July 1 to 31.2004
Sony Science Education Program for Children & Sony Science Teachers Association
SSTA Theme-Development Workshop
- Location: Ogawara Lake , Aomori Prefecture
- Theme: How Children Can Learn from Nature
- Date: July 17 to 18, 2004
This particular theme-development workshop focusing on children and nature was recently held in and around Ogawara Lake situated in Misawa City , Aomori Prefecture . The aim of the workshop was to provide teaching personnel with the opportunities to commune closely with nature that would enable them to develop, firsthand, a sense of what children can learn from nature. The participants were then encouraged to use that experience to research and develop new teaching techniques and materials for use in educating children.
The workshop focused on four specific aspects of nature study; including birdlife in the wild, canoeing, the nature of floating islands and the wonders of the evening sky, with instruction provided by local experts. (Special orientation on the nature of floating islands and the wonders of the evening sky was provided by science teachers from our SSTA Aomori Chapter.) The lessons learned through this communion with nature were then discussed in detail in the various workshop sessions. Members of the local SSTA Aomori Chapter also gave presentations on teaching techniques and materials that they themselves have developed for the purpose of nature studies.
SSTA Overseas Study Workshop
Three members of the SSTA and one representative from the Sony Foundation for Education were sent to the summer seminar (July 7 to 13) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, attended by representatives from across the United States and 24 countries around the world. Entitled " Views on Understanding: The Project Zero Classroom 2004, " This year ' s session focused on learning and applying the Project Zero principles and having the participating teaching personnel exchange views on what they have learned.
The SSTA here in Japan looks forward to having the Overseas Study Workshop participants of Project Zero apply what they have learned to their own classes, share their knowledge and experience with their fellow SSTA members and provide future Harvard Graduate School of Education summer seminars with detailed feedback on the results they have achieved.
Sony Preschool Education Program for Children
Project Information Exchange Meeting for Advanced Awardment Schools
The "Project Information Exchange Meeting" for the five advanced awardment schools selected in 2003 was held July 2 this year (2004) at Moiwa Kindergarten ( Sapporo City , Hokkaido ), one of the five schools. This marked the second year in a row running for that Moiwa Kindergarten to qualif y ied for awardment , enabling it to hold the meeting again . The T meeting this year featured more broadly based participation by t eaching staff participat ed and a concer t ed effort was made to enthusiastically and were able to promote in depth the broadest possible exchange s of views and information by including a group discussion format.
Professor Sachiko Hattori of the Osaka University of Human Sciences gave a commemorative lecture on the importance of early childhood from her perspective as a psychiatric specialist on adolescence and puberty. The many important and useful insights helped to remind the teachers working at nursery schools and kindergartens of the importance of the work that they do on a day-to-day basis.
