This study aimed to develop the Learning Cost Beliefs Scale and confirm its reliability and validity. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted with 300 university and vocational students to examine the factor structure of the scale. The results indicated that the Learning Cost Beliefs Scale consisted of three factors with a total of 20 items: positive beliefs, accepting beliefs, and negative beliefs. Additionally, the correlations between the Beliefs about the Learning Cost and the Mindset Scale as well as the Regulatory Focus Scale in academic domains were examined. Positive beliefs were positively correlated with growth mindset and promotion focus; negative beliefs were positively correlated with fixed mindset and prevention focus; and accepting beliefs were positively correlated with both growth and fixed mindsets. From these results, reasonable associations between the Learning Cost Beliefs Scale and the examined variables were confirmed.

In recent years, critical thinking has been attracting attention as one of the general abilities and qualities. In this study, in the geography section of junior high school social studies, we set up an activity in which learners critically evaluate the summary statements of others and mutually evaluate and comment on them As a learning material we developed the "Peer Assessment of Critical Thinking Slide" and verified its effectiveness. The results showed that the rubric evaluation and questionnaire showed significant improvement in fostering critical thinking attitudes among the learners. In addition, the learners' evaluation comments to others in the peer evaluation situation and their summative descriptions after the peer evaluation showed their critical thinking attitudes. Therefore, it was suggested that the mutual evaluation using PACT slides is effective in fostering a critical thinking attitude.

This study aims to develop and evaluate an educational practice for fostering interdisciplinary thinking by supporting problem-setting in an inquiry-based, cross-curricular course integrating high school information and biology. Specifically, it addresses two research questions: (RQ1) To what extent do students' research skills, interdisciplinary thinking, and perceptions of inquiry change? and (RQ2) How do differences in problem-setting affect the development of interdisciplinary thinking? Through quantitative and qualitative analyses, we observed significant pre-post improvements in students’ “researcher skills” and knowledge-based aspects of interdisciplinary thinking, particularly “knowledge of subject-specific characteristics.” Furthermore, the study revealed that students' perceptions of inquiry shifted throughout the course, from an initial focus on “problem-setting” to “organization and analysis” and “deepening of knowledge and understanding.” Notably, the findings suggest that students who engaged more effectively in interdisciplinary problem setting demonstrated a greater improvement in their interdisciplinary thinking.

This study introduced the “Career Design Pattern Language,” which structurally visualizes key concepts, into on-demand career education classes at a technical college, and quantitatively and qualitatively examined its effects. For the 2023 cohort (n = 1,168), a paired t -test on 22 self-assessment items conducted before and after the course confirmed a significant difference (t = 37.48, p < .001). Furthermore, the group that evaluated the course as “deepening understanding through patterns” scored significantly higher on the overall index than the other group (t = 25.74, p < .001). A comparison of co-occurrence network diagrams of open-ended responses revealed that, compared with 2020 when the pattern language was not introduced, the number of subgraphs increased in 2023, and themes involving reflection and action—such as “responding to social change,” “design of life,” and “go to the site and feel it”—emerged. These results suggest that the pattern language serves as an effective design tool in on-demand classes for “emphasizing key concepts,” “supporting reflection,” and “bridging to action.”

What interactions and forms of learning arise when a weak robot—a robot endowed with lifelike behaviors and limited functional capabilities—enters elementary school classrooms? This study develops Toi, a weak robot designed to live alongside children and to evolve through sustained interaction, and examines its poten-tial as a Cohabitative STEAM learning environment. Toi departs from conventional educational robots that prioritize kit-based assembly and programming; instead, it intentionally embodies vulnerability to elicit care and attachment from pupils. Grounded in social construc-tivist theory, this design is intended to promote peer collaboration and to support ongoing, socially situated learning. To evaluate these propositions, two field studies were conducted in classroom settings. Data collection combined qualitative observations and inter-views with quantitative survey measures administered to participating students and teachers. Findings indi-cate that children’s emotional attachment to Toi con-tributed to sustained engagement and that Toi func-tioned as a social mediator, facilitating collaborative problem solving and peer-to-peer learning. The study concludes with design implications for educational robotics, arguing that deliberately “weak” social agents can scaffold long-term, affective, and collaborative STEAM learning.

This study examines the facilitators and barriers involved in implementing a chatbot that provides non-face-to-face support for university students with developmental disabilities across eight private universities in Japan. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 student support staff members at these universities, and the data were analyzed using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). The analysis identified 18 facilitators and five barriers. Key facilitators included the accessibility of support through a familiar platform like LINE and responsiveness to the students’ needs. Barriers included excessive text content, a mismatch between user expectations and the chatbot’s actual capabilities, and the burden placed on faculty during implementation. The study highlights the effectiveness of such digital tools for reaching students who are disconnected from traditional support services and underscores the importance of phased implementation, hands-on training, and the development of a hybrid support model that integrates digital and human support.

