A shortcoming of block practice is said to occur when a practice problem is presented as a sequence of blocked practices with the result that the learner does not have to distinguish the problem type and then recall and choose an appropriate strategy, but rather just applies the strategy to the problem. This shortcoming is said to be particularly likely to materialize when individual topics are studied in a single-unit learning plan. The present study examined whether this shortcoming actually occurs. University students (N=43) who were studying the quadrature of a solid wedge were asked to understand the strategy r²hπ/2, which is a necessary part of that topic. Then practice problems were presented. The first question was a triangular prism quadrature problem presented without any prior explanation, that is, it was a problem that the participants would not solve using the r²hπ/2 that they had just understood if they had distinguished the problem type and then recalled and chosen an appropriate strategy. Analysis of the participants' responses to the triangular prism quadrature problem indicated that 35 of them (81%) had attempted to solve the problem using r²hπ/2, showing that, in this situation, the shortcoming of just applying the strategy to the problem seemed to have materialized when the participants were solving the first problem. Based on these results, the discussion deals with how to understand blocked practice and how to implement it.

  The present study investigated the relationship between meta-creativity and creativity, focusing on meta-creative control of creativity. For Study 1, the content of the strategies selected had the potential to foster creativity, based on the dual-pathway-to-creativity model which has been shown to be related to creativity and deals with cognitive flexibility and cognitive persistence. Using the items selected in Study 1, Study 2 examined the relationship between meta-creativity and creativity. The results showed a significant positive relationship between meta-creativity and creativity. Study 3 examined whether an intervention targeted to meta-creativity would lead to an improvement in creativity. The participants were high school students. The results suggested that the students' creativity was enhanced when they intentionally implemented meta-creativity of cognitive flexibility or cognitive persistence. The findings of the present study complement and extend the findings of previous studies on meta-creativity, and suggest that in order to foster creativity in educational settings, intervention programs that emphasize the process of meta-creativity should be developed and implemented.

  The purpose of the present study was to compare effects on deepening students' conceptual understanding of 2 methods for solving non-routine problems. In one method, sub-questions were set as suggestions for a strategy (Strategy Suggestion); in the other, problem solving used inquiries (Inquiry). High school students (10th grade) in 3 classes were given inequality-solving problems, using a pre-test post-test design across classes. Initially, the students did individual problem solving in which one of the classes was given strategy suggestions, and another, inquiry. For the third class, some students were given strategy suggestions, and others, inquiry. After the individual problem solving, the students in all 3 classes shared and compared solutions with others in their class, and then did individual problem solving again. The results showed that some students in the class that used inquiries showed a deepening of their conceptual understanding, whereas none of the students using strategy suggestions showed such an effect. Furthermore, differences in the usage of the numerical tables of functions were observed among the classes. This was observed even in the class in which some students used 1 of the 2 methods and others, the other, and in which the students had shared and compared solutions in the same way as the students in the other 2 classes did. The differing usage of the numerical tables of functions may have been a cause of the differences between classes in the deepening of the students' conceptual understanding.

  The present study examined the correlation between severe bullying victimization (defined as instances occurring several times a week) and victims' normative beliefs about aggression in school settings, in order to elucidate the nature of severe bullying from a typological perspective and to explore the association between various types of severe bullying victimization and normative beliefs in both retaliatory and general aggression. The present study also examined the impact of classroom disruption on these dynamics. Elementary and middle school students (N=3,980) completed a questionnaire. Analysis of their responses revealed a significant positive correlation between the students' experience with relational, physical, and verbal bullying and their belief in retaliatory aggression. Notably, the findings suggest that the students subjected to direct forms of bullying such as physical violence or verbal abuse held stronger beliefs in general aggression, especially those students who were in a disrupted class. These findings were discussed in relation to their practical implications. Strategies are proposed that are aimed at mitigating the tendency for revenge among victims of severe bullying.

  The aims of the present study were, first, to clarify the process of supporting a first-grade elementary school homeroom teacher's special support education practice through collaborative feedback of the WISC-IV results of 2 of her pupils, and, second, to explore the effects of this support on the teacher's practice. After the 2 children took the WISC-IV and the teacher was given feedback on their test results, semi-structured interviews were conducted; the interviews were analyzed using SCAT. The consultation process, which included the school counselor's collaborative feedback, was found to have encompassed several stages, including introduction of the WISC-IV test, administration of the test and feedback on the results, and post-feedback intervention and use of support. A consistent and effective progression of support throughout this process was found. Collaborative feedback on the WISC-IV results of these 2 students not only directly supported the teacher herself, but also triggered positive reactions in the target students, their parents, their classmates, and their special-needs classroom teachers, with the homeroom teacher taking the lead.