Korean Pre-service Teachers Research Articles

Identification and Interpretation: A Framework of Naturalistic Epistemology Perceived by Korean Pre-Service Science Teachers

The epistemology of science and teachers' perspectives on it have been major lines of investigation in science education research. The role that epistemology should play in science education has become increasingly relevant because of its incorporation within some important curriculum reform movements around the world. Improving teachers' perspectives and designing advanced teaching-learning sequences along them have been substantial parts of the science education reform. Such efforts are having been active when a new epistemological position emerged. The present inquiry has been conducted at the interface of these two lines of research. The main focus of the study is analyzing the way Korean pre-service teachers interpret epistemological aspects of scientific knowledge. A questionnaire to explore pre-service teachers' epistemological beliefs was developed for developing frameworks of naturalized epistemology. The questionnaire is composed of items using Likert scale and open-ended items. Two groups of pre-service teachers participated in this exploration: in an elementary teacher education universities and a secondary science teacher education university. Epistemological beliefs of prospective elementary teachers were identified through qualitative analysis of the answers to the open ended questions as well. Suggestions for curricula change and teaching-learning strategies being involved in the incorporation of scientific epistemology are considered.

Similarities and differences in Korean and American preservice teachers’ conceptions of teaching and becoming new teachers: Intercultural online exchanges

Similarities and differences in Korean and American preservice teachers’ conceptions of teaching and becoming new teachers: Intercultural online exchanges

Uses of can and may by Korean pre-service English teachers and native English instructors

We investigate how Korean pre-service English teachers differ in their use of can and may from native English instructors in terms of frequency and...

한국과 미국 초등 예비교사들의 연소에 대한 개념 비교

The purposes of this study were to investigate concepts of Korean and American elementary school pre-service teachers on combustion, and to compare the concepts of Korean pre-service teachers with those of American pre-service teachers. For this study, concept test on combustion was administered to 23 Korean and 18 American elementary school pre-service teachers. The test composed of 6 items: 'Definition of combustion', 'The reason why a candle in a glass bottle is blown out when the bottle was closed', 'The change of gases in the bottle when a candle burns in it', 'The combustion products of a candle', 'The combustion products of steel wool', and 'The combustion products of a substance'. The results showed that the rates of elementary school pre-service teachers who had scientific concepts on combustion were very low in both Korean and American pre-service teachers' groups, although they were a little different from items. However the rates of pre-service teachers who had partial concepts and misconceptions on combustion were high in two groups. The levels of Korean elementary school pre-service teachers' concepts were a little higher than those of American elementary school pre-service teachers' concepts. The contents and activities on combustion which are in Korean and American science textbooks seem to affect building up their concepts on combustion.

Korean Pre-service Teachers’ Service Learning and Lifelong Learning Competency

In this research I aimed to gain a better understanding of lifelong learning competencies of students who have taken a educational service-learning assignment as part of the requirements for pre-service teacher course. The purpose of this research is to investigate whether or not educational service-learning affects pre-service teacher's professionalism, self-efficacy, desire for lifelong learning and social empowerment. For this I conducted multiple regression analysis using SPSS Ver. 18.0. Pre-service teachers from Gyeongsangbuk-do area, Korea served as the sample for this study. Independent variables are sex, income, GPA, degree of ESL participation, need of educational service learning, motivation of educational service learning. Based on multiple regression analysis, participation of service-learning and need of educational service learning revealed to have positive effects on pre-service teacher's teacher professionalism, self-efficacy, desire for lifelong learning, and social empowerment.

