The organizational support system is necessary for instructional activities in the use of e-Learning at higher education institutions. It is necessary to consider structural issues of higher education institutions and problems of e-Learning for that. We suggested "University e-Learning Management (UeLM) Model" based on above. And we compared, using UeLM Model, the organizational system of 6 domestic universities that are positively using e-Learning. As a result, we understood that we should consider "Culture of the university" and "Learner's position" to compose the indispensable element and the function in the organizational support system. And we were able to clarify the trait and the improvement of the organizational system of 6 domestic universities. Therefore UeLM Model is effective as the analysis tool.

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In this study, Learner's Controlling Map (LCM) was developed as a learners' tool for selecting learning content using a learning task analysis diagram. LCM aims at assisting Self-Directed Learning (SDL), especially via selection of learning content and progress management. It runs on Moodle, which is one of the popular open source LMSs. With the tool it is possible to give additional features to display learning task structures and to visualize learners' progress as helpful information for SDL and to provide advice to learners. As the result of one-to-one formative evaluation with learners, LCM has been proved usable without problems, and questionnaire results have indicated that the tool is meaningful for learners to intuitively grasp the learning content structure and their progress status.

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In this study, we propose an instructional method to develop "the critical thinking in physics" for high school students. In the method students will sketch "causal relation map" which illustrates reasoning processes of causal relations. The maps are examined by students to make own reasoning process explicit. In order to investigate effectiveness of the method, we conducted a class in which 79 students take a physics course II at an affiliated senior high school. Based on their writings on questionnaires and worksheets for the class, we conclude that our method can improve their reasonable thinking attitude which is a part of the critical thinking attitude of science.

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The purpose of this study is to develop an assertion training program in information moral education and to clarify the effect of it on a subject "Information A" at high schools. In the study 1, we practiced the assertion training program 2009 while we expected students to learn information morals based on it. In the study 2, according to the results of the study 1, we developed the assertion training program 2010, and then, practiced and assessed it based on the criteria decided by the Japan Ministry of Education, Sports, Science and Technology. Through two investigations, we found modifications in students behavior and their learnings about information morals after the program.

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This paper examines the educational effects of information ethics education through an experiment focusing on informational logging, one of five characteristic features of information technology. The experiment involved 85 6th year elementary school students who participated in a logged MMORPG session and were then given feedback on their actions. A significant increase was observed in the experimental group's understanding of the subject matter relative to the control group. Furthermore, within the experimental group, Internet usage-related interest and usage-related anxiety were significantly increased. These effects remained five months later and suggest that the educational methods presented in this paper are effective.

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The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of differences in the shape of objects used in arithmetic on children's equal-partitioning strategies. The subjects were fourth-grade students enrolled in an introductory class on fractions. They were divided into an experimental group (Class 1) that used fractional notation to perform equal-partitioning independent of the unit, and a control group (Class 2, textbook group) that expressed the size of fractions formed from length and volume in fractional notation, dependent on the unit of measure. Analyses of pre- and post-tests of equal partitioning comprehension, the children's equal-partitioning strategies, and the self-assessments prepared immediately after class supported the following conclusions. 1. Informal knowledge was activated by the shape of objects. 2. Equal-partitioning strategies that employed informal knowledge were effective for children whose understanding of equal-partitioning was evaluated as inadequate before class. 3. Many of the wrong answers on the post-test were because the children judged the size of the fraction from the value of the divided whole without taking into account that partials were not equally partitioned. These conclusions suggest that in an activity that allows cross-referencing of partials and wholes, the objects by which informal knowledge is activated are effective.

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In this paper, the relationship between moral consciousness of learners and consciousness of information ethics was investigated based on the concept of information ethics that was shown in the Course of Study. At first, a scale for evaluating consciousness of information ethics was constructed by the 1st survey that was conducted on junior high school and university students. Next, second survey using both this scale and the Scale of Moral Consciousness (TAMADA et al. 2004) was carried out on junior high school and university students, and a hypothetical causal model was constructed based on the relationship between factors in these two scales. The validity of the constructed model was verified using an analysis of covariance structures. Among factors composing moral consciousness, such as "consideration," "moderation," "sympathy and courtesy" and "justice and norm," it was suggested that the factors of "moderation" and "justice and norm" relatively strongly influenced consciousness of information ethics. On the basis of this result, we showed concrete connection of value items in moral education with the consciousness of information ethics.

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We conducted a science teaching method course for prospective teachers who had not yet done student teaching. In this class, student teachers did microteachings, where a part of students played the teacher's role and the rest played the student's role. In this microteaching, student teachers had to include observation activities or experiments. Students exchanged their comments on others' microteachings each other using LMS in order to evaluate teaching skills and contents in the microteaching. According to the result of analyzing comments by a text mining software, student teachers believed that understanding contents knowledge related to experiments in the microteaching. Student teachers, moreover, thought that they were influenced by comments on both of their own and others' microteachings. It was found that their comments had changed qualitatively during the course. In addition, LMS would enhance communication among student teachers in the course.

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[in Japanese]

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