Abstract
"Yutori Education", or pressure-free education, that was proposed in Japan in the 1980s led to a significant reduction of learning contents and teaching hours in schools, and the introduction of the five-day school week. According to the results of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) that has been conducted by OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) every 3 years since 2000, the rankings of Japanese students dropped dramatically since 2003. In reading literacy, the ranking of Japanese students dropped from No.8 in 2000 to No.14 in 2003 and No. 15 in 2006. And in math literacy, it dropped from No.1 in 2000 to No. 6 in 2003 and No. 10 in 2006. These outcomes brought a discussion about the issue of academic ability decline caused by the reduction of learning contents and school hours under the governmental education guideline of "Yutori Education". In response to this situation, the 2008 governmental education guideline titled "Break from Yutori Education" advocated nurturing of "Living Skill" and reformed teaching toward "Acquisition of Basic Knowledge/Skills". It included a significant change of direction such as increase of school hours and learning contents. For acquisition of basic academic skills, it is thought that nurturing of thinking ability, practical ability and expressive ability is required to improve the comprehensive academic ability. In this study, we focused on the cognitive process of the learners during their learning for academic improvement, and examined the studying method that could connect the learning material with the individual knowledge of each learner. Concretely, we examined how the learning method using highlighter pens, which are used to improve the effectiveness of learning through the visual effect of coloring texts, influences the cognitive process during learning. Focusing on the number of eye movement and the fixation duration of line of sight, we attempted to develop the evaluation system for such examination.
