Bulletin of Course Specializing in Professional Development in Education, Wakayama Univ 2020

RSEARCH NOTES

Stories of Tomorrow: Practice in Elementary School and
Its Reflection
TOMITA Akihiko

KUBO Fumihito（Graduate School of Teacher
Education, Wakayama
University）（Attached Elementary School,
Faculty of Education, Wakayama
University）

MAEDA Masashi

Rosa Doran

（Attached Elementary School,
Faculty of Education, Mie
University）（NUCLIO）

Abstract：A pilot program in Europe, Stories of Tomorrow, STEAM education and ICT-using problem-solving
practice for upper elementary school students, was conducted with one class of 6th-grade students in the Facultyof Education, Wakayama University, and one class of 3rd-grade students in the Faculty of Education, Mie
University, on the theme of travel and migration to Mars. We tried it out by making use of the time for integrated
studies and other activities. We did not just implement this task as is, but also carried out it from the perspectiveof curriculum design to see how it could be used in the Japanese classroom. We found that the moderately difficult
task of being on the borderline between what the students know and what the students do not yet know, materials
that were easy-to-operate for the students, and the creation of classroom relationships filled with a collaborative
atmosphere led to success of problem-based learning. We were able to learn from the students’feedback thatthrough problem-solving, the spirit of collaboration, the spirit of overcoming failure, and the deep understanding of
scientific research and technology development has been nurtured.
Keywords：Integrated studies, Problem-solving learning, International collaboration, ICT, STEAM, Stories ofTomorrow

Tomita, one of the authors, called on elementary

1. Introduction: Stories of Tomorrow

school teachers in Japan, and around December

How can students’creativity flourish? To address

2017, two elementary schools attached to Faculty

this question, Stories of Tomorrow, an inter-of Education of Wakayama University and Faculty

disciplinary, going beyond science alone, computer-of Education of Mie University were invited to

aided educational practice project began in 2017

participate.

as an experiment in Europe with funding from the

The Stories of Tomorrow is a problem-solving

European Commission [1]. Several schools from each

exercise based on a hypothetical challenge ofof the five European countries, Portugal, France,

traveling and migrating to Mars. The original task

Germany, Greece, and Finland have participated

was to create a multimedia e-picture book about ain the project, and in 2018, Japan also participated.

journey and migration to Mars and to evaluate each

The call from the Stories of Tomorrow was given

other’s collaboration in the process, the science,by Hidehiko Agata, director of the outreach andtechnology, and artistry of the contents. The practiceeducation office, National Astronomical Observatory

was designed for sixth-grade students. In the creationof Japan, through the mailing list of the Japaneseof the Stories of Tomorrow e-picture book, a working

Society for Education and Popularization of

website was developed using the game engine

Astronomy on September 3, 2017. In response,

UNITY (fig. 1; in this project, we call it the platform).

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Stories of Tomorrow: Practice in Elementary School and Its Reflection

The picture storytelling with animation reminds us

direct interaction between teachers. It was a veryof PowerPoint, but the platform was highly functional

valuable opportunity for the participating Japanese

in terms of audio, video, and animation, and it wasteachers to interact directly with each other fromalso highly compatible with augmented reality. This

many countries, and it was useful for them to build

is a good example of the use of ICT.

an international collaboration network in the future(fig. 2).

Fig. 1 Sample screenshot of the Stories ofTomorrow platform (also available in Japanese).
Fig. 2 A summer school discussion (Maeda, one of
the authors, is a little to the right in the center of thepicture, in the foreground).

The theme of Mars gives a strong impressionof the subject of science, but it can be seen as anintegrated study with various research studies,
technical exercises, storytelling, and collaborative

The Guidelines for the Course of Study in Japan,

work in the process, when students investigate thewhich were revised in March 2017 and fully

journey to Mars, migration, and life on Mars. This

implemented in elementary schools from the 2020is a good example of STEAM (Science, Technology,

school year, aim to nurture the ability to not only

Engineering, Art/Arts, Mathematics) education. In“what to learn,”but also“become what you canaddition to the storytelling activity, consideration ofdo”(how to use what you can do and how to relatesustainable communities, food procurement, humanto society and the world) through “proactive,

relationship building, habitation, and flying bodyinteractive, and deep learning”(how to learn), using

designing on the computer will incorporate much of

the perspectives and ideas of each subject. Besides,

the content of expression activity, food and shelter,it aims to“enhance foreign language education,”community, and construction, and will be relevant“enhance computer-based learning activities,”“fosterto the subjects of home economics, health andprogramming thinking,”“address contemporary

physical education, social studies, Japanese language,issues: sustainable development initiatives, naturalarts and crafts, math, music, English, and morals,

disasters, etc.,” and “enhance the connection

and will contribute to international understanding,between out-of-school informal education and formal

information education and programming education. It

education.”What the Stories of Tomorrow aims tois so comprehensive that it does not only fit into thedo, and what the Stories of Tomorrow can do, can beframework of STEAM education. Although this is anused to enrich this content that elementary schools

elementary school practice, this kind of multifaceted

are trying to address in the Guidelines for the Course

problem-solving setting is expected to lead to theof Study.

