The purpose of this study was to propose teaching contents considering the commonality among living things; the subject was the “technology of nurturing living things” in technology education. We examined the relevance of the basic framework concerning “nurturing living things” using the ISM (Interpretive Structural Model) structural method and created seven concept groups. The framework for teaching contents was constructed by relating the concept groups to the learning process in technology education. Proposed teaching contents of “crop cultivation”, “animal keeping”, “aquatic organism cultivation”, and “forestry tree cultivation” could be recognized and grasped by teachers as common teaching contents based on the concept and framework by “nurturing living things”.

It is possible to boost learning outcomes among junior high students by adding a component to teaching materials that can handle messages via text or speech in lectures regarding measurement and control. However, there is a limited number of reports regarding differences in students' interests based on learning tasks or themes. In this paper, an investigation of students’ interests in prepared examples for different subjects or components is discussed. The investigation was conducted before instructional programs in measurement and control were implemented. Nine examples were prepared across three themes (building a timer/a fortune-telling machine/a button-pressing game) and three different building components (LED basic setup and buzzer only/with an LCD/with a text to speech IC). Junior high students touched to access the examples and answer questions about their impressions and interests. From the investigation, we found that there was a weak correlation between how much fun a student had working with an example and his/her interest in it. Many students expressed their interest in the button-pressing game (with LCD) when asked to give one example of the activity that most interested them. Of the three different components, they selected the one with an LCD. The findings support the preparation of learning tasks that students think are fun and incorporation of an LCD in the components.

For robot production learning, we developed a teaching program applying the cooperation/collaboration learning model, which the authors have presented as a hypothesis. Additionally, we examined the validity and educational effects of this model. Using a sample of 182 junior high school students, we investigated the transition from cooperation to cooperation/collaboration—a concept that students learn equally while sharing roles in a technological activity. We also observed practical abilities demonstrated in the technological project for verification of the educational effect. Accordingly, we confirmed that 1) the cooperative/collaborative activity fostered equal learning through the sharing of roles, 2) there was a significant increase in all components of “the ability of technological activity,” and 3) students perceived increased abilities to perform technological activities. From these findings, we concluded that the validity of the model and the educational effect were verified by applying the developed lesson program in educational practices.

Recently, 3D printers have been used increasingly in school education because of the performance improvements and cost reductions they yield. However, there are problems to be solved, such as the timeconsuming aspects of printing and difficulty acquiring the operational skills necessary for the 3D-CAD. Therefore, in this research, we practiced an approach aimed at reducing such difficulty by utilizing the design method for the selection of parts appropriate for using 3D-CAD software to teach fourth grade (primary) students. The production theme was a compact “spinning top" to be evaluated by the students, who were to manufacture it and turn it themselves. It was possible to print in a relatively short period of time since the work to be produced was small. Results of our research indicated that students’ interest in the 3D-CAD, manufacturing, and 3D printer were enhanced as they achieved adequate skills for operating the 3D CAD in a short time. They understood that digital data could make duplication and correction easy.

In this research, we developed a sugoroku game as a teaching material for evaluating and understanding the productivity of agricultural technology and the relationship between agricultural technology and the environment and society from a historical perspective. First, the student chooses either a modern cultivation method or a method used during the Edo period for cultivation. Results differ depending on the choice of the modern or Edo period method for events occurring while advancing game pieces. Based on this difference, students aim at being able to evaluate and understand the productivity of agricultural technology and the relationship between agricultural technology and the environment and society from a historical point of view. We evaluated this teaching material by using it in a lesson for 52 first-year junior high students. Based on the results of the questionnaires and worksheets completed after the class, we confirmed that the developed teaching materials are useful, enabling students to evaluate and understand the productivity of agricultural technology and its historical relationship with the environment and society.

In this study, we developed a quadrupedal passive walking paper toy with the upper and lower bodies separated as a teaching material. The passive walking toy was placed on a slope; by the first swing, it continued walking with torsion of the bodies. We clarified the effects of body size and the body-connecting method with experiments involving the toy walking on a slope. We analyzed bodies' torsional angles and the toy’s operation a frame images analysis characteristic of a 30fps walking movie.

We live in the age of Big Data today, whether we can utilize the data in Problem Solving has been questioned. In this study, we used the RESAS software, which can visualize big data for foster Problem Solving Ability during class practice. We develop the ability fostered in a Junior High School by utilizing Big Data in a Senior High School and connect to the industrial society. We practiced “Information and Problem Solving” for two years in a class. According to a questionnaire survey based on an ARCS model, “Attention” and “Relevance” had a problem and “Confidence” and “Satisfaction” increased. In addition, we propose a new curriculum method that students were grouped according to interests of Big Data.

We conducted a consciousness survey regarding intellectual property using a questionnaire distributed to students in primary grades through university levels. In terms of responses, 577 answers from students in 9 schools in Japan, 704 answers from students in 14 schools in China, and 1,260 answers from students in 17 schools in Korea were evaluated. The questions explored 10 items: four regarding intellectual-conscious creativity, three regarding knowledge and understanding of intellectual property, two regarding an attitude of respect for intellectual property, and one regarding the internationality of intellectual property. We provided six possible responses: 1) I definitely think so, 2) I think so, 3) neither, 4) I definitely do not think so, 5) I do not think so, and 6) I do not understand. Consciousness of intellectual property depends on the grade level. Furthermore, responses differed by country. However, we must consider that consciousness of intellectual property may differ based on attendance of students at normal or special schools and the university department in which a student is enrolled. We conducted a further survey for second-year junior high students because we expected that education was mostly equal for all students in each country in the compulsory education stage. We found that Korean students had the highest level of consciousness regarding intellectual property, whereas Japanese students had the lowest.