The Development of Lesson Plans to Enable Diversity and Collaboration (II): Focusing on Ways to Elicit Unique Modes of Expression of Each Student

In this study, the authors aimed to develop lessons in which diversity and collaboration were ensured through children's cooperative involvement in a special class for students with intellectual disabilities. To bring out unique modes of expression for each student, the authors framed two practices and analyzed, as a lesson study, children's activities and the teacher's support in an unformulated communicative learning process. The authors found three key results. First, children's expressions deepen through a combination of both imitation and exploration, and collaboration emerged through this deepening process. Second, the pursuit of a teaching practice oriented toward diversity and collaboration contributes to the growth and development of both children and teachers, through discussing the learning environment, the teacher's actions, and the processes through which children explore their expressions. Third, children's motives for expression can be encouraged through intellectual curiosity and interest in musical instruments, the creation of an atmosphere where children can feel comfortable and the creation of positive relationships and a sense of partnership among the children and teacher. Their need for competence, then, can be stimulated by activities such as imitating each other's expression

The Development of Lesson Plans to Enable Diversity and Authentic Learning using Music and Body Movement

In this study, the authors aimed to develop lessons in which diversity, collaboration , and authentic learning are ensured through children’s cooperative involvement in a special class for students with intellectual disabilities. The authors framed three practices and analyzed children’s activities and the teachers’ environment setting , including music and body movements. The authors found three key results. First, the ability to recognize the diversity of body movements and expression in different contexts was improved in the practices which caused authentic learning. Second, collaborativeness promote s and nurture s cooperation (sharing roles) when children and teachers work together to achieve collaboration (creation by synergistic effect), finally realizing authentic learning. Third, music and body movements have the power to communicate what words are often unable to－the ability to make others feel that they are wanted and valued. Music and body movements served as the medium and catalyst for deepening authentic dialog

The Development of Lesson Plans to Enable Diversity and Authentic Learning using Music and Body Movement.

In this study, the authors aimed to develop lessons in which diversity, collaboration, and authentic learning are ensured through children’s cooperative involvement in a special class for students with intellectual disabilities. The authors framed three practices and analyzed children’s activities and the teacher’s environment setting, including music and body movements. The authors found three key results. First, the ability to recognize the diversity of body movements and expression in different contexts was improved in the practices which caused authentic learning. Second, collaborativeness promotes and nurtures cooperation (sharing roles) when children and teachers work together to achieve collaboration (creation by synergistic effect), finally realizing authentic learning. Third, music and body movements have the power to communicate what words are often unable to－the ability to make others feel that they are wanted and valued. Music and body movements served as the medium and catalyst for deepening authentic dialog

Curriculum development for fostering children's thinking skills regarding music(Ⅱ) : Focusing on music classes of the lower elementary school grades

本研究の目的は,児童一人ひとりの自発的な音楽表現を起点として音楽科の特性に応じた思考を発展させ,さまざまな音楽文化に能動的・主体的にかかわっていけるような,音楽科における次世代のカリキュラムの開発を行うことにある。小学校低学年を対象に「児童の音楽的思考を育む」ことを目標に授業を行い,今年度は音楽的思考の範囲の拡大に向けて学びのあり方を再考した。母語を出発点とした個の表現を引き出す活動が中心であった昨年度に対して,今年度は,個の身体的・視覚的なイメージ,言葉の表現を出発点とした鑑賞・歌唱・音楽づくりに活動の分野を拡大した。授業では,友だちと自分の表現を重ねる活動や,他者(作詞者・作曲者・他の鑑賞者・友だち)のイメージや解釈との出会いや共感を学習過程に位置づけることによって,静止画から動画へと展開するような解釈の深まり,表現の変容が認められた。考察を通して,個の感受・表現から出発し,他者と出会い共感して,再び自らの感受へと戻るプロセスの重要性,低学年児童の発達段階における想像的な思考の位置づけ,伝達=習得型ではない音楽文化の学習観に立つカリキュラム開発の重要性が確認された。This study develops a new music curriculum for lower elementary school grades, to foster students' thinking ability regarding music through self-expression (physical, visual, and verbal) and to broaden the range of their experience of musical culture through the activities of listening, singing, and music making. As a result, we found that the students tended to change their interpretation of musical images through interaction with other classmates and teachers, and with exposure to the music of songwriters and composers. We realized the importance of the students' learning process in which initial self-confidence returned through empathetic contact with others. We confirmed the importance of developing a musical curriculum beyond the standard teaching-learning model (teacher to student transmission), which takes into account the significant effect of human interaction on the development of young children's imagination and creativity

Curriculum development for fostering children’s thinking skills regarding music (III) : From the intercommunication of creative thinking to musical expression

