• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.153-167
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• 2007

In this study, it is assumed that understanding the nature of science (NOS) would enhance students' performance of scientific inquiry in more authentic ways. The ultimate goal of this study is to suggest new models for developing scientific inquiry activities through understanding the NOS by linking the NOS with scientific inquiry. First, the various definitions and statements of the NOS are summarized, then the features of the developmental nature of scientific knowledge and the nature of scientific thinking based on the philosophy of science are reviewed, and finally a synthetic list of the elements of the NOS is proposed, consisting of three categories: the nature of scientific knowledge, the nature of scientific inquiry, and the nature of scientific thinking. This suggested synthetic list of the NOS is used to suggest a model of scientific inquiry through the understanding of the NOS. This list was designed to provide basic standards regarding the NOS as well as practical guidance for designing activities to improve students' understanding of the NOS.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.273-288
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• 2020

This study aims to investigate the presentation of the Nature of Science (NOS) in integrated science textbooks of the 2015 revised curriculum. The five integrated science textbooks published by the revised 2015 curriculum were analyzed with the conceptual framework of the four themes of the Nature of Science (NOS) (Lee, 2013) based on scientific literacy. The four themes of the NOS are 1. nature of scientific knowledge (theme I), 2. nature of scientific inquiry (theme II), 3. nature of scientific thinking (theme III), and 4. nature of interactions among science, technology, and society. The reliability of the textbooks analysis was measured between two coders by the Cohen's kappa and resulted in between 0,83 and 0,96, which means the results of analysis was consistent and reliable. The findings were as follows. First, overall theme II, nature of scientific inquiry emphasized on the integrated science textbooks of the 2015 revised curriculum by devoting the contents over 40 % in the all five publishing companies' textbooks. Second, while the theme II, nature of scientific inquiry was emphasized on the textbooks regardless of the publishing companies, other themes of the NOS were emphasized in different portions by the publishing companies. Thus, the focus among other three themes of the NOS was presented differently by the publishing companies except that in theme II, nature of scientific inquiry was most emphasized on integrated science textbooks. Third, the presentation of the NOS was identified similarly across the topics of integrated science textbooks except on topic 4. Environment and Energy. The theme IV, nature of interactions among science, technology, and society was emphasized reasonably only in the topic of Environment and Energy of the textbooks. Finally, the presentation of the NOS in the integrated science textbooks of the 2015 revised curriculum were more balanced among the four themes of the NOS with focus on the scientific inquiry compared to the previous curriculum textbooks.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.553-568
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• 2013

Although many researchers and science educators agree that understanding of the nature of science is essential in order for students to be a scientific literate person, it is not easy to compromise exactly what kind of understanding of the nature of science is required to achieve this goal (Smith & Scharmann, 1999). This study discusses a theoretical background about the nature of science (NOS) including some consensus views of the NOS that several important U.S. educational reform documents and science researchers have presented over the past several decades. Finally, this study proposes an inclusive framework of the nature of science based on the four categories of scientific literacy, which are (1) science as a body of knowledge, (2) science as a way of investigating, (3) science as a way of thinking, and (4) the interaction of science, technology, and society. Each category of the framework includes several statements about the nature of science to describe each theme of the NOS. This framework is comprehensive and inclusive because it is suggested by examining several major U.S. national-level documents and in the publications of science education researchers presented about the nature of science. Significantly, many of the key ideas were added into category (4) and category (3), which indicates that the current literature stresses the relationship among science, technology, and society as well as the work of scientists.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.759-767
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• 2008

This article arose from the previous studies, which suggested a synthetic list for the nature of science (NOS), discussed the relationship between the NOS and scientific inquiry and the development of the NOS in the context of scientific inquiry. In this article, for teaching scientific inquiry through the NOS, I proposed three teaching models - reflection, interaction, and the direct model -. Within these teaching models, understanding the NOS is viewed as a prerequisite condition for the improved performance of scientific inquiry. In the reflection model, the NOS is embedded and reflected in scientific inquiry without explicit introduction or direct explanation of the NOS. In the interaction model, concrete interaction between scientific inquiry and the NOS is encouraged during the process of scientific inquiry. In the direct model, subsequent to directly comprehending the NOS at the first stage of activity, students conduct scientific inquiry based on their understanding of the NOS. The intention of this present article is to facilitate the use of these models to develop teaching materials for more authentic scientific inquiry.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.51-60
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• 2020

