Department 1

Department 1 clarifies how elementary and junior high schools in Japan comprehensively foster Knowledge, Skill, Character, and Meta-cognition through classroom practice and various activities, particularly emphasizing the development of skills and character, through analysis of classroom practice recorded on video. These responsibilities include the development of subject-specific knowledge as the basis of the development of skills and character. Based on achievements and problems related to current school education in Japan presented by the analysis, we develop 21st century educational models to foster skills and character comprehensively.

To be more specific, we clarify achievements and problems of current elementary and secondary education in Japan from a perspective of the development of skills and character in particular by recording examples of classes in each subject on video and by analyzing them. Subsequently, we examine closely what relations exist between competency that are fostered by education in Japan and 21st century competency that is proposed in OECD Education 2030. Based on those results, we develop models of class design (21st century educational models), which structure the elements necessary for the development of competency that are clarified in Edu 2030, including video materials for practice (skill development videos and character development videos).

The examination policy to accomplish that is the following: (1) When analyzing classroom practice, not only do we devote attention to the teaching of knowledge and skills; we also assign importance to the consideration of how character is cultivated in each subject (including moral education, the Period for Integrated Studies, and special activities); (2) It is considered that the kinds of skills and character that are fostered depend on the subject. Therefore, we clarify what kinds of skills and characters they actually intend to foster in each respective subject; and (3) We compare and examine competency development in the framework of subjects and competency development in the activities transcending the framework of subjects (e.g., the Period for Integrated Studies, Special Activities). Then, we consider how the curriculum as a whole fosters skills and character comprehensively through education in each subject and cross-subject education. When analyzing classroom practice in (3), we analyze and extract not only ‘how classes are conducted’, but also ‘why and with what intention teachers conduct the classes’, and ‘what kind of preparations they make for that purpose’. Then, through the analysis, we clarify what teachers should think and do in lesson design for new education, as well as presenting ‘How-Tos’ for the development of skills and character.