In this study we analyzed the relationship between the science concepts and motivation of students in the science classroom, using the cognitive theory approach. We used questionnaires to grasp the actual condition of students' conceptual change and motivation. The analytic category of this survey, which R. Pintrichi, et.al. demonstrated, was the elements of "motivational beliefs" and "self-regulated-learning-strategies." As a result, we found that "students used self-regulated learning strategies based on motivational beliefs" in science learning. And finally we stressed four important points about the learning process: 1. Students can build ideas themselves. 2. Students can express their ideas appropriately. 3. Students can improve the explanations of their own ideas. 4. Students can feel that learning science in classes is meaningful.

The authors have investigated chemistry education in upper secondary schools in China from the viewpoint of scientific literacy. First, we examined two national curricula which were introduced in 2002 and 2004. Second, we compared the national curriculum in 2002 with Shanghai's curriculum in 1998 and analyzed chemistry textbooks in order to clarify the similarities and differences between them. The following results were obtained: 1. The revision of the national science curriculum in 2004 has made changes in the aims, objectives, and contents of chemistry education from the viewpoint of scientific literacy, which includes the 'nature of science' and 'science, technology and society.' 2. The STS (Science, Technology, and Society) contents of chemistry education have been promoted in Shanghai' s science curriculum earlier than in the current national curriculum. 3. One of the trends of chemistry education in upper secondary schools in China is the aim of improving scientific literacy as part of 'qualitative education' through a wide range of reforms in the curriculum and in the framework of the subjects.

We developed a new image-processing software to analyze the color information (RGB value) of digital image files downloaded from scanners and digital cameras onto a personal computer. Using this software and a scanner, we obtained a good linear relation between the concentrations of nitrite anion solution colored with a Saltzman reagent and the levels of absorption obtained from the RGB values of each digital image file of the solutions. Thus, we can determine trace amounts of nitrite anion in water by this method. In integrated study classes for sixth grade students in a public elementary school, determination of chemical oxygen demanded by the conventional pack test and that of nitrite anion by our method were conducted in order to investigate the pollution levels of samples of river water. All students carried out both experiments, and they were able to determine trace amounts of nitrite anion in river water by our method with high accuracy. It is also suggested by the answers to questionnaires that the student's experience of determining trace pollutants enhanced the students' positive perception of environmental study and that they thought that this software was a useful teaching tool for environmental study.

The concept of ions was deleted from the science curriculum in lower secondary schools in the revision of the guidelines for teaching in 1998. One of the main reasons for this deletion was the belief that the ion is a difficult topic for the students of lower secondary schools. However, its deletion has bred many problems in both the science curriculum and in overall scientific literacy. This is because the ion, one of the three substantial particles (atom, molecule, ion), is not taught during the period of compulsory education. We have constructed a teaching program in five parts that includes the concept of ions. Each of these parts has been incorporated separately into the present science curriculum covering the three years of lower secondary school. The first part is the study of atoms and their structure (nucleus and electrons) and ions (charge-carrying atoms). This part was taught to first-year students. From investigation before and after implementing this new teaching practice, we observed the following: 1) Over 85% of the students answered that these studies were easy to understand and enjoyable. 2) There has been a positive shift in the students' responses to questions such as "Are you interested in nature and natural science?" Therefore, it seems that the new program contributed to an improvement in students' perceptions of science.

We investigated how we have come to understand ions. And in terms of science history we considered how the concept of ions should be taught in school. Through experiments of electric conductivity or electrolysis in electrolyte solutions, ions were at first understood as "particles with electric charge" that seemed to appear only in an electric field. After the introduction of the theory of electrolytic dissociation and the analysis of the structure of ionic crystals, ions were finally recognized as "particles constituting materials" , i.e. "ions" , and it came to be understood that ions exist naturally. But it took about one hundred years to detect ions and to reach the final conclusion. When we looked at the relationship between ions and atoms, we found that the existence of ions had been demonstrated before the existence of atoms. This suggests that humans could more easily prove experimentally the existence of electrically-charged particles and that the subject of ions itself is not so difficult. Considering that ions are fundamental particles that constitute materials, the study of ions should be introduced at the compulsory education stage. Taking into account the fact that 13 or 14 year old students in many foreign countries are learning about ions, we believe that lower secondary school students will be able to understand the concept of ions well if we introduce it to them. The following comment is one of the results of our study for the recognizing history of ions. It was not difficult for a teacher to treat the ion itself, but it was difficult to have students deduce the structure of atoms or ions from the existence of ions. This suggests that in order to understand the concept of ions, it is necessary to learn about the electron and structure of atoms. This is one of our suggested guidelines for further examination of the study of ions.

Rudolf Arendt (1828-1902) and Ferdinand Wilbrand (1824-1893) were pioneers in the field of chemistry education in German (Prussian) secondary schools in the latter half of the 19th century. In this study, I compare their theories in regard to the objectives, contents, and teaching methods of chemistry education and make clear the importance of their roles in the establishment of modern secondary school chemistry education. (1) They discussed the cultural and educational values that can be acquired through the study of chemistry. They emphasized that the objective of chemistry education is to nurture the student' s scientific thinking, scientific attitude, and inquiry skills. (2) They introduced principles to classify the contents of chemistry education, such as chemical reactions or chemical substances in daily life, and they also maintained that the organization of the contents should consider the student's experience, interests, and understanding. (3) They criticized the usual teaching method of chemistry education, which had aimed only at the increase of knowledge through memorization, and they introduced a new teaching method based on the inductive method, a hypothetical-deductive method, and experiment. The importance of their theories was that they aimed to establish a unified, fundamental principle in modern education and a modern scientific method. Their theories established the fundamental model of modern chemistry education in the German secondary school.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether conducting repeated self assessment exercises is effective and to examine the correlation between self assessment and learning concepts. For this purpose, we adopted learning contents comprising three small units: respiration, digestion, and circulation. Each unit consists of four stages: pre-test, class, post-test, and self assessment. We examined the students' preconceptions at the pre-test stage. At the self assessment stage, the students were instructed to compare their responses on the pre-test and post-test by themselves. The post-test was administered in order to assess the students' understanding. We conducted an experiment with these three small units. After three months, we administered another test in order to evaluate the students' concepts about the contents. We obtained the following data from these experiments: 1 The mean points of the students' writings graded by criteria during the self assessment stage were gradually increased. 2 There was a clear correlation between the points on the self assessment and the post-test. 3 The experiment showed a clear correlation between the points on the self assessment and the test administered after three months. As a result, our analysis showed that repeated self assessment is effective and that there exists a clear correlation between self assessment and learning concepts.

This research project verified the effect of an evaluation method that made use of a digital portfolio in recording the experiment in which sixth graders in elementary school examine the "working of the electromagnet." As a result, the following three points were made clear. ・The learner's interaction is promoted by the evaluation scene. ・Learning by the exchange of mutual evaluation can be an effective tool to organize the experiment record clearly. ・The time necessary for instruction is reduced, so the teacher can use more time for evaluation by using a digital portfolio in the discussion activity.