• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.49-69
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• 2013

While we interact with other people or objects, the brain continuously updates our own body schema to recognize the agent of observed actions. The Extrastriate Body Area (EBA) provides an initial interface for the sense of agency by integrating visual inputs of body parts with internal signals related to self-generated body movements. Less is known, however, about how the functional use of tools contributes to such processes. Here, we investigated whether tool-specific affordance would differentially affect the neural responses in the EBA depending on the agency of imaginary actions. In each trial we presented a picture of an object in a rectangular frame. Objects were either the tools typically brought towards the body (body tools; e.g., telescope, earphones) or away from the body (world tools; e.g., pen, dice; Rueschemeyer, Pfeiffer, & Bekkering, 2010). Depending on the color of the frame, participants imagined either themselves or the other person using the tool (self vs. other conditions). These four types of trials were randomly intermixed with blank trials. As results, independently localized right EBA regions of interest showed greater activation when participants imagined themselves using body tools than using world tools whereas no such differential activations were found when they imagined the other person using the tools. The postscan test revealed no significant difference in vividness of imagery between the self and other conditions. Our results suggest that the EBA incorporates functional affordance of tools into the body schema in order to enhance the sense of agency and to guide our own actions.

• School Mathematics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.157-178
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of calculators as a cognitive tool rather than calculating tool in learning elementary school mathematics. The calculator activities on multiplying two numbers ending with 0s or two decimal fractions and mixed four operations were developed, and exploratory lessons with the activities were implemented to three 3rd graders and two 5th graders. The results were shown that calculators provided an alternative effective learning environment: students were able to use heuristic thinking, reason inductively and successfully investigate principles of mathematics through the pattern recognition. And finally, we discussed the heuristic method through utilizing calculators.

• Educational Technology International
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.87-116
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• 2016

In this research, we designed a teacher professional development (PD) program where a small group of mathematics teachers could share, reflect on, and discuss their pedagogical knowledge and practices of ICT-integrated lessons, using a video annotation tool called DIVER. The main purposes of this paper are both micro and macro: to examine how the teachers were engaged in the meaning-making process in a video-based PD (micro); and to derive implications about how to design effective video-based teacher PD programs toward a teacher community of practices (macro). To examine teachers' meaning-making in the PD sessions, discourse data from a series of 10 meetings was segmented into idea units and coded to identify discourse patterns, focusing on (a) participation levels, (b) conversation topics, and (c) conversation depth. Regarding the affordance of DIVER, discourse patterns of two meetings, before and after individual annotation with DIVER were compared through qualitative vignette analysis. Overall, we found that the teacher discourse shifted the focus from surface features to deeper pedagogical issues as the PD sessions progressed. In particular, the annotation function in DIVER afforded the teachers to exercise descriptive analyses of video clips in a flexible manner, thereby helping them cognitively prepared to take interpretative and evaluative stances in face-to-face discussions with colleagues. In conclusion, deriving from our research experiences, we discuss the possibilities and challenges of designing video-based teacher PD in a school context.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.221-229
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• 2014

In elderly housing facilities where are elderly living facilities, the importance of outdoor space for psychological healing and stability, health improvement and environmental improvement is increasing, since elderly people suffer from depression and are hostile to these facilities. This study aims to identify if outdoor spaces in elderly housing facilities in Seoul have environments appropriate for the elderly and to suggest problems and improvements. For achieving this purpose, nine elderly housing facilities in Seoul were chosen and a field survey was conducted targeting five facilities with outdoor spaces. Based on the previous studies, the concepts of elderly housing facility and outdoor space were organized. Then, a checklist was drawn up as a framework of analysis for evaluating the present state of outdoor spaces of elderly housing facilities and space planning, and improvements were explored. It was found that elderly housing facilities in Seoul had good connectivity and accessibility to the surrounding areas, but there were few supporting facilities, except for resting places. Also, the result of analysis of the present state showed that most elderly housing facilities were located in high lands and the safety of elderly people was being threatened while moving, due to the absence of handrails. In conclusion, it is considered that outdoor space of elderly housing facility should be planned in consideration of safety, affordance and cognition out of the standards of researcher's evaluation tool.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.497-512
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• 2023

While scientific explanation is a fundamental component of science, teachers often lack familiarity with the formal structure of scientific explanations and the criteria for assessing their quality. Consequently, this study aims to clarify the concept of scientific explanation and proposes a tool for constructing scientific explanations. The primary objective is to explore the tool's impact on enhancing the explanatory skills of pre-service teachers when it comes to the phenomenon of condensation. The research findings indicate that many pre-service teachers initially operated at a description level during the pre-test. However, the implementation of the tool enabled them to advance their explanatory skills beyond the associative level. Notably, the tool was analyzed for its ability to provide pre-service teachers with a conceptual framework for explaining phenomena and guiding logical explanations and micro-level interpretations. This study holds significance in demonstrating that pre-service teachers can comprehend the formalities and criteria of scientific explanations and apply them to enhance their own explanatory abilities. Moving forward, efforts should be made to enhance the scientific explanation level among pre-service teachers across various topics and subject areas. Furthermore, pre-service teachers need classroom experiences that foster the construction of scientific explanations in authentic contexts.

• Journal of Science Education
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.154-166
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• 2023

It has been known that the tool characteristics embedded in physical tools and virtual tools act with different underlying mechanisms in a user's knowledge acquisition and conceptual understanding. This overview study examines the learning process through the use of physical and virtual tools from the perspective of conceptual frameworks, affordability that tools present, and the depth of cognitive engagement that occurs in the process of learning concepts through various learning activities. Based on the conceptual frameworks, the results of previous comparative studies were reinterpreted. It was found that what mattered for learning is the amount of new information that a tool provides and the different level of cognitive engagement that students use through various learning activities. Finally, the implications to be considered when teachers use physical and virtual tools to help students better understand various concepts are discussed.