} pebble – Page 7 – UTokyo FD
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【Event report】Teaching in English: Polishing Your Skills

【Event report】Teaching in English: Polishing Your Skills

<About>Monday, June 18th & Tuesday, June 19th, 2018


Professional and Global Educators’ Community (PAGE) organized a workshop “Teaching in English: Polishing Your Skills.”
In recent years, English medium instruction (EMI) has been increasing its significance with the globalization of higher education. In response to such demand, PAGE planned a workshop where the participants could learn useful English phrases and a teaching method for delivering classes in English.

The workshop was held at the Pharmaceutical Sciences Education and Research Building, Hongo Campus. A total of 11 participants consisted of
graduate students and young faculty members at the University of Tokyo. They came from diverse academic fields such as theGraduate School of Humanities and Sociology, the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, the Graduate School of Education, the Graduate School of Medicine, the School of Engineering, and the School of Science.

Firstly, the participants were divided into groups of two or three. Each of them gave a five-minute mini-lecture in English and received feedback from
the instructor and other participants. The mini-lectures covered a wide variety of themes such as molecular biology, life science, education policy, and Jewish history.

In the next session, the participants listened to a lecture on a teaching method (instructionaldesign). It described the importance of designing classes effectively/efficiently to make them attractive in addition to the instructor’s own English language skills by stressing three points: clarifying
the learning objectives, structuring the class, and motivating the learners. The participants then learned useful English phrases and tips for teaching in English through an online learning course “English Academia” and handouts.

Finally, the participants individually worked on improving their presentation method, followed by their second try of giving mini-lectures. They all seemed to refine their mini-lectures by adopting the English phrases and the teaching method they had learned in the previous sessions.

Here are some of the feedback we received from the participants after the workshop:

“It was extremely helpful. I would like to apply what I learned here to the classes for A semester right away.”

“The whole workflow (the first try on giving a mini-lecture → evaluation →
a lecture on a teaching method → the second try on giving a mini-lecture) made it easier for me to recognize my own progress and how to improve my lecture specifically.”

“The staff members kindly gave me thorough comments and feedback, so I was able to learn a lot.”

 

PAGE will continue to hold workshops focusing on the improvement of academic communication skills in English. We sincerely look forward to your participation.

Click here for a free online program provided by the PAGE project: English Academia.↓
https://utokyo-ea.com

Click here for more details of the PAGE project. ↓
https://www.he.u-tokyo.ac.jp/activities/page/

 

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【Event report】“Class Management: How to Solve Problems in Teaching”

<About>Thursday, November 2nd, 2017

Professional and Global Educators’ Community (PAGE) organized a workshop “Class Management: How to Solve Problems in Teaching.” In addition to research skills, faculty members are now required to have skills in education. Along with the increase of university enrollment rate and globalization, there is a growing demand for skills in delivering classes in English for students with various cultural backgrounds. In response to such demand, we invited Associate Professor Jan Sølberg from the University of Copenhagen, an expert in teacher development, as an instructor and organized a workshop to discuss how to manage classes in English based on the present situation of higher education in Europe.

It was held at the Ito International Research Center, Hongo Campus. A total of 26 participants consisted of graduate students, postdocs, and young researchers at the University of Tokyo. It was a three-hour-long workshop conducted in English, but we welcomed a lot of participants coming from diverse academic fields.

The instructor started the workshop by giving a lecture on the present situation regarding the globalization of higher education in Europe. A lot of participants seemed to be surprised at the fact that 35% of faculty members in science and 46% graduate students of master’s programs in science at the University of Copenhagen came from overseas. He then presented three cases that illustrated the problems faculty members were likely to encounter when teaching in English: how to conduct and evaluate examinations in English, how to organize group works in English, and how to deal with students’ needs who vary in cultural background and views in education. These are all serious issues that faculty members are required to solve. The participants listened attentively to the lecture.

Following the lecture was an activity with groups of four to five.
The participants engaged in a group work as shown below:

1. They listed up three important problems involved in EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) and wrote them on large-sized Post-it Notes.

2. Each group’s Post-it Notes were handed on to the next one. The participants chose one of the three problems written on the Notes and discussed an effective solution to it in groups. They wrote the solution on a different Post-it Note and posted it on the wall together with the Note they chose.

