To review science teacher education in the Heisei era and to utilize awareness gained during that period for the creation of science education in the new age of Reiwa, research on science teacher education was undertaken to review Heisei-era reports from the Bulletin of Society of Japan Science Teaching and the Journal of Research in Science Education. Results of the review show that 111 research reports about science teacher education were published, excluding those of volumes 38, 39, and 41, and years of issue 1997, 1998, and 1999. The 111 editions comprised the following: (1) 5 reports of the Curriculum Committee of the Society of Japan Science Teaching; (2) 28 studies of the current state of teacher-aspiring students; (3) 39 surveys and studies elucidating the current status demands on, and class practices of incumbent teachers; (4) 20 theoretical and practical research studies aiming to foster for teacher-aspiring students; (5) 8 theoretical and practical research studies for incumbent teachers; (6) 8 studies of teacher education in other countries, and (7) 3 others. Most were case studies of teacher-oriented students and in-service teachers. No report specifically described a study of the development of professional teacher educators or Core-Science Teachers. The most reported-upon school types are related to elementary schools. Earth science contents related to astronomy stand out. Results for “Science teacher education” research in the Society of Japan Science Teaching in the Heisei Era produced many educational foundations for aspiring teachers and in-service teachers with various backgrounds who teach science in the new Reiwa era. They also engender the development of expertise in science teacher educators that can be used without sole reliance on their own experience. Enhancement and development of results can be expected, along with useful proposals and benefits for society.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the factors affecting pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching argument skills through a learning program to introduce argumentation into elementary school science classes. The participants were 64 university students who aspired to become teachers and who were beginners to argument skill instruction. The learning program was referred to in research by Yamamoto and Kamiyama (2017). The belief survey was conducted two times after the stage of learning basic knowledge such as the definition of arguments, and then after completing all the activities of the program. Among the survey results, we analyzed the influence of the beliefs that became stronger after the program. The results clearly demonstrated that awareness of an argument having a scientific logical structure, the ability and experience of the learner to work on the argument, recognition of the learners’ state of motivation, and experience of actually envisioning a lesson in argumentation skills all count among the affected factors.

The main purpose of this study is to analyze pre-service elementary teachers’ understanding of the human heart, the blood vessels (arteries and veins) connected to the heart, and the blood (arterial blood and venous blood) flows inside it. The main findings of this study were as follows: 1) About 30% of the students were able to explain the terms arteries and veins scientifically and correctly, and the students’ ideas could be classified into five types. 2) For three groups, we presented drawings related to the human heart and the blood vessels connected to the heart with different information. In addition, we pointed out the arteries and veins in the drawing. We quizzed the students, and the number of complete correct answers were about 30% to 70% in each group. 3) About 55% to 85% in each group had scientifically recognized the nature of the blood (arterial blood and venous blood) flowing inside the heart and the blood vessels connected to the heart.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the observation style of fixed-point observation and free observation, and the utterances during the class review meeting in science classes. As a result, the following points became clear in the class review meeting on the two observation styles. (1) In fixed-point observation, many observers are aware that there are many utterances of the child’s personal thoughts during the class, and it was shown that there are few observers who feel that there are many utterances about teaching materials handled in class, or about class members’ questions and teaching methods in class. In free observation, it was shown that there was no difference in the consciousness of the observer’s own utterances. (2) In fixed-point observation, there are significantly more utterances in complex knowledge areas, including among the learners. In free observation it was shown that there were significantly more utterances in a single area of the learner’s knowledge, or in a knowledge area that did not include the learner. (3) In fixed-point observation, there are significantly more conversations in experience exchange cases, while in free observation, it was shown that there were significantly more conversations about easy consensus cases.

It is an urgent challenge to achieve sound theory regarding cultivation of “quality and ability to design science classes” among aspiring teachers. Therefore, based on a perspective of class designs extracted for practice from those of science class designs developed with an aim to foster children’s abilities to build scientific concepts, a science teaching/learning process map has been developed in the current study. In order to examine availability of the science teaching/learning process map, an analysis was conducted on different points in the contents between description of learning instruction plan at the time of science class design and that added (required) at the stage of reflection (reconfiguration) based on teaching/learning process map in light of a perspective of science class design. The results revealed that the students could describe specific activity scenes in the learning instruction plan, but were not accustomed to drafting science lesson designs based on children’s ideas, whether they could assume “original ideas” made a difference in the concept of science lesson design. Moreover, students thought that they needed to add specific measures by noticing the need to assume a change in their children’s ideas while reflecting (reconstructing) their own lesson design using a process map. In addition, it has been also understood that university teaching staff and teachers for leading practice should instruct teacher candidates in the importance of appropriate evaluation of “children’s thoughts” at the stages of both introduction and conclusion of class, as well as its specific methodology.