本研究の目的は，児童一人ひとりの自発的な音楽表現を起点として音楽科の特性に応じた思考を発展させ，さまざまな音楽文化に能動的・主体的にかかわっていけるような，音楽科における次世代のカリキュラムの開発を行うことにある。児童の音楽的思考を育むことを目標に小学校第２学年，第３学年において授業を行い，本年度は，身近ななじみのある世界から芸術的な音楽表現への児童の学びの過程の連続性を探りながら，低学年から中学年へのカリキュラム構成を検討した。第２学年では，リトミックに手がかりを得て，合唱曲を聴きながらそのメロディラインを描く身体表現を導入し，第３学年ではアートゲームの手法に手がかりを得て，16世紀イタリアの絵画と，バレエ音楽，オペラ，ピアノ協奏曲等の西洋音楽のマッチングをグループで行うなかで，個人や集団による思考が促された。その結果，音楽科の特性に応じた思考には，言語に置き換え可能な論理的な思考と，身体表現のように即時的，直観的思考があり，その両者の柔軟な往還を位置づけつつ学級での創造的思考の相互交流を行うことにより，音楽表現に結びつく児童の思考が深まることが確認された。This study develops a new music curriculum for elementary schools to foster students’ thinking skills regarding music and to broaden their range of experiences of musical culture. We performed two research practices to consider the current sequence of the curriculum, which ranges from familiar types of expression to unfamiliar art. In one class, an activity that involved drawing melody lines while listening to choral music was used as in eurhythmics; in the other, we introduced an art game, in which children enjoyed matching sixteenthcentury paintings with classical music. Consequently, we found that two types of thinking are possible regarding music: one is logical and explainable in words, and the other is intuitive and expressed nonverbally, in real time. Through our study, we realized that the flexible interaction between these types of thinking is important in developing children’s thinking skills, as is the intercommunication between children’s imagination and creativity in the classroom

A study of the curriculum development for fostering children's thinking ability : Focusing on the music classes of the lower grades of elementary school

本研究の目的は,児童一人ひとりの自発的な音楽表現を起点として音楽科の特性に応じた思考を発展させ,さまざまな音楽文化に能動的・主体的にかかわっていけるような,音楽科における次世代のカリキュラムの開発を行うことにある。初年度の取り組みとして,生活の中での子どもたちの学びの履歴と,学校における教育課程との接点を探りながら,学びの総体としてカリキュラムを捉え,「児童の音楽的思考を育む」ことを目標に授業を行い,児童の表現を分析・検討した。自分にとって価値のある表現を見出していくプロセスは,どのような表現をするかを思考する上で重要な環境づくりとなるが,母語を出発点とし,発達段階に応じた適切な制約を設け,楽譜を介在させない活動のなかで,児童はそれぞれに「なじみのある」音楽とのかかわり方を模索し,音楽的思考を働かせ,多様な表現を生み出した。考察を通して,児童が実感を伴って感情移入できる題材,心地よく意欲を喚起されるような約束,学年進行に応じた手だてや難易度の設定,拡散的思考や発想による音楽的な工夫への肯定的評価など,児童の音楽的思考を促すために有効な題材設定,学習過程,働きかけを見出すことができた

Relevance of distinct monocyte subsets to clinical course of ischemic stroke patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The most common strategy for treating patients with acute ischemic stroke is thrombolytic therapy, though only a few patients receive benefits because of the narrow time window. Inflammation occurring in the central nervous system (CNS) in association with ischemia is caused by immune cells including monocytes and involved in lesion expansion. If the specific roles of monocyte subsets in stroke can be revealed, they may become an effective target for new treatment strategies. METHODS: We performed immunological examinations of 36 consecutive ischemic stroke patients within 2 days of onset and compared the results with 24 age-matched patients with degenerative disorders. The stroke patients were repeatedly tested for the proportions of monocyte subsets in blood, and serum levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines immediately after admission, on days 3-7 and 12-16 after stroke onset, and on the day of discharge. In addition, immunological measurements were analyzed for relationships to stroke subtypes and complications, including progressive infarction (PI) and stroke-associated infection (SAI). RESULTS: Monocyte count was significantly increased from 0-16 days after stroke as compared to the controls (p<0.05). CD14(high)CD16(-) classical and CD14(high)CD16(+) intermediate monocytes were significantly increased from 0-7 and 3-16 days after stroke, respectively (p<0.05), whereas CD14 (dim)CD16(high) non-classical monocytes were decreased from 0-7 days (p<0.05). Cardioembolic infarction was associated with a persistent increase in intermediate monocytes. Furthermore, intermediate monocytes were significantly increased in patients with PI (p<0.05), while non-classical monocytes were decreased in those with SAI (p<0.05). IL-17A levels were positively correlated with monocyte count (r=0.485, p=0.012) as well as the percentage of non-classical monocytes (r=0.423, p=0.028), and negatively with that of classical monocytes (r=-0.51, p=0.007) during days 12-16. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that CD14(high)CD16(+) intermediate monocytes have a role in CNS tissue damage during acute and subacute phases in ischemic stroke especially in relation to cardioembolism