The largest primary school in Yamagata Prefecture, Minami Numahara Primary School (965students), as part of its research, is experimenting with 'Universal Design' in classes.
This newspaper was invited to view one of its primary 4 classes in June while Social Skills Training (SST) was conducted. Students were taught to adjust their speaking volumes depending on whether they were speaking to their friends, as a group or as a presentation in front of a group. Depending on the situation, they were taught to vary their tone of speaking too. Students were also taught the importance of listening in silence and responding to questions.
'Universal Design' emphasizes on the development of social skills which are seen as lacking in students today. With good social skills, when faced with problems, students are able to discuss with teachers and to help each other. This is the basic of human relationships. Thus it is a universal skill that is important not just to mentally underdeveloped kids, but to all children.
The school uses comics to teach themes like : 'Let's answer/speak out'; 'Speak out loud so that everyoe can hear'; 'When in doubt, ask someone'; 'Acknowledge a friend's good point'. The aim is to teach children to be able to express themselves.
The keywords of this program are 'Objective', 'Visualization' and 'Joint Ownership'. With a clearly stated objective, through the use of visuals, and sharing ideas as a class, this program aims to get everyone in the class involved.
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