• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.383-393
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• 1997

In order to study the effect of student's conceptions about force and motion into the graph construction in kinematics in college physics course, the tasks of constructing the qualitative graph in the similar problem context used in force conception was asked to the first 74 and third 97 student teacher in teachers' university. The frequencies analysis showed that student teachers had the naive conceptions that the throwing force was still acted to a upwarding ball. They also had the popular Aristotelian views about motion. These naive conceptions coexisted with the scientific conception about gravitational force. In a simple pendulum problem no one had the correct acceleration concepts which varies the direction in swing. This result suggest that student teacher had more difficulties in a acceleration problem than in a velocity problem In v-t and a-t graph construction tasks, the number of categories of a-t graphs were more than that of v-t graphs. There were many graph errors in a sign of velocity and acceleration. The acceleration conceptions without the relations of changes in velocity made the kinematics graphs more various shapes. The force and motion conceptions influenced the ability to construct the kinematics graphs.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.155-164
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• 2003

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of explanations about physical phenomena given in non-physics textbooks on the formation of student physical conceptions. Two classes, 39 students in each, were sampled from two middle schools in Pusan, Korea, and two kinds of test tools for investigating student conceptions were developed for the study. The first test tool(a) investigated student conceptions after reading explanations about physical phenomena in non-physics textbooks, while the second(b) investigated student conceptions after reading explanations revised by physics education experts about the same physical phenomena. The two test tools were applied to each class, and for a fair invetigation, test(a) followed by test(b) was applied to one class, while test(b) followed by test(a) was applied to the other class. The results were as follows: In both classes, the students' level of understanding from explanations revised by physics education experts was significantly (p < .01) higher than that from explanations in non-physics textbooks. As such, it is feasible that false or inappropriate explanations in non-physics textbooks can cause student misconceptions. Moreover, the improper expression of physical science concepts, improper choice of scientific terms, and incorrect grammatical structures, along with the use of unsuitable examples and improper model pictures can make it difficult for students to understand physics concepts. Furthermore, differences in the terms used in physics textbook and those used in other textbooks can also confuse students' learning.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.187-196
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• 2008

In this study, a survey was conducted of students in grades 7 through 12, student teachers enrolled in their senior year at teachers' colleges, and science teachers. Subjects were surveyed on their conceptions of phenomenon related with dissolution, saturation, and extraction. The models and analogies used by student teachers and science teachers to explain dissolution were sought. The highest percentage of students thought of dissolution as a phenomenon in which particles broke into the spaces between other particles. The models or analogies used by the highest percentage of science teachers were similar. They generally conceived of dissolution phenomenon through what we call the 'space conception'. A conception of dissolution phenomenon as 'hydration through attraction of solvent and solute' was held by more student teachers than science teachers; there were some differences, however, according to their academic background. The percentage of teachers professing this view decreased when they attempted to explain the process of extraction of matter in a solution after other matter had dissolved or after the solution was cooled, indicating that the 'hydration' conception was not firmly established in the student teachers' cognition. Therefore, it can be inferred that the conceptions of dissolution as 'hydration' were transformed into the conceptions of dissolution as 'space' after teaching dissolution phenomenon as practicing teachers. This finding should be considered in teacher-training courses.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.135-145
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• 1993

This study investigated student's prior conceptions and evidence evaluation about Light and shadow. One hundred twenty six students were given Explanation-after-choice type Questions to investigate student' prior conceptions and Choicd type Question to identify student's idea about scientific method and characteristics od observation. Forty-four of the 126 students were interviewed to explore student's evidence evaluation. Eighty students (63.5%) thought that the shape of material affected the shape of shadow but the shape of light source did not Only 58.8 precents of all responses were evidence-based responses. Characteristics of evidence affected student's evidence evaluation : student made evidence-based responsed to the accord evidence more frequently than discord evidence. Among evidence-based response to the discord evidence. 35.5% of responses were the case that student felt cognitive conflict or explored other variables by recognizing discord between his/her own ideas and evidence or distort the evidence. Student's idea about characteristics of observation did not affect the evidence evaluation, but student's idea about scientific method affected the evidence evaluation.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.123-137
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• 2001

In this study, the contents of elementary school science textbooks related to 'heat and temperature' are analyzed and alternative conceptions ofi"heat and temperature" among students enrolled in grades 4, 5 and 6 are investigated. 259 students were selected from a elementary school located in urban area. The relationships between students' alternative conceptions and the content of elementary science textbooks are also examined. Students' conceptions are analyzed from their answers to a paper-and-pencil test. The typical alternative conception of "heat and temperature" held by students was follows. They think that "heat" is a material and "temperature" is value of heat amount. They can't distinguish between "heat" and "temperature". Their explanation of "heat and temperature" is focused on hot or cool sensation and other observable characteristics of a material. A textbook analysis indicated that contents on "heat and temperature" were organized without the viewpoint of particle motion theory. This may be one of the causes of students' alternative conceptions.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.335-347
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• 2014

