• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.539-556
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine preservice secondary science teachers' understanding of the nature of science, by using nature of science (NOS) questionnaire on the basis of atomic model, and compare this to pre-studies. 'Understanding of nature of scientific model,' 'Tentativeness of scientific knowledge,' 'Subjectivity in science,' 'Use of inference and imagination,' 'Myths of the scientific method,' and 'Comparison between science and art.' were examined. Preservice teachers showed great comprehension of the tentativeness of scientific knowledge (the orbital model) and the subjectivity in science (the different interpretation about the experiment of particle scattering), but displayed the lowest comprehension of the scientific method. For understanding of nature of scientific model (the atomic model) and the comparison between science (Bohr's atomic model) and art (Picasso's work), preservice teachers brought out a combination of ontological and constructivist perspective and showed the contradictory thought about imagination in science research. In the result of comparison to pre-studies using the NOS instruments contains general terms, represented high levels of agreement about the tentativeness of scientific knowledge by using concrete examples of 'atomic model'. When concrete scientists such as Thomson, Rutherford, Bohr were presented, respondents revealed more informed views about the scientists' research method.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.428-445
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• 2012

The objective of this study is developing an instrument for investigating views of the respondents on nature of science(NOS) by using experienced scientific knowledge, atomic model. It consists of total six questions and 36 detail items, and each question is reflected the aspects of different NOS which are 'recognition on the model', 'tentativeness of scientific knowledge', 'subjectivity in science', 'use of inference and imagination', 'myths of the scientific method', and 'comparison between science and art'. Particularly, 'comparison between science and art' is addressed almost for the first time in this questionnaire. In the class environment almost not to teach nature of science linking with concrete scientific knowledge, to inquire how the students recognize nature of science, relating to experienced scientific knowledge through this questionnaire will give the data of scientific knowledge based recognition on the nature of science and an important implication for nature of science teaching with concrete scientific knowledge. Developing processes have gone through four steps. In first step, we chose aspects of NOS and developed questions and details. In second step, we tested the draft into fifteen science teachers and, reflecting their opinions, corrected the form and contents of questionnaires. In third step, we tested the questionnaire included writing section for expressing thoughts of the respondents into 55 students in science high school and checked index of coincidence between Likert and open-ended responses which shows 88.2% degree of consensus. Furthermore, to identify the feature of using concrete scientific knowledge we applied this and views on science and education questionnaires together into six university students. We performed final test to 68 university students and measured Cronbach's, and ultimately completed final questionnaire in last step.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.150-158
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to investigate the views of STS by science gifted and talented students. A multiple-choice format questionnaire HS-VOSTS was administered to 134 science gifted and talented students. We found that most of students had possessed the tentativeness of scientific knowledge. Science gifted and talented students mainly agreed that government should not control scientists' researches. Science gifted and talented students emphasized that scientists should consider the positive and negative influences of research products. There was no significant difference according to the gender in the view of science gifted and talented students on the definition of science, the external and internal sociology of science, and epistemology. This study would provide implication for the development of gifted students' program and curriculum.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.221-239
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to explore how 9th grade students' understanding of the nature of science developed during a one-year implementation of NOS learning materials. The lessons were a combination of short readings in episodes in the history of science with accompaning response booklets consisting of illustrations and questions. The lessons were designed to be 45 minutes in length and were implemented over ten months of the school term. Data on students' understanding as it developed during the implementation were obtained from test items, questionnaires, and students' journal. Findings indicate that students showed changes in their understanding of the nature of science towards modern views of the nature of science. However, they showed understanding of tentativeness of scientific knowledge, they also showed belief of absoluteness of scientific knowledge.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.955-963
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• 2008

This study was conducted to assess any change in students' views on the nature of science (NOS) after lessons through the activities of model construction and pattern identification. The instrument used to examine NOS views was the Views of Nature of Science questionnaire (VNOS). Four students' responses on VNOS before and after instruction were analyzed. The two levels of their views, novice and expert, were judged by the authors based on criteria set by several science educators. The instruction consisted of six hours of the so-called black box and cube activities developed for model construction and pattern identification, respectively. Students' views were at the novice level in definition of scientific theory, tentativeness of scientific knowledge, difference of hypotheses, theories and laws, model construction, and creativity and imagination in experiments and investigations. Students' views on NOS knowledge such as model and theory have improved for two students after instruction. The improvement seemed to be due to an explicit approach using the activities of model construction and pattern identification. The factors of changes and no-changes of views on NOS were identified and discussed in terms of improvement of the views.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.206-217
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• 2010

