5:15 PM - 7:15 PM
[G04-P01] How can professional academic societies support the exploration activities of high school students who will become stakes?
Keywords:stakes, Super Science High School
In 2020, Hyogo Prefectural Himeji Higashi High School was designated as a Super Science High School (SSH) by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) with the R&D goal of "creating a role model for international research and exploration of scientific ethics for the development of world-leading human resources. The pillars of the school's research and development are "taking on the challenge of international activities centered on earth science" and "supporting the international activities of the Science Club". As of January 2025, there are 38 members of the Science Club, and they are divided into several research groups and are actively working together.
In January 2024, 19 students from our school conducted a five-day outcrop survey of Bingi Bingi Point in southeastern NSW, Australia, and created thin sections of the collected samples and observed them under a polarizing microscope to discover an Oscillatory Zoned Structure that documents the environment at the late magma differentiation process from plutonic amphiboles. In order to clarify the formation process and conditions, they took and passed the COCOUS-R exam at Kyoto University, and created an environment in which students could conduct EPMA analysis on their own. In addition, they applied for a corporate grant and was selected, and proceeded with his research with research funds. The results were presented at the American Geophysical Union in Washington, D.C., in December 2024, where their expertise was highly evaluated.
On the other hand, it is difficult to obtain fair recognition at academic conferences and research paper contests in Japan. This is also a problem for many SSH-designated schools. SSH-designated schools are required to produce the results of cutting-edge scientific research, and they are required to widely disclose the methods and results of experiments and observations researched and developed there. Nationwide, there are many students who have a very advanced research attitude, even at the high school level. In some cases, textbooks have been rewritten based on the research results of high school students. However, when a paper with such advanced content is submitted to a research paper contest for high school students, it is not uncommon for the judges to say, "This kind of research is difficult for a high school student to do, and we cannot help but think that it could have been done with the guidance and wisdom of a university researcher. Critiques that do not properly evaluate the efforts and abilities of high school students based on speculation rather than evaluation of content will disappoint the high school students who conducted the research. In order to cultivate students who will become excellent "stakes," it is first necessary to objectively evaluate the current situation.
In January 2024, 19 students from our school conducted a five-day outcrop survey of Bingi Bingi Point in southeastern NSW, Australia, and created thin sections of the collected samples and observed them under a polarizing microscope to discover an Oscillatory Zoned Structure that documents the environment at the late magma differentiation process from plutonic amphiboles. In order to clarify the formation process and conditions, they took and passed the COCOUS-R exam at Kyoto University, and created an environment in which students could conduct EPMA analysis on their own. In addition, they applied for a corporate grant and was selected, and proceeded with his research with research funds. The results were presented at the American Geophysical Union in Washington, D.C., in December 2024, where their expertise was highly evaluated.
On the other hand, it is difficult to obtain fair recognition at academic conferences and research paper contests in Japan. This is also a problem for many SSH-designated schools. SSH-designated schools are required to produce the results of cutting-edge scientific research, and they are required to widely disclose the methods and results of experiments and observations researched and developed there. Nationwide, there are many students who have a very advanced research attitude, even at the high school level. In some cases, textbooks have been rewritten based on the research results of high school students. However, when a paper with such advanced content is submitted to a research paper contest for high school students, it is not uncommon for the judges to say, "This kind of research is difficult for a high school student to do, and we cannot help but think that it could have been done with the guidance and wisdom of a university researcher. Critiques that do not properly evaluate the efforts and abilities of high school students based on speculation rather than evaluation of content will disappoint the high school students who conducted the research. In order to cultivate students who will become excellent "stakes," it is first necessary to objectively evaluate the current situation.