KITASATO REVIEW Annual Report of Studies in Liberal Arts and Sciences
Online ISSN : 2424-0125
Print ISSN : 1345-0166
ISSN-L : 1345-0166
Volume 15
Displaying 1-11 of 11 articles from this issue
Research Articles
  • Makoto KOGAWARA
    Article type: Research Article
    2010 Volume 15 Pages 1-16
    Published: March 31, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: September 29, 2017
    RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT FREE ACCESS
     This paper tries to make more explicit the idea of falsificationism in the comparison with instrumentalism and essentialism. After having contoured instrumentalism and essentialism, I have tried to criticize them from the viewpoint of falsificationism. My main target is instrumentalism. I have criticized it by using the idea of Weberian thesis of Wertfreiheit, and also criticized the inference licence theory supported by instrumentalism. Finally I depicted falsificationism as a revised essentialism.
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  • David L. BROOKS
    Article type: Research Article
    2010 Volume 15 Pages 17-42
    Published: March 31, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: September 29, 2017
    RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT FREE ACCESS
      An important challenge for language educators in Japan is the difficulty of getting students to actually produce the language they are learning for purposes of authentic communication. This paper advocates an approach that is rigorous, long-term, cross-cultural, and, most definitely, qualitative in nature. A new intercultural framework of teaching methodologies and student learning for constructing instructional environments conducive to developing intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is the focus of a task-based learning approach through collaboration.
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  • Insights gleaned from an analysis of secondary education in the United States
    Seiko HIRAI
    Article type: Research Article
    2010 Volume 15 Pages 43-66
    Published: March 31, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: September 29, 2017
    RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT FREE ACCESS
      High proficiency English skills are difficult to cultivate in the current Japanese system, which focuses on acquiring linguistic knowledge and language skills.  
      In this small study, I utilized an approach involving classroom orientations to address the issue of engendering and developing independent thought among high school students. I examined secondary education in one private and one public school in the US, and also used interviews and a questionnaire to obtain direct feedback from students who experienced both the US and Japanese school systems.
      My observations of the US schools indicate that many students in such environments ̶ which incorporate collaborative discussion sessions- possessed cognitively demanding communication skills, which also helped them to improve their critical and analytical abilities. This system, which appears to be modeled after both Cummins’ CALP-based and “Vygotskian” approaches, utilized materials that were sufficiently demanding, from a cognitive perspective, to require students to think deeply enough that they use higher-order thinking abilities. Vygotsky argued that developmental processes are advanced by the process of learning. Hence, if learners are exposed to concrete, contextualized ideas relating to facts they already know, they would, via the types of collaborative discussion sessions I observed, be better able to acquire higher levels of English proficiency. This type of child-adult and peer-peer cooperation, which is consistent with the “Vygotskian” concept of “the zone of proximal development,” is regarded by many as a valuable path to developing a child’s reasoning ability.
      Higher-level English language development in Japan would necessitate cognitively challenging academic content that is better integrated into the curricula and classroom orientations that are challenging enough to motivate students to learn. This, in turn, would also help students to improve their critical and analytical abilities. Reading and writing abilities appear to be more important in language education than previously thought, especially in terms of language development and higher thinking processes. For example, given the chance to write organized papers based on classroom discussions, Japanese English language learners can be exposed to such processes and may be able to improve their critical and analytical abilities and so improve their language skills.
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  • Tetsuya TANIGUCHI
    Article type: Research Article
    2010 Volume 15 Pages 67-73
    Published: March 31, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: September 29, 2017
    RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT FREE ACCESS
     Taimanov discovers the S-spectral data of a Dirac operator which forms the data of the Weierstrass representation of Clifford torus. In this paper, we seek a M-spectral data instead of S-spectral data. By using the M-spectral, we construct a harmonic map into 3-dimensional complex projective space. We transform the harmonic into Clifford torus in terms of geometric methods.