In this study, we propose research methods to explore the nature of earth science by applying the phenomenological approach and NOS-family resemblance approach based on literature review. The phenomenological approach exploring the nature of earth science is a method of collecting, analyzing and synthesizing multifaceted features of earth science from intuitive sensory phenomena without prejudice. As a way of exploring the nature of earth science from a phenomenological point of view, we propose the NOS-family resemblance approach to the NOS. This approach provides a comprehensive explanation of NOS by combining the characteristics shared by different areas of science with distinct differences. Applying this method to exploring the nature of earth science, we can identify both domain-general and domain-specific characteristics that make sub-areas of earth science a 'family.' For example, through the networking of features shared by such sub-areas as geology, atmospheric science, oceanography, astronomy, earth system science, etc., we can extract the family-resemblance characteristics that make these sub-areas a family called earth science. Through these approaches to the nature of earth science, the richness, complexity, and dynamic nature of earth science can be revealed as a whole. In addition, we will be able to grasp the change in the sub-areas that constitute the earth science, which in turn changes the nature of earth science, and to contribute to establishing the status and development system of earth science as a school subject.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.100-107
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• 2003

The purpose of this study is to assess gifted students' conceptions about nature of science (NOS). Scientifically gifted students who are expected to be professionals in the future should possess an adequate understanding of NOS that if firm foundation for scientific career. 47 volunteers from the 8th grade gifted science program in Seoul National University Gifted Education Center participated to answer questions inquiring NOS conceptions. Their answers were analyzed and compared to different groups such as non-gifted students and younger gifted students. As a result, gifted students' understanding of NOS appeared to surpass that of non-gifted students in many aspects and it seemed that gifted students formed their NOS view in early ages. The relative weakness in their NOS conceptions was found in understanding of scientific enterprise. Their strong misunderstanding about obstacles that minority people would face in scientific enterprise was noticed, too. They admitted that there has been discrimination in scientific enterprise, but they wrongly believed that outstanding scientists cannot be affected by it. Further studies will be required to probe more.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.249-260
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• 2010

The main purpose of this study is to examine the effects of explicit instructions on the nature of science (NOS) on the understanding of science-gifted students. Participants were engaged in 8 explicit NOS instructions spanning 6 months. Data were collected before and after the instructions from 20 science-gifted students using student worksheets, open-ended questionnaires (Views of Nature Of Science, VNOS), and in-depth interviews. The results of this study showed that explicit instructions were helpful in improving the understanding of the tentativeness in science and socially and culturally embedded aspects of science. However, participants not only still possess naive views on the nature of science about the distinction of law and theory and the empirical aspects of science, but also had conflicting views and misconceptions in some areas. The study has implication for development of science-gifted program that the explicit instructions on NOS and science inquiry should be provided concurrently, given the complementary relationship of the two activities.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.749-758
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• 2008

Even though the importance of the nature of science (NOS) and scientific inquiry in science learning have been emphasized by many science educators and science curriculums, the link between the NOS and scientific inquiry has not been discussed sufficiently. In this article, I discussed that various aspects of NOS are already embedded in defining and characterizing the authentic scientific inquiry and that we need to have special concern about how the NOS should be treated and interpreted when introducing it into scientific inquiry. And I summarized two approaches to teach the NOS and scientific inquiry; teaching the NOS through scientific inquiry and teaching scientific inquiry through the NOS. Finally, some next studies based on this article are introduced.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.261-272
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• 2008

This study focused on explicitly instructional effects about NOS(Nature of Science) of sixth grade students. Participants were 28 sixth grade students. Data sources included classroom observations of the explicit NOS science lessons, questionnaire, and interviews. 5 students among the participants were selected for the interviews. Date were analyzed for finding the changes of students' thoughts. Before the instruction, the majority of participants held naive views of NOS, but after the instruction, the majority of participants held informed views of NOS. Developing informed conception of NOS within curriculum is necessary to growth of science education.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.721-738
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• 2018

Nature of Science(NOS) has been a well-organized focus of science education and one of the key elements in defining and cultivating scientific literacy for more than a century. In recent years, a specific description of NOS, which is often known as 'the consensus view of NOS', has become very influential and has gained ready acceptance as an arrangement for both curriculum building and research into understanding of NOS by students and teachers in many countries around the world. This study has two purposes; one is to review some debates and criticism on the consensus view of NOS which consists of a list of sentences to describe nature of refined and general science, which have been heated up for the last few years by many prominent science education researchers, and the other is to consider alternative perspectives on NOS for the purpose of a new direction of NOS education. As a result of an investigation into such views as 'Teaching about NOS', 'Critical NOS', 'Critical Thinking-NOS', 'Whole Science', 'Features of Science' and 'Reconceptualized Family Resemblance Approach to NOS', some implications which focus on the generality and plurality of content knowledge of NOS based on current philosophy of science and sociology of scientific knowledge are suggested for the improvement of teaching and learning NOS.