3. The participants looked through the problems and solutions posted on the wall and exchanged ideas with other groups.
All the groups were actively engaged in the assignment and discussion.

Thanks to the diversity of their research fields, the participants seemed to be exchanging ideas from a wide variety of perspectives. Some of them actively moved around the venue to ask questions to other groups, and others discussed with the instructor.

The instructor gave a wrap-up lecture after the group work. He gave specific tips such as the points of preparing for classes conducted in English, how to communicate with lone-wolf students, and the points you should consider when presenting assignments to students.

The discussion never stopped throughout the three-hour-long workshop.
We received positive feedback from the participants as follows:
“It was a very fulfilling program, well-structured to enable active participation.”
“It was a good opportunity to discuss education with people from other fields.”
“It’s nice to have a lot of communication with people from different fields.”

PAGE will continue to hold workshops on the improvement of academic communication skills in English. We sincerely look forward to your participation.

Click here for a free online program provided by the PAGE project: English Academia.↓
https://utokyo-ea.com

Click here for more details of the PAGE project. ↓
https://www.he.u-tokyo.ac.jp/activities/page/

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【Event report】“Improve your presentations in English! Remedies to your troubles”

<About>Saturday, September 30th & Sunday, October 1st, 2017

Professional and Global Educators’ Community (PAGE) organized a workshop “Improve your presentations in English! Remedies to your troubles.” We planned the event in response to the recent demand of outputting research in English along with the globalization of research environment. The purpose of the workshop was to let the participants improve their skills in making academic presentations in English.

It was held at the Faculty of Engineering Building 2, Hongo Campus. A total of 25 participants consisted of graduate students and postdocs at the University of Tokyo. They came from diverse academic fields such as the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, the Graduate School of Economics, the School of Science, the Graduate School of Medicine, and the School of Engineering. In addition to those who spoke English as their first language, professional English interpreters and bilinguals with a long experience of studying overseas served as instructors. The workshop was conducted in small groups.

The participants were divided into groups of two to five, and each of them made a presentation on their research and received feedback from the instructor and the other participants. The presentations covered a wide variety of themes of science (such as “carbohydrate metabolism” and “olfactory map”) and humanities (such as “gender division” and “rural development”). All the presentations were filmed and recorded with iPads and IC recorders, and the data were provided to the presenters who needed them.

Subsequently, the English instructors made sample presentations. As they say, “Seeing is believing.” The participants seemed to have learned a lot from the instructors’ performance with visually organized slides, effective gestures that attracted the eyes of the audience, and logically structured content without unnecessary things.

The participants then individually worked on improving their presentation materials and methods. They were able to consult the instructors at any time and also had an active discussion with other participants.

Finally, they gave a second try on making presentations and received feedback in groups. Some participants used a projector and a massive screen as if they were making presentations at a real academic conference. Through a half-day exercise, all the groups were able to improve their presentations from the first ones. The instructors commented on the presentations, and all the participants shared the points they should further improve.

We received positive feedback from the participants after the workshop as follows:
“With an opportunity to make a presentation and receive thorough feedback in such a small group, I sincerely feel that I’ve made a progress in just a half day.”
“It was valuable to receive thorough feedback from the instructor. Thanks to it, I gained a little confidence. The workshop was a precious time for me.”
“By immersing myself in an environment where I had to make a presentation without any script, I came to realize surprisingly that I was able to make it. I gained self-confidence.”

PAGE will continue to hold workshops on the improvement of academic communication skills in English. We sincerely look forward to your participation.


Click here for a free online program provided by the PAGE project: English Academia.↓
https://utokyo-ea.com

Click here for more details of the PAGE project. ↓
https://www.he.u-tokyo.ac.jp/activities/page/

Categories
Event

[Workshop] Class Management: How to Solve Problems in Teaching

Call for Participants to Workshop

Class Management: How to Solve Problems in Teaching

 

When: November 2, 2017 17:30-20:30

Where: Conference Room, Ito International Research Center,

     Hongo Campus, The University of Tokyo

Who:Graduate students, post-docs and young faculty members at the University of Tokyo

Capacity: 20

Participation Fee: No charge

Language: English

Registration:Advance registration required.

