During a science class, students generally change their perception about some scientific concepts with regard to the lesson. If we can measure these image changes numerically, we will be able to evaluate teaching objectively. This method is called "the Image-Change Graph Method" by Ikeda (2000). There are two different methods for measuring the students' change in perceptions numerically through some questionnaires. One is the method of using several pairs of adjectives with mutually opposite meaning at the beginning and the end of the lesson. The other is one directly measuring their image changes at the end of the lesson. The latter is called here "the Improved Image-Change Graph Method". In this paper the writer will compare these two methods in a practical way, and will then discuss the applicability of these two methods. The results are summarized as follows: 1 In cases in which the average level of 'image' is high, the former method is easily influenced by the students' initial level. In these cases this method has poor applicability for the evaluation of teaching. 2 On the other hand, the latter improved method does not have a close connection with their initial 'image' level. After considering these points, we can conclude that although both methods have relative objectivity as method of evaluating teaching, the latter method (the Improve Image-Change Graph) has a wider range of applicability than the former.

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First of all, in this study, we examined the significance of integrated study based upon the current situation of Japanese children and their education. Then, we investigated the content of integrated study programs, and summarized the characteristics of successful programs. Finally, we discussed the methodological principles for setting the learning processes of integrated study. 1) The significance of integrated study lies in the deepening of children's understanding, and nurturing "the zest for living", which can be thought of as integrating the competences of structuring, executing, and problem-solving. 2) There are 334 practice lesson cases reported in 45 professional books published between 1995 and 1998, and we put lesson themes into four categories: "themes taken from current social problems", "themes based upon interests among children", "themes applying regional features", and "themes derived from subject areas". The first theme accounts for 38.9% of all the cases, the second for 12.3%, the third for 11.1%, and the last for 37.7%. 3) Regarding necessary characteristics which a course of integrated study should include, six conditions were proposed from this study: "problem-solving"; "comprehensiveness"; "empathy/ interaction among people"; "developability"; "intensity"; and "practicality". 4) The meaning and six conditions of integrated study were structurally analyzed as seen in Fig.3. It is inferred that those six conditions need to be placed at the core of this study in order to nurture "the zest for living" among children. 5) The basic learning process of integrated study would include the following five steps: Step 1. Forming problems; Step 2. Solving problems; Step 3. Expanding and integrating on what has been studied, Step 4. Summarizing activities and sharing/exchanging information, Step 5. Confirming and applying knowledge obtained through problem solving, and forming new problems. Given these results, we suggest that six conditions for the content of integrated study could become the principle for methodology in setting the learning process of integrated study lessons.

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In this study research was carried out into the acquisition of the strict adjacency of the verb and its object, one of the traits of English, on the foundation of the hypothesis built by UG theories, with respect to three factors: grammatical competence, linguistic knowledge, and linguistic performance. The result shows that the more adverbs are inserted between verbs and their objects, the less correctly the subjects judge the grammaticality of the sentences in question, and the longer it takes them to make their judgments. Above all, it shows that resetting the parameters of strict adjacency is not a successful procedure, as was expected, and can not be acquired perfectly, especially by the group with a lower proficiency in grammatical competence. At the same time it also suggests that research on language acquisition include not only linguistic knowledge but linguistic performance in its models, and that it is necessary to design teaching and evaluating methods which attach great importance to the response time for processing and judging English sentences, which hints at something that should be improved in the teaching of English in Japan.

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The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between cognitive situations and the affective state of students regarding the function of electric current in the sixth grade of elementary school. 236 children from the 3rd grade of elementary school to the 3rd grade of junior high school participated in this research. There were three steps in this study. First, the introduction to the function of electric current taught during Sixth grade elementary school science classes was focused on. Second, the affective state of students whilst learning about the function of electric current was measured. Third, the relationship between the cognitive situations and the affective state of students was analyzed. In measuring their affective states, the following means were adopted. In the first place, "why" and "certainly" adverbs of objective judgment were chosen. At the same time "surely" and "maybe" adverbs of subjective presumption were chosen. Secondly, the way to write down one's impressions was also looked at. The results showed that children who had not learned the function of electric current will choose the adverb "why" more often, while the others who had already learned about it, were more likely to choose "certainly." The affective state of students changed during the process of learning about the function of electric current from being questioning to being able to predict the consequences.

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[in Japanese]

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