Current Trends and Prospects
of
New Information Technologies in Teacher Education in Japan

SHINOHARA, Fumihiko
Professor
Tokyo Gakugei University
Koganei-shi, Tokyo 184-8501 Japan

Contents
1 Introduction
2 Computers in Schools
(1) Computers in the Course of Study
(2) National Survey on Computer Diffusion and Utilization
(3) In-service Teacher Training
3 Computers in Lifelong Education
(1) Computers as One of the Audiovisual Education Media
(2) In-service Teacher Training
(3) Multimedia Production Course and the Latest Trends
4 Pre-service Teacher Education
(1) A Curricular Framework for "Educational Methodology and Technology"
(2) The Main Focus for a Course in Educational Methodology and Technology
(3) A Framework for a Curriculum in "Educational Methodology and Technology" (Hypothetical)
(4) General and Specific Course Titles (Hypothetical)
(5) Problems of Implementation
5 Conclusions
References

Authors Note

1 Introduction

Japanese society began to be information-oriented in 1980s, and in recent years electric goods in their everyday life like telephones, TV sets, and radios are becoming assembled with a greater number of highly organized electronics parts. They are functioning with remote controller or wireless operation. This is caused by the emerging research and development of standardization in the sense of information condensing and expression technology together with that of the development of digital and communication. These are fully supported by computer related technology.

In addition, the new streams of database technology and interface technology such as relational databases and graphical user-interfaces (GUI) are also realizing within those who are not familiar with computer operation and programming languages but with easy operation in terms of current audiovisual media.

As far as audiovisual education media in Japan in general, which include facilities such as bulletin boards, blackboards, and activity planning boards, are concerned, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Culture established in 1967 the Law of Standard Number of Teaching Aids in order to promote the better environment in elementary and secondary schools as well as to enact the Law of Free and Equal Educational Opportunity for Compulsory School Children, which means in Japan that children who are enrolled in both elementary and secondary schools. The Law of Standard Number of Teaching Aids is revised in 1973, 1978 and 1992 in coping with the needs caused by the change both in education and in society.

2 Computers in Schools

(1) Computers in the Course of Study

In 1985, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Culture established the Task Force on Elementary and Secondary Education in the Information-oriented Society. The First Discussion Report issued by the Task Force identifies how computers should be introduced into schools in Japan as is shown in Table 1, which overall computer use in education has secured its fundamental foothold.

Along with the progress of science and technology, the change in the industrial structure, the spread of new information media, the progress of "internationalization," and the greater predominance of software industries, there have been greater necessity for people to constantly acquire new knowledge, skills and techniques. With these social backgrounds, severalCouncils such as the Educational Personnel Council, the AD Hoc Council on Educational Reform, and the Curriculum Council on Education Reform were formed and they presented their reports from the year 1983 to 1987.

Table 1 Purpose of Introducing Computers in Schools (MOE, 1985)

(1) Elementary Schools

1) To improve and enrich the method of teaching

2) To familiarize pupils with computers through their utilization as learning tools

(2) Lower Secondary Schools

To make greater use of computer functions such as simulation and information retrieval so as to help students acquire computer awareness and literacy

(3) Upper Secondary Schools

In computer education special consideration should be given to the progress of information-oriented society and the effect of computers on individuals and the society.

To devise effective way of using computers according to the condition of students as well as the type and characteristics of subject matter, at specific occasions such as motivation, acquisition of educational content and application of newly acquired knowledge.

In the light of several reports followed by discussions and the consideration of general trends of computers in education, in 1989 the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture announced

the new Course of Study, in which objectives and standard content of each subject or each area of school activity are specified and national guidelines for the curriculum for each of the four school levels: kindergarten, elementary school, lower secondary school and upper secondary school. The new Course of Study is put into effect in the school year 1992 for elementary schools, in the school year 1993 for lower secondary and in 1994 for upper secondary schools.

The ideas and significance of newly revised Course of Study in terms of the importance of informatics for all pupils and students in every school level both in content and method are shown in papers as references.

(2) National Survey on Computer Diffusion and Utilization

In 1983 the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Culture started annual survey on computer diffusion and utilization in public schools throughout the country, and its results has been quite informative in terms of consideration of general matters related to computers in education.

