Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University （APU） in Beppu city, Japan has a large body of students from well over 90 countries, especially from the Asia Pacific region, including Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese...Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University （APU） in Beppu city, Japan has a large body of students from well over 90 countries, especially from the Asia Pacific region, including Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Indonesian students. To improve analytical thinking skills among college students, a course on ＂bioethics＂ was introduced and offered in two consecutive semesters to undergraduate students for which 245 students registered at each semester. The course was taught in the form of 14 lecture and discussion sessions, each for 95 minutes based on the content of A Cross-Cultural Introduction to Bioethics （2006） edited by Darryl Macer, and reviewed a wide variety of ethical and bioethical issues. In the next semester, the students received a similar teaching content that was rearranged to reflect the 15 universal principles of bioethics and human rights covered in the Bioethics Core Curriculum （2008）. Case studies were also added to each unit of the Core Curriculum with the support of the UNESCO＇s Asia Pacific Regional Office, Bangkok （Case Studies for Bioethics 2010）. To evaluate the results of teaching and to compare the achieved objectives between the two groups of students, a short questionnaire was given to all students who finished the course and took up the final written examination. In the whole, 454 students （225 in group I and 229 in group 2） completed the course and took the final examination and 427 （218 in group 1 and 209 in group 2） responded to the questionnaire which inquired into their interest in the discussion of bioethical issues： why they believed they were important, and what they had learned through them. The results of the questionnaire have been examined and compared to evaluate the success of ＂bioethics＂ in stimulating the interest and thinking ability of the students and enriching their experience of a cross-cultural discussion over bioethical issues using universal principles as general guidance. The result of this examination was so impressive that from 2011 bioethics has been formalized into the reformed curriculum of our international school.展开更多
The ability to communicate effectively in English is increasingly being viewed as an expectation of individuals who wish to engage with the global community. Mindful of these needs, the goals of the Global Citizenship...The ability to communicate effectively in English is increasingly being viewed as an expectation of individuals who wish to engage with the global community. Mindful of these needs, the goals of the Global Citizenship Program （GCP） at Soka University, Tokyo, Japan, focus not only on increasing English proficiency, but also on developing independent study skills, raising awareness of global issues, and enhancing the abilities of students to integrate information from multiple sources in meaningful ways. In the GCP, students enroll in English for Academic Purposes （EAP） courses which focus on developing critical thinking and research skills as well as English fluency. Through activities that require students to critically evaluate and synthesize information, opportunities are provided to engage in independent research focusing on the development process and global initiatives. This paper describes how the GCP curriculum develops academic skills and English proficiency, incorporates critical thinking activities, emphasizes global awareness, and integrates content-knowledge in order to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to interact successfully in the global community.展开更多
文摘Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University （APU） in Beppu city, Japan has a large body of students from well over 90 countries, especially from the Asia Pacific region, including Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Indonesian students. To improve analytical thinking skills among college students, a course on ＂bioethics＂ was introduced and offered in two consecutive semesters to undergraduate students for which 245 students registered at each semester. The course was taught in the form of 14 lecture and discussion sessions, each for 95 minutes based on the content of A Cross-Cultural Introduction to Bioethics （2006） edited by Darryl Macer, and reviewed a wide variety of ethical and bioethical issues. In the next semester, the students received a similar teaching content that was rearranged to reflect the 15 universal principles of bioethics and human rights covered in the Bioethics Core Curriculum （2008）. Case studies were also added to each unit of the Core Curriculum with the support of the UNESCO＇s Asia Pacific Regional Office, Bangkok （Case Studies for Bioethics 2010）. To evaluate the results of teaching and to compare the achieved objectives between the two groups of students, a short questionnaire was given to all students who finished the course and took up the final written examination. In the whole, 454 students （225 in group I and 229 in group 2） completed the course and took the final examination and 427 （218 in group 1 and 209 in group 2） responded to the questionnaire which inquired into their interest in the discussion of bioethical issues： why they believed they were important, and what they had learned through them. The results of the questionnaire have been examined and compared to evaluate the success of ＂bioethics＂ in stimulating the interest and thinking ability of the students and enriching their experience of a cross-cultural discussion over bioethical issues using universal principles as general guidance. The result of this examination was so impressive that from 2011 bioethics has been formalized into the reformed curriculum of our international school.
文摘The ability to communicate effectively in English is increasingly being viewed as an expectation of individuals who wish to engage with the global community. Mindful of these needs, the goals of the Global Citizenship Program （GCP） at Soka University, Tokyo, Japan, focus not only on increasing English proficiency, but also on developing independent study skills, raising awareness of global issues, and enhancing the abilities of students to integrate information from multiple sources in meaningful ways. In the GCP, students enroll in English for Academic Purposes （EAP） courses which focus on developing critical thinking and research skills as well as English fluency. Through activities that require students to critically evaluate and synthesize information, opportunities are provided to engage in independent research focusing on the development process and global initiatives. This paper describes how the GCP curriculum develops academic skills and English proficiency, incorporates critical thinking activities, emphasizes global awareness, and integrates content-knowledge in order to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to interact successfully in the global community.
