Education on Demand

Education on Demand: Tamagawa's response to today's social demands.

The term "Education on Demand" can be interpreted in two ways. First, in a narrower sense, it refers to "distance education" by which one can learn "anything, anywhere, anytime". In a broader sense, however, it also corresponds to a form of education which meets the demands to be placed on students in the coming educational stage or in society.

For example, it is necessary for elementary school pupils to acquire academic skills, social values and learning habits that are essential at lower secondary schools. Then at lower secondary schools, students are expected to prepare for upper secondary schools, and upper secondary students are to prepare for university. This is education on demand for each of the levels. Finally, for university, 'On demand' refers to what is considered prerequisite for the students who will play important roles in society in the next generation. In other words, it is what is demanded by the society that universities need to deliver to their students.

Each student recognizes what is 'demanded' of him or her and the school provides programs in order for him or her to meet the demand; this is Tamagawa's education on demand. We provide various e-education programs including Blackboard and CHaT net to our students to enable them to learn anywhere, anytime. In addition, the FYE (First Year Experience) program is introduced as a preparation for various social demands the students will encounter in the future. Moreover, our career development education starts from the first year at the university. This will make it possible for our students to plan their learning programs at the university in a more meaningful way by identifying what is 'demanded' of them.

From K to 12, we have an integrated curriculum in order to build up a foundation for realizing our pupils and students' dreams for their future. The K-12 integrated curriculum makes certain that our students acquire learning habits, academic skills and thinking skills. Furthermore, we have various trainings to develop the quality of our faculty and staff members so that we can provide educational programs to meet the demands of pupils, students and today's society.

Education has to correspond with time. Tamagawa Academy and Tamagawa University are not exceptions. Our approach may have been changed over the years, and it will continue to change in a future. It is important, however, to say that the "cognitive" aspect of the twelve basic principles of Tamagawa is still alive.

No matter how much the digital era dominates us, it is a human being who makes a final judgment on the value of information provided, or how to make use of knowledge acquired. Therefore, we have to educate our students accordingly. This is also an important aim of our education-on-demand.