      This paper is made up of four sections. The first three sections are expositary notes of Taimanov's work ([5]). We introduce the definition of S-spectral data and Baker-Akhiezer functions. In the last section, we seek the M-spectral data, from which we construct Clifford torus.
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  • Results and Issues of the Trial First-Year Seminar
    Saeko KOJIMA
    Article type: Research Article
    2010 Volume 15 Pages 75-95
    Published: March 31, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: September 29, 2017
    RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT FREE ACCESS
      The purpose of this paper is to reflect on our trial First-Year Seminars in 2009 and review the issues of the seminars toward a construction of First-Year Seminars at Kitasato University.
      Four results came out. 1)442 students, excluding medical students, took these seminars. They represent 40 % of all first-year students in Kitasato university. 2)85 % of students surveyed continued to attend class and 75 % students got credits. 3)student evaluation scores were high(the average of all items is between 4 and 6 points. The top score is 6.) 4)Students’ satisfaction level of this seminar was very high(97%).
     However there are still some issues to be discussed. 1)uniform classes, 2)contents and implementation framework, 3)lecturers, 4)achievement gap between students, 5)class size, 6)assessment of academic achievement, 7)sequences of classes(First-Year Seminars and another course, or Sophomore classes)  
     These issues are matched with other universities which are implementing First-Year Seminars. Therefore, this will take time to be solved as well. But clarifying the issues is a big step to the next practices.  
     From now on, we have to reaffirm the definition of First-Year Experiences and solve those 7 issues for the next implementation.
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  • Yoko ICHIYAMA
    Article type: Research Article
    2010 Volume 15 Pages 97-110
    Published: March 31, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: September 29, 2017
    RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT FREE ACCESS
      In order to develop in-house test tasks that reflect the content of an institution’s curricula, a preliminary study was conducted by analyzing the linguistic variables of reading passages. The present study focuses on the differences between a commercially produced English proficiency test (TOEIC) that is adopted by the institution and the textbooks frequently used in the classroom regarding the syntactic structure of their reading passages.
      The study revealed that the syntactic structure of a commercially produced test and the textbooks are different regarding several aspects which confirms the suggestion that the use of an in-house test is preferable to the commercially produced test for the placement purposes.
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  • Eiichi KATO
    Article type: Research Article
    2010 Volume 15 Pages 111-131
    Published: March 31, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: September 29, 2017
    RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT FREE ACCESS
     The amendment bill of organ transplant act was voted in the Diet in 2009. Each political party other than the Japan Communist Party, removed party restraint on these votes considering the characteristic of this amendment. The amendment bill was approved in its original content. Brain death has come to be admitted as human death legally in Japan by this amendment. The result of voting was influenced by political parties, although the parties removed restrain on the vote. It is the same as when the organ transplant act was approved in 1997. This result can be explained to some degree by the reference group theory of R.K. Merton, but the factors such as the twisted situation between Upper and Lower Houses and "Koizumi Children (one of the political informal groups)" should be considered.
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  • : Examination of the History of Japan's Faculty Training System, the Teacher Theory of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, and the Awareness of People who want to become Teachers
    Shuichi TAMURA
    Article type: Research Article
    2010 Volume 15 Pages 133-145
    Published: March 31, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: September 29, 2017
    RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT FREE ACCESS
     This paper examines the qualities and skills expected of faculty based on a review of (1) the history of Japan’s faculty training system, (2) the teacher theory of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, and (3) a survey of people who want to work in education. We found that (1) along with changes in the faculty training system, the qualities and abilities expected of faculty also changed, (2)Tsuneosaburo Makiguchi believed that teacher’s educational skills were what educators were most importantly judged by, “education technology” was the most important quality and ability to be expected of teachers, and (3) people who want to work in education believe that communications skills, educational guidance skills, counseling skills, and personality are important qualities and skills expected from teachers. Based on these results, we studied the future issues of teacher training in universities.
