Earticle

Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) integrated education has been spotlighted as a new approach for promoting students’ conceptual understanding and supporting their future career in STEM field. There is increasing evidence of the positive impact of using a whole design process that can be an example of STEM integrated activities to improve students’ conceptual understanding and problem solving skills. However, there is a lack of information on how teachers should accomplish science and engineering integration activities in their classroom and what process they should pay attention. To answer this question, we research the relationship between an design process and students’ conceptual understanding using an engineering design activity, called ‘Save the Penguins’, and study on how each step in an engineering design process in this activity enhance students’ conceptual knowledge in science. We found that testing their prototypes and discussing with their peers were the most important process for students to understand and apply science concept for their design, even though the whole engineering design process (demonstration about radiation, discussion about examples in our lives, and testing and reviewing their prototypes, and making final design) helps the students understand the scientific concepts.

In this study, elementary school science program, this category did not affect any troubleshooting analyzed. Thinking Science Program to buy for them in group activities by using one of the elements of a program of treatment and cognitive level effects were two kinds of research questions. 102, 5th grade four classes were involved, these two classes of the experimental group and the remaining two classes were divided into a control group. Pre-test between the two groups is compared to the level and classification problem-solving skills but the skills did not show a statistically significant difference. Thinking Science activity after application of classification and posttest the experimental group than in the control group problem solving abilities of students classified at the level of statistical significance was higher. Thinking Science program is a treatment effect for each level of analysis, tests, regardless of cognitive level was more effective. Through theses findings, Thinking Science activities 5th grade category classification problem-solving skills of students found to be effective in improving and these types of programs actively introduced in the field suggests that we need to see.

The purpose of this study was to develop and apply a creative problem-solving(CPS) program of instruction for earth science. After the earth science sections of high school science textbooks were analyzed, a theme of instruction was selected from the first-year unit 'the origin and evolution of the universe', and a CPS model of instruction. 32 high school sophomores and juniors who were the members of an astronomy club in the city of Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, participated in the program, and they took a test in scientific creative problem-solving skills before and after the experiment to grasp the effect of the program on their creative problem-solving skills. Besides, a survey was conducted to find out their awareness of the program. As a result of implementing the CPS program based on the CPS model of instructional for the unit 'the origin and evolution of the universe', the program turned out effective at boosting the scientific creative problem-solving skills of the students. To be specific, they made a significant progress in validity and scientificity, but that's not the case for elaboration and originality. When their awareness of the CPS program was checked, they expected the program to spark their interest in astronomy and be beneficial to the improvement of their creative problem-solving skills, but they didn'trate group activities high on the ground that the group activities weren't performed smoothly. The findings of the study suggest that the CPS instructional program for the unit 'the origin and evolution of the universe' based on the CPS model of instruction had a good effect on the improvement of the scientific creative problem-solving skills of the students.

The purpose of this study is to make a Result analysis on the Free Inquiry Method of Elementary school student. Also, this study investigates how free inquiry activities effect the science creative problem solving ability and science process skills of Elementary school student. For this study 150, third year, elementary School students from Busan City were selected. The Inquiry examined the effectiveness of each of the following free inquiry methods: the Program Based Learning method, the Project method, the Independent Investigation Method, the Small Group Inquiry Method, and the Science Notebooks Method. The students were divided into groups in which they incorporated the respective methods into their practice. Test showed the following results: First, the Science Notebooks Method activities proved to be much more effective than the Program Based Learning method, the Project method, the Independent Investigation Method, the Small Group Inquiry Method, and the Science Notebooks Method in terms of developing on science creative problem solving ability. Second, the Project method activities proved to be much more effective than the Program Based Learning method, the Independent Investigation Method, the Small Group Inquiry Method, the Science Notebooks Method in terms of developing on science process skills.

This study explored different concepts by handing out the questionnaires asking the 6 students of the second year of junior high school who had no lesson on cycle "which words related to cycle are suggested?" In regard to the stimulation of the word 'cycle', students relate it to different fields that they learn at school such as biology, environmentology, and earth science. The analyzed results from the answers by students are as follows. First, it resulted in from analysis on the questionnaire and the half-structured interviews that students were unable to expand the concept of cycle to the scientific concept ,and perceived it fragmentarily. Secondly, their understanding on the system of the earth was low and they understood the concept of cycle with a unilinear thought rather than a systematic thought. Therefore, we need to synthesize the students' unilinear thoughts on cycle shown through this study and an effective educational strategy for their continuous, systematic thoughts, is essential.

