Hamamatsu International School
Our subjects
Classes in the 2021 academic year
Course Description
One Global
Discussion on Sustainable Development Goals
Students come to understand contemporary global issues, such as climate change, health pandemics, poverty, etc. through discussion on Sustainable Development Goals and at the end of the classes they can identify problems and opportunities in their community and recognize how choices made by individuals are connected with global systems.
1. PBL (Problem-based Learning)
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which complex real-world problems are used. According to Duch et al. (2001), the purpose of PBL is to help students to develop the ability to solve problems, which has a positive effect on their learning. PBL can promote the development of critical thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, and communication skills.
2. Integrating Subjects
One Global is a learning community opportunity where the students will learn Social Studies, Science and Mathematics together. We will remove barriers between areas of study to integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) into One Global.
3. Student-Centered Learning
Student-centered refers to forms of instruction that give students opportunities to lead learning activities. Students will participate actively in discussions, choose some of SDGs and explore the targets , and contribute to a better future for all.
In a student-centered learning environment, teachers serve as facilitators for student decision-making and skills building.Teachers and students work collaboratively to co-create a learning plan or pathway that best suits the needs of each individual learner. Student-centered learning allows greater flexibility to work in small groups or learn remotely.
Heritage Language
It appears that the school system, as it functions today in Japan academically, does not seem to effective in promoting educational achievements among minority students.
Multicultural education values different student cultures and establish equitable educational opportunities for all their students. Multicultural Education has been implemented in many multicultural countries. Schools that incorporate students’ heritage culture and language into the curriculum and classroom help students do better in terms of academic achievement.
In Japan it is taken for granted that the objective of education is to teach children to be a good member of society though public schools have become diverse with ethnic minority children.
It is important for ethnic minority children to learn their heritage languages as it connects them culturally and linguistically to their parents.
Many researcher suggest that Immigrants' L1 is positively associated with their educational experience, academic achievements and self-efficacy in L2 contexts. Cummins (2000) concludes that immigrants' L1 enhances the acquisition of not only L2 but also L3, and that multilingual learners demonstrate enhanced cognitive and metacognitive abilities as compared to their monolinguals peers.
With an aging population and a rapidly decreasing workforce, the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act reform created a new category of “long-term” residence for descendants of Japanese emigrants (Nikkeijin) and this change has permitted thousands of Japanese-Brazilians and Japanese-Japanese Filipinos to enter, work and live in Japanese with few restrictions.
In Hamamatsu City
According to HICE (Hamamatsu Foundation for International Communications and Exchanges) the number of Non-Japanese residents living in Hamamatsu City on May 16, 2021 is 25,593. By nationality, Brazil had the largest population with 9,486, followed by The Philippines with 3,982, and Vietnam with 3,457 as of May, 2019.
The number of non-Japanese children in school age attending in public schools in Hamamatsu City is shown below.
Reference data : Public reports of Hamamatsu city Board of Education 2020
As of April 30 2020, there are 1294 non-Japanese children in elementary school and 556 children in Junior high school in the public school system.
Brazilian children account for 47.8%, followed by Filipino children, 16.7%.
Reference data : Public reports of Hamamatsu city Board of Education 2020
Out of non-Japanese children entering elementary schools in 2020, More than half of them, 57.7% were born in Japan. However, those students still have been struggling academically in schools since entering elementary school.
Tagalog as a heritage language
Tagalog class provides an environment where students love learning Tagalog and the Filipino culture. Students will find the joy of speaking, reading, and writing Tagalog through a creative and stimulating activities that explores the uniqueness of Filipino culture.
Brazilian Portuguese as a heritage language
Many of these young people, raised in Japan, have difficulty developing their own identities. Portuguese is considered to be as heritage language rather than the first language. However, Portuguese proficiency is sufficient enough to provide a path to ensuring positive ethnic identity formation for Brazilian youths. Positive identities will motivate them to learn more in schools and make a contribute to Japanese Brazilian communities as Brazilian youths in Japan.
This class inspires them to raise awareness of being Brazilian, which the power of persistence to achieve more of their goals in Japan.
Study Support
To support ethnic minority children, public schools have been providing ethnic minority children who lack the Japanese ability to understand what they learned in class with so called “pull-out classes” where non-Japanese children are studying regular subjects such as mathematics, social studies, science and so on in an easily comprehensible manner using plain Japanese. However, those supplementary programs for ethnic minority children block them from increasing the academic achievement according to the developmental stages.
Non-Japanese students face a major hurdle when it comes time to take the high school entrance examinations. Non-Japanese students have to take the written examination in Japanese in direct competition with their Japanese peers.
