We employed a motion capture system to compare the finger motions of university and junior high school students when using a screwdriver. We developed a motion capture system that records the motions of the fingertips and joints without markers or cameras and inputs 3D coordinate data into a computer. We recorded the finger motions of university and junior high school students using screwdrivers with our system. The analysis of the 3D coordinate data revealed that the motion of the thumb joint and the finger motions of loosening a wood screw were faster and more efficient among university students. Moreover, we found that faster angular acceleration of the wrist correlated with less time spent operating the screwdriver. These results allow for the provision of appropriate operating instruction for students learning to use a screwdriver for the first time.

In this study, we developed rocking wooden toys as teaching materials in early childhood education and analyze their motion through experiments and simulations. The toys have a glass ball inserted in the bottom hole of the body, and the hole is covered with an annular cork sheet. They convert potential energy into kinetic energy and move with rotation and rolling on a slope. In this study, we experimented by changing the height of the toys and clarified the change in motion and the operating principle by simulation analysis.

This study aimed to gather fundamental data and to improve Computer Science (CS) education, specifically regarding the development of Computational Thinking (CT). This study focused on Grit, a personal trait that corresponds to persistency. A questionnaire was administered to 93 university students, and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) on gender and Grit in relation to CT was conducted. The results showed the influence of both gender and Grit on the overall CT level, as well as the impact on Grit level on creativity, critical thinking, and algorithmic thinking. This underscores the importance of developing both Grit and CT.

In order to facilitate the smooth progress of information security education in elementary schools, this research aimed to shed light on university students' knowledge of information and communications technology (ICT) in order to increase their awareness of information security, as well as to obtain basic findings. A questionnaire survey was administered to 110 college students to understand the relationship between knowledge about ICT and information security awareness. The outcomes revealed the influence of knowledge areas such as “ICT mechanisms," “security," and “(individual) threats" on information security awareness (the measure involved). There was a difference in the ICT knowledge area, depending on students' gender and level of awareness of information security (recognition). Males might have deeper knowledge of “ICT mechanisms," “security," and “algorithms" through their experiences with information security.

We propose a learning approach in which the conception and design (C&D) are repeated twice; we tested its usefulness for problem-solving learning during programming of measurement and control in junior high school, in order to make the identified problems solvable. We compared C&D learning that occurs once with C&D learning that occurs twice via the webbing map, and clarified how the impact of learning is enhanced by repeating C&D learning twice. We also explored how students' 5W2H changed between the first and second sessions of the two C&D learning sessions. According to the results, students stressed “why, whom, and when" in the first C&D session; they considered the remaining “where, what, how to do it, and how to do it in the future" in the second C&D session. The outcomes revealed how to instruct students in the introductory and developmental stages of learning.

The purpose of this study is to understand the consciousness of parents who participated in elementary school programming education classes using LED teaching materials embedded PIC-GPE and to consider how to cooperate with parents. A practice was conducted for sixth graders in elementary school, and a survey was administered to 20 parents who visited the class. Parents highly valued their awareness of elementary school programming education through participation in classroom practice using LED teaching materials embedded PIC-GPE. Based on the actual situation of parents and the characteristics of LED teaching materials embedded PIC-GPE, it is pointed out the importance of planning programming classes in understanding that programming has an impact on everyday life and in exercising the creativity of learners in order to raise parents’ understanding and cooperation with elementary school programming education.

In order to clarify the features of teaching materials for production containing energy conversion in junior high school technology education, this research investigated production by considering multiple perspectives such as textbooks, teacher's reports on educational sites, catalogs of teaching materials, and academic papers. In the analysis of the teaching materials, their features were examined regarding the mechanism of technology outlined in the explanation of the junior high school course of study (notice of Heisei 29). The results demonstrated that the teaching materials for converting electrical energy into light and transmitting kinetic energy are mainly considered in junior high school classes. In addition, the teaching plan, based on the teaching materials for production, indicated that production time is much longer than when designing the production. These outcomes are consistent with the reality of teaching in junior high school technology education.

This study conducted a trial class practice incorporating the learning of programming to promote active learning in home economics “consumer education” and to determine the ideal way of learning programming to foster deep learning of elementary school home economics. The “basics of sales contracts” were extracted from the learning contents of consumer education, and a trial programming class practice using the Scratch visual programming environment was conducted with 95 fifth graders. The results showed that learners deepened their interest in programming based on learning activities set up to incorporate programming that utilized knowledge acquired in advance. Furthermore, it was suggested that learning programming may produce the deep learning of subjects by activating the acquired knowledge of each subject (knowledge about the basics of sales contracts) as working knowledge.

For the present study, we developed a teaching material for technology education in junior high school, which helps students to experientially discern the differences in wood quality among different species. We established a wooden box measure to make masu as the subject of manufacturing; we used four different species (Chamaecyparis obtusa, Magnolia obovata, Cryptomeria japonica, and Fagus sp.) for the side plane. By manufacturing the subject using the Japanese saw and chisel, we quantitatively assessed students' skills. We also evaluated their awareness while processing via text mining. We examined two types of skill acquisition: one is affected by the difference in processability among species; the other is improved through repetitive processing. The text mining revealed that the reflection of works by students changed from the first two species (C. obtusa and M. obovata) to the second two species (C. japonica and Fagus sp.); the former, which is related to the feedback they received about their work, changed to the latter, which entails the differences in wood properties among species. This shift may have occurred because students learn about variations in wood processability by experientially comparing the differences.

Students in the fourth grade who cultivated the calabash gourd used it to make musical instruments, specifically maracas, which they subsequently played. At first, 60% of the students (n=104) were familiar with the calabash gourd. However, 20% had ever seen one in real life. This finding implies that the calabash gourd's novelty as a teaching material would encourage students to learn about it. Second, students' expectations grew depending on the features of their gourds (e.g., shape, number, and size). Third, 91% of the students (n=109) said they could smell the material, processed by a new post-harvest method. The odor did not hinder their activity. Moreover, the students had prospects for cross-curricular activities at each stage of the lesson. Finally, it became clear that learning using the calabash gourd can increase learning motivation across subjects.

This study examined the effectiveness of trial practices that promote understanding of information security related to malware in elementary programming education. Using the visual programming environment Scratch3.0, we created teaching materials that allow learners to experience a simulated virus infection and antivirus software development. The analysis revealed that learners' understanding of malware and computer virus countermeasure software deepened. Thus, combining both experience and formal knowledge, obtained through programming and information security learning and acquired during each learning activity, may lead to more comprehensive knowledge.

The purpose of this research was to obtain the fundamental knowledge concerning the “programming thinking” process in a learning activity that incorporated programming in the lower grades of elementary school to examine appropriate elementary school programming education based on the developmental stage. We conducted a trial programming practice using the Scratch visual programming environment, with the theme of the study of the living environment. Participants were 33 second graders. The results of the analysis show that programming experience can foster programming thinking involving such concepts as “decomposition,” “abstraction,” and “algorithms.” The study indicated that the lower grades of elementary school require learning activities that incorporate programming for the development of programming thinking.