According to the latest survey, as of the end of March 1993, the diffusion rate of computers in elementary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools are 57.7%, 94.7% and 99.7% though in 1983 0.6%, 3.1% and 56.4% respectively as is shown in Table 2. (Author's Note: Click here to see latest survey results in Japanese as of March 1998.)

Table 2 Computer Diffusion Rates (MOE, March 1993)

Table 3 Computer Diffusion Rates per Computer

Table 4 Number of Computers in the Market and Schools (MITI, 1993)

(Note) The unit of Number of computers is 1,000.

The results of the surveys show that there has been a considerable change in the number of computers installed in schools for the last several years, though the number of pupil per a computer has been still low. It is estimated that these figures have increased notably, since the new Course of Study announced by the Ministry in 1989 emphasizes the introduction of informatics education in all schools from elementary to upper secondary.

The state of computer utilization in schools was also surveyed in 1991 by the Ministry as shown in Table 5.

Table 5 Frequency of Computer Use (%) (MOE, May 1991)

As seen in Table 5, schools which use computers frequently are small in number. There must be two problems behind this other than those under the preparation of entrance examination in each school level: a small number of computers installed, and only a few teachers can operate them for educational purposes. Another result of survey on teachers and computers in public schools conducted by the Ministry in 1993 leads us to such a view as this, which is shown in Table 6.

Table 6 Teachers and Computers (MOE, March 1993)

(Note) Figures in parenthesis indicate data as of 1992.

In considering these results from the surveys, it might be easily imagined that the training of teachers in the new information-oriented society becomes a critical issue and problem, because, unless such training is properly considered and conducted, the children born in an age of such society are to be taught by illiterate teachers in terms of new information technologies.

(3) In-service Teacher Training

It has been pointed out for many years that the success of education in schools in Japan ultimately depends on the capability of teachers. In the coming years the role expected of teachers will become more important in making school curriculum adapted to a changing society and to the diversifying abilities and aptitudes of their children.

The Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, especially the Elementary and Secondary Education Bureau, which is fully responsible for the improvement of compulsory education, offers several types of teacher training programme.

With regard to the in-service training of teachers, in particular, on the bases of the recognition that organized and systematic in-service training programmes for beginning teachers are very effective, the Ministry started in the school year 1989 a system of induction training for beginning teachers under the Law for Partial Amendments to the Law governing Special Regulations concerning Educational Public Service Personnel and to the Law concerning the Organization and Functions of Local Educational Administration which passed the National Diet in 1988.

Tables 7 illustrates one of the training programmes to meet the needs of information-oriented society, which is done in collaboration with prefectural education boards or CEC(Centre for Educational Computing) in 1993, while the fundamental course started in 1989 and the expert course had been conducting since in 1970.

Tables 8 presents the a suggested programme for CAL courseware/software production developed and conducted in the centre by the author himself.

Table 7 Training Programme on Informatics Education for Lower

Secondary School Science Key-Teachers

Time and contents

Day 9:00 10:30 12:00 13:00 16:00

1 Guidance & Lecture on computer Lecture on current trends on

orientation use in lower secondary computer education in USA and

school science Europe

2 Lecture & Practice on multimedia in Lecture & Practice on basic theory

education of electronics control and

Production of AD converter

3 Lecture & Lecture & Practice on Lecture & Practice on computer use

Practice on evaluation of software for promoting thinking and

computer use for science education presentation skills

for promoting (New achievement concept in

thinking and chemistry)

presentation

skills (New

achievement

concept in

physics)

4 Lecture & Practice on computer use Lecture & Practice on computer use

for promoting thinking and for promoting thinking and

presentation skills presentation skills

(New achievement (New achievement concept in earth

concept in biology) science)