enrichment of integrated inquiry-based and problemsolving research projects required in senior high

2. Practice of the Stories of Tomorrow in Japan

schools.
The summer school was held as a training andIn the two schools in Japan, the two teachers

exchange session with teachers of five European

participating in the study (the authors, Kubo andcountries, in which all the authors participated [2].

Maeda) implemented the project in their classrooms.

While some of the training was technical, such as

It was implemented in one class of 6th graders at

technical training in the creation of e-picture books

elementary school attached to Faculty of Educationand training in AR and other functions, it also offeredof Wakayama University and in one class of 3rd

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Bulletin of Course Specializing in Professional Development in Education, Wakayama Univ 2020

during this year and just a one-year project.

graders at elementary school attached to Faculty of
Education of Mie University. Tomita served as the

In spite of these problems explained above, we

contact person in Japan to the Stories of Tomorrow’s

decided to implement the Stories of Tomorrow fromheadquarters and was also responsible for researching

the perspective of curriculum design, pursuing how

and consulting with the two schools on various

the elements of integrated studies, problem-solving

environments, including computer systems. Doranlearning, international collaboration, ICT application,

coordinated the international network of the Stories

and STEAM education that the Stores of Tomorrowof Tomorrow and was in frequent contact withhad could be incorporated in the Japanese classroom.

Tomita to connect Japan with the rest of the world.

This was the purpose of our research. The practices

The original design of the Stories of Tomorrowin the two schools are described in sections 3 and 4
below, respectively.

was described in section 1. However, as described
below, there were some difficulties in implementing
it in Japan. Firstly, the Stories of Tomorrow was

3. Practice at Mie University Elementary School:

originally prepared as practice for 40 hours per year.

Integrated education of science and programming

Considering the situation in Japan, it was not realistic

using Lego with the theme of exploration on

to use 40 hours per year, even with the discretion ofMars and foreign language activities

the homeroom teacher. Nevertheless, in both schools
where it was practiced, the teachers made use of

The Stories of Tomorrow, including the level oftime for integrated studies and science classes tocomputer handling, was originally developed forcarry out the practice.

sixth-grade students, therefore, it could not be used

In addition, creating an e-picture book was not an

directly in the third graders of Maeda’s class. Maeda

easy task even for the upper grades of elementary

decided to use the spirit of the Stories of Tomorrow,school students. In particular, we should haveinstead of just creating an e-picture book, making use

considered how to incorporate the spirit of theof what students had learned in the classroom with

Stories of Tomorrow into the third-grade students ofthe theme of the Mars expedition, and improving thethe Mie school.

English education to cooperate with people around

The platform prepared to support the creation of

the world for scientific exploration.

the e-picture book was excellent, but it required a

In considering the creation of a“class that ignites

high level of computational power. The computer

students’minds,”Maeda have felt that with themes

room environment was not sufficiently conducivethat aim at the boundary between“I know”and“Ito the preparation of e-picture books, even at thedon’t know yet,”materials to support the activity,

two university-attached schools, at the time of its

and human relationships in the classroom, students

implementation.

will be able to pursue tasks proactively and freely.

In the original plan, the e-picture book was to

The Stories of Tomorrow’s contents were a perfect

be evaluated by the teacher according to eightchallenge for such a theme, therefore, in the third

perspectives: scientific content and knowledge

term of the school year of 2018 (January to March(20%), storyline (10%), artistry and creativity (10%),2019), using a total of 12 hours of integrated studies

narrative originality (10%), collaboration (10%),classes and science classes, Maeda planned a unit

effective presentation (10%), inclusion of problem-with the aim of“Let’s build a Mars rover to detectsolving content (20%), and relevance to the theme

metal”. In a simulated Martian environment madeof travel and migration to Mars (10%). In thisof cardboard, placing a piece of metal on it, theinternational collaborative project, respect for the

students tried to search for the piece of metal withlanguage and culture of each country was also well-a simulated Mars rover they created (Figs. 3, 4, andconsidered, and the e-picture book was created in5). This rover was a robot made from Lego bricks.

