The Bulletin of Japanese Curriculum Research and Development
Online ISSN : 2424-1784
Print ISSN : 0288-0334
ISSN-L : 0288-0334
Volume 37, Issue 4
Displaying 1-13 of 13 articles from this issue
  • Masayuki ISHII, Shigeki KADOYA
    2015 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 1-9
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This research aims at examining whether the understanding of tentativeness of scientific knowledge is different between students who were taught after the MEXT Courses of Study was implemented in 2009 and in 2000. The investigation was carried out with elementary school children in 2000 and in 2009 using a test which was designed to measure the understanding of tentativeness scientific knowledge. Results: 1) There are the differences in the understanding to scientific creativity between children in 2009 and 2000. 2) There are no differences in understanding in their view of scientific development, testability, and parsimoniousness.
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  • Masafumi WATANABE, Takeshi NAGANUMA, Mayumi TAKAGAKI, Shinnya MORIMOTO
    2015 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 11-23
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    We designed a strategy model for a formative assessment for an elementary school science class and a lesson plan based on a method proposed by Shepard (2000). For the implementation of the formative assessment, we used the ideas for “project-based learning” and “performance assessment” which Paris and Turner (1994) proposed and the proposal of Perkins, Crismond, Simmon, and Unger (1995) were used for performance assessment criteria. Results indicated that the science lesson using formative assessment contributed to children’s development of the scientific concept, which showed the effectiveness of the strategy model for formative assessment as envisaged by the present study.
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  • Classroom Discourse Analysis
    Atsushi KURODA, Shinnya MORIMOTO
    2015 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 25-36
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This study analyzed the function of teachers’ scaffolding in dialogical science classes, using classroom discourse analysis. Scaffolding is a concept which Wood, Bruner, and Ross (1976) coined as a function that promotes students’ reaching of a subsequent stage of learning through interaction with others, in order to form a zone of proximal development as introduced by Vygotsky (1962). We have conducted a survey on how teachers introduce scaffolding in their classes by referencing the six functions that Wood et al. have advocated as the framework to analyze teachers’ utterances. The result revealed that teachers used conversation as a medium, and to help children develop their understanding of scientific concepts, quickly and responsively utilizing the six functions of scaffolding.
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  • An Empirical Study of a Senior High School Music Department’s Wind Instrument Section
    Takeshi KOBAYASHI
    2015 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 37-49
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In the process of creating music, language of technique is frequently used which effectively functions when a student is learning a technique, although this language does not adequately convey meaning. This study focuses on the language of technique to clarify its mechanism. Previous research analyzed the theoretical development of and the way in which the language of technique has been applied, and investigated the dual relationship between the content of music and the language used to adjust for the divergence of images of sounds and expressed sounds. In contrast, the present study, building upon past research, examines a threefold relationship that also includes the body. Developing the empirical study regarding the above two part relationship and to modify the phase in the body, the language of technique directly works on a dimension that can only be perceived by the senses. By analyzing several cases, the study reveals that the language of technique serves various practical functions that awaken the senses, including the mobilization of the multifaceted senses and the definition of figures according to the establishment of ground. This is achieved by transcending the specific individual circumstances and instructions that change the standpoint of the subject or object perceiving the sound.
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  • : A Long-Term Approach in a Junior High School
    Takahiko SAITO
    2015 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 51-61
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In general semantics, S. I. Hayakawa (1985) introduced the concept of “the ladder of abstraction” (pp. 172-173), which he explained as the ability to go up and down the ladder, had had a great influence on the power to understand, think, and express one’s opinion. The Society of Child Language has also insisted on the importance of cultivating the ability of abstract thinking. However, seeing my students in the classroom, I have to say that the ability has not been widely understood, and believe that we should do more help our students develop it. I think the ability to go up and down “the ladder of abstraction” consists of two abilities. They are the ability to tell whether what students read, which may be a word, a sentence, or a paragraph, is abstract or concrete and the ability to abstract it and to concretize it. In this study, in order to help students acquire the ability to move between abstract and concrete ideas, I took several approaches. First, I had students systematically develop over an academic year from words to sentences, then to paragraphs. Secondly, I had them constantly study for regular tests. Thirdly, I had the students on their own without help from me read and find examples of abstract ideas and concrete ideas in paragraphs. Then, I gave them an opportunity to apply the experience by including both abstract and concrete ideas in their presentations. The present study finally discussed the effectiveness of the sequence of these approaches.
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  • Yoshinori FUJIKAWA, Takehiro HAYASHI
    2015 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 63-72
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    We have researched third and fourth grade elementary school pupils’ identification of cardinal directions in astronomy lessons at the early stage of elementary school science education / learning. The research attempts to track pupils’ ability to identify cardinal direction learned in their third year with a follow-up questionnaire and performance test at the start of ‘the Moon and Stars’ unit in their fourth year. The third grade lessons had included mastering the knowledge of the four cardinal directions; namely north, south, west and east, and the outdoor drill of identifying directions. Consequently, 50% of pupils in the fourth grade class, seven months after their third grade lessons could not correctly identify directions; while in third grade, 70% of the same pupils had identified the directions correctly. It was clarified that the identification was not easy for the pupils and that many of them have been frequently confused about choosing the direction corresponding to right-hand-side and/or left-hand-side, whereas they easily chose the directions correspond to their front and/or backside.