5 Lecture on copyright issues Lecture & Closing

Discussion on ceremony

effective use

of computers

in lower

secondary

school science

Table 8 A Suggested Training Programme on CAL Material Production

Day Contents

1 Lecture on the current trends on CAL

Demonstration on the CAL courseware

2 Workshop on the study of classroom activities

- Towards the science of teaching

- Observation of classroom activities and recording

- Method of experimental planning

3,4 Workshop on the content analysis of classroom activities

- Protocol

- Objectives and structure of the classroom activities

- Kinds of questioning

- Introduction of teaching strategy

- Introduction of educational evaluation

- Method of producing test items

- Children's characteristics and learning styles

5,6 Workshop on the initial development of CAL courseware

- Design of frames -

- Spoken language and written language

- Method of writing functional sentences

- Quality and quantity of images and languages

- Design and emotional aspects

7-9 Workshop on the development of sample frames

(1) Development of frames

- Consideration and description of frame contents

- Authoring system

10-11 (2) Linkaging frames and debugging

- Course for experimental group and that for control group

- Control

12-13 (3) Evaluation and revision

- Statistics and theory of evaluation

- Trial of developed courseware

As far as software/courseware is concerned, the quality in terms of the teaching-learning purposes is still big problem though the quantity of software in each school as of the end of March 1993 is increasing as is shown in Table 9, while that of hardware and its introduction is increasing dramatically into schools as was given in Tables 2 to 4. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture announced in September 1993 that a special project consisted from 20 teams, aiming at creating and disseminating high-quality software gathering staff from software enterprises and textbook companies.

In the light of completing this project it is said that within a few years high-quality software which will be utilized in every secondary school are to be produced, while in the near future software for every subject in elementary and secondary schools will be accumulated. In other words, so far the Ministry focused on the distribution of hardware into schools, but next year will be marked as a epoch-making one in terms of high-quality software production and dissemination.

Table 9 Number of Software installed in Schools (MOE, March 1993)

(Note) Figures in parenthesis are data as of 1992.

3 Computers in Lifelong Education

(1) Computers as One of the Audiovisual Education Media

Whereas such issues stated above are mainly those with the Elementary and Secondary Education Bureau in the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, which was responsible for the compulsory education, the Lifelong Learning Bureau in the Ministry, which was created in 1988 and given top priority within the Ministry, having responsibility for carrying out the planning and coordination of overall policies for the promotion of lifelong learning through formal and non-formal education and through sporting and cultural activities, has been also promoting the distribution and utilization of new education media both in schools and social facilities: following the report titled "Proposed Curriculum for In-service Teacher Training" indicated in Table 10, which is made public in 1986, the Bureau published in 1987 a report "Lifelong Learning and New Education Media" and in 1990 "Report on the Audiovisual Education Media Training Curriculum Standards" listed partially in Tables 11 and 12. In addition, in 1992 "A Manual for Training Audiovisual Education Media for Planner Use" presented in Table 13, and "Report for the Promoting Audiovisual Education Utilizing New Education Media" and so forth have been successively appeared. It should be noted that turning back to the history the Bureau published in 1953 the first version of The Training Curriculum on Audiovisual Education followed by the second version, which appeared in 1972. In this sense the proposed Curriculum in 1986 is marked as the third version.

Table 10 Proposed Curriculum for In-service Teacher Training (MOE, 1986)

(1) Introductory course (2.5 days)

To make educators familiar with the current state of the educational uses of computers

through introductory lectures and hands-on experience.

(2) Intermediate course (5 days)

To give experienced educators basic knowledge and skills in computer use and make them

add to their experience in programming, evaluating, applying and managing software.

(3) Advanced course (8 days)

To orient more experienced educators towards constructing educational information systems

and taking leading roles in their schools, local areas and prefectures.

Table 11 The Six Items For Basic Knowledge and The Four

For Application Concerning Computers (MOE, 1990)

(1) Basic knowledge

1) educational use of computers

2) basic capabilities of computers

3) functions of peripheral devices

4) the role of software

5) basics of programming languages

6) capabilities and use of databases

(2) Application

1) basic computer operation

2) using software for wordprocessing,

databases, spreadsheets, graphics and instruction

3) preparing lessons plans utilizing computers

4) functions and use of computer telecommunications

Table 12 The Eight Items For The Basic Course And

The Five For The Specialist Course (MOE, 1990)

