System Development Classes Expanding in High Schools: A Record of Growth Between Teachers and Students

Mr. Tanaka (pseudonym), a teacher specializing in system development at a high school, conducts weekly classes with students from the first to the third year. The content differs by grade level, with a structured approach that helps students progressively acquire skills. This article introduces the classroom scenes and the interactions between the teacher and students.

First-Year Students: Introduction to Programming

In the first year, students primarily learn the basics of programming using Python. They study foundational concepts such as variables, conditional statements, loops, and functions.

Student A: “Teacher, can you put an if inside another if?”

Mr. Tanaka: “Yes, that’s called ‘nesting.’ It can be useful in certain situations, but if it gets too complex, it becomes hard to read—so be cautious.”

Student B: “Why do we use functions? If we’re only going to use it once, can’t we just write it normally?”

Mr. Tanaka: “Great question. Functions help structure your code, making it easier to review later. They’re also very useful when working with others on a project.”

Second-Year Students: Stepping Up to System Design

In the second year, students move beyond writing code and learn how to design entire systems. Topics include UML diagrams, database design, and user interface design.

Student C: “How do class diagrams relate to actual programming?”

Mr. Tanaka: “Class diagrams are like blueprints. Just like you draw plans before building a house, you need to design the structure before building a system. Class diagrams help you visualize the components you need.”

Student D: “How detailed should we make ER diagrams?”

Mr. Tanaka: “That depends on how closely you want to reflect real-world operations. It’s okay to start simple and then improve it after testing it in action.”

Third-Year Students: Connecting to the Future with APIs and Generative AI

In the third year, students put everything they’ve learned into practice by working with external services and generative AI. Topics include REST API usage, chatbot implementation, and integration with image generation AI.

Student E: “What exactly does an API do?”

Mr. Tanaka: “An API is like a communication gateway between services. For example, when a weather app retrieves a forecast, it’s using an API to get that information.”

Student F: “Wow, generative AI can even write code! Won’t engineers become unnecessary in the future?”

Mr. Tanaka: “AI has indeed advanced, but it still needs people who know how to use it properly. Deciding ‘what to build and how to build it’ is still up to humans.”

The Teacher’s Thoughts

“System development classes nurture not only the power to create but also the power to think. Through programming, I want students to develop the ability to discover and solve problems on their own.”

In Mr. Tanaka’s classroom, new discoveries and growth are taking place every day.