NEW CHALLENGES TO THE UNIVERSITY EDUCATION STYLE AFTER YUTORI-KYOIKU REFORM IN JAPAN. THE URGENT NEEDS OF REMEDIAL EDUCATION FOR THE FRESHMEN. WHAT CAN WE TEACH AND HOW?

The completion rate of Japanese students enrolling in higher education is very high. This implies that the motivation to complete college successfully is relatively high in Japan where a college qualification is seen as mandatory—a kind of guaranteed pass for entering a career for those Japanese students who have chance to enroll in higher education.
In the United States and some other countries, remedial education is available in order to help students cope successfully the pressures of the heavy load of work expected on higher education courses. Students need some support to fight back mentally against the heavy pressures of study. This is one of main assignments of remedial education. However it seems there are some differences between what is understood by remedial education in the context of Japanese education and the definition of what remedial education should comprise when the goal is to help students at the level of Higher Education.
University, of course, offers specialized academic knowledge and is a place where students can acquire a specialized education. Learning method is varies from old school method to the latest information technology, university is no longer the only place where people can acquire specialized knowledge and information. A great variety of knowledge can be accessed instantly through the Internet environment and the process has become much faster and easier compared with a few decades ago. The range and quality of the available resources has also improved greatly in recent years.
However students find great difficulty in making selective use of the information, and in applying it in the work environment after graduation. Failing to develop the necessary communicative skills can have a damaging effect on any research field where cooperative activity and the sharing of ideas in constructive discussion necessary if the research project is to make significant advances. The curriculum our cross-faculty seminar for freshmen will be designed to help students to develop communicative skills and share ideas with the aim of strengthening their ability to solve problems by working in a group environment. Brainstorming, joint problem-solving, evaluation and critiquing of ideas, group presentations and a variety of other strategies will be employed to develop those skills which are becoming more and more important in the Internet age.
I would like to introduce the way we conduct this project class covering the variety of different approaches used and our attempts to nurture intensive self-development among the students. We will try to demonstrate the effect the curriculum has upon the students and show how they develop their confidence and communicative skills during this 16-week course.
By reviewing the design of this course, I hope to show you what is needed in the context of a Japanese university. Modern life is producing a number of fresh challenges for educators, not least the dependence of the younger generation on formulae and manuals rather than on using their own mental abilities to problem solve. I will discuss what kind of remedial education is necessary for Japanese students to meet modern challenges.