Size/scale is a central idea in the science curriculum, providing explanations for various phenomena. However, few studies have been conducted to explore student understanding of this concept and to suggest instructional approaches in scientific contexts. In contrast, there have been more studies in mathematics, regarding the use of number lines to relate the nature of numbers to operation and representation of magnitude. In order to better understand variations in student conceptions of size/scale in scientific contexts and explain learning difficulties including alternative conceptions, this study suggests an approach that links mathematics with the analysis of student conceptions of size/scale, i.e. the analysis of mathematical structure and reasoning for a number line. In addition, data ranging from high school to college students facilitate the interpretation of conceptual complexity in terms of mathematical development of a number line. In this sense, findings from this study better explain the following by mathematical reasoning: (1) varied student conceptions, (2) key aspects of each conception, and (3) potential cognitive dimensions interpreting the size/scale concepts. Results of this study help us to understand the troublesomeness of learning size/scale and provide a direction for developing curriculum and instruction for better understanding.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.104-115
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• 1995

Teachers' conception about the nature of science is considered to be an important factor to improve the students' conceptions of that. It is assumed that teachers' conception of the nature of science may be influenced by their views of learning. The first purpose of this study was to investigate the exploratory relationships between teachers' conceptions about the nature of science and their views of learning. The second one was to compare the their conceptions and views of learning before and after science education lectures during 1 semester. We administered the questionnaires for the nature of science and for constructivist's learning, respectively, consisted of 5 dimensions (relativism-positivism; inductivism- deductivism; decontextualism-contextualism; content-process; instrumentalism-realism) and of 6 aspects (student; learning; instruction; teacher; curriculum; evaluations) were administered to 57 pre-service elementary teachers (female=44; male=13) before and after lectures. In pre-test it was revealed that respondents had not the consistent conceptions about the nature of science. The conception of relativism was more dominant than those of positivism, deductivism than inductivism, decontextualism than contextualism, process than content and instrumentalism than realism. They had more constructivist views in the respect of process of learning than in other respects, that is, students, instruction, teacher, curriculum and evaluation. But no significant correlations between the dimensions of the nature of science and the aspects of the views of learning suggest that constructivst views of learning was not deeply related with their conceptions of the nature of science. In post-test we had similar results with those of the pre-test, but the process-content dimensions of the nature of science was correlated with the constuctivist views of learning. Therefore we concluded that elementary pre-service teachers had the constructivist views of learning which was isolated with their conceptions of the nature of science although they had science educations course. We need to develop the course to make the conceptions of the nature of science relate view of learning.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.1-13
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• 2000

The purposes of this study were to survey the elementary students' conceptions of electric circuits and of electric currents, and to explore the relationships between them. The questionaire were developed into matched forms which corresponds to each conceptions of electric circuits and electric currents. The elementary students were selected from 4th and 5th grade in a elementary school in a large local city, which of the total numbers of students were 163. The student who have well-developed conception in electric circuits are superior in conceptions of electric currents to other student who have not in each items of questionnaire required to draw a simple basic electric circuits for lightening the bulb, to select the basic elements of circuits, to identify the arrangement of batteries and bulbs. So we concluded that the scientific conceptions of electric circuits could contribute to the scientific conceptions of electric currents, as expected in elementary science textbooks.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.159-167
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• 2016

We have examined the perceptions of 6th grade elementary school students' conceptions on the magnetic fields of a permanent magnet by cognitive style. Students' conceptions on the magnetic fields of permanent magnet after the iron powder experiment are grouped into four models; Partial Distribution Model (PDM), Pole Separation Model (PSM), Homogeneous Distribution Model (HDM), and Field Model (FM). After the experiment to observe the magnetic field of the permanent magnet with compass, the students' conceptions are grouped into three models; Pole Separation Model (PSM), Complex Homogeneous Distribution Model (CHDM), and Field Model (FM). And after the application of the alternative experimental method to observe the magnetic field with only one compass, students' conceptions on magnetic field has been enhanced in both field-dependent and general-cognitive groups of students.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.64-81
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• 2023

In this study, we analyzed pre-service teachers' levels of pedagogical reasoning while watching video clips of elementary school students' discussions of their conceptions of solution and dissolution. 81 pre-service teachers participated in the study. It was found that many pre-service teachers had scientific conceptions, and pre-service teachers who had non-scientific conceptions showed misconceptions similar to those of elementary school students. In both conceptions, pre-service teachers partially or comprehensively interpreted the students' misconceptions with reference to the evidence. However, the rates of pre-service teachers who misinterpreted or simply restated the students' utterances were quite high. Many pre-service teachers suggested only one factor related to levels of reasoning about causes of misconceptions, and most suggested factors were related to the student factor. The level of reasoning about instructional decisions differed according to dissolution and solution conceptions. Actions linked to students' thinking were more closely related to students' specific thinking than to their generic thinking, and among these, student-centered action was seen. From the above results, we sought ways of improving pre-service teachers' pedagogical reasoning.