The purpose of this article is to identify trends in qualitative research published in the journal of the Japan Society for Educational Technology (JSET) and discuss the value and issues concerning and outlook for qualitative educational technology research. We analyzed articles featured in the JSET journal between 2006 and 2017 (issues 30:1 to 41:1), arranged these articles into four categories：“primary, secondary, and reschool education,” “higher education,” “adult education,” and “other” and identified the trends in these categories. Studies that used qualitative methods accounted for 13% of the articles over the past 10 years. Despite this small percentage, these studies have helped extend the focus of educational technology research to the socio-historical aspects of learning and the subjective reflections of participants, that prior educational technology research have not addressed adequately. However, there are challenges for qualitative research in educational technology in terms of the consistency of its epistemologies and research methodology for capturing the dynamics of learning. The purpose and process of qualitative research vary depending on the approaches the authors adopt when analyzing qualitative data. Therefore, educational technologists who adopt qualitative approaches should clarify their epistemological stance as well the procedures and analytical methods deployed in their research.

The human interface of mobile devices imposes a high cognitive load on older adults when they operate such devices, owing to cognitive ageing. When developing such mobile systems for older adults, we need to consider the cognitive load. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the working memory capacity (WMC) and pointing methods on single tapping times of older adults. Older participants (N = 197) completed single tapping tasks with a touch pen, an index finger, and a mouse. They then completed working memory span tasks to measure their WMC. An analysis on the single tapping time differences between the 60- and 70-year old age groups revealed that single tapping times with a touch pen were shorter than those with an index finger and a mouse. An extreme good-poor analysis of single tapping time differences between low-WMC and high-WMC groups showed that single tapping times with the index finger were shorter than those with a mouse in the low-WMC group, whereas there were no such differences between the index finger and the mouse conditions in the high-WMC group. Structural equation modeling indicated that the working memory processing factor affected the single tapping times with a touch pen and a mouse, whereas the working memory recall factor only affected single tapping times with a mouse. We suggest that the cognitive load imposed by touch interfaces differs according to the WMC of older adults. Therefore, it is important to consider the cognitive load and the individual differences in WMC when developing mobile systems for older adults.

The aim of this study was to identify ways in which "professional approaches" in the context of school accountability influence improvement and accountability for physical education lessons. The following insights resulted from the study: (1) It cannot be claimed that accountability is sufficiently achieved at the stage of a one-way explanation from teachers to stakeholders, especially concerning parents in this study; (2) when teachers are oriented toward responding to parents’ demands, they may obtain the knowledge that they are unaware of themselves; and (3) it is possible for teachers to cooperate with parents, aiming at consensus building by class improvement with using teacher-professionalism, in addition to taking demands from parents into account. It is considered that an interactive professional approach with colleagues toward accountability is important in order to enhance teacher-professionalism.

This study focuses on curriculum designs for freshman pre-service teachers in order to cultivate lesson observation skills, examining the case of the “Guidance and Reflection I” and “Student Teaching I” courses offered by the Shimane University Faculty of Education. Based on a self-evaluation questionnaire that was used over the span of three years to assess the courses, the author analyzed the effects of curriculum redesign. The results showed that the instruction using videos was effective and that participants who understood lessons as a series of events, for example in the form of the sequence of a lesson and in connection with subsequent lessons, increased over the course of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 academic years. However, we found that it is difficult for students to record and discuss lessons using learned technical terms. The data also suggested that the more pre-service teachers focus on teaching instruction and lesson development, the less they focus on students in the classrooms.

The aim of this study is to survey teachers’ guidance in activities involving discussion of observational and experimental results. Further, this study aims to provide suggestions for improving guidance methods based on the survey’s results. To achieve these aims, we created a questionnaire with 25 items and surveyed 151 elementary school teachers.Results concerning the first aim of the study showed that (1) guidance in initiating discussion among students tended to be insufficient compared to guidance in forming hypotheses or anticipating results, (2) young teachers had difficulty in knowing what guidance to provide in discussions and how to give it, while mid-career teachers presented children with discussion before showing them how to think or respond. We identified two points regarding experienced teachers: they experienced difficulty while both ascertaining the necessary elements for discussion and paying attention to guidance.Thus, based on results (1) and (2), and the results of examining causal structures, we provided suggestions for improving guidance methods in response to the second aim of this study: for children to interpret results based on their own hypotheses and engage in learning activities that yield discussion, teachers need to carefully guide children when forming their own hypotheses.

