Recently, casting teaching materials using wooden molds are in circulation. In this study, based on the technical evaluation of the casting method, we investigated the relationship between the usage situation of casting teaching materials and their treatment situation in technology courses through a questionnaire survey of manufacturers of teaching materials and a text mining analysis of technology course textbooks. Consequently, teaching materials of wooden mold casting are safe, easy to use, and have a good usage situation among metalworking teaching materials. However, the treatment of casting in textbooks was remarkably low. In other words, in contrast to the usage situation of casting teaching materials, a situation may have arisen in which only hands-on production practice is conducted without teaching the basics concerning material properties and processing methods. Moreover, we considered the essential teaching contents related to casting. Accordingly, it is suggested that the following contents are necessary: alloy selection, casting method selection, mold material selection, alloy melting properties, surface properties, and casting defects. Furthermore, some of these teaching contents were considered to lack fundamental research.

View full abstract

Today's society is rapidly transforming with the advancement of information technology and intelligence. To cultivate the ability to construct the future society, it is necessary to develop the ability to flexibly foresee the future based on the study of the history of information in the past. Therefore, we aim to build a web environment that is not only used throughout lifelong learning, including school education and adult education such as teacher training, but also allowed in learning through the world's information heritage museums that deal with the history of information from prehistoric times. Specifically, we will map information heritage museums around the world and build a web environment that switches the display of museums corresponding to each target category so that it can be used according to the learning situation. Moreover, we configure an input procedure screen in a database environment, and we build an environment that can automatically build JavaScript-related files. Further we use the Leaflet environment to easily display the world's information heritage museums by category on OpenStreetMap. Finally, we consider the usefulness of the information education development in lifelong learning of the information heritage museums world map in the constructed web environment.

View full abstract

With the promotion of digitalization in education, there are high expectations for understanding learning status and improving academic achievement by utilizing learning data. This study conducts a learning analysis of programming education in the unit “Search Programs” of “Informatics I.” Programs in the process of creation were acquired in real time, and similarities based on cosine similarity and Levenshtein distance applying unigrams and bigrams were extracted as features in a time series. The relationship between similarity and proficiency was analyzed. It was observed that the correlation between cosine similarity C2 using the bigram and proficiency was strong, indicating that similarity C2 is a useful clue for predicting the proficiency degree. The findings also indicate the possibility of predicting proficiency at an early stage of the program creation process. For programs with complex structures, similarity focused on the overall program structure rather than on detailed expressions is useful for predicting proficiency.

View full abstract

Aimed at learning about both the acoustic characteristic of wood and the latest technology on electronic instruments at the technological education in Junior High School，a teaching material of musical instruments was the focus of this research. The purpose of this research is to develop and introduce electronic musical instruments with wooden soundboards vibrated by an actuator that links to ICT devices. In addition，simple laminated wooden producing method realized for free designed soundboards was devised in order to foster students' creativity and to learn experientially about the manufacturing of wooden product. The acoustic tests result with human sensory for the prototype showed similar sound of real music instruments with soundboards like a piano，and with measuring instruments mountain-shaped graph on sound pressure with a peak in the middle range. Comparison on different soundboard shapes and fiber directions concluded almost same patterned mountain-shaped graph with a little difference on the middle frequency range. Finally，results of a questionnaire survey on classroom practice for university students proved the effectiveness of this teaching material providing an experiential understanding of the acoustic properties of wood and improving their knowledge and skills on the properties.

View full abstract

This study proposes an assessment criteria for competencies regarding system development in junior high school technology education. The assessment methods were examined considering existing approaches and the definitions of knowing-that and knowing-how in the New Framework 2021. Consequently, the assessment questions for knowing-that and rubrics for knowing-how were considered suitable. To measure knowing-that, based on the knowing-that and knowing-how system chart of the New Framework 2021, as well as related materials on technology education and those on system engineering, 16 types of knowledge of systems to be acquired in class were concretized. From the embodied system knowledge, 11 assessment questions were developed. For knowing-how, seven items were set as the rubric’s assessment perspective based on the system knowledge items of the New Framework 2021. Each item was based on three levels - from Level 3 to Level 1 - and specific actions were indicated in the assessment criteria.

View full abstract

Critical thinking skills are one of the crucial competencies that should be cultivated in school education. Therefore, various educational programs aimed at fostering critical thinking attitudes have been implemented. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been increasingly utilized in various contexts in recent years, and its effective use in educational settings is expected to enhance educational outcomes. Specifically, ChatGPT, as a generative AI, allows for the easy implementation of discussions in a dialog format, which can intensify students’ thinking. Furthermore, having ChatGPT generate counterarguments to students’ own ideas can encourage them to think critically without over-relying on AI. Therefore, this study conducted a practical class for university students in a teacher training faculty, incorporating discussions with ChatGPT to foster critical thinking attitudes. Consequently, significant differences were observed in the three factors and total score of the critical thinking attitude scale, indicating that such attitude was successfully cultivated.

View full abstract

There is a necessity to develop human resources equipped with creativity that can respond to rapidly advancing information technology. This study aims to foster creativity by not only examining the potential of implementing Yupana (a calculation tool) and Quipu (a recording tool) employed in the ancient Inca civilization, as educational materials, but also evaluating their usefulness. First, we reviewed the historical backgrounds and functions of Yupana and Quipu and attempted to replicate them. Second, we investigated the operation methods of the four arithmetic operations applying the newly replicated Yupana. Third, we conducted an educational activity at a high school to explore the possibility of implementing this system in school education. Last, based on feedback from students, we clarified its usefulness as a teaching material and the possibility of introducing it in several subjects. Consequently, we propose a “Yupana-Quipu Bridging Learning Development Model” that connects multiple subjects to foster students’ creativity.

View full abstract

The concept of strength of materials is crucial to the design process in manufacturing. However, it has been limited to addressing its coverage in technologyーa subject taught in Japanese junior high schools. To address this concept, simplified material testing machines have been developed, but no research has addressed their systematic characteristics. To gain systematic knowledge of the simplified testing machine as a teaching material, we tried to not only categorize its features that had been previously reported but also evaluate its educational significance. The attributes and merits of the load and displacement application system, the capacity of maximum load, and so on in the testing machines were revealed. For example, among the load application systems, mechanical systems are desirable for applying loads stably, whereas the hydraulic one can apply a large capacity of load. For measuring load, the merit of using weighing scales is that they are simple and inexpensive, while load cells can address interdisciplinary content. By evaluating the educational significance of the teaching material, it was revealed that there was not only an enhancement of interest and curiosity in strength of materials but also a possibility of being useful in teaching materials that address STEM/STEAM education, including problem-based learning.

View full abstract