SIETAR-Kansai - Past Monthly Programs

May 2002
In search of a new educational paradigm

Percents:
Yoko Matsuda, Kobe University of Commerce

Date:
May 26, 2002, Sunday (2:00pm - 4:00pm)

Place:
Nishinomiya Shi Daigaku Koryu Center
(ACTA Nishinomiya Higashi kan 6F, Seminar Room 1)
2 min. from the north exit of Hankyu Nishinomiya Kitaguchi St.

Tel: 0798-69-3155

Fee:
500 yen for members
1500 yen for non-members
1000 yen for students

Language:
Japanese & English

Description of the Presentation:
I will report on my experience last year teaching at Evergreen State College in Washington state. This is a case study which presents a unique educational style which represents the cultural value of education held at this institution. The college is well known for its unique education practicing interdisciplinary, integral and collaborative learning, as well as its evaluation system and team teaching. One of the major purposes is to nurture students such that they will be able to apply what they have learned to the real world. It requires them to integrate various aspects of their knowledge and to be flexible, creative and good at working in a group, as well as being an independent thinker and doer.

In recent years most of the Japanese universities have been going through various educational reforms in their curriculum and institutional structure in order to accommodate the current needs of students and the society. However, in many cases, the change ends up only at a superficial level, such as changing the names of the courses and making different groupings of faculty. Using the model at Evergreen State as a starting point, I'd like to conduct a discussion considering diverse educational styles and cultural values which we should strive for in the Japanese context.

Profile of the Presenter:
Yoko Matsuda is a professor at Kobe University of Commerce, teaching Intercultural Communication and Japanese language and culture to international students. Her current major areas of research and publications are: Australian and Japanese language policies for a multicultural society, Intercultural Communication education, and cultural differences ineducational styles. She has an MA in Sociolinguistics from Osaka University and an MA in interdisciplinary linguistics from the University of Rochester, New York. She has also taught at Kansai University for Foreign Studies and at the University of Adelaide in Australia. She is currently the Chair of SIETAR-Kansai.

Back to the most recent program