The purpose of this study is to find ways for the improvement of science instruction by describing and analyzing the schooling process in the class-room of the middle school through the participant observation. Four differ-ent middle schools and four ...
The purpose of this study is to find ways for the improvement of science instruction by describing and analyzing the schooling process in the class-room of the middle school through the participant observation. Four differ-ent middle schools and four different science teachers were selected. And intensive participant observations were made about total 18 hours' school-ing process concerned to the instruction of ' Photosynthesis' and 'Digestion' which are two units in the science textbook of the middle school. The documentary records of the results of field research on schooling the classroom were made. On the basis of these data analytical diagrams of each hour's schooling process were made and each teacher's teaching type, instrucion process type and teaching method about the same teaching contents were comparatively analyzed. Through this analysis, the following conclusions could be obtained.
1. Teaching type was divided largely into two different kinds, such as laboratory lessons in the laboratory and lecture lessons in the classroom. Laboratory lessons were conspicuously grouping lessons, and the lessons in the classroom were lecture lessons practiced by the lead of the teacher.
2. Instrucion process model stood out as an 'Inquiring Model' in the the-oritical model in case of laboratory grouping lessons, that is, in which 'inquiry learning process' was dominant, and stood out as 'Concept Model' explained by the teacher or 'Discovery Model' by suggesting teaching materials in case of lecture lessons.
3. Teaching method, even in case of the same teaching contents, showed various styles according to the different teachers. such as structur-izing lesson, providing instructional cues, questioning and reacting to stu-dents 'response, explanation and writing on the blackboard, student con-trol in class. But in case of the' same teacher the same styles were found in suggesting teaching aims, teaching arrangements, turning over in teach-ing. explanation and writing on the blackboard, of every class hour.
4. In order to make a qualitative improvement for the science instruc-tion, the inquiring instruction process, that is the greatest aim of science education, should necessarily be practiced in each class, and through this teaching process the present limits of science instruction should be over come.
Therefore, the exploring attitude of each teachers own to renew the instruction stratege, Comparing the existing instruction process model, and teaching methods of individual teacher's, is thought to be nessessary.
For this, through the teacher's training program or the teacher's retrain-ing course, the various ways to improve the science instruction quality should be provided by using ethnographic data on schooling as a tool for the indirect experience about other's schooling process.