• 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 The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.82-94
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• 2012

In this study, epistemological views of middle school students on scientific inquiry were investigated. The Views of Scientific Inquiry Questionnaire was administered to 141 9th graders. The questionnaire consists of five open-ended items concerning the contexts of scientific investigation, the methods of scientific investigation, the interpretation of data, and the data and evidence. Analyses of the results indicated that their epistemological understanding of scientific inquiry were not adequate on the whole. Although the students suggested a variety of factors influencing scientists' decisions on the questions and the methods of investigation, many of the factors were minor. Only a few students specifically described the activities of scientists and the constituents of "scientific" activity, and students did not demonstrate adequate understanding of experimentation in science and multiple scientific methods. Moreover, the percentage of students who possessed the informed view that data can be variously interpreted was found to be low. The students also did not understand the distinctions between data and evidence. Educational implications are discussed.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.294-305
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• 2012

Scientific literacy has long been as one of the key goals of science education, and using scientific inquiry in school science has became an important objective to be achieved. The processes of scientific inquiry consist of proposing/developing inquiry question, designing and conducting investigation, collecting, analyzing and interpreting data, and communicating the results. However, most students experience mainly collecting and transforming data in inquiry processes in science class and they are barely exposed to the opportunities of proposing/developing inquiry questions. Middle school earth science preservice teachers participated in this study (N=36) and their abilities of developing inquiry questions were surveyed. Participants' abilities of developing inquiry questions were investigated whether they were enhanced with activities using the Inquiry Questions Development Guide (IQDG). Also, this study was interested in whether there was any relationship between abilities of developing inquiry questions and designing inquiry investigation. The results of this study were as follows; first, the level and preciseness of inquiry questions and its preciseness developed by participating teachers were enhanced after experiencing IQDG. In addition, teachers' dominating inquiry question-types were two: one is a 'relationship-inquiry question' in which students could discover the relationship between results found in the given experimental situations and the other one is a 'why-how inquiry problem' in which students could explore a cause or a process that results in the outcomes. Finally, the higher level of and preciseness the of inquiry questions were identified as an important factor the determined teachers' abilities of designing more logical investigation. A process of proposing/developing inquiry question was identified as one of the most important processes contributing to a success of scientific inquiry investigation.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.931-938
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• 2015

In the study, epistemological beliefs, metacognition, and scientific inquiry skills all directly affected the science academic achievement levels of high school students. Also, epistemological beliefs indirectly affected science academic achievement mediated by scientific inquiry skills and metacognition, while metacognition had an indirect effect on science academic achievement level mediated by scientific inquiry skills. We found that scientific inquiry skills had the biggest direct effect, while epistemological beliefs showed the most robust indirect effect on academic achievement level. Thus, we argue that students' scientific inquiry skills should be nurtured for the advancement of their academic achievement. In addition, more careful scholarly attention must be given to both epistemological beliefs and metacognition, which directly and indirectly affected academic achievement level. We believe that epistemological beliefs, metacognition, and scientific inquiry skills should all be considered in an integrative manner when developing educational programs and strategies.

• Journal of The Korean Association of Information Education
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.41-55
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• 2017

The physical computing education, as the emerging field, is a form of education that helps learners to develop the attitude of scientific inquiry by developing meaningful and creative output through the integration of hardware and software elements. Based on the literature, the authors of the study used science experience, school support and learning flow as the variables that predict the outcome variable which is the attitude of scientific inquiry. The authors collected data from 64 fourth and sixth graders who studied physical computing at an institution for the gifted and talented in Korea and then analyzed them using descriptive statistics, correlation, multiple regression and simple mediation analysis methods. As a result, science experience and learning flow significantly predicted the attitude of scientific inquiry. In addition, learning flow mediated the relationship between science experience and the attitude of scientific inquiry, and the relationship between school support and the attitude of scientific inquiry. Based on these results, the authors propose that to promote the attitude of scientific inquiry in physical computing education, strategies must be implemented for improving science experience, school support and learning flow in instructional design.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.1075-1083
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to develop a checklist for helping students write scientific inquiry reports after conducting open inquiry. To do this, eight scientifically gifted middle school students' worksheets for open inquiry, inquiry activities during conducting open inquiry, and final scientific inquiry reports were analyzed. Parts that were considered unsuitable in the writing inquiry reports as well as good parts were identified, and using this result, a checklist for helping students write good inquiry reports was developed. The checklist consisted of five categories and 46 items. The checklist was applied to inquiry reports written by seven other gifted students. Analyzing agreement rates of the checklists with two evaluators, high reliability could be obtained. Finally, recommendations for more effective use of the developed checklist were discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.123-130
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• 2004