Study Support is step one on the road to continuing their education in high school. We will encourage and assist ethnic minority students in acquiring more education or developing higher-level skills.
Other subjects before 2020 academic yeat
Academic English
Academic English is different from everyday spoken English. Even though learners may be confident in using English in everyday situations, Academic English vocabulary is rather different. Students need Academic English for reading and understanding study materials and for writing about any particular academic subject.
Textbook
Oxford English for Cambridge Primary Grade 1 and more.
Classroom Photos
Academic English
Academic English is different from everyday spoken English. Even though learners may be confident in using English in everyday situations, Academic English vocabulary is rather different. Students need Academic English for reading and understanding study materials and for writing about any particular academic subject.
Textbook
Oxford English for Cambridge Primary Grade 1 and more.
Syllabus
Mathematics
The HIS approach to teaching Mathematics is based on Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) which builds on children’s natural problem-solving strategies. Learners have their own ways of learning and developing problem solving and reasoning skills in Mathematics. As teachers learn about the details of their learners’ thinking, they use CGI to better meet the needs of all students in the classroom, which explores instruction that builds on children’s own individual ways of thinking. It is extremely valuable to allow students to choose their own path for learning.
Text;
Oxford International Primary Maths
We use Oxford International Primary Maths for grade 1 through grade 6 because they take a problem solving approach to mathematics which help students discover, explore and connect with mathematics
Classroom Photos
Syllabus
Social studies
Global education
Our world faces serious global issues of ethnic conflict, social inequality, and environmental destruction.
HIS has responsibility to prepare our students to cope with global issues to bring about changing in our society. HIS Global Education is an and creative approach is of empowering empowers the learners with the knowledge, attitudes and skills to solve global problems in a multicultural, interdependent world.
Methodological approach of HIS is learner-centered, which moves students from passive receivers of information to active participants in their own discovery process.
In the learning process a teacher do no transmit knowledge or skills but assist learners to take responsibility in participating in shaping a better, shared future for the world as a member of global society. The final goal of global education is action which participate in the local and global community to solve world problems.
About Global Education
(1) Values
Global Education is based on the values of solidarity, equity, justice, inclusion, co-operation and diversity.
(2) Topics
Global education addresses topics such as human rights,sustainability,peace, environment and global justice.
(3) Attitudes
Global education fosters global attitudes such as an appreciation of other cultures, respect for diversity, a commitment to justice, and empathy with others
(4) Skills and abilities
Global education develops skills and abilities such as communication, critical and creative thinking, cooperative problem-solving, and the ability to see issues from multiple perspectives necessary to solve world problems.
ONE GLOBAL in 2017
The content of this class focuses on global issues such as Human Rights, Climate Change,Ethnic and racial equality, Globalization, Peace and Security. This class will prepare students to be informed and responsible global citizens.
Classroom Photos
Programming
PROGRAMMING in SCRATCH
Programming
Innovation and creativity are two words heard frequently in education today. An intuitive Visual Programming Language course brings innovation and creativity to a classroom environmentwhich makes it motivating, interesting,diverse, fun, creative, and collaborative. Visual Programming Language has integrated curriculum in which children broadly explore knowledge in various subjectson both the primary and secondary school levels.
Scratch
Scratch is a visual programming language that enables children to create interactive media, such as animations, games, and stories. It alsoprovides a context and a set of opportunities for contributing to the active conversations about computational thinking which involves an understanding of themselves, their relationships, and the technological world around them.
Collaborative Learning (CL)
The Scratch online community is designed to engage members of all levels of expertise, ages, and backgrounds in learning from one another as they create and play together. It also has a discussion forum, where members can ask questions, converse about Scratch-related topics, and find collaborators. The participants take the initiative to help others—from answering questions in the website discussion forums to creating interactive tutorials to share their skills.
Community Roles and Responsibilities
Scratch, which is a programming interactive media, supports the development of computational thinking as well as roles and responsibilities in life.
The learnersin the community learn to carry out their responsibilities in collaboration with other team members to eventually develop their visions for improving the community. The learners within the online community work with each other as part of a team and serve in leadership roles, such as peer tutors, assistants and counsellors.
By participating inthese roles, the learners expand their vision and craft new ideas for what is possible in the community.
This Programming project is based on the world, the characters and Grand storyline of
an animation called “Misha the Dandelion Seed”.The learners who participate in this project develop the world, the characters, and the Grand storyline. The learners work on creating The Misha Project online communities by exploring other learners’ works and downloading and remixing each other’s works.
PASSING THE BOTON PROJECT
