For First-Time Visitors | Science Education Notes for Cultivating Inquirers
Nice to meet you.
In this note, I record my practices and thoughts from the school field regarding science education, inquiry-based learning, student research, experiments, and teaching material development.
It is not just about what went well in class.
Experiments that failed.
Research that could not be replicated.
Moments when I was unsure how to question students.
Times I changed my teaching methods.
I will leave a record of these trials and errors as well.
This is because I personally believe that education is not about "giving students a completed method," but rather an endeavor to continue exploring better methods.
What I want to cultivate is not "someone who can do everything alone."
In school, there is a tendency to evaluate "what one can do alone."
Being able to think for oneself.
Being able to solve problems on one's own.
Being able to conduct research independently.
Of course, these are important.
However, many of the major challenges in society cannot be solved by one person alone.
That is why I want to cultivate people who value connections with others and can conduct inquiry while needing others.
Relying on people who have knowledge you lack.
Listening to people who have different ideas from your own.
Changing your own thinking through dialogue.
Envisioning a future with peers that you could not have envisioned alone.
It is not just "being able to do things alone without relying on others" that is a strength;
being able to reach places you could not reach alone by connecting with someone is also a strength.
Bringing your "I want to do this" to peers and society
What I value is:
what I want to do
what my peers want to do
making someone in society happy
The intersection of these three things.
I do not mean to deny the pursuit of one's own dreams or success.
Become happy yourself.
Your peers become happy, too.
Through that challenge, the happiness of someone in society also increases.
I want you to become a person who can create such overlaps.
And, not just a vision that only you are satisfied with,
"I want that kind of society to be realized,"
"I want to support that challenge,"
"I want to lend my strength, too"
I want you to create a vision that makes those around you think this way.
I think thatI want to nurture people who are supported by others.
A person who does not just work hard for their own sake, but can also give their all for their peers and others.
People are moved by that demeanor.
And, one person's challenge becomes a peer's challenge, and eventually, it spreads to society.
Social issues are not something given to you, but something you find yourself
Instead of just solving problems given by teachers, such as "Think about this social issue,"
Listen to the voices of the people around you,
"Aren't they struggling with this?"
"Is it okay for things to stay this way?"
"Couldn't we make them happier?"
I want you to find questions for yourself.
Social issues are not just problems that many people are struggling with.
Even if the number of people is small, if the difficulties they face are serious, it is an issue worth addressing.
What is important is not for the teacher to decide the "most important issue in society," but
for you and your peers to encounter an issue that you genuinely want to do something about.
Science and technology are powerful weapons for making society better
I am involved in science education.
That is precisely why I want students to acquire the power of science and technology.
However, science and technology themselves are not the goal.
Science and technology are one of the powerful means to solve social issues.
Depending on the issue, new technology might be necessary.
For other issues, it might be more effective to change dialogue, education, systems, design, or economic structures.
What is important is not to get hung up on a single method.
It is to increase the knowledge and skills you can use, think with your peers, and choose the optimal method according to the issue.
You can change your methods. Do not give up on the future easily.
If you are doing research, you will fail.
Hypotheses may be wrong.
Experiments may not be reproducible.
Ideas you were confident in may turn out to be completely useless.
At such times, you do not need to cling to methods or ideas.
You can change your hypothesis.
You can change your methods.
You can start over from the beginning if necessary.
However,
“I want to realize this kind of society”
I do not want you to give up on that vision easily.
What I want to cultivate is not a “student with a track record” of having solved a social issue once.
Even after graduation,
a person who can listen to others,
find questions,
connect with peers,
engage in dialogue,
experiment,
fail,
change methods,
and still continue to take on challenges.
In other words, a person who has acquired a way of life, a heart, and an attitude that allows them to continue solving social issues.
What I will write in this note
In this note, based on this educational philosophy,
How to create science and inquiry-based lessons,
guiding student research,
how to formulate questions and hypotheses,
experimental skills and reproducibility,
research presentations and conference participation,
and the teaching materials and experimental equipment I have actually used,
and I will record the thoughts I have had along the way.
I do not want this note to simply be a place that presents methods as 'the correct answer.'
Why choose that method?
Where did I fail?
What did I change?
What do I want students to acquire?
I intend to write about the thinking behind these things as well.
A future that cannot be created alone, together with peers.
Neither education nor research can be done alone.
I myself have learned through connections with many people, including students, fellow teachers, researchers, parents, and members of the community.
This note is the same.
I would be happy if the practices and ideas written here could serve as hints for someone else's lessons or research, and if new practices could be born from them.
And, so that someday, students will...
become people who can overlap what they want to do with what their peers want to do, and connect it to the happiness of someone in society.
I will continue to explore education for that purpose.
A future that cannot be created alone, together with peers.