This study is aimed at exploring the effects on Science Inquiry Ability, Scientific Attitude and Science Achievement of the Elementary School Students according to the Input time of Web-Based Instruction Programs. As the object of the study, seventy-two students were selected from three classes in the fifth grade of Y Elementary School located in the city of T, Gyungsangnam-do. They were classified into the three groups such as Group A (Class 1), Group B (Class 2) and Group C (Class 3). The author threw web-based instruction programs into the begining of a unit, during a unit, the end of a unit to each group, and explored the effects. The results of this study were as follows: First, for the learning effect of science inquiry ability, it was indicated that there was the highest effect in the case of throwing web-based instruction programs into during a unit, but the effect reduced a little in the case of throwing them into the end of a unit. Secondly, the scientific attitudes tended to be reduced in the case of throwing them into during a unit, but there did not occur statistically significant improvement. Thirdly, the degree of improvement of the science achievement tended to be highest in the case of throwing them into the end of a unit. Such findings indicated that the time of throwing in web-based instruction programs affected science inquiry ability, scientific attitude and science achievement of elementary school students. Thus, it will be said that teachers need to teach their students with the class strategies of considering various scientific elements revealed at the time of throwing in web-based instruction programs.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.67-80
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• 2015

This study aimed to develop a convergent arts and science program for 5yearold children and to evaluate this effectiveness of the program. To meet the purpose of this study, 34 children (aged, 5 year) were divided into two groups, namely the experimental group and the control group. To the experimental group, the creative arts and science convergence program of interest in this study was delivered over a period of 8 weeks. The children of the control group were delivered the Nuri Curriculum (standardized educational curriculum targeted for 3- to 5year olds) during the same experimental period. The levels of the children's creativity were assessed using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking-Figural and those of their scientific inquiry ability were tested by using the Scientific Inquiry Ability Assessment Scale. The analysis of covariance calculated using by IBM SPSS ver. 21.0 revealed that the experimental group scored higher in creativity and scientific inquiry than did the control group. The results indicated that the proposed convergent arts and science program was effective in promoting creativity and scientific inquiry ability of young children. In this paper, along with the main results of this study, the implications for research and practice are discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.129-140
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• 2011

As one of the casting plans to improve the scientific inquiry ability of the students, the aims of this study are to develop and apply a basic inquiry program for the inquiry subject of Seogwipo fossil formation, and analyze the basis inquiry ability of the students to show in the inquiry activity process actually. The results obtained in 5th grade 48 elementary school students of Seogwipo-city are as follows; Students executed observing activity using an appropriate senses such as senses of vision and touch, and showed the tendency which tries to observe the form overall rather than the partial form of the fossil formation. But the ability to utilize appropriately for predicting and inferring with the facts which could depend on observing activity was low. And we found out that the misconceptions influence on inquiry activity. Therefore, to help understanding deeper for the students' basic inquiry element, it is thought that a study of the various educational guidance ways is necessary to this. The teachers also have to study the various ways to induce the scientific conception through the application of proper teaching-learning for correction of misconceptions because misconceptions have an influence on inquiry activity together. If various inquiry programs considering the regional-specific characteristics are developed to cause students' interest, students would come to participate in inquiry activity aggressively a little more.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.509-524
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• 2007

The purpose of the study is to compare elementary school science textbooks ($3^{rd}$ grade) in Korea and the U.S., centering on the ways to present scientific concepts and inquiry process in the units of 'matter.' The analysis is focused on: a) general structure of the units; b) how to present scientific concepts in terms of its connections and complexity; c) how to present inquiry process in terms of its types and skills. The findings of the study are as follows. First, the contents of 'matter' units are scientific discipline-based in both countries. The general structure of the units in Korean textbooks is unrestricted compared to those in the U.S. Second, the connections among the concepts are poor and the level of complexity is low in Korean textbooks, which are contrary to those in the U.S. textbooks. Third, it is a common feature that the inquiry process is based on learners' everyday experiences with simple experiments in two countries' textbooks. However, the inquiry process in the U.S. textbooks is provided with detailed instructions while the process in Korea is presented with diverse activities without formal guidelines. Based on the results, the study suggests three recommendations to improve Korean textbooks: a) science contents should be linked to other disciplines in order to promote practical applications; b) scientific concepts are required to be tightly connected and provided with in-depth explanations; c) inquiry process is needed to be presented with specific guidance to facilitate scientific thinking.