In prior researches (Kudo, 2003, 2005), it was suggested that learners' operational level of knowledge representation was an important factor in predicting whether they could apply their conceptual knowledge to problem solving. The purpose of the present study was to encourage learners' problem solving by enhancing their operational level of knowledge representation. The target was a geometrical problem (areas of enlarged figures) that could be solved correctly by applying a simple formula. Junior high school students (n=97) were divided into three groups. In order to enhance their operational level of the formula, we gave group 1 and group 2 exercises which required them to operate the variables in the formula. In addition to these exercises, we made group 1 draw a figure to confirm the result of one of these operations. We gave group 3 exercises which required them to calculate the area of enlarged figures by using the formula. The main results were as follows: (1) In the post-test, the scores of operational level in group 1 and group 2 were higher than those in the pre-test. (2) The number of participants who could answer the target problem correctly in the post-test increased only in group 1. It was suggested that exercises which aimed at enhancing learners' operational level were effective when the results of the operations were confirmed by the learners.

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The goal of this study is to find a method for increasing the motivation of children with lower reading skills and of improving their comprehension. To this end, the effectiveness of the groupuscule learning method involving imitation was examined in the context of a national language class. An experimental group and a control group, each containing a child with weak reading and comprehension skills, were set up. The results of the control group and those of the experimental group on the pre and post tests were compared, as well as the transformation in the learners' activity during class. The learner in the experimental group displayed higher motivation and improved comprehension. A comparison of the pre and post test results of the two groups showed that the results of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group. A survey of the learners and teachers involved in the experiment indicated that both categories were aware of the effectiveness of the learning method.

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Many recent studies have reported on the effects of learners' mental operation on the propositions of the rule on rule learning. This article argued that operational thinking was extremely important in rule learning, and showed that the reason why this factor had not received the attention in past studies was the researchers' narrow viewpoints on rule learning. In addition, the article proposed a classification of the operations into three categories: variable operation, relational operation, and abstraction operation. Finally, recent studies on the operational thinking and rule learning were reviewed and some directions for future study were suggested.

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When we attempt allowing every student to understand science rules successfully and to engage hypothesis-verification activity, it seems crucial to design a teaching-learning course based on a systematic combination of 3 factors: terms-manipulation, everyday life experiences, and scientific experiences. Though this perspective lacked in the case of designing a teaching-learning course "Way of Life in the Lowlands", third version of this course proved to realize a systematic combination of terms-manipulation and scientific experiences. To that end, the actual result of a classroom lesson using this version became a good case for clarifying the influence of the lack of everyday life experiences on science learning. While this classroom lesson attained appreciable results, it also served to bring problems attributable to the lack of everyday life experiences into focus. The fourth version of the course took countermeasures to overcome the failings of the early version, and it contained material that exhibited similarities with everyday life experiences. By observing the effect of those elements, the author confirmed that the shortcomings perceived in the third version had been significantly overcome and that spontaneous hypothesis-verification activities occurred among some children. However, as these fruitful achievements did not reach all the children, it is essential that the following version of the course take measures to enhance the everyday life experience component by revising the contents and recontextualizing learning activities.

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