3:00 PM - 3:15 PM
[G04-06] A report of interdisciplinary lesson at the university with attention to variety of seasonal cycle and seasonal feeling
Keywords:climate, seasonal cycle, ESD teacher training, climate and music, interdisciplinary climate and cultural understanding education
The seasonality is a common important feature characterizing the climate in the mid-latitude regions. However, many different factors relating to the seasonal cycles result in the great variety of the seasonal features from region to region even within the mid-latitude regions. To know the detailed seasonal cycles in various regions (including the features of the day-to-day, intra-seasonal and interannual variations) is the common basis for deeper understanding of (1) seasonality of the dominant daily weather systems and their variability, including the “extreme meteorological or climatological events” and (2) an important background of the cultural generation affected greatly by the “variety of seasonal feeling” in each region. Thus, in the various targets in ESD (Education for Sustainable Development), such as Climate Change Education including promotion of the students' viewpoint of the regional climate response to the global-scale one, Disaster Prevention Education, Natural Environment Education and Cultural Understanding Education, it would be very helpful to lead the students’ deeper understanding of the detailed seasonal cycles in that region as an important base. In addition, selection of the study areas or targets which are not so familiar to the students in their usual lives could also provide considerable advantage for deepening the students’ perception of the heterogeneous others as an important base for ESD.
Based on the above concepts, we have continued the interdisciplinary joint activities mainly between climate and music, as partly summarized by Kato et al. (2023a: Summary of our activities toward development of the ESD interdisciplinary study plans on climate and cultural understanding education with attention to the seasonal cycle and “seasonal feeling” around Japan and Europe. Okayama University Earth Science Reports, 29, 29-48), as well as in the books written in Japanese (Kato, H. and K. Kato, 2014 and 2019). We have continued the interdisciplinary integration of the knowledge on climate and music, and have developed the crosscutting study plans with the feedback to the lesson practice in the primary school, high schools and universities, mainly for the topics on (A) Asymmetric seasonal progression from autumn to the next spring around Japan, (B) Winter climate around Germany in association with the “seasonal feeling of severe winter”, related to the traditional event “Fasnacht” for driving winter away, and (C) Seasonal cycle around Northern Europe and the “seasonal feeling of the short summer”, related to the summer solstice festival “Juhannus” there.
Especially, an interdisciplinary lesson “Human Lives and Environments” (K. Kato is primarily responsible for it) is offered at Faculty of Education, Okayama University, every year. In that lesson, the details of climate and seasonal cycle in East Asia, around Germany and northern Europe are presented firstly, including their effects of the geological history of the continents formation, and so on. We are offering the interdisciplinary lesson among climate, music and art relating one of the above topics, after that climate study. In these several years, we are taking up the topic of the climate and songs of spring/May around Germany for the interdisciplinary lesson due to the following reason (Kato et al. 2023b and 2025). Around Germany, there are so many songs and literature works in which “May” is treated as the special season. However, without knowing the detailed seasonal cycle around Germany, it seems rather difficult for the people in the other regions such as in Japan, to realize why they celebrate not simply spring but especially “May”. In this presentation we will mention the summary of our joint activity very briefly at first, and will introduce our recent interdisciplinary lesson practice at the university.
Based on the above concepts, we have continued the interdisciplinary joint activities mainly between climate and music, as partly summarized by Kato et al. (2023a: Summary of our activities toward development of the ESD interdisciplinary study plans on climate and cultural understanding education with attention to the seasonal cycle and “seasonal feeling” around Japan and Europe. Okayama University Earth Science Reports, 29, 29-48), as well as in the books written in Japanese (Kato, H. and K. Kato, 2014 and 2019). We have continued the interdisciplinary integration of the knowledge on climate and music, and have developed the crosscutting study plans with the feedback to the lesson practice in the primary school, high schools and universities, mainly for the topics on (A) Asymmetric seasonal progression from autumn to the next spring around Japan, (B) Winter climate around Germany in association with the “seasonal feeling of severe winter”, related to the traditional event “Fasnacht” for driving winter away, and (C) Seasonal cycle around Northern Europe and the “seasonal feeling of the short summer”, related to the summer solstice festival “Juhannus” there.
Especially, an interdisciplinary lesson “Human Lives and Environments” (K. Kato is primarily responsible for it) is offered at Faculty of Education, Okayama University, every year. In that lesson, the details of climate and seasonal cycle in East Asia, around Germany and northern Europe are presented firstly, including their effects of the geological history of the continents formation, and so on. We are offering the interdisciplinary lesson among climate, music and art relating one of the above topics, after that climate study. In these several years, we are taking up the topic of the climate and songs of spring/May around Germany for the interdisciplinary lesson due to the following reason (Kato et al. 2023b and 2025). Around Germany, there are so many songs and literature works in which “May” is treated as the special season. However, without knowing the detailed seasonal cycle around Germany, it seems rather difficult for the people in the other regions such as in Japan, to realize why they celebrate not simply spring but especially “May”. In this presentation we will mention the summary of our joint activity very briefly at first, and will introduce our recent interdisciplinary lesson practice at the university.