• Journal of Science Education
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.374-388
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate pre-service physics teachers' perceptions on the physics education major curriculum. We surveyed 15 junior, and 13 senior college students of physics education major in an university in southern part of Korea. Among them, 24 participants(86 %) took the physics 1 course in high school and 22 participants(79 %) chose the physics 1 in their Korea Scholastic Aptitude Test. The responses showed that the most necessary part in pre-service students' learning was the understanding of high school level physics(36 %), and the understanding of introductory level physics(29 %). In the wish list of courses to be open, high school level physics course was ranked first among seven options by 61 % of respondents. Also, there was some concurrence among respondents in opinion of the necessity for understanding introductory physics. Students felt difficulties in understanding it especially owing to the lack of problem solving skill and comprehension. They added that the sufficient explanation of core concepts should be the first action in the innovative plan. Most participants of pre-service physics teachers hoped to have the revised major curriculum which could help their understanding of high school level or introductory level of physics. However, there was a gap of opinions between the group of students with completion of the high school physics 1 & 2 course and those with non-completion of them. The approach of changing major curriculum with consideration of learners' needs was recommended because the number of students with completion of the high school physics course would probably be decreasing rapidly under these circumstances such as the application of new national curriculum, the reduction of the number of the elective courses in Korea Scholastic Aptitude Test and so on.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.911-931
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to analyze pre-service teachers' reflective discussion on their practical work-based teaching by focusing on the components of instruction and the connectivity of discussion. Eight after-class discussions were recorded and transcribed, and finally analyzed in terms of theoretically driven categories such as aims, teacher knowledge and learner response which also respectively reflect the actual flow of planning, implementation and evaluation of the teaching practice. The result showed that in their discussion about students, conceptual understanding and scientific skill components were most emphasized, while teaching method and strategy were most frequently addressed in the discussion about teacher knowledge. But this also revealed problems in their discussions such as the lack of discussion about inquiry and student interest, difficulties in clarifying theoretical terms and the lack of discussion about instructional models and theories. Meanwhile, pre-service teachers' discussions were limited in terms of connectivity between the components of instruction, meaning that their discussion tended to deal with each component separately rather than occurred in connection with each other. Furthermore, when connections were made during the discussion, only few components of instruction appeared. Based on this result, the paper suggests the need to develop tools to facilitate effective reflection in ways that incorporate various components of instruction and enhance connectivity between the components and between the instructions.

• School Mathematics
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.803-825
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• 2014

From the early stages of learning algebra, literal symbols are used to represent algebraic objects such as variables and parameters. The concept of parameters contains both indeterminacy and fixity resulting in confusion and errors in understanding. The purpose of this research is to compare the beginners of algebra and pre-service teachers who completed secondary mathematics education in terms of understanding this paradoxical nature of parameters. We recruited 35 middle school students in eight grade and 73 pre-service teachers enrolled in a undergraduate course at one university. Using them we conducted a survey on the perception of the nature of parameters asking if one considers parameters suggested in a problem as variables or constants. We analyzed the collected data using the mixed method of qualitative and quantitative approaches. From the analysis results, we identified several difficulties in understanding of parameters from both groups. Especially, our statistical analysis revealed that the proportions of subjects with limited understanding of the concept of parameters do not differ much in two groups. This suggests that learning algebra in secondary mathematics education does not improve the understanding of the nature of parameters significantly.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2022

This qualitative study analyzed various environmental factors and difficulties faced by school foodservices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Focus group interviews were conducted by enrolling 12 nutrition teachers and nutritionists. Data collected were subsequently analyzed for changes implemented during the pandemic, in hygiene management, diet management, and distribution management of the school meal. The content and method of delivery of information related to diet guidance and school foodservice by related organizations were also examined. Results of the survey show that personal hygiene (such as maintaining student-to-student distance, checking students for a fever, and hand disinfection) was duly applied, installation of table coverings and distancing between school cafeteria seats were conducted, and mandatory mask-wearing to prevent droplet transmission was enforced. Depending on the COVID-19 situation, the number of students having school meals was limited per grade, and time-spaced meals were provided. To prevent infection, menus that required frequent hand contact were excluded from the meal plan. Overall, it was difficult to manage the meal plan due to frequent changes in tasks, such as the number of orders and meal expenses. These changes were communicated by nutrition teachers and nutritionists wherein the numbers of school meals were adjusted, depending on situations arising from each COVID-19 crisis stage. Furthermore, in some schools, either face-to-face nutrition counseling was stopped entirely, or nutrition education was conducted online. Parent participation was disallowed in the monitoring of school meals, and the prohibition on conversations inside the school cafeteria resulted in the absence of communication among students, nutrition teachers, and nutritionists. Additionally, confusion in meal management was caused by frequent changes in the school meal management guidelines provided by the Office of Education and the School Health Promotion Center in response to COVID-19. In anticipation of the emergence of a new virus or infectious diseases caused by mutations in the years to come, it is suggested that a holistic, well-thought-out response manual for safe meal operation needs to be established, in close collaboration with schools and school foodservice-related institutions.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.39-49
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• 2024

