• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.648-657
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• 2001

Using the concepts on the need of existence of living things, we investigate students' concepts on interdependence concepts between living things. The purposes of this study are to identify components of conceptual ecologies influencing on students' concepts and to describe the relations between those components and their concepts. The subjects of this study are 4 boys, 2 girls in the 3rd grade of middle school. The sources of data used in this study include a questionnaire, interviews and observation of the discussion class. Then, all data collected through each methods are compared and summarized in the relation to the questions of research. As a conclusion, it reveals that students' concepts are connected with several cognitive or affective components. Especially, the major components influencing on students' concepts are their metaphysical beliefs, conceptions includes other fields. These components function as constraints. Given these results, a teacher who want to teach a new concept to students should consider their characteristics and the components of conceptual ecology.

• Hwankyungkyoyuk
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.26-39
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate cognitions of elementary school students of the biological resources. Subjects were 252 elementary school students in Seoul and Busan. An instrument that measures cognitions consists of 3 components: kinds of biological and non-biological resources, values of biological resources and interest of using biological resources. The three components were composed of 46 items. They had less cognition of living things than non-biological resources as resources. But, most of them conceived ecological environment to be resources. Almost 80% elementary school students thought that biological resources had values contributing to the existence and health of human beings, but less economic values except ecological values. They had cognition of biological resources which we should manage and research in. It is time to need the educational approach to integrate nature, economy and environment in environmental education. As concrete cases of biological resources are proposed, it activate elementary school students to get cognition of biological resources. In conclusion, values of biological resources will be materials for environmental education.