2019 Volume 43 Issue 3 Pages 253-265
A university collaborated with twelve public schools and the Boards of Education they are affiliated with, for a systemic reform initiative, purposing to improve science education in the schools and their areas. The main approaches are; (1) a core science teacher (CST) serves as a promoter, making efforts to improve lessons in the school, (2) to periodically investigate students’ consciousness (scientific literacy indexes: SLI) on the motivation to learn science in all classes of the participating schools, and use it to further improve the initiative, (3) to hold “Jyugyou Kenkyukai” (lesson study teacher training sessions) for the purposes of transferring the initiative to other schools. In addition, (4) the university provides advice for each school’s efforts, support for the development of lesson environment, and training opportunities for CSTs, and (5) Boards of Education support the review of lesson plans and participation from other schools in the “Jyugyou Kenkyukai”. As a result of two years initiative since FY2016, it was found that the trend toward SLI, which declines with grade level from elementary to junior high school, partly improved during the initiative. It is suggested that a whole school effort for improving SLI will enhance students’ science learning.
