• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.359-371
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary school students' conceptions of gas and analyse the type of alternative conceptions of gas which students constructed. To appreciate the conceptions formed by elementary school students on this topic, 173 sixth grade students from an elementary school located in Suwon participated in this study. Additionally, their conceptions and their alternative conceptions of gas represented by the questionnaires were analyzed. The questionnaires consisted of 11 questions related to the conception of gas. To analyze the types of alternative conceptions which presented themselves, constructed prototypes were generated by interviewing the students themselves. From our results, we suggest that sixth grade elementary school students have various conceptions of gas and tend to think that gas is weighty, and that gaseous volume decreases by pressure. However, their conceptions of gas melting in water were very low, as only about 16% of students were aware of this scientific conception. Students who did not understand precisely the conception of the nature of oxygen, carbon dioxide and hydrogen were over 20%. The results of the interviews showed that the construction of alternative conceptions of gas was affected by various and complex causes.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.344-352
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• 2000

In this study, high school students' environmental conceptions and attitudes, and their relationships with affective variables (self-esteem, enjoyment of science lesson, and leisure interest in science) were investigated. Students' environmental conceptions were found to be low, and male students' environmental conceptions were higher than female students. However, the environmental attitudes of female students were more positive than those of male students. There were no differences between male and female students in the ecocentric attitudes, but male students had more egocentric attitudes than female students. Students of higher prior science achievement level possessed higher level of environmental conceptions than their counterparts. Among the affective variables studied, leisure interest in science was significantly correlated with environmental attitudes.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.385-398
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• 2014

This study investigated students' alternative conceptions of plate boundaries and their conception revision according to the pattern of students' reasoning. Participants were twenty-two 10th grade high school students. All participants were asked to draw the three types of plate boundaries and to explain their drawings. Nine students participated in the reasoning activity. To this end, a semi-structured interview was conducted during which key questions were asked for the students to individually answer. The key questions used in the reasoning activity were created, by utilizing questions used in the previous studies. The findings revealed that the alternative conceptions of plate boundaries were classified into three levels based on established criteria. Students who attempted a variety of reasoning strategies such as causal reasoning, using an analogy, abductive reasoning, data reconstruction and concept combination, revised their alternative conception to a scientific conception after the reasoning activity. On the other hand, some students could not revise their alternative conceptions because they only conducted an incomplete reasoning strategy. The study also found that they were unable to use other reasoning strategies, either.

• 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 Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.214-225
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• 2014

This study aimed to investigate the high school students' conceptions about the plate tectonics through visual representation. For this purpose, the subjects were 67 students in 11th-grade high schools in Chungbuk. In order to in-depth understand the students' conceptions about plate tectonics, so the investigator conducted a semi-structured interview. The conclusions were as in the following. After learning the plate tectonics, the students had the alternative conceptions associated with terminology, colors' meanings, plate-related melting, plate's movement, plates' boundaries, mantle's physical conditions, driving forces for plate movement, and they had the organic relations about colors' meanings, mantle's physical conditions, and driving forces of plate movement. Also, the visual representation used to teach plate tectonics influenced on the students' responses about terminology, plates' boundaries, plate-related melting and the mantle's physical features, also this study found the factors of visual representation causing the learners to create alternative conceptions. These results implicated the importance of teacher's role in identifying the students' interpretation process on visual representation, and it needed to improve the factors creating students' alternative conceptions about visual representation and to study the factors further.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.1392-1401
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• 2014

This study was conducted to understand elementary school from third to sixth grade students' conceptions of evaporation and condensation to classified by grade and examples of questionnaires. For this purpose, 1606 students from 3rd grade to 6th grade were involved. They had conceptions of evaporation and condensation questionnaire. The results of this study were as the following: Firstly, students have to know about the basic conceptions to understand conceptions of evaporation and condensation. Secondly, it would appear that these ideas can sometimes be influenced in unintended ways and be not easily changed by science teaching. Thirdly, it would appear that they understood conceptions of evaporation better than that of condensation.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.79-97
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• 2013

This paper reports findings from a survey of senior secondary school students' epistemological conceptions of mathematics with the adaption of the instrument of the "Conceptions of Mathematics" - Inventory in China. The survey included a sample of 414 Grade 10 students, 441 Grade 11 students, and 400 Grade 12 students from three provinces. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and T-test were employed to analyze data in this study. It was found that senior secondary school students mainly focused on objectivity and reality of mathematics, without highlighting the characteristics of sociality, subjectivity, and creativity of mathematics. In addition, besides gender differences, differences were identified among students from different grades, different areas, taught by teachers with different teaching experience and experience in using reformed curriculum.

• 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.27 no.2
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• pp.144-152
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• 2007

In this study, high school science teachers' and students' various conceptions related to osmosis phenomena were compared with and analyzed in relation to the content of science textbooks used in high school science classrooms and college science courses. The questionnaires developed by the researchers were administered to science teachers and students. Differences can be found between the explanations of science textbooks on osmotic pressure and semi-permeable membranes. Many science teachers and students thought of osmotic pressure as 'membrane pressure occurred by the movement of a solvent'. Moreover, the types of teachers of semi-permeable membranes were similar regardless of their academic majors. Many of the teachers thought of a semi-permeable membrane as a membrane that 'passes small-size particles'; however, many students thought of this type of membrane as being 'selectively permeable'. Also, the salt-pickling cabbage phenomenon seemed to cause significant confusion to science teachers and students. These study results show that teachers and students possess various conceptions related to the osmosis phenomena. These different conceptions related to osmosis phenomena might cause confusion and diverse conceptions including misconceptions among teachers and students.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.361-380
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• 2010

Some 400 Secondary One (i.e. seventh-grade) students from 10 schools were provided with non-routine mathematical problems in their normal mathematics classes as exercises for one academic year. Their attitudes toward mathematics, their conceptions of mathematics and their problem-solving performance were measured both in the beginning and at the end of the year. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the introduction of an appropriate dose of non-routine problems would generate some effects on the students' conceptions of mathematics. A medium dose of non-routine problems (as reported by the teachers) would result in a change of the students' conception of mathematics to perceiving mathematics as less of "a subject of calculables." On the other hand, a high dose would lead students to perceive mathematics as more useful and more as a discipline involving thinking. However, with a low dose of non-routine problems, students found mathematics more "friendly" (free from fear). It is therefore proposed that the use of non-routine mathematical problems to an appropriate extent can induce changes in students' "lived space" of mathematics learning and broaden their conceptions of mathematics and mathematics learning.