A Practical Study of Curriculums for the First-Year Education Students with School Visits and Direct Experiences

Abstract

  Today, a problem requiring attention is the lack of children's direct experiences and knowledge gained through everyday life, the education of only words without real images. Turning to teachers, particularly for the young generation, may have drawbacks because some of these teachers do not have adequate experience to lead children and many of them may not understand the significance of a child's direct experiences for developing the child's ability to think. Therefore, it is said that making plans for children's learning by way of their own experiences is not easy in primary education.

  Under these circumstances, the curriculum must be considered in education programs of universities, which train students to be teachers. More opportunities should be made for the students to have various experiences and to study the importance of such a learning style.

  The purpose of this paper is to introduce and analyze the practice of the Educational Seminar for freshmen used in recent years at the Hokkaido University of Education in Kushiro. The experiences offered to students consist of various subjects to lead students in the understanding of the educational effort and also to develop their scientific and social abilities. The main contents are, as follows:

  I. A confirmation of the problem

  II. The guiding principle of the seminar at the university

  III. The contents and structure of the curriculum

  IV. An analysis of the significance of “experience” for students who are just beginning to study education

  V. Considerations and conclusion