Please apply online by October 19, 2017.https://goo.gl/forms/JaIAiRqzHAS3QgVE2

 

☑Who Should Attend?

Graduate students, post-docs and young faculty members at the University of Tokyo. We welcome both the Japanese and international members who are in the early stage of academic careers and who struggle to teach in English in the fields of humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

 

☑Why is it Relevant to You?

Given the progress of globalization on campus, current and future faculty members are now expected to develop not only their research skills but also their ability to teach in English. This workshop will help you acquire and improve your basic teaching skills in English.

 

☑What are the Outcomes?

The participants will:

Learn basic skills of managing a class in English.

Get tips to handle difficult situations in teaching.

Build a network among the current and future faculty members.

 

☑Workshop Description

This workshop addresses the issues of teaching the students with various backgrounds at university. We will discuss some of the major issues that teachers (as well as Teaching Assistants, Tutors and Lecturers) face when teaching in English. Then, we will explore strategies to resolve such issues.

 

☑Instructor

Jan Sølberg

(Associate Professor, The University of Copenhagen)

Area of research: Educational capacity building, teacher development, higher education, educational policy, educational leadership.

 

☑Contact

Division for Learning Environment and Educational Technology

Center for Research and Development of Higher Education

The University of Tokyo

E-mail: page-ea*tree.ep.u-tokyo.ac.jp

(please use @ instead of *)[:]

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[New Release] Leaflet “The first step to enrich your campus life Q&A Vol.1” (from the intensive course “Let’s learn Japanese implicit customs and way of thinking”)

A leaflet “The first step to enrich your campus life Q&A Vol.1” was created following a discussion during an intensive course titled “Let’s learn implicit Japanese customs and way of thinking,” which was held on March 27, 2017. It is a summary of the discussion held between overseas and Japanese students regarding the cultural differences overseas students are likely to experience in Japanese offices/laboratories.

The leaflet is distributed free of charge. Click here to download.
(Update: The leaflet was updated on April 29, 2017.)

 

 

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【Event report】Master the skills in a day! Arts of making presentations in English

<About>Tuesday, March 14th, 2017

The Center for Research and Development of Higher Education organized an English Academia workshop “Master the skills in a day! Arts of making presentations in English.” Its purpose was to let the participants master the arts of making attractive presentations on their research topics in English. The workshop was placed as an offline practice session for an online course “English Academia” (https://utokyo-ea.com).

It was held at Fukutake Learning Studio, Hongo Campus. A total of 17 participants consisted of graduate students at the University of Tokyo, coming from a variety of fields of science and humanities. Bilingual staff at the Center served as the facilitators, and the instructors included those who used English as their first language.

The participants were divided into groups of two to four with one instructor for each and practiced making presentations. Before the workshop, they had been asked to prepare presentation materials explaining the main concepts and keywords of their research questions easily understandable to the undergraduate students new to their fields. Each participant first made a five-minute presentation in English using the materials they had prepared and received feedback from the instructor and the other participants. Their presentation topics covered a wide variety of themes such as “Machine Learning,” “Bitcoin,” “Unemployment Rates,” and “Protein Engineering.” We filmed and recorded each presentation with iPads and IC recorders so that they could review their own presentations objectively.


Subsequently, staff who used English as their first language shared the feedback on the skills of English presentations with all the participants. Following a break, the participants individually worked on improving their presentation materials and methods. They were able to consult the instructors at any time and also had an active discussion with other participants. Finally, they gave a second try on making presentations and received feedback in groups. All the presentations were improved from the first ones; it was easier to understand by the audience, and their visual materials, diction, use of their eyes, and gestures were refined.

We received positive feedback from the participants after the workshop as follows:
“It was highly valuable to receive feedback from various people.”
“In addition to mastering the skills in making presentations, I realized the importance of taking an appropriate attitude of mind.”
They also seemed to look forward to our future workshops by listing the topics they would like us to take up such as “Q&A sessions at academic conferences,” “poster sessions,” “delivering classes for overseas students,” and “interviews in English.”


We will continue to hold workshops related to English Academia on the improvement of academic communication skills in English for young researchers. We sincerely look forward to your participation.

