• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.96-108
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate how prospective elementary school teachers perceived teacher's inquiryoriented teaching practice, with an emphasis on students' scientific explanations based on scientific evidence. For this study, 94 prospective elementary school teachers were participated. 14 among 94 participants had chances to intensively experience this particular teaching methods for 15 weeks. All of the 94 participants observed the intended science teaching practice for 4th graders in two different elementary schools, which utilized the science talks emphasizing students' scientific explanation activity. For quantitative data analysis, they were asked to provide their reaction to the science teaching methods after their classroom observation. For qualitative data analysis, 5 among the participants, who had relatively long term experience with this teaching practice, were chosen to interview in order to understand their individual reasons of the ways they perceived about the inquiry-oriented teaching methods boosting students' scientific explanation. The results show that the prospective elementary teachers generally thought the emphasis of students' scientific explanation based on scientific evidence could enhance young elementary students' science content understanding, stimulate their curiosity/interests, and further develop their ability to engage actively in scientific discussions. However, some prospective teachers tended to think that the science teaching. methods would not be effective in terms of managing science classes, though. This study concludes that the prospective teachers tended to hold an endemic dilemma. On the one hand, they had their clear preference to the inquiry-oriented teaching practice as the most ideal teaching methods. On the other hand, they also had their persistent hesitance in using these methods due to their fear that elementary students might not adequately grasp the important science content when engaged in scientific discourse through an inquiry-oriented class.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.316-330
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to develop the ESD program related to creative-experience activity, and to examine the effect of its application. The program was composed of 13 sessions for fifth-grade class in elementary school, including all of the environmental, economic, and social aspects of ESD. This program was connected to the domains of creative hands-on activities, that is, career activities, club activities, self-regulated activities and voluntary service activities. The results was as follows. First, the experimental group to undergo the ESD program related to creative-experience activity did not show significant differences in environmental literacy compared to the control group, but it is proven that this program contributed to the improvement of learners' environmental emotion, skill, and participation. Second, the experimental group did not show significant differences in scientific attitude compared to the control group, but it was considered to affect the elementary students' criticism, self-esteem, and patience in positive and effective manner. In conclusion, more ESD program that cultivate elementary school students' environmental literacy need to be developed continuously, and more intensive research should be conducted to earn better understanding of ESD.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.216-233
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to identify the aspects of elementary school students' interactions shown conceptual changes in collaborative scientific argumentation. Fifty sixth graders of an elementary school in Jeonju were selected for this study. Ten small groups consisting of five students each were organized evenly with considerations of their gender, science achievement, scientific discussion experience and degree of communication apprehension. 'Food web and Ecosystem' and 'Change of Moon shape' were selected as the proper topics of collaborative scientific argumentation in terms of difficulty to be understanded by the $6^{th}$ graders. The small group's dialogue was recorded. The students' activity sheets, field note and interviews of the participants were collected. Based on the collected data, we analyzed the aspect of small groups' interaction shown conceptual change of each student. The result of this study was as follows: The interaction aspects of the small group of students who showed conceptual changes in the collaborative scientific discussion have a tendency of showing their discussion responses, explanation-opposition discourse, the use of rigorous criteria, their collaborative attitude and participation.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.203-215
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to clarify the roles of laboratory work in school. Twenty-one literatures were identified about roles of laboratory work in school by applying criteria such as published in CI level journals or used as a reference over 100 times during 1960-2017. Twenty-one literatures were reviewed according to periods such as 1960-1989, 1990-2003, and 2004-2017, and identified the roles of laboratory work in school that commonly presented in more than two literature. Seven roles of laboratory work in school identified were as follows (a) learning scientific knowledge, (b) enhancing attitude toward science, (c) learning scientific inquiry methods, (d) acquiring skills to use specific laboratory instruments, (e) enhancing scientific attitude, (f) understanding the nature of science(NOS), and (g) providing opportunity to experience natural or scientific phenomena. The results of this study can be used to provide school teachers and students a clear meaning of the roles of laboratory work in school.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.765-774
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to suggest an instructional direction for improving scientific problem-finding ability. For this purpose, the present study made an in-depth analysis about activity on problem finding tasks of high school students in an ill-structured scientific problem situation. Subjects were divided into two groups (cooperative and individual) and two kinds of problem finding tasks were administered to two groups. Results indicated that a cooperative activity on problem finding happened to a series of steps exploring problem situation, expressing knowledge and experience, discussing provisional problems, creating various problems and selecting the best problem. Besides, a cooperative activity on problem finding depended heavily on prior knowledge and experience, and in the meantime, various scientific concepts turned out to naturally be expressed. As for the problems found out during a cooperative activity, their scores in creativity factors, including the degree of agreement in original problem selection came out to be on the whole, as excellent. In addition, the types of the problems found out in open problem situation showed that they were more various than those found out in closed problem situation. Subjects perceived that activity on problem finding had positive influence on scientific concept and science process skills. Findings of this study have the following educational implications: First, it is needed to prepare for educational environment that enables students to explore various knowledge and information. Second, the offering of various opportunities is needed to enlarge the scope of scientific knowledge and experience. Third, it is needed to prepare for a study atmosphere that lets students express their knowledge and experiences freely.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.152-162
