• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.141-151
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• 2004

Pre-service teachers' understandings on magnet was investigated through the questionnaire method. The questionnaire was composed of 17 questions about the strength of magnet, the magnetized object and the direction of magnetic field around magnet. In this investigation study, 225 pre-service teachers were selected through random sampling method, who were sophomores in a National University of Education. The formation rate of the scientific conceptions on the strength of magnet was 30.3% and that on the direction of magnetic field around magnet was 53.9%. The average formation rate of scientific conception of all questions on magnet was 44.13%, which doesn't seem to be high as expected. It shows that many of subjects of the questionnaire don't understand fully the concept of moleclar magnet model and the superposition effects of magnetic field around magnet. The formation rate of the scientific conception on magnet of females who took courses in sciences in high school were higher than that of females who took courses in arts in high school, which had meaningful difference (p<.05).

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.365-384
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• 2010

This paper is an analysis study where we surveyed how well pre-service teachers understand the mathematical concepts taught in elementary school. We analyzed the results focusing on the following: First, what are the pre-service teachers' understandings of the equal sign and variables? Secondly, how exact are their understandings of other elementary school mathematical concepts? The survey was done on the students in Teachers College of Jeju National University. We hope that the results of this study will help the improvement of mathematical education for elementary pre-service teachers.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.353-366
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• 2011

An alternative vision for science inquiry that appears to be important and challenging is model-based inquiry in which students generate, evaluate and revise their explanatory model. Pre-service teachers should be given opportunities to develop and use their mechanistic explanatory models in order to participate in the practice of science and to have a sound understanding of science. With this view, this study described a case of pre-service elementary teachers' scientific modeling in magnetism. The aims of this study were to explore difficulties preservice elementary teachers encountered while they engaged in a model-based inquiry, and to examine how their understandings of the nature of scientific models changed after the model-based inquiry. The data analysis revealed that the pre-service teachers had difficulties in drawing and writing their own thinking because they had little experience of expressing their own science ideas. When asked to predict what would happen, they could not understand what it meant to make a prediction "based on their model". They did not know how to use or consider their model in making a prediction. At the end of the model-based inquiry they reached a final consensus of a best model. However, they were very anxious about whether the model was the "correct" answer. With respect to the nature of scientific models, almost all of the pre-service teachers initially viewed models only as a communication tool among scientists or students and teachers to help understand others' ideas. After the model-based inquiry, however, many of them understood that they could create, test, and revise their "own" models "by themselves". They also realized the key aspects of scientific models that a model can be changed as evidence is accumulated and a model is a knowledge production tool as well as a communication tool. The results indicated that pre-service elementary teachers' understandings of the nature of scientific models and their previous school science experiences could affect their performance on a model-based inquiry, and their experience of scientific modeling could help them enhance their understandings of the nature of scientific models.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.334-346
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• 2012

For teachers' conceptions and understandings are critical to their decision making and classroom practice, this study attempts to understand pre-service elementary teachers' views and practices of science inquiry during peer teaching practice. Fifteen 4th year university students in teacher education program participated in peer teaching practice. Their teaching and reflective discussion were video and audio recorded and written lesson plans were collected for data analysis. Five science teacher educators individually looked into the data and shared their comments and interpretations on pre-service teachers' views and practice. The study findings suggest that pre-service teachers emphasized the importance of providing students with motivating resources in the beginning of lesson, employing certain inquiry teaching models, the process of predicting and dis/proving via experiment, and teachers' minimal intervention as the important features of inquiry teaching. Science teacher educators emphasized that it is critical to help children understand inquiry questions in the beginning of inquiry process, to be mindful of children's problem solving and critical thinking rather than following instruction models or simply going through prediction and test process. They also commented that teachers' guidance could lead a good inquiry process in classroom practice, not always interfering students' inquiry. Based on the findings, the study suggests science teacher educators need to understand what and how pre-service teachers view and practice science inquiry teaching and consider these as useful resources where they can start effective teaching for pre-service teachers at the university level.

• East Asian mathematical journal
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.177-197
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze the understandings of elementary pre-service teachers about 'estimation' in the elementary mathematics. Together with this analysis, we identify elementary pre-service teacher's Mathematical Pedagogical Contents Knowledge(MPCK), especially focusing to Subject Matter Knowledge(SMK). In order to this goals, we investigate contents relating to 'estimation' from $1^{st}$ curriculum to 2009 revised curriculum and compare 'rounding up', 'rounding off', 'rounding' in the elementary mathematics textbooks. As results of investigations, 'estimation' has been teaching at the 'Measurement' domain from $3^{rd}$ curriculum, but contexts of measuring weaken from $7^{th}$ curriculum. 'Rounding up(off)' is defined three types in the textbooks from $1^{st}$ to 2009 revised curriculum. And we examine elementary pre-service teachers through the questions on these 'estimation' contents. On the analysis of pre-service teacher's understanding relating MPCK, four themes is summarized as followings; the understanding of '0' in the 'rounding up', the cognitive gap between 'rounding up' and 'rounding off', the difference of percentage of correct answers according to types of question in the 'rounding up', and the difference between the definition of 'rounding up' and the definition of 'rounding'.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-22
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• 2018