Click here for more details of English Academia.↓
https://utokyo-ea.com

Click here for more details of the PAGE project. ↓
https://www.he.u-tokyo.ac.jp/activities/page/

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Event

【UTokyo Global FD Research Seminar】

As part of our Global FD initiative at UTokyo, we are hosting Dr. Gary Mukai, who is the Director of the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) at Stanford University. He has a long and distinguished career in teaching East-Asia related issues to secondary school students, and his experience will be of great help to us in considering how we might teach about Japan to international students who may have had limited experience with Japanese language, culture, and society here at Komaba. Dr. Mukai will be giving two talks, one on January 10th, 2017 and the other on January 13th, 2017. Please find below details of the two talks. *[SEMINAR 1] Divided Memories: Comparing History Textbooks* We study history, many say, to learn from history’s mistakes. But what happens when our interpretations of history differ? The “Divided Memories” project was begun at Stanford University in 2007 to compare prevalent history textbooks from five Pacific Rim societies: China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. How do these textbooks treat sensitive episodes in world history? Do they present similar or dissimilar interpretations of history? Scholars examined 20 different textbooks in an effort to address these questions. This session introduces SPICE-devised teaching strategies from the “Divided Memories” project that help to make academic scholarship accessible to students. Date: Tuesday, January 10, 2017 5:00-6:30pm Place: University of Tokyo, Komaba Campus, KIBER 314 Eligibility: Anyone interested Capacity: 50 Admission: Free Language: English Pre-registration is encouraged, but we also welcome drop-ins! Please register here: https://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/cypochi/form/ pc/gkomaba000171.html Event URL: http://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/event/201701 10-00001001.html *[SEMINAR 2] Engaging Students from Japan and the United States in Distance-Learning Courses* As a way to encourage high school students in the United States to pursue Japanese studies at the collegiate level, SPICE launched (14 years ago) the Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP), an online course for high school students in the United States that focuses on Japanese society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations. Three years ago, SPICE launched a parallel course for high school students in Japan called Stanford e-Japan, which focuses on U.S. society and culture and U.S.–Japan relations. This session introduces interactive teaching strategies utilized in the courses, including those that engage students in the RSP and Stanford e-Japan with one another. Date: Friday, January 13, 2017 5:00-6:30pm Place: University of Tokyo, Komaba Campus, KIBER 314 Eligibility: Anyone interested Capacity: 50 Admission: Free Language: English Pre-registration is encouraged, but we also welcome drop-ins! Please register here: https://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/cypochi/form/ pc/gkomaba000172.html Event URL: http://www.globalkomaba.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/event/201701 13-00001002.html Inquires: Shoko Sasayama, Ph.D gfd-tokyo@adm.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp We warmly welcome any interested individuals to come to these talks. It would be much appreciated if you could publicize to others who may be interested. Thank you in advance for your kind cooperation, and we hope to see many of you there! Sincerely, Global FD committee Email: gfd-tokyo@adm.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp

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DAY3 of UTokyo FFP Syllabus & Course design

  • UTokyoFFP values “Learning by and from experience” and “Learning as the leading actor”
For example, participants experienced Peer instruction. This method enhances active learning through answering the closed questions with small group discussion. Students experienced the whole process by using clickers and they seemed to understand the values and process of Peer Instruction.

On October 27th and 28th, DAY3 classes of UTokyoFFP were held. Main theme are as follows.

 

  • ・How many roles of syllabus do you know?
  • ・How to set the purpose and objectives of the syllabus
  • ・Let’s create our courses’s graphic syllabus
  • ・How can we enhance student’s learning by our syllabus?
Students brought their syllabus made by themselves or one made by others which course they could teach in the future.They learned the syllabus through improving these syllabus. They created their graphic syllabus as they constructed the course structure for satisfying the purpose and objectives. I thought they could be aware of the various functions of syllabus other than the material for course selection.
By the way, the class has a review session at the beginning. Students can experience it in many styles.
Today’s session was as follows
1) Instructor showed the set of keywords of the previous class.
2) After making pairs, Students tried to explain them without materials in pairs. They explained at loud.
3) Students checked their explanation by referring the material.
4) As a whole class, students made sure the explanation facilitated by the instructor.
The group work in the early timing of the class is effective for enhancing warm atmosphere in the class. The pair work is most effective for this purpose.

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