 A PROPOSAL TO THE UNITED STATES-JAPAN FOUNDATION |
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| Applicant: | Joetsu University of Education | ||||||||||||
| 1 Yamayashiki-machi | |||||||||||||
| Joetsu-shi, Niigata-ken 943-8512 | |||||||||||||
| JAPAN | |||||||||||||
| JUE USJF Program: | Yukihiko Ohdake, Prof. of Geography (chair) Committee Toshimitsu Tabe, Associate Prof. of Social Studies (secretary general) Toshihiro Agatsuma, Associate Prof. of Special Education (cochair) Kenta Kasai, Assistant Researcher of Religious Study (cochair) | ||||||||||||
| Grant Category: Precollege Education | |||||||||||||
| United States-Japan Foundation | |||||||||||||
| 145 East 32nd Street, 12th Floor | |||||||||||||
| New York, NY 10016 | |||||||||||||
| U.S.A. | |||||||||||||
| March 23, 1999 | |||||||||||||
| 1.Review of the Preceding Year's Activities | |||||||||||||
| In 1998, we visited four cities on the east coast: Washington,D.C.,
Pittsburgh,PA., Boston,MA., and New York,NY. for the purpose of developing
the teaching materials of multi-media for social studies. We made a research
report about what we investigated and learned, and the teachers who attended
this project taught their students about the United States using the materials
that they developed by visiting the United States. Before visiting the U.S.A., we thought about using a computer to develop the teaching materials. While we were investigating materials in the U.S.A., we noticed that posters were more useful. Posters are well received by both American and Japanese teachers, because they are easy to handle in classroom activities. Computers are useful at the individual instruction and posters are useful in group instruction. We decided to focus on making posters in addition to opening a home-page in the internet. The home-page will be open on the first of April in this year. Since making posters is expensive, we selected tweleve posters carefully, which were a reasonable size and of high quality. To make photograph materials, we had analyzed the American and Japanese social studies textbooks before we visited the U.S.A.. After many discussions and the analysis of the textbooks, we could get ideas and images of the photographs. We took many appropriate photographs in the U.S.A. We can use those photographs in our home-page in the internet. And since we can use our own photographs, without using pictures in books, we don't have to worry about the copyright. Since we visited the U.S.A. in summer vacation, we knew that we could not see classroom activities in American schools. So we had planned workshops with American social studies teachers and we participated in them. In Pittsburgh, we participated in a workshop, which we requested to have with the professors at the college of education at Duquesne University. Not only the professors of that university attended, but also American social studies teachers of junior high and high schools participated in that workshop. We were strongly impressed by the reports presented by those American teachers who had a broad view of things. Concerning environmental education, we could learn a lot through out-door activities, specifically we learned and enjoyed activities about the food chain. After returning to Japan, we had many meetings to exchange information and to put it together. As a result, we could make a research report about what we investigated and learned, and we could have a symposium successfully. Throughout the 1998 project, we accomplished our purpose to develop the useful teaching materials for social studies, including nation, culture, and transportation. Especially, the posters that we made in this project were highly valued because of their appropriateness. |
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| 2.The Aim of the Project Objectives in 1999 | |||||||||||||
| Our aim is to develop the materials for teaching social studies at the junior high and high school levels, so that the Japanese students can understand the United States deeply. | |||||||||||||
| 3.Project Description | |||||||||||||
| In the 1999 project, we are planning to visit four cities
in the midwest and east coast: Minneapolis,MN., Pittsburgh,PA., and New
York, NY. for the purpose of field survey. In the 1999 project, we are
planning to visit four cities in the midwest and east coast: Minneapolis,MN.,
Pittsburgh,PA., and New York,NY. for the purpose of field survey. In Minneapolis, we will focus mainly on the agriculture. We will investigate the large-scale wheat production, beef cattle breeding, and fodder production. In Pittsburgh, we will focus mainly on the industry. We will investigate the history and the present condition of iron and steel production there. In addition to this, we intend to promote friendly relations with American social studies teachers through a home-stay program and exchange e-mail addresses to keep in touch after returning to Japan. Exchanging e-mail letters will be done by teachers and students of both countries, which will become a popular activity. In New York, we will visit the New York Stock Exchange and the World Trade Center, which are the cores of world business. This will be our second time to visit those places, as New York City is too large to see everything in one trip. We, in Japan, have programs to help the students understand the United States in schools. The teachers teach about the United States in social studies classes at the level of elementary and junior high, and in geography, history, and civic education classes at the level of high school. In those classes, many aspects of the United States including geography, history, politics, and economics are being taught. However, Japanese teachers need very effective teaching materials which will lead the students to understand the United States truly and deeply. We are thinking that the multi-media materials should definitely be developed. In actual teaching, the field of software is far behind compared to hardware. To develop those teaching materials and to digitalize them should be done for the subjects like social studies, geography, history, and civic education, which require a rich detabase. In the 1999 project, we intend to continue the investigations which were done in the 1998 project under the same critical mind. That is, we intend to develop and spread the useful teaching materials for social studies classes in Japanese schools by creating the multi-media and digitalized materials so that the students can understand the U.S.A. deeply. | |||||||||||||
| 4. Methodology | |||||||||||||
| To continue developing the materials for social studies and to promote the project activities of this year, we are planning to perform the following things which should be based on the activities of last year; | |||||||||||||
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| 5.Schedule | |||||||||||||
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| 6.Expenditure Report of the preceding Year | |||||||||||||
| 7.Budget for the Upcoming Year | |||||||||||||
| Date | Signature |
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| Yukihiko Ohdake, Chair | |
| Professor | |
| Division of Social Studies | |
| Division of Social Studies | |
| Joetsu Univ. of Education | |
| Date | Signature |
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| Toshimitsu Tabe, Secretary General | |
| Associate Professor | |
| Division of Social Studies | |
| Joetsu Univ. of Education | |
| Date | Signature |
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| Toshihiro Agatsuma, Cochair | |
| Associate Professor | |
| Division of Special Education | |
| Joetsu Univ. of Education | |
| Date | Signature |
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| Kenta Kasai, Cochair | |
| Assistant Researcher | |
| Division of Social Studies | |
| Joetsu Univ. of Education | |
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