In this study, we devised a teaching method to train students to develop an attitude of critical thinking through argumentation and verif ied the eff icacy of that method through its implementation in a high school chemistry lesson. To achieve this aim, using “argumentation cards” showing the arguments of a hypothetical person, we devised a teaching method that directed students to infer the “data,” “claim,” and “warrant” of an argumentation through some manipulation. We then verif ied the eff icacy of the method in a lesson in basic chemistry for 40 f irst-grade students at a state high school in Hiroshima Prefecture. We concluded that our method contributed to improving students’ inquiring minds and attitudes of ref lective thinking, which form a part of the attitude of critical thinking in science.

This study investigates the causal relationships between the electronic media/social media use of college students and their Internet literacy, addressing the effects of social skills and gender differences. We conducted a panel survey targeting Japanese college students and analyzed 107 responses. The following results were produced: (a) The college students in the study reported that they were able to make new friends using Twitter and Facebook and could communicate with strangers in this way; (b) for male students, improving their Internet literacy in relation to Facebook use helped them increase the frequency of their Facebook posts and improved their social skills; and (c) for female students, increasing the frequency of their Facebook posts helped to improve their Internet literacy.

This study developed astronomical learning equipment featuring tangible user interfaces (TUIs) and augmented reality (AR) technology. The f irst, it's evaluated the equipment in terms of its suitability for use in a learning environment and its interface. We then evaluated the model’s performance in a simulated collaborative learning environment, focusing our analysis on learner attributes. Also, it's analyzed the conversations of these participants as they engaged in collaborative learning tasks using the equipment. The purpose of this analysis was to identify advantages and disadvantages of the equipment’s design, and to obtain suggestions for how the equipment can be used optimally in actual learning environments. The results revealed that our equipment will draw learners’ interest and help them gain an understanding of the phases of the Moon. They also implied that the equipment is ef fective for increasing learners’ motivation. A further implication was that the equipment can be an ef fective learning tool, even for learners with little belief in the value of collaborative learning. The results of the conversation analysis revealed that incorporating TUI and AR technology into the equipment is ef fective for helping learners relate to real-world objects within a virtual environment and encouraging them to share their knowledge with each other.

This study aims to clarify the relationship between learning effectiveness and the high-speed playback of visual content developed for use in an online educational environment. Visual content was created and presented to 75 university students at three speeds: 1x, 1.5x, and 2x standard speed. The content consisted of declarative knowledge of high-school-level information science. Learning effectiveness was assessed using scores on a comprehension test administered before and af ter participants had studied the content. Subjective evaluations of the three presentation speeds were also collected using a questionnaire. Analysis of the comprehension test results indicated that differences in presentation speed did not impact learning effectiveness. However, responses to the questionnaires indicated that while a presentation speed of 1.5x was the most appropriate speed for studying with visual content, subjective evaluations of the 2x speed were not positive. These findings suggest that, depending on the conditions, it may be possible for students to learn 1.5 to 2 times as much within a f ixed period of time as they have previously been able to do.

Students should learn 21st-century skills and abilities through various school learning activities. We used digital storytelling to teach these skills as part of integrated studies at a junior high school, and investigated the students' consciousness of their ability compared to the results of previous research. Improvements were found in some items. The author analyzed every item from the viewpoint of 21st-century skills and abilities, and found that digital storytelling can develop students’ ability to use tools interactively. However, improvements were not found for every skill or ability. Therefore, an improved lesson plan was developed that uses a worksheet to raise the quality of learning activities. This research suggests the possibility of digital storytelling as a practical learning activity to foster 21st-century skills and abilities. Moreover, the author describes ideas for future research.

This study examines the factors contributing to freshmen’s beliefs about learning and considers the existence of a reciprocal relationship between learner beliefs and learning strategies, focusing on past use of learning strategies, perceived utility of learning strategies, and achievement goals. Self-report questionnaires were administered on two occasions: to 791 students in Time 1 (April), and to 351 students in Time 2 (July). A path analysis was f irst conducted to clarify the process via which learner beliefs are determined, the results of which indicate that certain learning strategies, as well as achievement goals, contribute to learner beliefs. Moreover, path analysis based on data from both time points indicate the existence of a recursive relationship between learner beliefs and learning strategies, mediated by perceived utility.

In this study, a class system to support the learning of planing motions was developed and assessed in technology education classes-technology and home economics-at a junior high school. The system gathered and stored practice data as students used the planing motion learning application and special plane, and then presented the data as instructional reference information to the teacher. The planing motions of students were significantly improved by using the system. In addition, a questionnaire survey of students showed that the student device part engendered curiosity and interest in students, and that there was further room for improving the impact on student concentration. Based on the interview with the teacher, it is believed that the instructional reference information display can be useful for ef f icient classroom instruction.