A Comparison of Early Childhood Preservice Teachers' Beliefs about Music and Developmentally Appropriate Practice between South Korea and the US

THE PURPOSE OF THIS study is to examine the beliefs of early childhood preservice teachers in Korea (South) and the US about music, developmentally appropriate practices (DAP), and the relationship between the two. Participants of the study generally believed in the importance of music. In terms of the benefits of music, teachers believed more in the aesthetic and social-emotional benefits of music than quality-of-life benefits for young children. The results indicate that preservice teachers in Korea possess stronger beliefs about the importance of music than the teachers in the US. In particular, preservice teachers in Korea hold stronger beliefs about aesthetic benefits of music than their US counterparts. All the teachers in the study generally endorsed DAP, yet Korean preservice teachers had stronger beliefs in DAP. In this examination of the relationship between music and DAP, prospective teachers in Korea demonstrated more positive acceptance of the relationship. Some differences were found in the correlations of subcategories of music and DAP between the teachers in the US and Korea. This study may influence the design and implementation of teacher education programs in Korea and the US with regard to not only music curricula but other subjects as well. Discussions and implications for early childhood teacher educators are provided.

Pre-service Teachers’ Perspectives on a Blended Listening Course Using TED Talks

This study explores Korean pre-service EFL teachers` perspectives on the use of TED website (http://www.ted.com) to practice designing listening tasks and test items. Thirty-five university students majoring in English education participated in this project as a part of their regular course for a semester. The course consisted of two main parts: 1) classroom activities for learning theories in the field of teaching second language listening (i.e., lectures, chapter presentations, and discussions) and for practicing actual teaching skills in listening classrooms (i.e., microteaching); and 2) an individual online project for applying their knowledge and ideas to design creative listening tasks and test items using TED Talks. In other words, the course was intended to run as a form of blended learning which integrates a combination of offline and online activities. This offered opportunities for the students to develop their own advanced English listening skills, allowing for autonomous and level-based learning while preserving the face-to-face contact features of the traditional listening classroom. At the end of the course, students` assignments were analyzed and a survey questionnaire was conducted to examine their perspectives of using TED website as a source of authentic listening materials not only for them but also for their future students.

A Comparison of Korean language Pre-service and In-service teachers' Choice of Reading strategies

A Comparison of Korean language Pre-service and In-service teachers' Choice of Reading strategies

Exploring Korean Pre-service Elementary Teachers' Scientific Inquiry Using the Science Writing Heuristic Template

This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of pre-service elementary teachers' understanding about scientific inquiry in terms of designing exploration and reasoning that is used to formulate explanations based on evidence. The research context was an open inquiry with using the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) template in which participant students were not provided with inquiry questions. As data, lab. 39 pre-service elementary teachers participated in this study while taking their science methods course. Analyses of the reports were framed by the cognitive processes of inquiry (Chinn and Malhotra, 2002) and each report was coded and analyzed by the framework of inquiry (Tytler and Peterson, 2004). Results showed that groups' works that utilized the SWH template encouraged the participants to interact each other about scientific inquiry. They came up with more relevant and testable questions for their scientific inquiry. It implicates that children will be able to have chances of testing their own questions more properly by using the SWH template in science classes just as the participants did in this study. The use of the SWH template would help pre-service teachers to teach appropriately how to test inquiry questions to their students in the future. Discussion was made to figure out the characteristics or Korean pre-service elementary teachers' understanding about scientific inquiry.

Using Facets of Effective Science Learning Environments to Examine Preservice Elementary Teachers` Observations of Their Clinical Experiences in Korea and the U.S.

This study examined the science learning environments experienced by Korean and U.S. preservice elementary science teachers during their 3-week clinical experience. Observational experiences of 97 Korean and 112 U.S preservice teachers were surveyed with an instrument that we developed for the study. Follow-up interviews provided a clearer picture of what preservice teachers observed and experienced in science classrooms during their clinical experiences. Korean preservice teachers experienced a variety of science teaching environments, whereas the U.S. preservice teachers reported limited opportunities to observe science teaching and learning in terms of 6 identified facets that we posed. Along with our interpretation of the contrast in findings, some of the challenges are discussed in providing preservice teachers with opportunities to observe, experience, and teach in effective science learning environments during the clinical experience.