(1) Items on computers in the Basic Course

1) operating systems and application software

2) programming using simple languages

3) using authoring systems to prepare instructional materials

4) exercises in using wordprocessors, spreadsheets and graphics

(2) Items on telecommunications systems and databases in Basic Course

1) networking concept

2) types of telecommunications systems

3) basics of information retrieval

4) basic capabilities of database systems

(3) Items in the Specialist Course

1) planning computer training programmes

2) software development

3) capabilities and characteristics of telecommunications systems

4) planning and creating databases

5) maintaining and managing databases

Table 13 Content of A Manual for Training AVE Media (MOE, 1992)

(1) Elementary level (for beginners)

1) Intellectual-

a. Acquiring a basic level of knowledge of the present situation and possibility of educational

usage of computers

b. Acquiring a basic level of knowledge related to microcomputer hardware and software

c. Acquiring a basic level of knowledge of programs and data

d. Acquiring a general knowledge of the role of computers in society

2) Practical skill-

a. Getting accustomed to computer keyboards operations and use of peripheral memory of

devices

b. Being able to use simple programs developed previously

c. Being able to input and execute a simple program

(2) Intermediate level

1) Intellectual-

a. Acquiring ability to give microcomputers a proper places within the actual, educational setting

b. Increasing one's practical kowledge related to programming languages and data structure

c. Knowing and being able to evaluate a wide variety of microcomputer educational

application

d. Understanding programs accompanying with the diffusion of microcomputers in education

2) Practical skill-

a. Mastering the operation of various peripheral devices

b. Being able to analyze tasks and make a program suitable to a specific educational situation

c. Being able to understand, evaluate, modify and utilize efficiently software

(3) Advanced level

1) Intellectual

a. Acquiring ability to apply microcomputers systematically and adequately to the actual

educational situation

b. Acquiring ability to guide other people to the educational use of microcomputers

c. Understanding comprehensively the meaning and realities of various communication media

2) Practical skill-

a. Acquiring skills which is necessary for analyzing problems, designing systems and

developing appropriate methods for the microcomputer system

b. Mastering techniques for guiding people to the educational use of microcomputers

(2) In-service Teacher Training

Items in Table 11 and the Item (1) in Table 12 are required for all teachers and leaders in every school, while the others are designed for the key-teachers in prefectures and big cities. Normally 7-10 day workshop/seminar is needed to carry out a course. At present many in-service teacher training courses are run throughout the country, putting emphasis mainly on the operation in several audio-visual education media such as films, slides, TPs, school broadcasting and TV programmes, audio tapes (LLs), computers and electro-communication. A typical 9-day course conducted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture in nation wide would cover a series of topics such as the following: functions of computers in teaching; consideration of lessons plans; use of spreadsheets for record keeping, databases for information retrieval, and use of graphics software in instruction; development of instructional materials and design of lessons plans; discussion of information and humanity; and a field trip to a computer related companies.

In Table 14 a training programme conducted by the Ministry in 1993 is shown in the form of itinerary, though it is rather specialized in computers and related technologies. It should be noted again that the latest version of the Training Curriculum of Audiovisual Education, which is characterized by introducing new education media like computers and electro-communication and made public in 1986 followed by the newly arranged annual Workshop/Seminar, while in 1953 and in 1972 its first and second versions were published, which were indeed characterized by such media as charts, films, slides, TPs, school broadcasting and TV programmes, audio tapes (LLs), and RAs.

Table 14 Training Programme of AV Education in National Level (MOE, July 1993)

Time and Contents

Day Morning Afternoon

1 - Opening ceremony - Special Lecture: Role of films in audiovisual

- Orientation, registration and education

briefing of the Seminar/Workshop

2 - Lecture on the present situation - Lecture on the development of training

and issues of AVE policy curriculum on AVE media

- Exchange of information

3 - Lecture on the current trends of - Lecture on the development of teachers'

copyright issues and policy manual for training curriculum on AVE media

4 - Lecture on the function and - free

operation of AV centres

- Lecture on the current trends and

problems of informatics education

5 - Lecture and Demonstration on - Lecture and Demonstration on the utilization

the procedure of introducing of AVE cross-media

database systems

- Lecture and Demonstration on

the development of AVE

resource materials

6 - Lecture and Demonstration on the - Lecture on the planning of training

significance and utilization of programme for computers

electro-communication systems in - Workshop on the development of software (1)

education

7 - Workshop on the development of software (2)

8 - Workshop on the development of software (3)

9 - Lecture and Demonstration on the - Discussion on the problems of the Seminar/

development of multimedia Workshop

teaching-learning materials - Closing ceremony

(Note) "AV Centres" stands for Audiovisual Centres, which make audiovisual teaching materials available to schools, social education facilities and cummunity people and are operated by the national government, apart from audiovisual libraries, which are operated by local governments.

