Hitomi Eri

Based on a paper aimed to document the pioneering use of Blended Learning and Instructional Design published in March 2021, an attempt was made to improve one compulsory subject in the Postgraduate Schools of YPU. The goal of improving the class called ‘Quality of Life (QOL)’ was to show a model to be used at Postgraduate level for mostly adult learners so that they could access the class from their workplaces or homes. The construction of the whole class needed to be reviewed, instead of just utilizing an interactive online ICT tool. This paper also tries to present an idea for a certificate program based on the above QOL class. Yamaguchi Prefectural University promotes four educational principles, including “respect for human nature,” “emphasis on citizens’ perspectives,” “co-existence with the community,” and “response to globalization”. The focus on humanities is crystalized on the teaching subject, QOL, as mentioned above. ‘Quality of Life’ covers the examination of the quality of everyday life in today’s changing world to diverse life stages, and then into every type of lives in nature and around the globe. By placing the QOL class as the core and adding one or two classes, it is assumed that the certificate course could be started by connecting issues in local towns to innovative solutions in wider society.

From 2007 to 2021, Yamaguchi Prefectural University offered a seminar course called "Seminar in Community Collaboration" as a part of its general education curriculum. In this seminar, students worked together with local residents to solve regional issues. Among these projects, we will introduce the example of working together for 13 years on the local festival "Mori-sama Festival" with residents and high school students under a cooperation agreement with the high school. In addition, we worked together with the students who took the "Seminar in Community Collaboration" to make a proposal to support the survival of the festival after the abolition of the course due to a curriculum revision.