This study investigated how to support teachers who tried to conduct "Lesson Study" in the field of international educational development. In the process of lesson study, teachers encountered conflicts and tried to solve them. The authors apply Activity Theory as a framework of interpretation on school based professional development in order to intervene in the process of lesson study. A case study was conducted at Palestinian refugee basic schools in Syria. Research methods were interviews and participant observation. The authors identified two conflicts, which were "conflict on the power relationship among teachers and school supervisors" and "conflict on changing learning attitude from passive to active". The respective conflicts come under "Subject-Rules" and "Subject-Division of labor". To solve these conflicts, the authors intervene (A) to demonstrate a role model how to behave in Lesson Study against the former conflict, and (B) to instruct active members as facilitators in Lesson Study against the latter conflict. These interventions helped dissolve conflicts and advance lesson study.

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This paper discusses the effect of using tablet PCs in e-learning. We carried out an analysis based on the "dual channel model," which models the information-processing capabilities of humans. More specifically, we provided learners with paper media, keyboards, pen tablets, and tablet PCs to be used as input devices for annotations during e-learning, measured the gaze point of each learner using an eye-mark recorder, and analyzed the performance of each device by performing memory and comprehension tests, using questionnaires, and evaluating the note-taking activity. As a result, we found that the use of tablet PCs in e-learning (1) reduces the extraneous cognitive load imposed by making annotations, (2) makes it easier to gaze at the content in synchronization with the narration, (3) increases learners' comprehension and memory retention abilities, and (4) enables efficient note taking, thus increasing the accuracy of the notes as learning aids.

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Concept map is a useful tool for learners to organize and represent knowledge. The task to generate the concept maps can be divided into two tasks: the one is segmentation task where parts (called "kit") of a concept map are extracted and the other is structuring task where the extracted elements of the kit are connected and the concept map is built. In the Kit-Build method, a teacher builds a concept map and extracts kit of the concept map, and then provides them to learners. Then, a leaner builds a concept map using the kit. In this method, learners don't carry out segmentation task but conduct recognition task as for the kit. Therefore, it is necessary to examine influence on learning effect by replacing the two tasks. In this research, we have performed an experiment to compare Kit-Build method and usual one to examine the influence on memory effect.

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In this study, we suggest an effective design model for workshops to generate what we call "emergent collaboration" among participants. First, we set up a hypothesis that emergent collaboration is facilitated when participants are assigned a task involving two conditions that are seemingly conflicting but are open to interpretation. Then we conducted 8 workshops for undergraduate students (four of the sessions were designed on our hypothetical formula and the other four were not), and analyzed the process of collaboration at each session. As a result, we found that in the sessions based on our design model, participants were stimulated to look at their object and ideas from different perspectives, which led to emergent collaboration in most cases. In addition, analyzing the exceptional cases, we found that, emergent collaboration was not promoted when participants did not see two conditions as conflicting. While these exceptions suggest the need for deliberate examination of the conflicting nature of two conditions on the side of workshop designers, the analysis of the findings, as a whole, showed our hypothesis is highly effective.

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The purpose of this study is to obtain a proposal to promote teaching capacity of using ICT in a teacher training course. We investigate a teaching capacity, use experience and direction of PC/network, and 1219 students majoring in education answered. As a result, students' teaching capacity of using ICT were low scores according to the checklist concerning the advance/evaluate of class, foster attitude and school duties. It was suggested that teaching capacity of using ICT related to interesting of PC, possession of own PC and application PC for various objectives and way. It seems that e-mail use, and spreadsheets use and create a web page were influenced a teaching capacity of using ICT. These results lead us to the suggestion of learning activity and learning form to promote teaching capacity of using ICT.

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