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  • Fumio SUZUKI
    Article type: Research Article
    2010 Volume 15 Pages 147-157
    Published: March 31, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: September 29, 2017
    RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT FREE ACCESS
     The Fundamental Law of Education indicates that, “Education shall be provided in the hope of nurturing citizens who are healthy, both physically and mentally, and qualified to be builders of peaceful and democratic national community, aiming towards perfection of human character. ” Each high school also develops its own “educational objectives” based upon actual conditions of students in the context of the Fundamental Law of Education and the School Education Act.
      A curriculum is designed to achieve the educational objectives of each school and therefore, the formulation of a curriculum is the most important task of all school duties. In addition, classes serve as a basis of students’ school lives and activities. The lives in classes are extremely important elements of meaningful high school life, therefore sincere and ingenious student-centered class management is needed.
      It is not easy for a teacher to instruct each student in a class of 40 students, and teachers have their own limitations. Therefore, class management should be done through collaboration and information exchange with other teachers. In addition, understanding the development of high school students is the first step of understanding the students and is essential to put class management into orbit and to support the growth of students.
      Developmental features of high school age include ‘physical development ’ , ‘ intellectual development ’ , ‘ change of interpersonal relationship ’ , and ‘ development of self-consciousness. ’ Teachers must fully understand these features and apply the understanding into guidance in different phases.
      Teachers in charge of their own classes have various advantages in the understanding of student since they spend more time with students. However, such advantages may give teachers the illusion that they thoroughly understand students. Teachers must interact with students so as to maintain trustful relations with students, which is the foundation of class management, while remembering their original purpose. Their original purpose is “to listen to students ” and “to interact endearingly ” with all students.
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  • : A social survey of students at Kitasato University
    Eiichi KATO
    Article type: Research Article
    2010 Volume 15 Pages 159-177
    Published: March 31, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: September 29, 2017
    RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT FREE ACCESS
     In this paper, I try to clarify relations between students' satisfaction and their score on the basis of the social survey of students for the class of general education in 2009. The correlation coefficient is 0.23 between their satisfaction and the score statistically. The statistically significant difference is found in the analysis of variance in both sex and faculties. This result contradicts logic. The modifying method of collecting datum and theory are necessary.
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  • ─from Lecture of Principal─
    Fumio SUZUKI
    Article type: Research Article
    2010 Volume 15 Pages 179-188
    Published: March 31, 2010
    Released on J-STAGE: September 29, 2017
    RESEARCH REPORT / TECHNICAL REPORT FREE ACCESS
     According to the Ordinance for Enforcement of the School Education Act, “Morals ” are included in the curriculum of elementary and junior high schools, but not in that of high schools. However, the official educational guidelines for high schools clearly state that “moral education” shall be “conducted throughout educational activities of schools.“ In addition, a “moral course ” is set up in elementary and junior high schools for the promotion of moral education, and its objectives are stated as; “To nurture practical moral ability” and “To cultivate practical moral ability.” Practical ability is also focused on these objectives.      
      In high schools, there is no “moral course” but, what is essential in order to promote “moral education” are systematic efforts that succeed and deepen the major points and contents of “moral course” in elementary and junior high schools and that integrate all three domains of high school curriculum namely ‘individual subjects’ , ‘hours for comprehensive studies’ and ‘extracurricular activities’ . ‘Hours for comprehensive studies’ and ‘extracurricular activities’ are generally planned by curriculum coordinators and guidance counselors, respectively, on an annual basis and the plans incorporate volunteer activities, learning through experience and lectures. In addition, guidance is often primarily conducted by teachers in charge of their own classes.      
      Though principals directly instruct students only on limited occasions, they have a number of opportunities to address all the students through lectures. The important point in lectures for students is to take care of ‘worries and struggles’ specific to the developmental stages of students. Also, it is important that students can explore their own issues and objectives, deepen their thoughts, realize their own growth and consequently understand human nature more deeply through a lecture. It is one of the important roles of principals in delivering appropriate lectures at various junctures of their schools. For the purpose of the above, an annual plan should be prepared in advance.
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