In January 1990 there were 36 centres and 823 libraries throughout the country.

In addition to the several types of in-service teacher training programmes in line with audiovisual education offered by the Ministry and the local education boards, there are others conducted by non-profit organizations like the Matsushita Audiovisual Education Foundation, the Japan Audiovisual Education Association and so forth, which are authorized so as to followthe Curriculum issued by the Ministry. Table 15 shows courses conducted by the Matsushita Foundation in 1992, for example.

Table 15 Courses conducted by the Matsushita AVE Foundation in 1992

Course titles Objectives Times and duration

Training on To develop hypermedia materials and study three

Hypermedia on the use of computers in education (2 days each)

Annual convention To discuss the use of computers in one

on learning process in education focused on the learning (one day)

process

Training on PC as To develop software for presentation and two

an electronic blackboard study on the practical usage of computer as (2 days each)

an electronic blackboard

Training on the develop- To study the techniques of using authoring one

ment of courseware system to develop software used by students (2 days)

Training on PC as a To develop software for AVE media one

LL systems including computers so as to use them as LL (2 days)

materials for speaking English

AV Staff Training To master the usage of new education media one

for personnel in AV Centres and in schools (2 days)

Training on Video To master the utilization of video cameras in one

cameras I schools focused on school activities (2 days)

Training on Video To master the utilization of video cameras in one

cameras II schools focused on subject matters (2 days)

Training on the art To develop video materials with the use of one

idea-processors (2 days)

(3) Multimedia Production Course and the Latest Trends

The continuous contribution to introduction of new media is devoting for teachers and personnel concerned to be able to make a bird's view of the trends and possibilities on the use of new media in our everyday life as well as in schools according to the two of purposes of the Bureau: the presentation of lifelong learning information contributing to better and more effective spontaneous learning of individuals, and the creation of relevant networks of various facilities concerned with lifelong learning.

In the "Report for the Promoting Audiovisual Education Utilizing New Education Media" issued by the Ministry in 1992, the multimedia and high definition television sets are considered as new education media, with a view to expect software development for multimedia system and to express the government policy for promoting the development and distribution of systems and software in schools as well as social facilities.

In recent years, based on intensive research and development of several technologies, different kinds of many media tend to be integrated or unified into one media, which is called "Multimedia." Now in the world it can be said that every enterprise of new information technologies become activated in creating hardware as well as software concerned.

"Multimedia" is, in general, defined as "Media with which several kinds of information such as Text, Graphics, Sound, Video Images and Animation are controlled and coordinated in digital manner so that the users interact with them by not only passive observation but also active participation in searching, reconstructing and expressing the information themselves."

As a result, apart from a series of annual Audiovisual Education Training Workshop/Seminar conducted by the Ministry since 1973, in 1993 another specially designed training programme for multimedia software development named "Training Course for Multimedia Material Production" has been started, gathering 43 participants from all over Japan. Table 16 illustrates the Programme of multimedia material production course conducted by the Ministry.

Table 16 Itinerary for Training Course of Multimedia Materials Conducted

by Ministry of Education, science and Culture (MOE, Sept. 1993)

9:00 10:45 12:00 13:30 16:00 17:00

Mon. Orientation Lecture on current Sharing

24 Jan. trends on learning ideas &

1994 with Multimedia resources

Tue. Lecture on appl. of Discussion on Lecture on how to Preparatory

25 Jan. MM to education problems and develop materials for work/discussion

1994 issues of Multimedia in groups

diffusion and

and utilization of

MM in schools

Wed. Workshop(1) on the development of Workshop(2) on the development

26 Jan. materials for MM of materials for MM

1994

Thu. Workshop(3) on the development of materials for MM Lecture on MM

27 Jan. and copyright

1994

With this recognition, education environment will be dramatically forced to be changed in terms of both educational method and content.

