Research Assignment

To start the “Life Science Course” and to make up a model educational program in a girls’ high school in order to support girls who wish to play an important part in a science and technology field.
Outline of Our Research Seishin Girls’ High School started a new course named the “Life Science Course” this April. The research has four main themes which we promote specially for the “Life Science Course” and officially offers the information to the public as a model program for girls’
high schools in order to support girls to enter science and technology universities, This special programs intent is to allow girls to play an important part in a science and technology field in the future.

1. To make up a new curriculum and educational program in order to support girls to play an important part in a science and technology field. To make two courses: “Life Science Course” and “Human Science Course” from the beginning when freshmen enter our school. To start three subjects: “Basic Life Science,” “Theme Study on Life Science” and “Extensive Reading in English.”

To provide subjects focused on science and technology: 19 credits in three years with a maximum of 25 credits.

To put an emphasis on laboratory experiments .

To make up scientific viewpoints on “Life.”

To provide a subject named “Life” and encourage students to think about “life” from various points of view.

To make up lessons using high technology and fruitful research in genetic engineering, embryological biology and laboratory experiments.

3. To make up teaching materials and methods to encourage girls to actively study science and technology in order to be a leader in the field of science.

To provide “Outdoor Practices” and “Institutional Field Trips.”

To promote lectures and practices with female scientists and university students.

4. To organize an educational programs with universities and technical institutions.

To link “Basic Life Science,” “Theme Study on Life Science,” “Life, ” “Outdoor Practices” and “Institutional Field Trips” together in order to provide an opportunity for students to study at various universities and technical institutions.

These kinds of educational activities will motivate girls to enter the science and technology field with enthusiasm. In turn setting off to change in modern Japanese society to accept more and more female scientists.

Special Treatments in the Curriculum

In “Life Science Course,” freshmen take “Basic Life Science” instead of “Information A” to gain one credit. Sophomores take “

Theme Study on Life Science” instead of “Information A” and “ Health” to gain one credit each, and study “Life” instead of “

General Studies” to gain two credits. In “Human Science Course,” sophomores take “Advanced Studies” instead of “General Studies” to gain two credits. In “Life Science Course,” freshmen,
sophomores and seniors take “Extensive Reading in English” to gain one credit for each.

Coordination with neighboring Universities.
Through “Outdoor Practices” at the Hiruzen Laboratory Woods at Tottori University, the university-level laboratory experiments, and lectures from the Life Engineering Department at Fukuyama University.
Coupled with various lectures from experts in field of Life Science,
we expect our students to gain a scientific viewpoint about “Life” and picture a stable future as women in the field of science and technology We intend to promote our relationships with our sister school, Notre Dame Seishin University, and our neighboring university, Kawasaki Welfare University. Moreover, we will improve our educational systems to have a closer relationship between our high school and university. We aim to communicate with each other to make up better educational systems.

International Understanding and Language Education

“Extensive Reading in English” encourages students to read as much English as possible. The program aims to collect information from Science Theses and to master English as a tool, and as a means of communication. We plan to start an overseas program for girls who are interested in science and technology, with a major focus on the environmental issues faced in Borneo, Malaysia.

In Okayama Prefecture, we have already two other high schools that have been chosen as SSHs. However, our school is a private girls’ high school, and many students are from various places in neighboring prefectures within the Chugoku and Shikoku districts. Most of these students reside with our school dormitory. Through extensive study and research at our school, we intend to promote and advance education in the field of science for girls all over the western region of Japan. Lastly, we hope that through our Science programs we will be able to contribute to the Science World by producing more and more female researchers in the fields of science and technology