} pebble – Page 8 – UTokyo FD

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Visitors from Tufts University and Kanazawa University

Researchers from Tufts University and Kanawaza University cordially visited our office.

 
Kanazawa University provides a program for faculty to learn how to teach in English. The program consists of online sessions and face-to-face workshops.
We discussed UTokyoFFP and Faculty Development such as implementation process, purpose, structure and its future.
We identified several critical issues such as evaluation of teaching performance, establishment of organized structure for enhancing the quality of teaching and so on. We should tackle these issues for our future.
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DAY2 of UTokyo FFP Class design & Motivation

On October 13th and 14th, DAY2 classes of UTokyoFFP were held. Main Theme are as follows:

  • ・Instructional Design: Close the loop by ADDIE model
  • ・Class Design
  • ・Methods for Active Learning (Questioning, Think-Pair-Share, Peer Instruction）
  • ・Effects of Active Learning
  • ・Motivation Theory（Expectancy and Value Theory）
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.
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Event

【FD Workshop】A Genre Approach to Professional Communication

Date: Saturday 29, October 2016
Time: 13:30 to 15:00
Place: Room 201 Building 10 2F
The University of Tokyo, Komaba I Campus

*The workshop is conducted in English.

A Genre Approach to Professional Communication

A “professional” is someone who possesses and uses the skills with which to communicate with members of his or her target discourse community. Acquiring these skills often requires concerted effort, even for native speakers of the target language. In the case of nonnative speakers of that language, the task can sometimes be a very challenging one. What can be helpful is a genre-approach to mastering what is necessary for effective communication. “Genre” as it is used here refers to the type of target communication event, for example, a research article, a policy paper, an oral presentation of a research project. Genres for professional communication have evolved to promote efficient exchange of ideas among members of a discourse community and therefore need to be mastered in order to gain a voice in that community. This workshop will start with an introduction to the concepts of English for specific purposes, including its basis in systemic functional linguistics and the concept of “discourse community.” This will be followed by the OCHA process and PAIL product-oriented approach to the research article, using move analysis and identifying hint expressions that guide the reader through the text. Ideas on how to use corpus linguistics tools will also be introduced to support the writing process. Although writing will be the main focus, the concepts to be covered can aid efficient reading and even informed editing and reviewing of manuscripts.

Dr Judy Noguchi is Dean and Professor in the Faculty of Global Communication at Kobe Gakuin University.

This workshop is for University of Tokyo graduate students who are interested in science writing or teaching of science writing. To attend the workshop, please e-mail Akiko Katayama at <akatayama @ g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp> by Oct. 26.
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Application

Applications to UTokyo FFP are invited twice a year, in March and September. Please fill in the application form if you would like to participate in the program. Selections will be made based on the information filled in the form, and you will be notified of the results before the program begins. We conduct briefing sessions (workshops) on UTokyo FFP in April and September. Those who would like to know more about the program are recommended to join this session. Please fill in the registration form, and we will send you the URL for joining the briefing session online.

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【Event report】Workshop for graduate students on the improvement of teaching skills in English

＜About＞Monday, February 15th, 2016

A new project of the Center for Research and Development of Higher Education named “Professional and Global Educators’ Community (PAGE)” was launched on Monday, February 15th, 2016, which was about a week after the announcement of successful applicants of the University of Tokyo who were selected by the special recommendation for the first time. With the globalization of higher education, it is expected that an increasing number of classes will be delivered “in English” for university students and overseas students here in Japan. Both students and faculty members at the University of Tokyo are now involved in this transitional period.


PAGE was launched to help faculty members at the University of Tokyo and graduate students and postdocs who will be teaching at universities adapt themselves seamlessly to such changing situations.

Despite the chilly and cloudy weather in February, a total of 14 participants, composed of young researchers and graduate students, gathered at Fukutake Learning Studio, Hongo Campus. In addition to them, we also made the program open to the faculty members coming from the University of Tokyo and other universities, who happened to know the workshop through our announcement and kindly made inquiries to us.