In Japan there are three main groups of researchers which have been initiating this new trend, namely Osaka University group, International Christian University group and NHK (the Japan Broadcasting Corporation) group, while in the United States of America several groups of researchers are there such as those in Carnegie Mellon University, in Furman University, in Ohio State University, in St.Louis University, in University of Illinois etc. and in the United Kingdom those in St. Andrew University, as an example.

Regarding the development of software used with multimedia system, the author, as one of the project member both in NHK group and International Christian University group, proposes the process of developing software; namely (1) to form a development team, (2) to expand initial idea and gather related resources in orde to develop the idea, (3) to synthesize the related resources in the format of text, graphics, sound, video images, films, still pictures, and so forth, (4) to develop specification form, (5) to programme, (6) to develop user's manual, (7) to conduct trials with peer students and evaluate them, (8) to revise document concerned, (9) to disseminate the material as a package, and (10) to conduct teacher training, while six goals are proposed by NHK group as shown in Table 17.

In addition, in 1993 "A Manual for Training Audiovisual Education Media for Trainer Use" is made in public, while in 1992 the Ministry has been started the Two-year Plan for Research and Development of Software in Multimedia System: seven schools and three institutions are assigned in 1992 as pilot sites, and in 1993 twenty-three schools and five institutions has been added.

Table 17 Goals for Developing Multimedia Materials (NHK, 1992)

(1) To integrate: Combining several pieces of information simultaneously, and integrating

information in different formats.

(2) To search: Picking up pieces of information freely through a random access function with

computer, LD, CD-ROM and/or other video equipment.

(3) To analyze: Grasping the facts accurately.

(4) To simulate: Creating a sense of reality.

(5) To express: Reading things in different ways, and switching materials before editing.

(6) To create: Developing and creating new phrases of situation.

Further, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Cul ture has been devoting in creating the computer networking system called "Campus Networking." It links the National Centre for Scientific Information System (NACSIS), which is established and functioned in 1986, with six national universities. Under these six universities almost all the centres for information processing and libraries attached to universities and colleges throughout Japan, as well as the National Science Foundation in US and the British Library in UK, are connecting each other for retrieving information from databases, exchanging electronic mailing and high speed facsimile messages. As of March 1993, 38 databases are available at low cost within Japan.

4 Pre-service Teacher Education

Elementary and secondary school teachers in Japan are trained in the universities or junior colleges approved by the Minister of Education, Science and Culture, while there are no specific training programme for those who are to teach at institutions of higher education.

The Council of Educational Personnel Training completed a report on the Upgrading of Teacher Qualifications and Abilities in December 1987 and based on this Law the Educational Personnel Certification Law was revised in part in December 1988, including proposals for professional subject areas, special education, handicapped education and general education courses, in order to be able to cope with the coming information-oriented society.

A course titled "Educational Methodology and Technology," which in part aims at helping students develop information literacy and its teaching ability, established as a required subject for all the students entering teacher training universities or junior colleges and their concerned in April 1990.

(1) A Curricular Framework for "Educational Methodology and Technology"

The Educational Methodology and Technology takes up the problems involved when, as far as conditions permitted, courses designed to match three concepts proposed by the researchers from four universities, namely Niigata University, Tokyo Gakugei University, the Joetsu University of Education and the Naruto University of Education.

In the long history of pre-service teacher education, two professional and fundamental education courses were enacted to be the main pillars of its curriculum, which only identifies the course titles such as "Principles of Education" and "Educational/Child Psychology," and have now been replaced by courses including more specific content. These are "Educational Objectives," "Cognitive Science" and "Developmental Sciences." In addition, these changes not only reflect the rapid advances in related academic fields which have been realizing in recent years but also mirror the changing demands which society is now making upon education.