In Japan, the word ‘inquiry’ is used as one of the objectives of science in the High School Course of Study, and science education requires inquiry activities. However, there are few research reports on inquiry activities in high school science classes. In high school biology textbooks, there are many confirmation experiments, and within activities involving enzymes, experiments with catalase and amylase are popular. Optimal temperatures for the above two enzymes are approximately the same as human body temperature, and so the results obtained in experiments involving catalase and amylase do not differ significantly from the students’ hypotheses before the experiment is conducted. This is less than ideal because students are denied a chance to think more deeply. We focused on Vargula hilgendorfii (sea firefly) as an experimental teaching material because it is a familiar subject to us and it may yield experimental results that are contrary to students’ expectations.

In this study, we first examined the results of experiments using the sea firefly. We found that the conclusions were promising, and used the sea firefly to conduct experiments in the classes. We examined the students’ expectations and considerations. When dried sea fireflies were ground and water was added at different temperatures, the strongest and longest-lasting luminescence was observed when ice water was added. During lesson practice for this material, students expected the sea fireflies to glow the brightest at around body temperature. The results were contrary to the students’ hypotheses, and they were surprised and thus motivated to produce various other considerations. In addition, it became clear that they came to think more accurately after listening to other students’ presentations than if they had merely thought them through by themselves. Sea firefly luminescence is more than a simple and efficient teaching material; it immediately interests students and spurs them to think and interact more deeply, not only in terms of their own scientific thinking, but also, synergistically, with other students.

In this research, in order to stimulate critical thinking in the process of experiment planning in science classes, we introduced a form of the flowchart-type experiment planning table and facilitated collaborative discussions among students using the chart. To verify the effectiveness of the lesson model based on the above activities, we practiced the lessons on the property of aqueous solutions for 96 elementary school sixth-graders. In the practice classes, the individual students created the flowchart-type planning tables that consisted of the experiment steps, the safety instructions, the equipment, et cetera. After arriving at a consensus on the experimental design in their groups, the students discussed the validity of planning with other groups. Students’ dialogues and writing in their notes exhibited the induction of critical thinking in their discussions through the use of the flowchart-type tables, demonstrating the effectiveness of the approach. Also, the questionnaire surveys on students’ attitudes toward critical thinking revealed improvements in their abilities through the series of lessons.

In recent studies, theoretical frameworks of interest that grasp positive emotion (strength) and cognition of value (depth) has been proposed, so it is important for science education to foster positive emotion and cognition of value toward a desirable state. Previous international surveys have shown that Japanese students have weak positive emotion, yet they have strong skills in observations and experiments. Generally, it is thought to be important to promote interest in science learning through observations and experiments. However, previous studies have not yet determined the optimal conditions for intervention in “depth of interest”. Therefore, in this study, we focused on strength and depth of interest in observations and experiments and aimed to consider the relationship of those factors with positive emotion in science learning. Our results show that “positive emotion in science learning” and “positive emotion in observations and experiments” could be extracted and examined as different factors, so it is considered that both interests are coexisting yet independent constructions. In addition, it was suggested that intervening in deep cognition of value for students with low positive emotion in observations and experiments can actually decrease their positive feelings toward science learning. Due to the interplay of these factors, teachers need to take care to intervene in depth of interest depending on the student’s strength of positive emotion in observations and experiments.

Glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) often occurs in the Himalayas. Trial lessons to study the mechanism of GLOF were conducted in high schools in Nepal as a part of their disaster prevention education curriculum. The criteria of the development of the teaching materials was that the structure of the teaching material should be simple, the mechanism should be easy to understand, and the materials should be available locally and made locally. A glacial lake model utilizing a plastic bottle with the side clipped out was developed. Because the students were not accustomed to a description-style answer, an alternative evaluation method was adopted, making use of a questionnaire that was easy to answer for the students. Three secondary schools in eastern Nepal were selected as trial lesson schools, since GLOF occurred in the eastern part of Nepal. The Japanese incumbent teachers worked at these schools as Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), ensuring the advantage of easily provided cooperation for the trial lessons. The teaching plan was rough compared with those used in Japan, as it was difficult to grasp the actual situation of the living environment and understand the students deeply enough. The objectives of the lesson are to promote interest in GLOF and to understand its structure. The lesson was conducted with respect to students’ opinions while remaining conscious of the objectives. The glacial lake model with water was buried in the slope of the school. The teacher and students dropped stones, representing glaciers, and gravel into the glacier lake model, resulting in the destruction of part of the model, the end-moraine of the glacier damming the water. The questionnaire survey was administered after the lesson. The results revealed the following: 1) The student came to know GLOF only after learning it at school. 2) Many students answered that they could understand the mechanism of GLOF. 3) The contents and experience of the lesson program was pleasant for students. They pointed out that there was an experiment in the lesson, and the content of the class made it easy for them to understand GLOF. 4) This class was effective to foster students’ interest and encourage further study of GLOF.