Pre-service Teachers’ Awareness and Attitudes on South Korea’s Increasing Cultural and Ethnic Diversity and the Role of Multicultural Education in K-12 Schools

As the number of multicultural students in South Korean schools continues to grow, activists and educators argue that South Korean schools are not meeting the needs of both multicultural and mono-cultural students and advocate for multicultural education. While educational literature looks at the meaning of multicultural education and how it can be implemented in the South Korean context, relatively little attention has been given to pre-service teachers’ understanding of cultural diversity and multicultural education. This paper explores how South Korean pre-service teachers understand the increasing ethnic and cultural diversity in South Korean society and multicultural education in South Korean schools. The responses suggest that multicultural education for pre-service teachers should facilitate a critical examination of South Korean identity as a political construct. Furthermore it should empower them to actively define multicultural education in their own contexts as a way to politically engage multiculturalism in and out of school.

Examining Epistemological Beliefs of Pre-service Teachers in Korea

The purpose of the present study is to examine the nature of epistemological beliefs held by pre-service teachers in Korea. While a considerable body of research on personal epistemology has been conducted in Asian contexts, findings related to Korean samples have been rarely reported in the literature on personal epistemology. This research aims to examine two main research questions: (a) What is the overall profile of the epistemological beliefs of Korean pre-service teachers? (b) What factors are significantly affecting the nature of epistemological beliefs of Korean pre-service teachers? Participants include 1,006 students in secondary teacher education programs at two universities in Korea. A survey instrument was designed based on the translation of the Epistemological Beliefs Inventory (EBI). This study reveals that only three factors of epistemological beliefs could be confirmed: Certain Knowledge, Quick Learning, and Innate Ability. Regarding relationships among epistemological beliefs and other examined variables, gender and academic domains appear to be significant factors while other developmental factors and teaching-related factors were not statistically significant. Findings of the present study may provide a useful addition for deepening our current understanding of personal epistemology in the Asian cultural contexts, and provide baseline data to inform future research on epistemology and pedagogy among pre-service teachers.

Exploring Preservice Science Teachers' Views of the Nature of Science: Biology vs. Non-Biology Teachers

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.

남한 예비교사의 북한 화학 교과서에 제시된 과학 용어 이해

This study was conducted to examine South Korean preservice science teachers' understanding of the scientific terminology used in North Korean middle school chemistry textbooks. These nomenclatures are mainly picked up in chemistry textbooks of North Korea. Forty science terms which are the same meaning but composed of different words are picked up to investigate the degree for 150 South Korean preservice science teachers to perceive the meanings correctly. The South Korean preservice teachers have the average score of 61.62 on the test. The percentage of correct answers for understanding of South Korean preservice science teachers on the scientific terminologies in North Korean school textbooks is distributed from 0.68% to 96.62%. Thirteen over 40 North Korean chemistry terms are very difficult for preservice teacher to understand.