The following four content areas have also been established: (1) Courses related to basic educational foundation and goals, (2) Courses related to mental and physical development and the educational processes of children and students, (3) Courses on the social, governmental and economic influences upon education, and (4) Courses related to educational methodologies and technologies (including the use of informational media and instructional materials). Among these, elementary school teacher trainees must take a total of 12 credits and secondary school teacher trainees must take a total of 8 credits. In particular, the last four groups of subject area were established in hoping that it would help cope with the problems of the content of school education and needs by society.Another reason behind making the fourth group mandatory is the fact that there is a deep need for courses which will better prepare teacher trainees by offering them, at the teacher-trainee level, a more concrete grounding in instructional abilities. Further, computers and other new information technologies are rapidly infiltrating society and daily life, meaning that it is important that teacher trainees develop their ability to use these information media as instructional tools.

The discussion above is the reason why the author realized the urgency of defining a content proper to a course on Educational Methodology and Technology in order to make it a part of the curriculum for the pre-service training of teachers. With a view to implementing to a greater extent, three goals have been considered as a foundation for such a course development as well as a proposed framework for an undergoing curriculum.

(2) The Main Focus for a Course in Educational Methodology and Technology

As a framework for a course on Educational Methodology and Technology, three abilities or competencies proposed and were refined to cast into the following concrete goals as in Table 18.

Table 18 Concrete Goals of Educational Methodology and Technology

(1) The nurturing of practical professional educator competencies in planning, effecting, analyzing and evaluating instruction, all of which are necessary to the development of true in struction (hereafter referred to as "practical instructional competencies").

(2) The nurturing of those competencies necessary to constructing a curriculum and developing and applying various media and instructional materials to actual instruction in accordance with the students' levels of development ("instructional media utilization competencies").

(3) The nurturing of an ability to apply and make the most of the informational media (e.g., the computer and related devices which are continuing to rapidly evolve as humanity comes closer to the information-oriented society) as tools in actual instruction ("information utilization competencies").

These goals were used to establish a standard curriculum and related materials for use in pre-service teacher education.

(3) A Framework for a Curriculum in "Educational Methodology and Technology" (Hypothetical)

The list shown in Table 19 was developed as a curricular framework aimed at fulfilling the three goals given above.

Table 19 A Curricular Framework

(1) Practical instructional competencies

- Instructional organization and modeling

- Analysis of instructional objectives and principles of organizing instructional content

- Classroom observation methods

- Categorizing teaching and learning behaviors

- Instructional interaction analysis methods

- Instructional design and planning methods

- Teacher perceptions and decision making

- Teaching techniques

- Microteaching

(2) Instructional media utilization competencies

- Functions and characteristics of educational media

- Structure of curriculum and media

- Teaching-learning process and selection and utilization of media

- Meaning of classroom activities with cross-media approach

- Production of teaching materials (Slides, TPs, TV programmes, individualized

teaching machines, etc.)

- Fieldwork at audiovisual education centres, libraries, media centres, etc. and

individual projects

(3) Information Utilization Competencies

- Basics of data processing

- Collection, consolidation, application and organization of educational data

- Basics of educational statistics and surveys

- Methods of instructional evaluation

- Databases

- New information media which [can] assist the teacher

- Use of new information media in the classroom

- Computer exchanging of information on teaching practices

- Information and communications

- Society and information

(4) General and Specific Course Titles (Hypothetical)

Totaling 12 credits, including the courses being planned, the following curricular areas were established: (1) courses on the essence and goals of education, (2) courses on child's and student's mental and physical development as well as on the learning process, (3) courses on the sociological, systematical and managerial aspects of education. Most probably these should be divided into courses of two or four credits each since the minimum credits for introductory and fundamental courses in the universities and junior colleges is two.

For this study, the following courses shown in Table 20 were devised.

Table 20 Hypothetical Courses depending on the Credits

(1) 4 credits a. Introduction (including exercises)

b. Introduction (2 credits) plus Exercises and Practice (2 credits)

(2) 3 credits a. Introduction (including exercises)

b. Introduction (2 credits) plus Exercises and Practice (1 credit)

(3) 2 credits a. Introduction (including exercises)

In the development of the introductory and fundamental courses required by all students based upon the framework given in the 3 credits above, it is desirable that instruction be designed so that the teacher will be able to go into depth and expound upon specific items in the content. This point of view was used for hypothesizing the titles for the professional and elective courses listed in Table 19. Indeed, each university or concerned in Japan will have to take its own unique situation into consideration in the establishment of these courses.