The participants were divided into four groups. Following the opening remarks and introductory lecture, they worked on a case study. The case was illustrated through a drama, which was set in a classroom with a majority of students coming from overseas. The participants watched this video together, imagined what a global classroom was like, and brainstormed the measures to deal with the various problems occurring in the drama.

Subsequently, each group chose one of the problems, decided a measure to deal with that, and discussed what kind of behaviors and English phrases would be effective in changing the situation for the better. Unlike making presentations at a conference or a seminar, however, teaching in English requires using a considerate manner of communication where you keep an eye on every learner’s reaction and maintaining a harmonious atmosphere of the whole classroom. The participants expressed their ideas freely and carefully examined what words they should use in the situation.

Each group started their presentation by describing which problem they chose and the measure to deal with that, and then shared their specific ideas on how to approach and speak to the students by showing the English scripts posted on the wall. Some participants voluntarily performed an English drama by role-playing during the presentation, which created an atmosphere full of improvisation and laughter.

Every group received feedback on their ideas from the two instructors: Jun Nakahara and Kayoko Kurita, (both Associate Professors at the Center for Research and Development of Higher Education). In the end, participants actively exchanged their ideas on the presentations with one another.

Regarding the nuances in each English expression and frequently used phrases in a classroom, the facilitators, who were fluent in English, gave tips on the participants by using their ideas.

Here are some of the feedback we received from the participants after the workshop:
“It was such a high-quality workshop that I can’t believe the program was prepared in a short time. I had fun.”
“I realized that the important thing is to improve my basic language skills and gain experience in teaching in English. I wish you would offer us more opportunities to practice teaching and brush up the skills.”
The participants seemed to be satisfied with the workshop and looking forward to future programs. It was a small-scale workshop, but it was fruitful for PAGE staff, too.

The campus will be full of new students in April. The overseas students enrolling in short-term summer study abroad programs and exchange students will also look forward to having learning opportunities at our university. In order to contribute to the people teaching in English in the increasingly globalizing higher education settings, PAGE will continue to plan and hold various programs.

【Organizers】

Instructors
Kayoko Kurita (Associate Professor, Center for Research and Development of Higher Education, the University of Tokyo)
Jun Nakahara (Associate Professor, Center for Research and Development of Higher Education, the University of Tokyo)

Facilitators for English language support
Eriko Yamabe (Project Researcher, Center for Research and Development of Higher Education, the University of Tokyo)
Diego Tavares Vasques (Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo)

Contents produced by
Ishihara, Nakahara, Ofusa, Kurita

English scenario production in cooperation with
Diego Tavares Vasques

Videos produced by
Optical Sisters

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Skill Session: Short Program “Facilitation”

We welcomed Mr. Masanori Fujita (actor/producer at Ongakuza Musical), the instructor of Skill Session, as an instructor for the program. He introduced us to an experiential 4.5-hour session concerning the theme “Creating a Space” by using techniques from musicals. The instructor and participants collaboratively explored what a learning space should be in the new age. The participants learned four kinds of icebreakers and practiced self-introductions, which had been highly appreciated in the online course. They also practiced how to project their voices through one-on-one lessons with actors from Mr. Fujita’s Ongakuza Musical. They learned about correct posture and how to walk beautifully and experienced an improvisation, all immediately applicable to their teaching. For the finale, all participants acted out a scene together.

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Knowledge Session: Short Program “Rubrics”

Associate Professor Kayoko Kurita (Center for Research and Development of Higher Education, The University of Tokyo) and Mr. Hideo Narita (instructor at Kawaijuku Educational Institution) served as instructors. During the orientation, participants reviewed what they had learned in the online course and covered the main points concerning creating rubrics. In the workshop, they experienced the whole process of creating rubrics by using first-year undergraduate course “Writing Course” as an example. They shared the points to be taken care of when using rubrics by organizing the problems they found in the process.