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• 1993

The high school students' problem solving patterns and their features in scientific inquiry, especially on controlling variables and stating hypothesis have been investigated. The 8 problems on controlling variables and stating hypothesis were selected out of the scientific inquiry area in the experimental tryout of Aptitude Assessment for College Education, and had been used to find the patterns and their features. The results of findings are as follows: There were seven patterns in the process of solving problems. Five of seven patterns were found in right answers and four patterns in wrong answers. Two patterns were found in both right and wrong answers. Some students could solve the problems even though they did not understand the elements of the scientific inquiry, controlling variables and stating hypothesis. The false application of physics concepts, misunderstanding about the elements of the scientific inquiry and using unrelated experience and conjectures were the features of students' wrong answers. On the other hand, the right application of physics concepts, understanding and applying the elements right, infering answers from the tables and figures on statements of suggested problems were the features of right answers. The further studies on this kind may helpful to find the higher mental abilities related to scientific inquiry and to develop tools for testing students' scientific inquiry thinking skills.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.11-20
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is for science and engineering students to experience social contribution through voluntary projects. The method of research is to create and introduce the exhibits and its exhibition commentary of Science Museum for local youth. The exhibition commentary is a project that stimulates student's interests in science and technology by providing scientific knowledge and research information. Producing exhibits is a project that discovers local technologies as well as introduces its history, technology, and scientific principles to young students. Two projects confirmed the positive effects of creating opportunities for science and engineering students to contribute to society and expanding scientific content, and showed implications for engineering education.

• 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.35 no.2
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• pp.253-264
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate implications of self-directed learning experiments in elementary science education through understanding elementary school students' awareness of their experiences in self-directed learning experiments. Twenty students joined the school science club voluntarily and conducted self-directed learning experiments. We collected data through observation of the experiments, interviews, and questionnaires. The students who participated in the club showed high satisfaction with self-directed learning experiments. The participants were aware that their scientific interest and knowledge, and the confidence in conducting experiments were increased. The students felt positive about the inquiry process of conducting self-directed learning experiments with their own subjects. They also felt a sense of achievement in attempting their experiments in defiance of several failures. The participants realized that the self-directed inquires led to increased declarative and procedural knowledge of science. The students stated that they had some difficulties in coping with the different results contrary to expectations and preparing laboratory materials and instruments. Nonetheless, they showed the promotion of their scientific literacy during overcoming those difficulties. We suggest that self-directed learning experiments can be a more effective way in science learning to make students experience the nature of science than existing school experiments. This can be implemented through a creative experience activities such as science clubs.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.565-578
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to search for the factors that influence students' understanding of the nature of science through the experience of the cognitive processes of authentic open inquiries. The freshmen of a science high school practiced authentic open inquiries reflecting epistemological characteristics of authentic science. The case study was conducted with four focus students who were successful or unsuccessful at learning the nature of science during the authentic open inquiry activity. Questions that the focus students asked during the inquiries as well as students' answers to pre- and post-VNOS (C type) were analysed, and then elaborated in the semi-structured interview. The findings suggest that open inquiry activities provide the inquiry contexts that help science high school students to understand the nature of science, and that the characteristics of students' cognition influence the understanding of the nature of science. For instance, designing experiments with their own research questions had an influence on the students' understanding about the scientific methods and the diversity of research types, and drawing conclusions from their own data made students experience scientific reasoning. In addition, the experience of collecting anomalous data helped students to understand the role of inferences in generating scientific knowledge and the creative nature of scientific knowledge. In this inquiry context, the reflective thinking that came from proactive discussion among students, made students think about the validity of the designing experiments and interpreting data, and helped them to understand the uncertain nature of reasoning and the diverse nature of scientific methods. Moreover, divergent thinking linked to analogical thinking helped students to understand the creative nature of science.