This study explored gender differences in programming tasks using ScratchJr among kindergarten children. Two types of tasks were implemented: a reproduction task, in which children recreated the instructor’s sample program, and a free task, in which they created their own programs. A total of 95 boys and 70 girls participated in seven sessions, and their programs were analyzed. The results showed no significant gender differences in achievement on the reproduction task. In contrast, in the free task, boys used significantly more motion blocks with modified numerical values, unfamiliar blocks, and total blocks than girls. These findings suggest boys may have been more engaged than girls, or boys and girls may have had different preferences for block types. Based on these results, implications for designing learning environments that foster greater engagement of girls in programming are discussed.

This study compared whether item characteristics (i.e., rate of correct answers, nonresponse rate, and item discrimination) in high school mathematics classroom tests differentiate between computer-based testing (CBT) and paper-based testing (PBT). In Study 1, students in five classes took the test for “Properties of Shapes” in Mathematics A. Two of the five classes took CBT, while students in three of the five classes took PBT. A comparison of item characteristics between the CBT and PBT groups showed that no difference in the rate of correct answers, the lower nonresponse rate for CBT, and item discrimination may be improved by CBT. In Study 2, results of the test for “Various Formulas” in Mathematics II were compared and no difference in the rate of correct answers and nonresponse rate were shown. Differences existed in item discrimination; however, the format with higher item discrimination depended on the items. These findings suggest that no difference may be in the rate of correct answers and nonresponse rates between CBT and PBT. However, some consideration will be needed when implementing CBT, such as ensuring that students have the opportunity to practice typing mathematical formulas on the PC beforehand.

Previous studies have suggested that explanation activities may promote spontaneous use of reading strategies. However, their effectiveness remains unclear. Therefore, this study implemented a program that taught two reading strategies―structuring and inference―to sixth-grade elementary school students. The students were divided into two groups: one in which pairs of students explained the content of expository texts to each other based on the notes they had made, and the other in which pairs exchanged their notes. We compared the effects of the two conditions on spontaneous use of reading strategies. In addition, we examined the changes from pretest to posttest by combining the groups. The results of the reading and explanation task showed that the overall use of the reading strategies significantly increased from pretest to posttest. Furthermore, the pair-explanation group utilized the two reading strategies more than the note-exchange group in oral explanation after the course, suggesting that explanation activities may promote spontaneous use of reading strategies.

This study examined the cognitive processes underlying teachers' autonomy support and control through a questionnaire survey of Japanese teachers. The results indicated that teachers' autonomy support orientation was not significantly related to any of the measured variables. In contrast, control orientation showed a significant negative relationship with both teachers' perceptions of students' motivation and their intrinsic motivation toward work. Furthermore, a moderated mediation model was tested, with control orientation as the dependent variable, teachers' perceptions of students' motivation as the independent variable, intrinsic motivation toward work as the mediating variable, and implicit theories of intelligence as the moderating variable. The analysis confirmed that implicit theories of intelligence moderated the relationship between intrinsic motivation toward work and control orientation. Specifically, teachers with a stronger growth mindset exhibited a more pronounced negative association between intrinsic motivation toward work and control orientation. These findings highlight the importance of teachers' perceptions of students' autonomous motivation and suggest the need for interventions targeting implicit theories of intelligence.

This study examined the relationships between teachers’ instructional practices and elementary school students’ achievement, learning strategies, and motivation using multilevel analysis. Multilevel correlation analysis revealed no significant associations between instructional practices and test scores. However, multilevel path analysis identified several significant classroom-level paths. Specifically, goal setting―such as clearly communicating lesson objectives and tasks—was positively associated with both mathematics and Japanese test scores. In contrast, mastery instruction―such as emphasizing repetitive teaching―showed negative associations with both test scores. Furthermore, support for ways of seeing and thinking was negatively associated with mathematics test scores through students’ use of flexible strategies. These findings suggest that, even after controlling for various factors, some instructional practices are related to students’ academic achievement and learning strategies, with goal setting showing particularly positive effects.

This study aims to explore the self-construction process of university students who participated in Career Construction Interview (CCI) sessions conducted by a professional career counselor. In particular, after completing a career education course, four students each participated in two sessions of the CCI developed by Savickas. The subsequently collected semi-structured interview data were analyzed using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA), yielding five categories and 19 concepts. The results indicated a career construction process where students, starting from “bewilderment within sociocultural practices” and “awareness through dialogue,” came to “articulate richer, more nuanced self-narratives,” thereby resulting in “self-understanding through reflection” and “self-acceptance through deep reflexivity,” ultimately cultivating expectations and hopes for their future careers. Notably, in counselor-led CCI sessions, the complete sequence of career construction formulated by Savickas—construction, deconstruction, reconstruction, and co-construction—was observed, a progression not achieved in the peer-based CCI exercises conducted during the course.