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of the teaching experience of middle school physical education teachers, listening to in-depth statements related to teaching experience based on the physical education teacher's teaching identity, and analyzing the meaningful content and meaning structure found therein. The study participants were four current middle school physical education teachers. The research method used Colaizzi's phenomenological method to analyze the meaning structure through in-depth interviews with research participants, group interviews, additional interviews, and field records. In order to solve the research questions, the interviews were conducted as semi-structured interviews, and the individual interviews were terminated when there were no more duplicate cases or similar phenomena related to teaching experience. As a result of the study, the meaning of experience was constructed based on narrative statements through interviews with research participants, and a collection of 2 items, 6 categories, and 12 themes were extracted by exploring concepts from the constructed meaning. The reasons for going into the teaching profession were categorized into 'motivation' and 'beliefs', and the meaning of teaching experience was categorized into 'mission', 'relationships', 'exhaustion', and 'overcoming'. In conclusion, although the research participants faced numerous difficulties, they experienced challenges and recovery by pursuing the joy and value of sharing within the school community.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.63 no.3
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• pp.527-547
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• 2024

It is difficult for mathematics teachers to develop mathematical modeling tasks and implement mathematical modeling lessons for their students. These difficulties serve as a reason why mathematical modeling lessons are not implemented well in school mathematics. In this study, we aimed to examine how preservice mathematics teachers (PMTs) modify mathematical modeling tasks in mathematics textbooks as a way to develop mathematical modeling tasks and how they implement the mathematical modeling lesson. In particular, we focused on how the openness and reality reflected in the task and the mathematical modeling process change as PMTs modify the tasks. We collected data through PMTs' evaluation reports on analyzing textbook tasks, task modification, lesson plans and implementations, peer evaluation, and self-evaluation. Then, we analyzed these data according to the case analysis process. The findings revealed that when PMTs modified the textbook task, they focused on and improved the openness and the defining variables and the model stages of mathematical modeling process. However, when PMTs implemented lesson, the openness and the defining variables and the model stages of mathematical modeling process were restricted again. PMTs did not focus on other stages. Based on these results, the theoretical and practical implications of the study was discussed.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 1998

The major purpose of this study was to investigate chief's perception of institution management according to the types of the institution for the child care and education. The subjects for the analysis were 220 chiefs who actually run the institutions for the child care and education, including kindergarten, private nursery, group day care home, and private educational institute. The data were analyzed by the five different methods, which were frequency, percentage, chi-square test, one-way ANOVA and Scheffe test, using the 7.5 version of SPSSWIN program. The major research results were that (1) the chiefs of the institutions for the child care and education have suffered many difficulties in the administrative and financial respects ; (2) the main area in need of the government's assistance is either that of personnel expenses for teachers or that of expenditures necessary for improving their status ; and (3) on the whole chief's perception of institution management differed by the types of the institution for the child care and education.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.38-50
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• 2011

As the rate of foreign workers increasing, the rates of their children are rising, as well. The children's native countries vary from Japan, China to Indonesia, and difficulty of learning is expected in their entering the regular education due to the differences in the contents and curriculum they had learnt. This study analyzed the science textbooks of five Asian elementary schools including Korea, China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Iran-in diversified sides focusing on the content of earth science, for the children of foreign workers. The characteristics of the elementary science textbooks of the subject countries were compared in seven criteria-the rate of earth science in the textbooks, how units are arranged, whether the earth science contents are included, the contents highly related to their socio-cultural traits, photographs, scientific inquiries, and test items. The textbooks showed numerous differences with their own characteristics, and it is expected that the children of foreign workers would face difficulties in studies taking parts in the Korean formal education. Hereupon, this study proposes the needs of development of sub-materials for the children of foreign workers adapting to schools, and reinforcement of educating teachers for understanding children, with a national plan for the children excluded from education due to problems such as an illegal residence.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.19-37
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• 2011

This study examines a Korean elementary school EFL teacher's practice of teacher-based assessment (TBA), a subject which has been little researched despite the authorities' strong call for its implementation. The classroom interactions for TBA were observed and audio-recorded in eight fifth-grade classes between March and June 2010. Additionally, the teacher and students were interviewed in a semi-structured way. The results showed that the teacher used three types of TBA: assessment of individual students on different topics, assessment of the entire class on the same topic, and assessment of individual students on the same topic. Due mainly to time constraints during class time and classroom management issues, the teacher preferred implementing the first two types of TBA. During the practice of the types, the teacher provided prompts or posed questions in ways that elicited responses which were short in length and easy. Although the third type of TBA was perceived by both the teacher and students as helping students enhance their EFL proficiency and was the most favored by the students, it was viewed by the teacher as having the potential of causing classroom management difficulties. Based on the findings, a number of implications are suggested.

• The Journal of Korean Association of Computer Education
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2006

Identification on the educational problems of current computer science curriculum is important in order to make the computer coursework to be systematic as to other courses, since the necessity of computer course is increased in high school education. This paper analyzes the characteristics and problems on the 'Information society and computer' course suggested by the 7th curriculum, and find out the theoretical backgrounds on the choice-oriented education in high schools. In addition, it is surveyed on the necessity of the course, the formalism of course operation, the difficulties of educational materials used in classroom, and the difference between teachers and students on the education services by the questionnaire investigation.