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  • : Beyond the School Subject-specific Approach
    Seiji FUKAZAWA
    2015 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 73-76
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
  • : From a Viewpoint of the Foundations for Establishing School Subjects
    Shigeki KADOYA
    2015 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 77-83
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The purpose of this study is to analyze the following four points: (1) The meanings of school subjects. (2) The composition of contents of each subject. (3) The aspects of human nature to be developed in each subject. (4) The components of teaching / learning activities and evaluation. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: (1) Each school subject depends on its own unique ways of awareness. (2) The contents of each subject are based on construction of knowledge. (3) All subjects help to enhance aspects of human nature based on the nature of each subject. (4) Teaching and learning activities in each subject enrich students’ human nature as well as their scholastic abilities.
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  • : Taking the Perspective of School Subject Content Education
    Yoshinobu NISHIZONO
    2015 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 85-92
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Japan’s post-war philosophy on teacher training focused on raising peoples’ levels of knowledge and cultivation by imparting them with specialized knowledge and training as well as experience in academics and the arts to make individual teachers into well-rounded individuals. However, as times have changed, the specialized field of teacher training has been revised to incorporate greater hands-on training and relevancy. Due to these circumstances, the specialty area of Curriculum Research and Development in teacher training has been recognized, to the point where there is currently a need for specialized School Subject Content Education. Academic research on School Subject Content Education is focused on creating specialized and original teacher training by revising current school subject specialization from a hands-on perspective. This means that understanding of school subject content in the context of education is deepened, which automatically leads to expansion and development of School Subject Content Education.
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  • : From the Perspective of Cooperative Doctoral Course in Subject Development
    Tomohiko SHIRAHATA
    2015 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 93-98
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In April 2012, in conjunction with Aichi University of Education, the Faculty of Education, Shizuoka University began a new doctoral program in the Graduate School of Education titled Cooperative Doctoral Course in Subject Development. We thought that we needed to develop systematic curricula by combining three different but related fields together: (a) learning of student’s major subject (e.g., learning science theoretically); (b) learning of how to teach his or her major subject (e.g., how to teach science to students); and (c) learning of pedagogy and education in general (e.g., learning what education should be). The aim of this Japanese-type Ed.D. Program is to integrate theory and practice. The author proposes that teaching of subject, or learning of how to teach students their major content courses, should be closely related to the other two academic areas. This strong link among the three areas will contribute greatly to university students who aim at becoming teachers.
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  • : Focusing on the Continuity of the Play
    Yotaro FUJIIKE
    2015 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 99-104
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The purpose of this study is to establish a model for outdoor play of young children and to examine its effect on children’s physical activities. The author conducted 9-day intervention in 5-year-old children’s outdoor play, and their amount of physical activities increased by enhancing children’s enthusiastic level toward outdoor play. The analysis clarified that there were 5 points of intervention in order to enhance the enthusiastic level of young children: 1) continuity of the outdoor play, 2) existence of the leader, 3) assistance to the leader to be able to organize the outdoor play, 4) reinforcing children’s insistence on their play through review sessions of the play, and 5) restriction on the play environment for children to overcome difficulties when pursuing their play.
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  • Misuzu OOHIRA
    2015 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 105-110
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The government course curriculum is stated to enrich inquiry studies in the Period for Integrated Studies. Because the Period for Integrated Studies is aimed at educating pupil’s qualities and abilities in life and society through comprehensively using knowledge and skills by cross-cutting learning. In this paper, firstly I stated construction of inquiry, and reveal the process of inquiry in the Period for Integrated Studies. Next I revealed pupil’s qualities and abilities which are aimed at educating in my present office school. And I made the unit design to acquire these through the period for inquiry studies. Teachers who have the awareness of issues can refer to this design. So that I made a suggestion about what the design for the enrichment of the Period for Inquiry Studies should be.
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  • : In the Case of the Lesson Plan “Industry and People’s Living” for 4th Grade in Elementary School
    Mayuko UEDA
    2015 Volume 37 Issue 4 Pages 111-116
    Published: 2015
    Released on J-STAGE: January 26, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This report discusses the importance of thinking in the social studies lesson and suggests an effective step to take in order to promote children’s thinking. The main purpose of the study is 1) to examine learning process and structure of knowledge schematically, and apply them to good usage of materials that we believe promotes children’s thinking with those schema, and 2) to develop a lesson plan incorporating its practical application. The finding was that the instruction based on the lesson plan formed children’s social recognition.
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