This study aims to explore preservice teachers' overall views of nature of science and compare their views by gender and certificate area (biology vs. non-biology teachers). In addition, a comparison with American preservice teachers' views was also implemented. The Views of Nature of Science (Abd-El-Khalick, 1998), an openended questionnaire, is utilized to explore participants' views of nature of science. Along with 'definition of science', six aspects of the nature of science, (1) theories and laws, (2) tentativeness, (3) social and cultural embeddedness, (4) creativity, (5) theory-laden, and (6) inference, were investigated. The qualitative result indicates that the participants' first image of science was about the method of science such as observations and experiments. Furthermore, these preservice science teachers particularly have a difficulty in differentiating between scientific theories and laws, and understanding the importance of creation and imagination in developing scientific knowledge. In addition, compared to American preservice teachers' view of the nature of science, Korean preservice teachers possess naive views in creative and imaginative aspect. Interestingly, biology teachers demonstrated lower understanding in theories and laws as well as tentativeness of scientific knowledge. However, there is no difference by gender.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.30-42
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the science journals written by pre-service elementary school teachers, and to categorize the view on the nature of science and the process of their change. For this purpose, 112 science journals written by 13 pre-service elementary school teachers were analyzed. The frequency of each area was analyzed using the research framework of the four areas of the nature of science, and the pattern of change in perspective on the nature of science was inductively derived and classified using the VNOS-C test analysis framework. As a result, The nature of scientific thinking, nature of scientific knowledge, nature of STS, and nature of scientific inquiry were described in relatively similar proportions, but among them, The nature of scientific thinking appeared in the largest percentage, and the nature of scientific inquiry was described in the smallest percentage. The variability of scientific knowledge, the importance of empirical evidence, and the positive and negative effects of science were especially intensively addressed. In addition, the changing aspects of pre-service elementary school teachers' perspectives on the nature of science could be categorized into 'naive view maintenance type', 'informed view maintenance type', 'regression type', 'development type', and 'mixed type'. The element of 'the empirical nature of scientific knowledge' showed various patterns of change depending on the students, and most of the students maintained a informed view on the tentativeness of scientific knowledge for several sessions.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 1992

This study investigated 15 Postgraduate students' conception toward the nature of science and the changes of those conceptions through the course called 'Philosophy of Science and Science Education', And another 8 postgrauate students who took the course called 'Mathematical Physics' were also investigated for comparison. A survey questionnaire involving 9 items was developed and administered before and after the course to both groups. Individual interviews with students taking 'Philosophy of Science and Science Education' were carried out in a small scale for obtaining additional information about their background knowledge. The results of this study showed that the students' traditional views of philosophy of science including the objective observation and the inductive method were reduced after the course, 'Philosophy of Science and Science Education'. On the other hand. views of modem philosophy of science including the theory-laden observation, the tentativeness of scientific knowledge and science as human activities became more popular. It was also found that their conceptions towards Science were different according to their previous knowledges on the philosophy of science and their majors.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.685-695
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• 2008

An analysis on the Inquiry unit of Science 10 textbooks was conducted in terms of nature of science (NOS). The subject of the analysis was instructional objectives, activities and sentences in the unit of ten Science 10 textbooks. Contents of the instructional objectives could be grouped into nature of science, nature of scientists, scientific methods, and Science-Technology-Society. The concrete nature of scientific knowledge (SK) and constructing scientific theory or model, however, were not found in the objectives. The total number of activities in the Inquiry unit was 38. Seventeen out of them were presented without any supplemental or introductory materials, and 21 activities were provided with information followed by questions, discussions or investigations. For the most activities, any clear statements about NOS elements and desired/informed views of NOS were not made. The sentences of the Inquiry units were mixed up with constructivist and inductive views on NOS. The definition of science tended to be described based on the inductive view. And the generation of SK tended to be described as discovering regularities in natural phenomena rather than constructing theories. For science teachers who want to teach NOS effectively, stating clear learning objectives and elements of NOS and presenting reading materials with relevant views on nature of science were necessary.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.396-404
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• 2010

This study aimed to investigate a perception of teachers engaged in special education for scientifically gifted regarding nature of science and identify attitudes toward teaching nature of science. The sample of this study consists of 122 science teachers who are teaching or taught students attending gifted classes of any primary school in Korea and any gifted education center of every District Office of Education. We made a partial amendment of a VOSE that was developed by Chen(2006) and then used. We tested their perception and attitudes in regard to nature of science. In terms of nature of science, we devide it into 7 sub-areas to analyse. For attitudes toward teaching nature of science, we investigate and analyse following 5 sub-areas; tentativeness of scientific knowledge, nature of observation, scientific methods, theories and laws and subjectivity and objectivity. The result showed that the generally teachers have a desirable recognitions about a nature of science. For attitudes toward teaching nature of science, the teachers showed that they have positive attitudes. However between degrees of teachers' recognition about a nature of science and attitudes toward teaching nature of science showed a low correlation. To increase their understanding of nature of science and develop attitudes toward teaching nature of science, there should be more training time for the teachers and training contents also should be changed. In addition, we hope that this study contribute to develop contents and direction of training for the teachers as a basic reference.