each country’s native language. It would have been

Through programming, the students made it work.

wonderful if the e-picture book was created as

For the metal detection, the students proactively

originally intended and if we could have had a deep

and interactively developed a robot with batteries,

exchange of the work with the other participating

wires, and a miniature light bulb in a group activity,

countries, but we could not achieve that much thisand when the rover passed over a piece of metal, thetime because it was a task that was introduced only

miniature light bulb turned on. The robot’s shapeE-3

Stories of Tomorrow: Practice in Elementary School and Its Reflection

and weight had to be carefully considered to beable to cope with the unevenness of the simulated
Martian surface. The development of the robot was
carried out through trial and error. This practice
is shown on the official Lego Education website asa challenge,“Let’s build a metal detecting probe”
for the unit of“Pathway of electricity”for the third
grader’s science curriculum [3].
In a series of lessons, from the students’feedback:“It was so refreshing to see the light bulb shine
when the rover’s nail (part of the simulated Marsrover’s equipment) hit the metal and it made theminiature light bulb shine, I almost forgot thefrustrating incident when I was assembling it”,“Theresearch activity was full of failures, disagreements
and quarrels during the activity, but we got thelight on at last.”The feedbacks were filled withthe joy of achievement and a moralistic mind. In
particular, the latter feedback was such that one

Fig. 3would think that this was a story from the actual
development of a real Martian rover. Besides, some

The rover making and metal detecting
challenge in the Maeda class.

of the students returned feedbacks with a proactive
mind in discovering new ideas and admiring thedevice development, such as“We have made a roverthat lights up when it finds a metal object, but it
can only find it, not take it back to Earth, so I wantto make something that can take it back to Earth”,“The rover can’t climb up a step and it stopped, so
I want to make a lighter and more compact roverthat can climb up a step,”etc. These are exactly
what are currently being researched and developed
for the real Mars rover. We can say that the actual
scene of research and development is the exploration

Fig. 4 Creating a well-balanced LEGO robot
requires a lot of trial and error. The size of thebatteries also needs to be considered. This is where
the students’ collaborative work comes in.

of science by adult professionals with the mind ofchildren. There are feedbacks with full of challenging
spirit and a deep understanding of scientific researchand technological development, such as“I’ve learned
that rovers fail too, and if I fail something in the
future, it’s better not to give up”,“I was amazedthat researchers continue to study Mars, despite
repeated failures and revising the programs”[4]. Oneof the reasons for the success of this activity was theuse of a robot created from Lego bricks, a teachingmaterial that is easy for the students to manipulate.
Maeda also incorporated electronic storytelling
activities using Keynote, which runs on a tablet
device and is easy for the students to operate, rather

Fig. 5 Successfully overcoming obstacles requires
a lot of ingenuity and trial and error. This is where
the students’ collaborative work comes in.

than the Stories of Tomorrow platform.
In addition to the Lego programming education,using the Stories of Tomorrow as a scientificE-4

Bulletin of Course Specializing in Professional Development in Education, Wakayama Univ 2020

exploration in cooperation with people from allover the world, Maeda also focused on English
language education with international understanding
as the theme from a cross-curricular perspective.
The students sent a video message in English to
introduce their school life, after receiving a video
message from a French teacher whom Maeda had
met at the summer school. Maeda’s classroom used
mind maps to expand the English vocabulary andpracticed the students’ability to introduce theirschool in English. These activities were the result of
direct interaction between teachers at the summer

Fig. 6E-book production at Wakayama University.

school.

4. Practice at Wakayama University Elementary
School: Creating electronic picture books basedon mutual learning in groups
During the second and third terms of the school
year of 2018 (September 2018 to March 2019), Kubo
used integrated studies time to practice the activity
in the 6th-grade class. First, the students haveresearched on Mars in the literature and internet,
then they created the e-picture book using the

Fig. 7 A screenshot of the work in progress tocreate an e-picture book using the Stories ofTomorrow platform.

platform developed for the Stories of Tomorrowthrough the group activity. To access the platformover the internet, the students visited Wakayama
University twice (on 11 and 20 December 2018) as
an off-campus field trip: on 11 December from 1:00 to
2:30 p.m. and on 20 December from 12:00 to 2:30 p.m.
This was a practice of elementary school-university
direct collaboration (Figures 6, 7, and 8).
The elementary school’s computers were 32bit Windows 7 machines at the time, therefore,
the platform did not work well. The computers at
the Wakayama University Academic Information

