As the newly revised Science Coures of Study published by the Japanese Ministry of Education in 1977 emphasizes, the observation is one of the most important process skills in the science education. Although it has been said that most science classrooms start from the observation of objects and end at the observation of them, one has not understood to what extent Children in a elementary school had aquired the abilities to observe things around them and how they aquired these abilities through the science activities. The auther inteded to investigate these basic problerus by the analyses and the interpretations of the observing records written by the Children from third grade to six grade, when they were asked by the auther to observe a leaf of a Hydrangea. The findings of this investigation are as follows. 1) The Child's abilities about the observation develop, not continually from grade to grade, but discontinually in three steps, that is, from the lower grade step (1st and 2nd grades) to the inter mediate grade step (3rd and 3th grades) and the upper grade step (5th and 6th grade). 2) Moreover there can be seen three periods in each step. They are a fixing period, an absorbing period and an activity jumping period. 3) In thd upper grade step, the child's observation develops markedly from qualitative to quantitative one.

An object of this study is to develop an experimental method showing the energy comversion from mechanical energy to heat in view of an uniformed concept of energy conversion for use in the education step of High School Physics. An apparatus for conducting experiments for investigating the relation ship between work and heat is known for use in High School Physics. However, a method for conducting experiments for grasping directly and quantitatively heat generation by the dissipation of mechanical energy in not known. The author has developed an apparatus capable for grasping such heat generation directly and quantitatively by the following method: 1. Conversion of mechanical energy to heat is measured quantitatively by the elevation of tempera ture brought about by adiabatic compression of gas. 2. A thermistor thermometer capable of measuring fine temperature changes is employed for mea suring the change of temperature of gas. The experiments by use of this method showed that the elevation of temrerature at the time of dissipation of the potential and kinetic energies is approximately proportional to the dropping distance of a weight and the second power of the speed of a car model and also proportional to the mass of the weight and that of the car model employed in the experiments.

The conditions for constructing the academic structure of science education are as follows: (1) To clarify the unique purpose and role of school science in education. (2) To construct the methodology of research in science education. (3) To systematize various research fields in science education.

An appreciation of the ion concept during a period of the compulsory education is very important to understand common substances in social life, but this is a knotty problem to the students. We are developing and studying an experimental method and apparatus of an ion migration to improve a studying effect of the ion concept. The electric source of direct current is our own work to obtain 0-500 V and 0-200 mA. This study is using an ion migration on a nilon piled cloth. When a filter paper is used, tetra-ammin cupric ion cannot be migrated because the ion getting Schweitzer liquid. A nilon piled cloth results a simple procedure, a rapid migration, and a good economy. The experimental apparatus is investigated and improved, and obtained the ion migration apparatus with carbon electrode, the ion migration apparatus with electrolyte solution, and the ion migration apparatus with agar agar. The ion migration apparatus with carbon electrode is very convenient, but results of electrolysis at electrode are appeared on the filter paper or nilon piled cloth. The ion migration apparatus with electrolyte solution holds the results of electrolysis in the electrolyte solution, therefore, the results do not appeared on the filter paper or on the nilon piled cloth. But, the appa ratus is complicated more or less, and is required to sets the level of the electrolyte solutions. The principle of the ion migration apparatus with agar agar is same to the apparatus with carbon electrode. But this apparatus has a characteristic to show anion migration directly, using a over head projector. When a spoting place of ion is devised or a reagent of ion indicator is selected, a migration of cation to cathode and a migration of anion to anode can be observed at the same time. A study of the ion concept can be observed by eyes exactly.

A liquid chromatographic technique, used potato starch, can be applied to separate of the several constituent of litmus dye. The simple apparatus of it is shown in figure 1. The tube of column of it is made from glass or polyethylene because it must be transparent or semitransparent. A developing solvent is water or 30% ethyl alcohol. A suitable of potato starch is kneaded by the solvent, and it is poured into the tube. The starch presently precipitate and the column is made. When the almost solvent soakes into the column, a litmus solution is added to the top of column. In this time, this solution must be filtered and concentrated, and the volume of litmus solution must be less than about 5 mm in depth. Next, in the moment of the litmus solution almost soakes into the column, the developing solvent is sufficiently added again. Soon, the litmus is separated several constituent in column. At first, a russet dye effuses after about one hour. This effuluent is a impure Azolitmin which includes a little pink dye. Litmus is a mixture, so its pH-range of color change is uncertainly. But the pH-range of this impure Azolitmin has an approximately constant range which is laid between from pH 5. 0 (red) in the case of using weak acid (for ex. CH3COOH) to pH 8. 0 (blue) in using of weak base (NH4OH). Besides, this impure Azolitmin has also two ranges, one is pH 3.0 (orange)-4.0 (red) in using of strong acid (HCl) and another one is pH 9.0 (red)-11 (blue) in strong base (NaOH).

The author has intended to survey the student's ability to classify the matter around him and to interpret this ability from the point of view of the Piagetian developmental psychology. He presented to each student one set of matters contained the metals and non-metals and asked to him to classify these matters from any viewpoints. The students employed in this study were selected randomly from elementary school to university. The following 4 grouping types were recognized. (1) The functional grouping (matters are grouped as any functional things) (2) The figurational grouping (matters are grouped by colour, figure etc.) (3) The material grouping (matters are grouped by its attributes) (4) The abstract grouping (matters are grouped by its concepts) Of these types, (1) and (2) were interpreted as the same classification to group the matters as "object", (3) and (4) were another same classification to group the matters as "matter". Although the percentages of each grouping type give the different values at each grade, they show that progressing the grades, (1) and (2) types decrease, vice versa (3) and (4) types increase. In order to clear the relationships between above four types and Piagetian theory, the author presented the abstract figures to the students so as to classify them from any viewpoints. The following 2 Piagetian grouping types were recognized. (i) The additive classification (anythings are classified by one property) (ii) The multiplicative classification (anythings are classified by more properties at a time) In comparison the matter grouping types with Piagetian grouping types, it has been cleared that (1) and (2) types corresponded to the type (i), (3) and (4) to the type (ii).