Looking at 'the sick world' today from global viewpoints, it is possible to identify a variety of factors in environmental problems. We must pay the most attention to human activities on the earth's environment among others. If we look back on the human history and consider the present state of the world, it may plausibly be said that we human beings, behaving selfishly, have been too much influencing the natural environment. Today must be the time when we should reflect on modern civilization, reconsider the ways of human activities on, and our views of, the natural environment, and change them accordingly. In the case of the present conditions of science teaching in Japan, it seems that teaching is too much focused on knowledge attainment, and that it takes little notice of our activities on the environment. Taking into consideration young people's recognition of daily life and the natural environment in addition to the above viewpoints, the author discussed how the teaching of daily life styles should be in environmental education in science.

The present Course of Study aims at converting from rote- learning science to hands-on science. It is necessary to introduce this point of view into the science education which includes environmental education within its vision. The subjects (the upper- grade children at a primary school) surveyed their environment quantitatively. We tried to develop a teaching method which enables the subjects to obtain a scientific view through the experience of the survey conducted. Concretely, we developed a teaching system in which the pupils survey an aspect of the local air pollution by using a hand- made color meter combined with a computer and put it into use. Through this study, the following findings were obtained. 1 . It is possible to develop teaching materials which enable upper- grade pupils to carry out a quantitative survey of environment. 2 . The teaching system developed in this study made it possible to widen and deepen environmental education to pupils. 3 . Our teaching system, in which complex calculation is carried out by a computer, enabled pupils to easily obtain the necessary measurements. 4 . Our teaching system enabled pupils to draw more attention o the measurements themselves and reach a deeper understanding of them.

This study aimed at investigating the following two points : 1) the degrees of effectiveness of the water current model, the train-chain model and the free electron model as a electric circuit model in problem solving concerning electric circuits, and 2) the method for developing cognitive strategies in the pupils to become awaer of the effectiveness of the model used in problem solving, and the effects of that method. As a result, it was found that the water current model is the most effective of the tree models investigated, and that for the pupils to notice the effectiveness of the model by themselves plays an important role in fostering cognitive strategies in them.

The primary purpose of this study was to clarify whether or not the fourth graders at elementary school think about plant growth and scientifically understand it. The two main findings the authors got are as follows : 1 . The criteria the children use to identify plant growth can be divided into six categories : A) inside parts of plants, B) surroundings of plants, C) time, D) cultivation, E) analogy, and F) demonstration by experiment. 2 . Neither the concept of products by photosynthesis nor that of minerals in the soil is included in the children's conception of plant growth. According to those results, the authors attempted to construct a successful instructional plan to enhance children's conception of plant growth. Concretely, they proposed an effective instructional strategy which focuses to children's understanding of both the concept of products by photosynthesis and that of minerals in the soil.