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本論は，NIIGATA COC+事業の教育プログラム開発の一環で開講した「地域志向科目」の科目設計と評価について論じたものである．地域志向科目は，新潟県が抱える若年層の就労人口の減少の問題解決を探る第一歩として，「新潟創生人材」の育成を目指し，新潟県及び県内市町村の魅力を伝える科目である．科目の実施にあたり，地域の特色を知ることのみに主眼を置いた設計では不十分であり，目標とする人材像の育成に向けて，地域に対する深い理解と内省を促すための科目の設計が求められる．科目は事前調査，講義，グループ・ワークに加え，パフォーマンス課題として自治体に向けたグループ・プレゼンテーションで構成された．本論では，ルーブリックに基づく学生の自己評価を中心に科目の効果を検証した．学生の学修成果の検証からは，知識の習得に留まらず，深い内省と理解へつながっていたことが明示され，科目設計の効果を確認することができた．, The present study used a rubric to evaluate the results of a new course designed to help students acquire a deeper understanding of their regional area, as well as professional skill sets which could be used in assisting the development of Niigata Prefecture. This course was established as part of a larger educational program at Niigata University designed to promote greater regional awareness in university students. The practical goal of this program is to reduce the number of Niigata residents (especially young adults) leaving their local areas to work in larger cities, by increasing their awareness of the advantages available to them in Niigata. The course required that the students first collect information about their local areas, after which they were encouraged to think more deeply about local problems during classroom lectures and group work. They were then evaluated on performance tasks consisting of group presentations about solutions to actual problems facing local area councils. Evaluation of these presentations revealed that most students had not only acquired knowledge about the problems at hand but had also deeply reflected on them and come to a personal understanding of them, thereby demonstrating the effectiveness of the course.

新潟大学ダブルホームは，地域活動をとおして学生の汎用的能力を向上させることを目的とした正課と正課外を組み合わせた全学的な学生支援プログラムである．本研究は，このダブルホームの導入授業の改善プロセスの成果と課題について考察することを目的とした．本授業は，学生たちがダブルホーム活動へのモチベーションを高め，チームで地域活動に取り組むための心構えを身につけることを目的としていたが，ダブルホーム活動の導入授業であることが明確に位置づけられておらず，受講生のダブルホーム参加への動機づけやその後の継続的活動につながらないという課題があった．2014 年度から，前年度までの課題を踏まえて授業改善に取り組んだ．その結果，2015 年度は学習の深化は継続的課題であるが，受講生の地域活動への理解，チームによる学び合いの意識，正課外のダブルホーム活動への取り組み意欲を少しずつ高めていることが認められた．, Niigata University's "Double Home Project" offers students collaborative learning opportunities for civic engagement and experiential learning in a social context, in order to develop and enhance their communication skills, interpersonal skills, networking skills, understanding of citizenship, academic motivation, and career aspirations. Students participating in this program were integrated into 16 collaborative work groups (each unit of these groups being called a "home") in 2015. We have been offered an introductory class of this program for the first-year students. The purpose of this report was to examine the achievements and challenges of this introductory class improvement. The following approaches were conducted to improve: positioning as an introductory class, improving teamwork, setting goals, encouraging deep reflection, making feedback, and so on. The examination of the outcomes of teams and individual in the class showed that these efforts could foster students’ learning motivation toward community activities. On the other hand, the class is still encountering difficulty in fostering students’ deep learning toward team forming and community development. To facilitate students’ deep learning, it is important to create a learning community with students, residents, faculty members, and others who are interested in this study.

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentumMoench; 2n= 2x= 16) is a nutritionally dense annual crop widely grown in temperate zones. To accelerate molecular breeding programmes of this important crop, we generated a draft assembly of the buckwheat genome using short reads obtained by next-generation sequencing (NGS), and constructed the Buckwheat Genome DataBase. After assembling short reads, we determined 387, 594 scaffolds as the draft genome sequence (FES_r1.0). The total length of FES_r1.0 was 1, 177, 687, 305 bp, and the N50 of the scaffolds was 25, 109 bp. Gene prediction analysis revealed 286, 768 coding sequences (CDSs; FES_r1.0_cds) including those related to transposable elements. The total length of FES_r1.0_cds was 212, 917, 911 bp, and the N50 was 1, 101 bp. Of these, the functions of 35, 816 CDSs excluding those for transposable elements were annotated by BLAST analysis. To demonstrate the utility of the database, we conducted several test analyses using BLAST and keyword searches. Furthermore, we used the draft genome as a reference sequence for NGS-based markers, and successfully identified novel candidate genes controlling heteromorphic self-incompatibility of buckwheat. The database and draft genome sequence provide a valuable resource that can be used in efforts to develop buckwheat cultivars with superior agronomic traits.

This article investigates the conditions for the cooperation between communities and volunteers in the disaster-stricken area. In the suffering life due to Niigata Chuetsu-oki earthquake in 2007, the community organization and neighborhood associations in Hisumi district, Kashiwazaki City, had been active more effectively than other districts. Especially, they took in a large number of volunteers from outside of the stricken area and worked together. Important factors that made such cooperation possible are as follows：(1) After the earthquake, community leaders in Hisumi district immediately set up a team for volunteer-coordination on their own initiative. That team linked the sufferers' needs and volunteer activities in small area. (2) The community organization and neighborhood associations in Hisumi have experienced learning activities for a long time before the earthquake. So that inhabitants in that area have acquired a habit of learning from outside the community and reflecting themselves.

In this essay, I report how things go in my class of sociology in general educational course. A purpose of my class is to understand the relation between privatized self and society, or in other words, the micro-macro link. My teaching methods for this purpose are, mainly, interactive communications with students in my class by using the 'communication cards' and a brief question-and-answer period. I try to make it possible that students gradually reflect their personal reality and take a broad view of things from this interaction.