東洋大学は特定非営利活動法人日本ニュース時事能力検定協会より、2018年度の時事教育推進校として認定されました。同協会では、ニュース検定の団体受検を実施して広く時事問題学習に取り組み、優秀な成績を収めた団体を年度ごとに認定・表彰しています。
本学では社会学部、経済学部、法学部をはじめ、多くの学科でニュース検定の受検を推進しており、この度の認定・表彰は「各学部でねらいを定め、継続的に取り組んでいる点」「他の全体受検を行っている大学と比較しての年間の合格率の高さ」が評価されたものです。
2019年7月2日に白山キャンパスで行われた賞状などの贈呈式には、竹村牧男学長（当時）とともに、新聞活用プロジェクトにおいてニュース時事能力検定に取り組む社会学部メディアコミュニケーション学科の薬師寺克行教授、高井昌吏教授、大谷奈緒子教授が出席しました。
Toyo University was approved as an AY2018 news education promotion school by the Society for Testing News Proficiency. The society annually approves and commends organizations that provide their members with the opportunity to take the News Proficiency Test collectively and encourage them to learn about current issues, with many examinees achieving excellent results.
Many departments at Toyo University, including those in the Faculties of Sociology, Economics and Law, have encouraged students to take the News Proficiency Test. The Society for Testing News Proficiency approved and commended the University for many of its departments’ efforts to set goals and continuously assist students with their learning, as well as for the higher annual pass rate among Toyo University students compared to students at other universities that also allow their students to take the test collectively.
The presentation ceremony was held at the Hakusan Campus on July 2, 2019, with the attendance of (then) Toyo University President Makio Takemura and Professor Katsuyuki Yakushiji, Professor Masashi Takai, and Professor Naoko Otani—three faculty members from the Department of Media and Communications, Faculty of Sociology, which incorporated the News Proficiency Test in its newspaper utilization project.
また、社会学部メディアコミュニケーション学科が朝日新聞社と読売新聞社の協力のもと2018年度から開始した「新聞活用プロジェクト」は、2019年度より1年生全員に加え2年生の約半数の学生も対象に拡大。合計約240人の学生の自宅に毎朝、「朝日新聞」か「読売新聞」のいずれかが教材として配達されます。
学生は必ず新聞を読んで授業に出席し、日々のニュースについてさまざまな観点から議論。多くの学生がこのプロジェクトによって新聞を読む習慣が身につくだけでなく、国内外の重要なニュースに継続的に触れ、理解し、自分の意見を持つようになりました。
さらに、同プロジェクトでは2019年度秋学期から「マスコミ塾」を開講しました。マスコミをはじめ大手企業への就職を目指す全学部の学生を対象に、筆記や面接試験を行い20名を選抜。新聞などを使った情報収集と整理、思考方法などを学ぶとともに、それをどう表現していくかなどを身につけるための教育を展開しました。
At the Department of Media and Communications, Faculty of Sociology, in addition to all first-year students, in AY2019 about half of the second-year students newly began participating in the newspaper utilization project, which the department launched in AY2018 with cooperation from the Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun newspapers. Around 240 students receive the morning edition of the Asahi Shimbun or Yomiuri Shimbun at home every morning and use it as learning material.
The students are required to read the newspaper before attending classes, where they discuss the day’s news from various perspectives. The project has enabled many students to acquire the habit of reading newspapers, constantly reading and learning about important domestic and international news, and developing their own views.
Furthermore, a new feature called “Mass Media School” was added to the project starting from the AY2019 fall semester. From among students at all faculties who aimed to join major companies, including in mass media, 20 students were selected through a written test and interviews. They learned how to collect and organize information using newspapers and other media, how to think, and how to express their thoughts.