Since sound waves pose peculiar difficulties for learners, an effective instructional device to support sound wave concept formation is desirable. In this study, as one means of achieving effective sound wave concept update, an original instruction method using domino wave was developed and then applied in a secondary school science class. Firstly, an experiment was held to allow learners to observe a domino wave and absorb the fact that the velocity of a wave source does not affect the propagation velocity of the wave, which is common among sound waves. Then, a group work was held to give the learners the opportunity to discuss the various similarities and differences between the two kinds of waves, followed by each group forming a consensus opinion on the similarity level. As a result, it seemed that the learners could successfully remediate their misconceptions and deepen their understanding of sound waves. The results of this study strongly implied that the domino wave is indeed useful as an instructional tool to foster effective sound wave concept formation.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the experience and recognition of university students who research ethics and misconduct in science education. We designed a five-point scale questionnaire, which consists of questions about the students’ experience of misconduct and their recognition of misconduct. This questionnaire on misconduct in science was conducted on 136 university students for this study. After analyzing the surveys, the results revealed that some university students had copied textbooks, blackboards, and the results of other people’s experiments, or had falsified experimental results. On the other hand, the students’ candid answers also revealed that they could recognize that academic and scientific misconduct is unethical.

We planned, presented, and verified the effectiveness of a science lesson based on the strategy of transformative assessment. This strategy was based on the proposal of Popham (2008). Popham (2008) proposes an analytical method for learning progressions in four stages: 1) Acquire a thorough understanding of the target curricular aim, 2) Identify all requisite precursory subskills and bodies of enabling knowledge, 3) Determine whether it is possible to measure students’ status with respect to each preliminarily identified building block, and 4) Arrange all building blocks in an instructionally defensible sequence. Therefore, when teachers incorporate the strategy of transformative assessment to create lessons based on learning progressions, the lessons function more effectively and yield better learning outcomes. The results of our study indicated that pupils indeed acquired the intended knowledge and cognitive skills by using the precursory bodies of enabling knowledge and subskills. The method and strategy proposed by Popham in 2008 was thus verified to be useful for designing science lessons in Japan’s education system.

The biology curriculum for upper secondary school students now introduces several concepts of molecular biology. This has been accompanied by an increased need for more teaching materials. For example, restriction enzymes are generally described in all authorized upper secondary school biology textbooks. However, the experimental method is time consuming, and available time in class is limited. Therefore, we developed a new teaching material and method in which experiments involving restriction enzymes can be performed by students within a single 50-minute class. Since the experiment was to be conducted within one class, a DNA fragment containing one restriction site was prepared, and the reaction conditions were optimized to shorten the duration of the experiment. DNA 1.0 μL, the restriction enzyme 1.0 μL, and buffer 1.0 μL were mixed, sterile distilled water was added to make the total volume 5.0 μL, and the mixture was allowed to react for 20 minutes at 37°C. Electrophoresis was then performed at 100 V for 15 minutes using a 2.0% agarose gel. To help students understand that restriction enzymes identify and cut specific DNA nucleotide sequences, the learning plan was designed so that the students would be required to think about the size of the DNA fragments. After the lesson, 85% of the students recognized that the size of the band obtained after electrophoresis was related to the distance between the recognition regions of the restriction enzyme, demonstrating the effectiveness of the new teaching material and method.

A planisphere plate is a projection of the spherical sky into a flat sheet. The type of planisphere with one whole-sky plate has a problem in terms of scale: essentially, when observed from low latitudes, southerly constellations are greatly distorted. One way to solve this problem is to split the northern sky and the southern sky on the planisphere. Therefore, in this study, I aimed to demonstrate that the celestial sky, divided into Northern and Southern hemispheres along the trajectory of the horizon of planisphere, could be represented by simply via the use of spreadsheet software. I also examine the possibility of drawing the celestial prime vertically rather than horizontally, as typically drawn in a planisphere. Some ideas for lesson practice can be drawn from this study, for teaching at the Elementary and Secondary levels. The intention is not to make this material easily understandable to all students from the beginning, but rather to foster students’ critical thinking and discovery by eliciting their understanding of how to find the horizon of a planisphere. It is hoped that making and using planisphere in science lessons will be a useful learning tool in Elementary and Secondary school settings and in science education facilities.

In order to understand the phenomenon of the “phases of the moon,” it is necessary to alternate between a terrestrial and a space-based viewpoint. Fostering the development of these abilities among students is not easy. The aim of this paper is to develop a teaching material to examine the movement, phases, and shape of the moon. This material consists of three models of the sun, moon, and Earth. In elementary school, children are supposed to learn about the ‘phases of the moon’ from the terrestrial point of view. Utilizing this material, we can encourage students to think of the phases of the moon more flexibly, from both the Earth and space perspectives. By developing it as a flat teaching material, it became possible for children themselves to create and manipulate the models, fostering their enthusiasm and ability to take alternative perspectives. It is suggested that, by utilizing this teaching material, educators will be better able to support children’s learning about the movement, phases, and shape of the moon.