The Research On Reform And Development Of Interdisciplinary Cultivation Of Undergraduates Students In University Of Tsukuba

The University of Tsukuba is a new type of national university established by the Japanese government in 1973,with its predecessor being Tokyo University of Education.The University of Tsukuba has followed the trend of reform among higher educational institutions globally and adopted a new concept of running a college.In particular,the University of Tsukuba,as an interdisciplinary model,has explored boldly and extensively in interdisciplinary education,interdisciplinary research and interdisciplinary cultivation since its birth,and stands out among the counterparts around the globe universities.The institutional innovations of University of Tsukuba have many similarities associated with the policy of university reform in Japan in recent years.Moreover,the "Open University" philosophy of the University of Tsukuba is also very popular among Japanese universities.The "new vision" of the University of Tsukuba is a forward-looking concept.The author in this research ventures to investigate the reform and development of interdisciplinary cultivation of undergraduate students in the University of Tsukuba,with the practices of interdisciplinary cultivation of students being the focus of this research,the historical study,the literature review as well as the case study being the main paradigm of this research,the way of cultivation being the approach of this research,the educational concept and the talent cultivation being the target of this research,the organizational form of teaching and research,the course setting and the teaching content as well as the teaching management and the safeguarding mechanism of talent cultivation being the content of this research.Proceeding from this,this research will analyze the achievements and problems,and summarize the characteristics and experience of the interdisciplinary cultivation of undergraduates students in University of Tsukuba.Since its founding in 1973,to adapt to the needs of modern science and technology as well as the social-economic development and to leverage the pioneering role in formulating reform policies among higher educational institutions in Japan,the talent cultivation of the University of Tsukuba has gone through three phases,that is,exploration and foundation,evaluation and rectification,deepening and reforming,based on its own development and educational practices.During the phase of exploration and foundation(1973-1981),the University of Tsukuba established a new group of teaching organizations with the concept of interdisciplinary cultivation,such as the First Cluster of Colleges,the Second Cluster of Colleges,the Third Cluster of Colleges,the School of Health and Physical Education,the School of Medicine and the School of Art and Design successively.At the same time,the University of Tsukuba has separated teaching and research institutions,and has established a new type of scientific research institution where teachers belong to the Faculty.Teachers are encouraged to conduct the collaborative and interdisciplinary research,and to apply the results of interdisciplinary research to teaching.In addition,the University of Tsukuba has established a teaching and research center to assist and promote the teaching and scientific activities of the university.The University of Tsukuba has attached great importance to the interaction among disciplines.It combines general education and professional education at the undergraduate level,offers comprehensive courses in liberal arts and sciences,pays attention to broadening students' horizons,enhances students' interdisciplinary application ability,guides students to combine practical problems,and conducts the interdisciplinary scientific research.The University of Tsukuba has made bold attempts in the management system of cultivation,and implemented a three-semester system,a class system,and a "Support by Faculty Members".During the phase of evaluation and rectification(1982-2003),as the first graduates of the Third Cluster of Colleges entered the society in 1981,the teaching and cultivation of each Cluster of Colleges were on track and the University of Tsukuba organized under the new concept has self-evaluated the interdisciplinary integrated courses,the self-selected professional education,the teacher education awareness,the student guidance,and other key aspects related to cultivation.In particular,it focused on the analysis of the Cluster of Colleges system.While affirming that it played a leading role in the reform of Japanese universities,it also pointed out some problems,such as the weak coordination between the teaching organizations and the outside,the low investment of teachers in undergraduate course teaching,and discussed and demonstrated the restructuring of the Cluster of Colleges.As a result of the revision of the university setting benchmarks in Japan in 1991,the University of Tsukuba has also developed towards the direction of strengthening the function and individuation of university education,focusing on cultivating innovative talents adapting to the development of society.During this period,the University of Tsukuba mainly reformed the undergraduate teaching and curriculum system,and implemented specific measures to promote the construction of quality culture.During the phase of deepening and reforming(since 2004),as a result of reform of legal representatives among Japan's national universities in 2004,the National University Corporation University of Tsukuba has been established,and the University of Tsukuba has entered the era of corporate universities from the “university with a new vision” era.During this period,the University of Tsukuba carried out comprehensive and in-depth reforms of its talent training objective of undergraduates students,organization of teaching and scientific research institutions,and teaching management systems based on the "Future Design of the University of Tsukuba" report: restructuring the Cluster of Colleges and teaching & research centers,formulating standards for undergraduate education and general education,reforming the curriculum and teaching content,improving teaching methods.Driven by these reform measures,the University of Tsukuba takes " university in a futuristic vision" as its development goal,and makes full use of the advantages of a comprehensive university carrying out extensive teaching and research,as well as the role of an international university,to cultivate interdisciplinary talents capable of solving global problems and comprehensively improve the quality of cultivation.In the practice of interdisciplinary cultivation of undergraduates students for more than 40 years,the University of Tsukuba has always adhered to the concept of interdisciplinary cultivation,always adhered to organizational construction and system reform,always adhered to both general education and professional education,and always adhered to the comprehensive improvement of education quality,to form the concept of "Leading ideas","system innovation","integration of general education and professional education",and "pursuit of excellence".The reform and development practice of the interdisciplinary cultivation of Undergraduates Students in University of Tsukuba has provided valuable experience for the interdisciplinary cultivation of Chinese universities: co-ordinate the concept and practice path of interdisciplinary cultivation,create a cultivating model of integration of specialists and cross-border cultivation,and build comprehensive curriculum system with interdisciplinary knowledge,adhere to the characteristics of development,and strive to improve the quality of cultivation.