This article presents a chemical experiment on the identification of hydroxy acids for high school students in order to elaborate their knowledge and understanding of organic chemistry. Four hydroxy acids, lactic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, and citric acid were used for this experiment. By conducting several qualitative and quantitative analyses such as iodoform test, oxidation reaction, and neutralization titration, students could identify these hydroxy acids clearly. On the basis of the above findings, we propose two types of learning activities. One is a hands-on activity, through which high school students can develop a better understanding of property and reactivity of oxygen-function compounds when they have just learned a unit of organic chemistry. The other is an inquiry-based learning activity, in which students plan a protocol for experiment objectives, carry out the experiment, and draw a conclusion by combining experimental results with their knowledge. These activities are effective in improving not only conceptual understanding of organic chemistry but also scientific thinking and concerns about design, practice, and verification for chemical experiments.

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We developed and evaluated a Mobile System “Pocket Plant Guide” for supporting the observation of plants. While previous systems used photographs, the “Pocket Plant Guide” uses sketches, which is one of its defining characteristics. This guide contains three types of display as follows; (1) color display of leaves and fruits; (2) display of enlarged leaves and fruits; and (3) display of the underside of the leaves. As a result of an evaluation targeting sixth grade elementary school children, the “Pocket Plant Guide” was quite easy to use and was effective in promoting the observation and understanding of plants.

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Several studies have revealed that most students not majoring in science at the Faculty of Elementary Education are not confident to teach science at elementary school. We conducted a questionnaire survey to 1815 such students at 15 universities in Japan. The purpose of this survey was to investigate what they expect from university and what would be the most effective education in order to improve their confidence. The survey revealed that (1) the students only have confidence in teaching biology, but (2) not other scientific subjects covered at elementary school, and (3) they are especially reluctant to teach physics and chemistry. These results indicate that a comprehensive curriculum at university covering all science subjects taught at elementary school is needed to improve their confidence.

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The working situation of museum staff members who were originally employed as school teachers was investigated by sending questionnaires to prefectural museums as well as municipal ones in ordinance-designated cities. Such staff members are working in about half of the target museums. More than half of the teachers are planning to return to schools in three to five years, but other are planning to stay longer. In about 40% of the museums, teachers’ duties are specialized in dealing with school pupils and group visitors. The teachers’ specializations are mainly social studies, science, and art. In some cases, teachers of Japanese language work as generalists in partnerships with schools.

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