Development of Games as Teaching Materialsfor Understanding and Evaluating Agricultural Technology from a Historical Viewpoint

Abstract

In this research, we developed a sugoroku game as a teaching material for evaluating and understanding the productivity of agricultural technology and the relationship between agricultural technology and the environment and society from a historical perspective. First, the student chooses either a modern cultivation method or a method used during the Edo period for cultivation. Results differ depending on the choice of the modern or Edo period method for events occurring while advancing game pieces. Based on this difference, students aim at being able to evaluate and understand the productivity of agricultural technology and the relationship between agricultural technology and the environment and society from a historical point of view. We evaluated this teaching material by using it in a lesson for 52 first-year junior high students. Based on the results of the questionnaires and worksheets completed after the class, we confirmed that the developed teaching materials are useful, enabling students to evaluate and understand the productivity of agricultural technology and its historical relationship with the environment and society.