This study intended to examine the differences through comparative analysis of the illustrations and contents in the 3rd-6th grade elementary science textbooks of Korea and Finland. The analysis of the types and illustrations in the Korean and Finnish textbooks revealed that the textbooks of both counties provide many photographs and illustrations, so as to deliver data mainly in the form of realistic illustration. In Korean textbooks, photographs were mainly used to guide the students into experiments and to train the students in analyzing and interpreting data. In contrast, the Finnish textbooks place more emphasis on pictures and photographs to enhance their interests and curiosity and understand. The Korean textbooks should place more emphasis on the pictures in order to encourage elementary school students to interest and understand. As a result the addition of more diverse forms of illustrations and the re-organization of illustrations according to the topic should be considered in future Korean textbooks.

This study is aimed to offer the elementary school teacher's experience and awareness about science field trip and science museum field trip, by analyzing the survey of 867 students and 81 teachers in Seoul. Research shows 67.9% high figure of elementary school teacher's experience on science field trip. That experience is include 61.8% of science museum using experience. In case of elementary school teacher's pre-activity is only 53.1% and most of them was visiting Website. Post-activity is more than preceding activity(74.1%) but method is too simple like checking work sheets. 62.3% of elementary school students have been to science field trip and science museum that is higher than teachers'. 66.5% of students said science field trip is influence on science study in good ways but there are some difficulties like lack of pre-activity(33.0%) and unkind information about science museum(21.9%). For activation of science field trip, resources development for effective science field trip operating, program development for pre- and post-activity, school group science field trip program development which is linked science curriculum, complement and expand activity information of science field trip institution.

Following a microgenetic design, this study was analysed the characteristic and the change of classification strategy that appear in college students' classification activity. The 4 tasks were developed for classification activity; a shell as a familiar real things, an animal fossil as a unfamiliar real things, a snow flake as a familiar picture cards and galaxy as a unfamiliar picture card. Achieved study to 6 college students who major in elementary education. Data were collected by interview with subjects, subject's classification schema, investigator's observation of subject's activity, and videotaped that record subject's subject classification process over an extended period of 6 times. Result proved in this study is as following. In the 6 times of the data collection procedures, a strategy F identifying concrete attribution of classification objects and a more detailed strategy X3 combining qualitative, spatial and dimensional attribution were found and more frequently used in both groups of college students which reported a classification process and did not report the process. While discovery and absorption of both a concrete classification strategy and a detailed classification strategy were rapidly developed in the reporting group, they were gradually developed in the non-reporting group. In addition to this, as the data collection procedures were progressing, the college students were familiar with change factors of classification tasks and in the case of pictures the classification strategy showed more desirable changes.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the science gifted children’s Science Process Skiils and Creativity development by Scientific Writing Program using Thinking maps. To verify research problem, the subject of this study were third-grade students selected from two classes of an elementary scientific gifted students located in Ulsan : the search group is composed of twenty students who were participated in TScientific Writing Program using Thinking maps, and the other is composed of twenty students (comparison group) who were participated in teacher map based instruction in comparison group. Pro-test showed following results: First, the search group showed a significant improvement in the science process skills compared the comparison group. Second, the search group didn't showed a significant improvement in creativity compared in the comparison group. In conclusion, Scientific Writing Program using Thinking maps was more effective than teaching model using the teacher map on science process skill and creativity.

This survey investigated elementary school teachers' Astronomical Spatial Concept and their Attitudes about Astronomy for Effectively Teaching Strategy. This study surveyed 53 teachers in Ulsan. The data were statistically analyzed by SPSS WIN 18.0. The results of this study are as follows : First, Elementary school teachers' level of understanding of the concept of astronomical space, usually lower. In particular, the lower the level of understanding of the concept of spatial location. Second, Elementary teachers' attitudes about astronomy, astronomers generally appreciate the value of the information and guidance, but difficult for astronomers had recognized. Third, the concept of space and astronomy astronomical elementary teacher attitudes about sex and there was no significant difference according to the teaching career. Therefore, in order to develop effective teaching strategies for elementary teachers attitudes about astronomy and astronomical space concepts from their spatial position to increase the understanding of astronomy, often on the job training to strengthen the astronomers should eliminate the difficulties.

The aim of this study is to find out the effect of reading aloud science books on change of attitude toward the science, interest of instruction. Participants included 52 elementary school students. For this study, two classes were divided into experimental class and control class. The control class takes a regular instructions and the experimental class takes a reading aloud instructions. Two chapter were selected, 'Volcano and Rocks' and 'Family of the Sun', for this study. Students were treated for 12 hours. All the results were analyzed quantitatively and following conclusions were made. The students' scientific attitude in the experimental class were higher than those of students in the control class. However, according to statistical analysis, this result is meaningless. In the sub-parts, critical ability, cooperation and creativity were improved meaningfully. Instruction with reading aloud science books didn't show a meaningful difference in interest of instruction. However, in the sub-part, they showed meaningful improvement in attention and relevance.