practices. Based on changed view of evaluation, assessments of a practice-centered subject 'Scientific inquiry experiments' should be try to conducted in various ways, but many challenges were reported. In this study, through analysis of current status of assessment of the subject, we intended to find the way of conducting and supporting 'Scientific inquiry experiments'. We collected assessment materials and explanatory description about them from 25 teachers who taught 'Scientific inquiry experiments' in 2018 and 2019. And we analyzed the cases with framework which were consisted with three main categories: elements, standards, methods of assessments. Also, we investigated how the results of assessment were utilized. For the validity, we requested verification of the results of our data analysis to experts of science education and science teachers. From them, we also collected their opinions about our analysis. As a result of the study, teachers assessed some elements of inquiry skills such as 'analysis and interpreting the data', 'conducting inquiry' more than others which were closely related to what subject-matter the teachers used to organized inquiry program with. In the aspect of domain of assessments, though cognitive domain and affective domain as well as skills were evaluated, we also found that the assessment of those domains had some limitation. In terms of standard of assessment, the goals of assessment were presented in most cases, but there were relatively few cases which had the specific criteria and the stepwise statements of expected performance of students. The time and subject of the assessment were mainly post-class and teachers, and others such as in-class assessments, peer-assessments were used only in specific contexts. In all cases, the results of assessments used for calculating students' grade, but in some cases, we could observe that the results used for improving teaching and feedback for students. Based on these results, we discussed how to support the assessments of 'Scientific inquiry experiments'.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.69-82
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• 2016

Objective: This study aimed to explore early childhood educators' anxiety regarding science education via Q-methodology. Methods: As the first step, 268 Q samples were collected from resources such as books and research papers related to science education for young children. Through five stages of excluding and modifying, a set of 33 Q statements was finalized. The P sample consisted of 40 early childhood educators and was based on educational levels, years of teaching experiences and types of centers. The collected data were analyzed using QUANL statistical program. Results: The results of this study indicate that science anxiety among early childhood educators are classified into four types, explaining 45.13% of the total variance. Conclusion: We conclude that early childhood educators' science anxiety stems from "preparing educational environment and materials," "instructional methods focused on process and scientific inquiry skills," "lack of understanding regarding early childhood science education," and "simple science avoidance."

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.66 no.5
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• pp.362-375
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• 2022

In this study, science teachers' NOS lessons were observed and the characteristics of the lessons were analyzed. Three science teachers who taught NOS in the 'Science Inquiry Experiment' developed under the 2015 revised curriculum participated in the study. Their NOS lessons were observed and interviews were conducted before and after lessons. The collected data were analyzed using analytical induction and constant comparative method. The analyses of the result revealed the teachers' naive views on NOS were also revealed during the lessons. There were some cases where they showed naive views during the lessons even if they showed informed views in the interviews. Although the domains of NOS taught by them were diverse, all of them taught 'tentativeness' and considered this an important goal. They tended to teach NOS with content related with their major, and teaching NOS was found to be deeply related to their major. In the activity where students learn NOS by inferring the unknown object, teachers disclosed the unknown object, which is unlike the rule of the activity. They thought that could help students' learning. At last, although they emphasized teaching NOS, they either did not assess NOS or assessed NOS in a limited way. Based on the results, some directions for teacher education and follow-up study are suggested.