한일 초등 예비교사들의 천문학 기초개념 이해와 천문학에 대한 태도

이 논문에서는 한국과 일본의 초등 예비교사들이 가지고 있는 천문학 기초개념에 대한 이해 정도와 천문학에 대한 태도를 조사하여 비교하였다. 천문학 기초개념 및 지식은 1998년에 천문교육연구협의회(The Collaboration for Astronomy Education Research, CAER)에서 개발한 천문학진단검사지(Astronomy Diagnostic Test, ADT ver.2.0)의 21문항에서 한일 양국의 중등학교 교육과정을 고려하여 선정한 12개 문항을 양국의 언어로 번안하여 투입하였다. 천문학 기초개념 및 지식에 대한 검사문항의 신뢰도는 0.69이었다. 천문학 태도에 대한 검사는 제일릭 등(Zeilik et at., 1999)이 개발한 천문학태도조사지(the Survey of Attitudes Towards Astronomy, SATA)를 그대로 번역하여 사용하였다. 신뢰도는 0.87이었다. 조사 결과 천문학 기초개념에 대한 한국의 예비교사들의 정답률은 38%이었고 일본은 37%이었지만, 통계적으로 유의미한 차이는 없었다. 천문학에 대한 태도에서는 한국의 초등 예비교사가 일본보다 높았다. 특히 천문학에 대한 인지적 능력과 가치의 범주는 통계적으로 유의미한 차이가 있었다(p<.05). 이 연구를 통해 부가적으로, 한국과 일본의 초등 예비교사들의 가진 천문학 기초개념이 지식의 수준이 40%, 미만이었으며, 천문학에 대한 태도 점수가 미국의 대학생들에 비하여 상당히 낮다는 점을 발견할 수 있었다. This study investigated pre-service elementary teachers' understanding of the basic concepts of and their attitudes toward astronomy in Korea and Japan. The survey instrument called the Astronomy Diagnostic lest (ADT) that was developed by the Collaboration for Astronomy Education Research (CAER) in 1998 was used and modified to tailor to the two countries' contexts, including 12 items written in the two languages, Korean and Japanese. The attitudes toward astronomy were examined by the Survey of Attitudes toward Astronomy (SATA), which was developed by Zeilik et al. in 1999. Cronbach's alpha of this sample of the study was 0.69, while the reliability of SATA was 0.87. All the pre-service elementary teachers in both Korea and Japan showed a low-level understanding of the basic concepts of astronomy. 38% of Korean pre-service elementary teachers had correct answers to the questions regarding the basic conceptions of astronomy, while 37% of Japanese participants had correct answers to them. Although there was no statistically significant difference between Korean and Japanese pre-service elementary teachers, Korean teachers scored higher than Japanese participants in SATA. A significant difference, however, was revealed in the categories of cognitive competence and value of the attitudes toward astronomy (p <.05). In addition, it was found that both Korean and Japanese pre-service elementary teachers scored less than 40% about the basic concepts of astronomy and that they obtained lower scores than the US college students with regard to the attitudes toward astronomy.

Empowering Korean pre-service teachers of art

This practitioner inquiry set out to help pre-service art teachers recognize and go beyond the constraints placed on them by pervasive curriculum patterns in conventional Korean teacher preparation. A series of assignments were designed to determine the nature of those constraints and pre-service teachers' strengths and to facilitate their reflective thinking during an art education course. Whereas the student responses to a preliminary questionnaire reflected limited views of art and art teaching, analysis of a sample of assignments at the end of the course indicated significant changes of beliefs and attitudes and potential for further growth; and highlighted potential curriculum content for inclusion in Korean art education.

Korean Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Academic Brilliance

This is a replication of a study designed by Tannenbaum (1962) and repeated by Cramond and Martin (1987) measuring U.S. attitudes toward intelligence by having respondents rate 8 hypothetical students who varied in their combinations of athleticism, effort, and academic ability. This study investigated 132 Korean preservice and in-service teachers’ attitudes on the same measure. Both Korean teacher groups favored athleticism and nonstudiousness over academic brilliance and showed a gender bias by designating their preferred characters as boys more often. The least favored character was the academically brilliant, studious, nonathletic student—often considered traditionally gifted—and usually designated as a girl. The anti-intellectualism, sport-mindedness, and gender bias in the present study’s Korean participants was similar to that found in the American samples. These results suggest a need for better teacher training and understanding of gifted students. This study is important because it reminds us of future and current teachers’ views of gifted students, especially in Korea, where gifted education is now being initiated. Also, it demonstrates the ubiquitous nature of anti-intellectualism, even in a country considered to value academics.

Korean and US Preservice Elementary Teachers' Conceptions about Teaching Word Problem Solving

This study explored some of the factors that influence preservice elementary teachers' instructional planning in word problem solving. Interview protocols of Korean (n = 25) and US preservice teachers (n= 21) were analyzed and categorized into a set of constructs elicited from their statements regarding instructional planning and processes. Three general conceptions expressed by preservice elementary teachers in both countries were: instructional strategies, concerns about student ability, and prior learning experiences. More similarities than differences were found between the two countries. However, those differences found in each subcategory of the three general conceptions reflected participants' educational and cultural backgrounds. The need for future investigations was discussed based on the current findings.