Fig. 8Center were also Windows 7 machines at the time,
however, they were 64-bit machines. The platform

Example of an e-picture book cover that thestudents created.

managed to work, though it was somewhat unstable.

to revise the draft. The three themes of Earth,

In the activities with advanced ICT utilization, there

Space, and Mars were included in the e-picture

was the issue of the need for adequate hardware

book in accordance with guideline of the Stories ofand software. We can have a research task for the

Tomorrow project. Some groups had a high level ofdevelopment of a system with greater versatility andimagination, and the students incorporated topics

operability for students.

which they researched into the story, and other

The class was divided into seven groups to create

students tried to pursue the original story, some ofa draft of the e-picture book. At first, Kubo asked thethe characters were quite original. Kubo had hoped

students to think about the structure of the book inthat the story could be developed into a play as well,relation to the Japanese language classes’
storytelling.

but it was a little too far for the students. However,After that, each group came up with a draft, andmany groups were left with a dull script. In addition,then they worked proactively and collaboratively

because we were too busy thinking about the use

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Stories of Tomorrow: Practice in Elementary School and Its Reflectionof ICT and grasping the system, the important partcame in, which led to a successful problem-solvingof the project, Mars, was not so well incorporated.

activity. Rather than having a single, comprehensive,

As for the creation of the e-picture book itself, it did

general-purpose task that could be decisive, thesenot produce sufficient results. Nevertheless, Kubo

skills and competencies have been gradually

felt that the students were able to further develop

developed in a variety of classes, activities, and lives,

their ability to work together, gather information,and these new tasks have further improved them.

and express themselves through the process ofFrom the perspective of curriculum design, which

creating the e-picture book. Each group was able tois becoming more important in Japan, the Stories ofassign their responsibility for the project and makeTomorrow has been used well. The key to successgood progress. In terms of inter-disciplinary point

in problem-solving learning is a moderately difficultof view, the students had not only the connections

task that lies on the border between“I know”andwith the Japanese language subject in relation to the“I don’t know yet,”teaching materials that are easy-

storytelling, but also the connections with the arts

to-handle for the students, and the creation of humanand crafts subject in relation to the representation ofrelationships in the classroom that are filled withthe pictures, and with the science subject in relation

an atmosphere of collaboration. Through problem-

to the communication of the research.

solving, we can see from the feedbacks from theSome of the students looked back on the project

students of this project that a spirit of collaboration,as an opportunity to think about Mars, which theya challenging spirit, and a deep understanding of

had never thought about before, relating to thescientific research and technological development are

global environmental issues. We got feedbacks, such

fostered.

as“Though the task was difficult for me, I felt a

We can use the electronic picture book system as

sense of accomplishment when it was completed,”a form of recording of various activities, rather than

“I could cooperate with group member.”Although

being limited to creating an electronic picture book;manipulability was a little difficult for elementaryfor example, spending time in the spacecraft (physicalschool students, it was the moderate difficulty of theeducation in relation to training, music and readingtask that led to such collaborative feedback fromin relation to relaxation in life, arts and crafts inthe students. We can say that we should prepare

relation to spacesuit design), spending time on Marsan environment in which the operation is easy and(integrated studies in relation to vegetable farming,

the task is moderately difficult. This is similar tohome economics in relation to diet and nutrition,

the strategy of aiming for the boundary between“Imath and arts and crafts in relation to the building),

know”and“I don’t know yet”in the Maeda class.

Mars exploration in relation to programming
education. Thus, we can use the electronic picturebook as a tool for inter-disciplinary reflection.

5. Reflections of the practice of the Stories ofTomorrow in Japan

6. Conclusions

The Stories of Tomorrow originally aimed at the1.

creation of electronic picture books, and through the

From the practice of the Stories of Tomorrow

activity, we expected to improve the students’abilityin Japan, we confirmed what is accepted thatto work together, to integrate the various things

the key to success in problem-solving learningthey had learned, and to apply them to the task.

is a moderately difficult task that lies on the

When we look back at the practice in Japan, whereborder between“I know”and“I don’t know

we did not focus too much on the e-book creation

yet,”teaching materials that are easy-to-handle

work, nor on securing 40 hours strictly, but firmly

for the students, and the creation of humanincorporated some of the ideas from the Stories ofrelationships in the classroom that are filledwith an atmosphere of collaboration.

