In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey using the instrument SUMS to consider the support appropriate for the classroom by typifying the tendencies of junior high school students’ understanding of scientific models. Firstly, a factor analysis was performed to reveal the factors determining students’ understanding of scientific models. Secondly, these factors were examined whether they are reasonable scientific models. Thirdly, on the basis of factor scores obtained from the factor analysis, a cluster analysis was performed to typify the tendency of students’ understanding of scientific models. As a consequence, the following findings were gained:

(1) The factor analysis showed that the following five factors were extracted: “Models as multiple representations” “Models as exact replicas” “Models as explanatory tools” “Uses of scientific models” “The changing nature of models”

(2) The five factors of students’ understanding of scientific models were examined as to whether those are reasonable scientific models. As a result, factors other than “Models as exact replicas” were judged to be proper scientific models.

(3) Cluster analysis based on factor scores indicated four groups. We proposed forms of support in accordance with the characteristics of these groups.

As far as we know, much Japanese science education for young children involves the biology of natural experiences and observation, but little content from physics and chemistry. However, foreign countries report systematic lessons in the latter fields. However, directly importing lessons and presenting them in Japanese elementary and lower secondary schools is difficult. Therefore, we created a science education program with the following two features: (1) Substances, objects, and phenomena closed to Japanese children are included and (2) lessons are suitable for presentation at a nursery school, kindergarten, and science museum. Specifically, we developed an experimental classroom on “materials and buoyancy” in physics and presented its lessons in a nursery school, kindergarten, and science museum. An assessment of its value was also performed.

We built a mini solar furnace using Fresnel lenses (295×360 mm). It was found that the temperature at the focus was over 1200°C. Reduction of several metal compounds (Fe₂O₃, Co₃O₄, NiO, Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂) was carried out by the mini solar furnace. This resulted in producing visible particles of Fe, Co, Ni and Cu. On the basis of the above findings, we proposed a learning activity that adopted the experiment of reduction of Fe₂O₃ using the mini solar furnace. The activity was conducted in a high school and we confirmed that the students were interested in solar energy.

The purpose of this study was to develop a viable electrophoretic experiment method suitable for teaching students in lower secondary school science classes. We developed a method to measure the electrophoretic migration distance of both hydrogen and hydroxide ions. By using this method, we examined various experiment conditions and then developed an experiment kit that would operate successfully within these conditions. We then tried the kit in several authentic teaching scenarios and concluded that; a) The kit is safe and easy to use and b) It was expected that the kit and its associated teaching materials are suitable for teaching students in lower secondary school science classes.

There is an increasing amount of research and practice in relation to socioscientific issues (SSI) in science education. This study reviewed empirical studies evaluating learners’ thinking, that is, decision making, informal reasoning, and argumentation regarding SSI, and examined the analytic frameworks used in the studies. A search for relevant articles was conducted mainly in recently published volumes of leading science education journals, resulting in 14 SSI studies being identified. An overview of these studies suggested that the analytic frameworks for learners’ thinking on SSI might be broadly divided into three types: content of thinking, form of thinking, and both content and form of thinking. A comparative review of these frameworks revealed the following findings. First, two indicators were used for assessing the content of thinking, specifically the reasoning patterns identified by Sadler et al., and the reasoning mode, for example, scientific-oriented reasoning and social-oriented reasoning. Second, most studies evaluated form of thinking on structure of argument, and tended to value arguments containing counter-arguments or rebuttals. Third, studies analyzing both content and form of thinking were not numerous. Implications for further research were discussed based on the findings of this review.

The purpose of this paper is to examine grade-related changes in the composition of the schema in arithmetic word problem solving. Elements of the figure drawn in the problem-solving process of the change problems (RILEY et al., 1983) were compared between different graders.

Our results show that first and second graders drew only the half of the required elements and were not able to constitute the right schema.

Although third graders drew only a few elements in easy problems, they drew many elements in difficult problems. It is suggested that first and second graders were in the first stage, third graders are in the second or third stage of RILEY’s three-stage model. Our results imply that the word-problem instruction for schoolchildren is required in the lower grades.

This study aimed to obtain basic data showing that a lifelong learning activity related to personnel training supporting the manufacturing industrial infrastructure influences young people’s career path, by considering the effect of schoolchildren’s robot production has on the participants’ future careers. Concretely, a questionnaire survey (May, 2012) was administered to 128 persons, age 16–20, who had participated in this activity so far and graduated from Junior High School, and analyzed it. The result indicates that this activity is contributing to their subsequent career path to a fair degree, and there is a possibility that this activity can help nurturing future human resources in science and technology, thus clarifying the significance of robot production for schoolchildren.