Problem-Solving Abilities Produced in Project Based Technology Education

determine and clarify the relationships between the structure of learning activities and the development of problem-solving abilities in project based technology education in Japan. There is a range of approaches that support teaching-learning processes in technology education, for example, the project based approach, modular approach, integrated approach, and so on. One of the most popular and current approaches in the United States is the modular approach, which typically provides students with guidance and resources for activities and evaluation. Students rotate from station to station, for example, CAD, CNC, robotics, and so on (Daugherty, 1998). The integrated approach is an instructional method that incorporates the idea of unity between forms of knowledge and respective disciplines (Pring, 1973). This approach also emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary learning and its connection with the real world (Loepp, 1999). On the other hand, the project based approach is a method that gives students the opportunity to work in a “plan-do-see” manner, using tools, machines, materials, and processes. The project can be defined as a constructive activity with a purposeful action. This well-established approach, the origin of which can be found in the American progressive education movement, expanded throughout the world during the 20th century as a result of international reforms in education (Knoll, 1997). In Japan, most technology teachers in junior high schools have adopted the project based approach rather than the modular approach or integrated approach. The Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (MESSC) published the Course of Study in 1998. This publication has provided the framework for the current curriculum in Japan (MESSC, 1998a). The objective of technology education in Japan is “to make students understand the role of technology, acquire knowledge and skills of manufacturing, energy utilization and computing, and develop the abilities and attitudes to use the knowledge and skills effectively.” The Course of Study also recommended instruction based on practical and empirical projects and purposeful problem solving. It was also expected that, through this strategy, students would develop a sense of pleasure in undertaking projects. One example of the project based approach was implemented in Nagano Junior High School, attached to Shinshu University. Within the scope of the project, students decided that they would send some gifts to students in a special school near the junior high school. The students visited the special school in order to research the requirement. They were divided into six teams of six students, and each team developed its plans for the gifts and manufactured the products. The students spent a total of three months on the project. On completion of the project, they sent the gifts, consisting of shoe boxes, shelves, a magazine rack, and so on, to their handicapped friends in the special school (Moriyama et al., 2001). Further projects, involving the development and making of a CD rack, pencil holder, Web site, lamp, and moving toys, were implemented throughout Japan. At the same time, student involvement in other design and implementation projects, particularly a robot contest, also increased gradually The project based approach, such as that involved in the above examples, has various learning activities, and students can develop their problem-solving abilities through experience in each learning activity. However, it is obvious that the project based approach needs particular levels of student competencies. Jyou (1992) examined the structure of students’ self-evaluation competencies and suggested that these competencies supported learning activities as metacognition. These relationships can be demonstrated as outlined in Figure 1. Practices adopted in the project based approach need to be evaluated Problem-Solving Abilities Produced in Project Based Technology Education Jun Moriyama, Masashi Satou, and Cyril T. King