Effective geography education measures are required to prepare children for possible future megadisasters. Tsunami evacuation drills have been widely conducted for this purpose in coastal schools in Japan. The social recognition of disasters in disaster prevention education during geography classes should include “knowing and understanding” disasters and acquiring “the ability to evacuate” in emergencies. Many refugees will concentrate on designated evacuation sites in densely populated urban areas. Therefore, practical evacuation procedures based on the continuously changing conditions of local evacuation sites should be provided by assuming that it might be impossible to evacuate to a predetermined site. This article first clarifies map-based geography educational problems in disaster preparation and the limits of tsunami evacuation drills conducted in elementary schools. The following theoretical frameworks for utilizing maps were developed to solve the problem of using maps. (1) Repeatedly testing and evaluating the validity of evacuation. (2) Developing continuous risk-taking decisions on evacuation. (3) Personalizing evacuation drills. (4) Conducting evacuation simulations for various disaster scenarios in different situations. (5) Localizing disaster prevention education by each school. (6) Clarifying how to use maps as a risk communication tool at home. DIG and Crossroad, or Dig-Cro, a map-based evacuation training method, and the “Oshima disaster prevention map for children,” a risk communication tool for home, were developed for elementary schools in densely populated, coastal urban areas based on these theoretical frameworks. Dig-Cro simulates personalized evacuation (Yamori, 2016) by combining “DIG” (Komura & Hirano, 1997) and "Crossroad" (Yamori et al., 2005). In this method, children continuously make risk-taking decisions using "Crossroad" by moving a pawn representing themselves on a disaster site map. Also, to prevent local disaster images from being stereotyped, a lesson unit was developed for repeatedly simulating different disaster scenarios under various situations based on the “Project-Based learning concept” (Yoshimizu, 2018). The above activities provided opportunities for children to (1) evaluate whether they can evacuate; (2) ensure continuous individual risk-taking decision-making; (3) personalize children’s’ evacuation drills; (4) repeatedly work on evacuation simulations under different disaster situations; and (5) develop a localized disaster scenario for each school. Furthermore, (6) a risk communication tool for home use was provided by clarifying map use. The results suggested that Dig- Cro might overcome disaster prevention education problems in geography classes and solve problems and limitations of tsunami evacuation training.

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  This study aims to develop a teaching model for the secondary industry (manufacturing) social studies unit, and its effectiveness was tested in practice. The model was developed in light of the characteristics of the industrial learning in Japan and of relevant issues, as identified in prior research, and with reference to overseas research outcomes. This has not often been actively attempted in the past. The outcomes of this study are three-fold. First, the study analyzed the industry (manufacturing) unit of the Connections geography textbook used in England. This was done to propose improvements in industry (manufacturing) unit in elementary social studies industrial learning that reflects citizenship education as well as formation of scientific social awareness. Second, based on this first outcome, a model for teaching the industry (manufacturing) unit in elementary social studies industrial learning was developed. This aims to help pupils comprehend geographical and economic concepts and the concept of manufacturing industry location based on theory via the three stages of “grasping the key content and significance of the unit”, “exploring factors for optimal location of Japan’s important manufacturing sectors”, and “utilizing the knowledge thus acquired”. The model should also foster the ability to utilize these concepts in rational decision-making. Third, the new teaching model was delivered in practice to clarify its effectiveness.

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  This article is a record of educational practices to change the learning from contents base to the competency base, and this work was carried out in the teacher license renewal program and some undergraduate classes conducted by the author. In the former, the position of several prefectures, the cultivation of farm products and a characteristic of their circulations were treated. In the latter, the production of tea leaves was the main focus, and exploratory learning was suggested through comparative study for Kagoshima and Kyoto Prefectures. All of these educational goals are not "memorizing" but rather "thinking and understanding".

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