This study aimed to design and verify the effectiveness of methods for enhancing followership in design organizations. Based on three elements of followership (critical behavior, proactive behavior, and considerate behavior), we implemented a program combining half-day training sessions with six months of practical application, tailored to the unique characteristics of design work, with 12 designers at Company A. Results demonstrated significant improvements in both followership and teamwork. Notably, we discovered that how designers perceive critique experiences from art universities significantly influence their critical behavior. Among art university graduates, we identified two distinct groups: those who viewed critiques as "growth opportunities" and could demonstrate critical behavior from the early stages, and those who perceived critiques as "one-sided evaluations" and struggled with critical behavior. This research integrates the "learning environment design" framework with the followership concept from organizational behavior theory, providing a perspective that bridges professional education and organizational behavior domains, while offering practical implications for effective human resource development in design organizations.

This study examined how teaching assistants (TAs) can use a web application (web app) that can be collaboratively edited in group discussions to determine the necessity of intervention, as well as what types of interventions were made using the web app. Analysis of interviews and intervention statements using videos recorded with wearable cameras revealed that the content of the web app and both the content of the web app and the students' behavior were used as criteria for determining the necessity of intervention, and it was also clarified that TAs intervened in the content of the discussion in each situation. Furthermore, it was suggested that for TAs with limited experience in supporting group discussions, confirming both the web app and the students' behavior together may be useful in determining the necessity of intervention.

This study was conducted at a teacher training university to clarify how students' awareness of ICT use teaching skills changes as they learn to use ICT for inquiry, collaboration and regulation. In this study, we conducted a self-evaluation with students who took courses on inquiry, collaboration, and coordination using ICT. A checklist was provided for students to assess their own awareness of their ICT instructional skills. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four students, focusing on three points: “What was most impressive about the class,” “Changes in ICT utilization teaching skills after the class,” and “Opinions and impressions about the class structure for learning through inquiry, collaboration, and coordination using ICT”. As a result, it became clear that the students felt that although they initially faced difficulties and skepticism about using ICT at the beginning of the course, the learner-centered classes using ICT led to an improvement in their ICT utilization teaching skills.

In a class where learners are learning while making their own decisions about their learning activities, it is important for the teacher to understand the learning situation of each individual learner and provide guidance and advice. In recent years, there have been attempts to visualize learning situations such as objectives and reflection using spreadsheets on the cloud (hereafter referred to as “learning sheets”), and teachers are providing individual guidance based on the information entered. This study aims to clarify the actual conditions of the items and utilization of cloud-based learning sheets for teachers to grasp students’ learning status. To this end, an analysis was conducted on the items presented in the learning sheets and on a questionnaire survey regarding their utilization. As a result, 15 labels were assigned, and five categories were created: learner identification information, learning goals, learning guidelines, learning progress, and learning reflection. The learning sheets can be set up with items as needed by the teacher, and the study suggests the possibility of having functions that can grasp learning goals and reflection in real time, as well as functions that can grasp dynamic learning situations such as learning guidelines and progress.

The aim of this study is to design and evaluate the effectiveness of a practical framework that facilitates task formulation and research planning in independent inquiry assignments. We conducted workshops for elementary and junior high school students, to guide them in formulating research tasks that are aligned with their personal interests and developing research plans that incorporate epistemological approaches in science. We asked participants to complete a questionnaire before and after workshop and to voluntarily submit copies of their report for independent inquiry assignments. Participants developed expectations regarding their ability to engage in inquiry activities and demonstrated an improved self-assessment of their work compared to previous work. Furthermore, evaluation results indicated that students were able to establish inquiry tasks in a personally meaningful way and conduct research using epistemological approaches in science. The study also explores the effectiveness and limitations of the implemented framework．

A survey was conducted to investigate how high school teachers perceive the improvement of students' competencies through their classes. This study focused on two factors: inquiry-based learning introduced in high schools and the increasing use of ICT in classrooms. The analysis revealed three key findings. First, teachers feel that students' competencies improve when more students engage in the inquiry process of posing questions, gathering information, and presenting their findings, as well as when diverse ICT utilization is implemented in classes. Second, regardless of the types of students' competencies, teachers recognize improvements as participation in the inquiry process increases. Third, while teachers' use of ICT does not correlate with their perception of improvement, a higher frequency of students' ICT use is associated with teachers feeling that students' competencies are enhancing. This suggests a potential interrelation between Inquiry-based learning and ICT use.