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of mentoring experience in STEAM classes on pre-service mathematics teachers' teaching competency for STEAM education. The study was conducted with 23 pre-service mathematics teachers who participated in the mentoring program affiliated with free learning semester system during one semester. To investigate the changes of pre-service mathematics teachers' teaching competencies for STEAM education and the effects of the mentoring program, pre, post questionnaires, lesson journals, and whole group discussion data were collected. According to the results, pre-service mathematics teachers' competencies for 'knowledge of STEAM education', 'subject matter knowledge', 'teaching and learning methods', and 'learning environments and circumstances' categories were improved significantly after the mentoring program. Especially, some results indicated that pre-service mathematics teachers' teaching experiences in real STEAM classrooms were very helpful for the development of understandings of STEAM education and construction of practical knowledge.

• Hwankyungkyoyuk
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.45-56
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• 2008

This study is to consider the fundamental perceptions of pre-service elementary school teachers to natural environments. The recognition items of questionnaire for those environments include ones of water, atmospheric, soil, biologic and oceanic environments constituting of the earth system. From the results of the study, they affirmatively recognized biologic environment, but they showed highly negative recognitions to others. In other side, it is considered that their recognitions to natural environments were probably transferred by the things which involve press media, curricula and real lives. On the basis of the study results, systematic teaching-learning for natural environments is essential because the encouragement of eco-friendly attitude, one of main goal for environmental education, is budded from basic understandings to natural environments. Affirmatively environmental worldviews for elementary school students are important for reasons why teacher's quality and practice will is fundamental, and then teacher could change the views of the students for environmental education. So, preparing balanced attitudes, right concepts and connection to applicable knowledges for natural environments, pre-service elementary school teachers in environmental education must be pointed to organized education between human and natural environment.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.131-140
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• 2004

Many idealizations and ideal conditions in physics have been an important role in understanding of the basic physics concepts and in solving physics problems. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships of pre-service teachers' misconception of heat with their understanding of the ideal conditions involved in solving problems of heat and temperature. Test instruments were composed of two parts. One part was asked to answer the heat conceptions, the other to write statements in relations to ideal condition hidden in the process of heat problems solving. For this study, pre-service teachers who are in four major courses in the University of Education in a local city were selected and total numbers of pre-service teachers were 108 students. The framework was developed for classifying pre-service teachers response of open items of ideal conditions of heat domains. According to the framework, each types of response were coded, analyzed and processed with a SPSS/PC program. The results are as the followings. In the heat conceptions, most of students showed correct response, and there was no significant differences between major courses. In understanding of ideal conditions, students' responses of "idealized condition relevant to problem" showed 65.2％ of them, and "not relevant idealized conditions" 15.5％, and no response 12.2%. In the 15.5% of students "not relevant idealized conditions", 10.5％ of them did not explained correctly conditions, just simply 2.7％ stated the laws in physics or formula, 1.6% generally, but irrelevantly described the idealized conditions. More importantly pre-service teachers showed very weak correlation between heat conception and understanding of ideal condition. Although we concluded there were no significant relationships of heat conception in understanding of ideal conditions in thermodynamics domain, these suggest that many other factors may influence understanding of ideal conditions in physics.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.259-279
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• 2012

The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of the use of link sheet in pre-service mathematics teachers' mathematics learning. The study was conducted in Calculus course during 1 semester with 25 pre-service mathematics teachers. According to the results of questionnaires and focused group interviews, the use of the link sheet helped students to develop deeper understandings of mathematical concepts and mathematical communication ability. In addition, the use of the link sheet encouraged students to realize the value of the mathematics and it also played a central role in creating active and self-directed learning atmosphere.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.352-362
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• 2008

This study explored pre-service teachers' mental models about eclipse phenomena to investigate their understandings on the earth science concept needed f3r an integrated approach. We conducted in-depth interviews with two different contexts on 30 secondary and 36 primary pre-service teachers participants, and analyzed phenomenological primitives (p-prims) and facets of causal explanations about eclipses. Based on this study, we identified four different levels of mental models about eclipses. Four mental models were categorized as (1) Screening model, (2) Orbital plane model, (3) Hybrid model, and (4) Shadow cast model. Screening model is a flawed mental model, orbital plane model is an incomplete correct mental model, and shadow cast model is a scientifically correct mental model. Hybrid model, composite of two or more mental models, use multiple mental models simultaneously. Orbital plane model was the most widespread mental model in secondary pre-service teachers group, whereas screening model was used frequently in primary group. It was found that the level of mental model could be determined by the level of facet and p-prims. We confirmed context sensitivity of the mental models and perceived the necessity of integrated approaches to promote progression of mental models. Implications of our findings for enhancing pre-service science teachers' topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) associated with eclipse phenomena are also discussed here.