2009 年 57 巻 5 号 p. 5_17-5_22
The entrance examination for Japan′s university lays a great emphasis on multiple-choice questions, so most of high school students are said to be taught in a way that memorizing the formulae mechanically is the shorter route to high score in test than ever. The best cure for rote memorizing and formulism is to stimulate the intellectual curiosity of undergraduate students newly entering universities. We must make classes more appealing to the freshmen if we are to draw out and cultivate their intellectual curiosity. In Shinshu University, every affiliated faculty assists the Center of Development of Higher Education Programs by sending professors to give the Liberal Arts Lectures from special field of their own. This paper presents the very constructive trial to draw out the intellectual curiosity of the science course students in Shinshu University. Discussions are made on the role of Lecture “Mathematics and Wasan Culture” in stimulating student′s interest. Wasan, the traditional Japanese Mathematics made amazing development as very advanced mathematics equivalent to Western Mathematics. It was widely applied to several technical areas such as map manufacture, astronomical observation and reclamation construction in the era of Edo Period. Especially, an analytical technique in search of a center of gravity of an object is explained by many old Wasan mathematicians. In this lecture, the author used Wasan Problems as the teaching materials. As one of means to improve the analyzing sense of science phenomena, the students learn the old technique used by Wasanka who did not know any formulae of Western Mathematics.