(5) Problems of Implementation

The following is a discussion of some of the problems which might be raised in the process of implementing a course in the Educational Methodology and Technology.

First one is that it is necessary to realize that this course, by nature, consists of a combination of lectures and demonstrations, exercises and practical work. In addition, since it is set to be a required course, the strategies taken by instructors, depending upon the number of classes and/or that of students, become very important and a crucial issue. Under the present situation, there is one example conducted at several national universities in Japan, namely a course which is strongly grounded upon self-study methods. Further, since, to a great extent, this course consists of individual exercises and is based upon "organizing the environment of the classroom facilities and equipment," the "development of a flexible curriculum" and the "development of self-study texts," it has been proven that utilization of media such as VCRs, OHPs and computer systems for presentation in general is possible before getting into the self-study or group study activities. It should be relatively easy for other universities and their concerned to establish the similar courses by modifying this curriculum and self-study texts to their own needs and by paying more attention to organizing the environment of the classroom facilities and equipment.

Another problem is laying in that of securing teachers capable of teaching such a course. The Council of National University Educational Technology Centers has already established study groups for research in instructional skills and teaching techniques, and for a number of years it has organized meetings on instructional data processing. These activities have produced a large body of research on instructional content and methods. So that in collaboration with the participants in these activities it would be possible to find instructors for establishing these new courses. It is simply a matter of taking a positive approach.

5 Conclusions

In addition to books, newspapers, radios, television sets and other traditional information media, such new media as computers, advanced information networks, satellite communications, and satellite broadcasts have been rapidly developing as a result of the dramatic advancement of electronic technology. These new media have been utilized not only in business and industry but also in government services, in medicine, in education, and even in family life. Thus new information media have rapidly spread in various sectors of society.

In coping with the revision of course of study, which is announced in 1989, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Culture started in 1990 the Five-year Plan for distributing computers into public schools, which says by 1994 every lower secondary school will own 22 computers and every elementary 2 or 3 computers. In 1993, however, the Ministry, cooperating with local governing board, announced new policy saying that 22 computers in elementary schools and 42 in lower secondary schools.

With regard to implementing this new policy 100% of budget needed will be available if schools introduce computers as a networking system together with the reconstruction of compute room.

It is expected that new information media such as computers and networking systems will further spread more rapidly in various sectors and area of society. The education sector needs to cope properly with this trend.

In short, in terms of school education under the stream of lifelong education, the government and local education boards will be expected to promote and strive to help all the people and institutions concerned consider implement and evaluate the following, in order to cope adequately with such changing society: the improvement of the curriculum related to information science and technology; the provision of information equipment; the enrichment of the in-service training and pre-service education of teachers; and the cooperative research and development activities in several model software for teaching and learning with industries or other external organs.

References

(1) Jonassen, D.H. and Mandl, H. (eds.) (1990), Designing hyper media for learning, Springer Verlag, New York, USA.

(2) OECD (1985), Education in Modern Society, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, France.

(3) Ministry of Education, science and Culture (1991), Outline of Education in Japan, Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Tokyo, Japan.

(4) SHINOHARA, Fumihiko (1991), Current Trends and Prospects on Science Education in Lower Secondary Schools in Japan: Revision of Course of Study in Science Education, Journal of Science and Mathematics Education in S.E. Asia, Vol. XIV, No.1, SEAMEO-RECSAM, Penang, Malaysia.

(5) Japan Council of Educational Technology Centres(1992), Final Report of Tokyo Seminar-1992, Unesco Japan, Tokyo, Japan.

(6) SHINOHARA, Fumihiko (1993), Discussion on the Basic Ideas Underlying the Revision of the Elementary School Course of Study in Science in Japan, Journal of Science and Mathematics Education in S.E. Asia, Vol. XVI, No.1, SEAMEO-RECSAM, Penang, Malaysia.

Author's Note: This paper was originally prepared to present at Unesco/APEID Tokyo Seminar-1993 in Tokyo from 28 September to 6 October 1993, and was made a slightly change for the INNOTECH Journal 1994.

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