Jun 5, 2019

05/29 05/29 0 Message : *Required fields Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is launching a program to provide lessons to foster logical thinking for the upper grades of elementary school. The lessons are aimed at helping children acquire a programming mindset, the ability to think logically, ahead of the adoption of compulsory programming education in elementary curriculums in the 2020 academic year. The new curriculum guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology , to be implemented at elementary schools starting in the 2020 academic year, emphasize 'voluntary, interactive, and in-depth learning,' and prioritize children's learning through discussion and group activities. Programming education is being introduced as part of this learning in order to foster a programming mindset which can serve to help solve various problems, through the experience of 'successfully giving commands to perform processing as intended.' Move logo and robot here. In the spirit of these guidelines, the lessons to be provided by Murata employees will teach children how to move 'Sensei Robots' , having fun while developing a programming mindset. Through a process of trial and error, the children will issue various commands in order to achieve the desired actions over the course of two 45-minute sessions. Flow of the Lessons ・Learning how to move the 'Sensei Robots' ・Composing basic movements Second Half ・Cultivation of creativity through the combining of various commands ・Advanced problem solving via free thinking ・Acquisition of a programming mindset Concept images for programming on tablets (*Images are under development.) The lessons incorporate the essence of the 'three pillars of talent and competency' consolidated within the curriculum guidelines as critical skills for children in a new era: 'motivation to learn and human enrichment,' 'knowledge and technical skills,' and 'the ability to think, make judgments, and express oneself.' The use of humans in the role of the robots is intended to make the lessons more intimate for the children. The single-mindedness and heroism of the 'Sensei Robots' played by humans inspire the children's 'motivation to learn and human enrichment.' Furthermore, familiarity with electronic devices is becoming increasingly essential as IT grows more and more prevalent in society. By commanding the 'robots' using tablet devices, the children can grasp the feeling of operation as well as communication and connection mechanisms, and thereby acquire 'knowledge and technical skills' applicable to the real world. Discussing corrective approaches to address failure to achieve the desired actions and find problem-solving strategies allows the children to hone their ability to think, make judgments, and express oneself. In addition, since the lessons need little space to run programming, requiring only Murata employees, tablet devices, and communications equipment, they can be implemented with very little burden on the school's side. The initial implementation schedule and outline of the lessons are as follows: Outline of Lessons