Tomorrow, we can conclude that we were able to2.

provide students with the ability to work together,

From the practice of the Stories of Tomorrow

to integrate the various things they learned, andin Japan, we confirmed what is accepted thatto apply them to the task. First, the foundation

through problem-solving, we can see from theof student’s skills and competencies have been

feedbacks from the students of this project that

nurtured, then the Stories of Tomorrow challengea spirit of collaboration, a challenging spirit, andE-6

Bulletin of Course Specializing in Professional Development in Education, Wakayama Univ 20203.

a deep understanding of scientific research andwhere they also had the opportunity to attend

technological development are fostered.

classes, observe the school, and interact with theIt was found that it is possible for third-gradestudents. On the following days, 17th and 18th, we

students to practice STEAM education using

had a GTTP session and the Stories of Tomorrow pre-ICT on the theme of travel and migration to

training at Attached Elementary School, Faculty ofMars through adequate development of tasks,

Education, Wakayama University (fig. 9). Throughout

teaching materials, and classroom atmosphere.

the year 2018, the Stories of Tomorrow’s European

This is the great result of the practice atteam kindly supported Japanese practice over the

Attached Elementary School, Faculty ofinternet. Tomita was supported in part by a Grant-

Education, Mie University.

in-Aid for Scientific Research (18K02937, PI: Akihiko
Tomita).

Acknowledgments
We would like to thank all those who have guided
us into the wonderful world of the Stories ofTomorrow. We would like to thank the elementary
schools attached to Faculty of Education of
Wakayama University and Faculty of Educationof Mie University for sharing the significanceof this practice and for their cooperation andencouragement to implement it in their schools. It
was Dr. Hidehiko Agata, director of the outreachFig. 9and education office, the National Astronomical
Observatory of Japan, who encouraged and called

Whiteboard at the pre-training session.

[1] Stories of Tomorrow website:

for the implementation of this educational practice

http://www.storiesoftomorrow.eu/

in Japan. From 1 to 6 July 2018, we participated in[2] Stories of Tomorrow Summer School website:

the Summer School (https://stories.ea.gr/) of the

http://stories.ea.gr/

Stories of Tomorrow at the Golden Coast Hotel and[3]“Let’s build a metal detecting probe”(Masashi Maeda,

Bungalow, facing Marathon Bay in Attica, Greece,

published in September 2018), which is available on Lego

which brings together teachers from schools in

Education’s“downloadable lesson plan website for use as-isdifferent countries in the world. It was a greatin the classroom.”

opportunity for us from Japan to interact directly

https://legoedu.jp/lessonplan/?p=101

with teachers from Europe. We are particularly

The teaching plan, practical classroom slides, and worksheets,

grateful to the lead school, Ellinogermaniki Agogi

and classroom scenes are available there.

(http://www.ea.gr/) in Greece, and to NUCLIO[4]“Programming Education in Third Graders in Elementary(https://nuclio.org/), the global organization for

School through the Building of a Mars Rover”by Masashi

teacher training (Rosa Doran is the president of

Maeda, at the 9th Meeting of Small Satellites for Science

NUCLIO). Prior to the implementation of the Stories

Education, 26-27 September 2020 (invited talk, online).

of Tomorrow in Japan, a briefing session was heldat the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

This manuscript was based on two meetingon 10 and 11 March 2018, together with the teacher

proceedings and discussion at the meetings:“Stories

training program GTTP (http://galileoteachers.org/),of Tomorrow: Elementary School-University

under the arrangement by Dr. Hidehiko Agata (Rosa

Collaboration in STEAM Education”by Akihiko

Doran is the president of GTTP). On 15 March 2018,

Tomita, Fumihito Kubo, and Masashi Maeda at thea Portuguese team from the Stories of Tomorrow

32nd Annual Meeting on Astronomical Education

visited Attached Elementary School, Faculty of(6 August 2018, Keio University, Hiyoshi Campus,

Education, Mie University, where they observed

Yokohama, Japan), and“Stories of Tomorrow: Anclasses and interacted with students. On the next

integrated Practice with Interdisciplinary Integration,

day 16th, the team visited Attached Elementary

ICT Usage and International Collaboration in

School, Faculty of Education, Wakayama University,

Elementary Schools”by Akihiko Tomita, Fumihito

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Stories of Tomorrow: Practice in Elementary School and Its Reflection

Kubo, and Masashi Maeda at the 2018 Annual

2019, Faculty of Education, Wakayama University,

Meeting of the Collaborative Project for the Faculty

Wakayama).

of Education, Wakayama University (16 February

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