■ 教育、研究、社会貢献活動の方針
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2019:教育活動の方針 There is a difference between remembering and learning. The former is superficial while the latter requires deep understanding. As an example, a student could score perfectly on a vocabulary test, but not be able to use the same vocabulary in a sentence. My teaching is all aimed at helping students learn. To do this, I try to highlight what they already know before introducing something new. I then try to engage them with new material by providing them with opportunities and activities that will let them explore the material and connect new knowledge with old, forming a deeper or different form of understanding than what they started with. In this term, with one class of students, my objective was to teach students how to conduct basic research. I walked the students through the process of forming a research question, designing a data collection instrument, collecting data, reporting and interpreting the data in both written form and through a presentation. The process was recursive, so students had opportunities to question and evaluate their own and their classmates’ progress. This way, they were better able to check their own assumptions as they improved upon their projects before starting data collection. Once data collection was finished, in addition to reporting the data and analyzing it for meaning, the reflected what was missing from their research projects and how they would change/improve upon them if given a second opportunity. 研究活動の方針 My research is focused on education: both from the teachers’ perspective and from the students’ perspective. For the last three years, I have been pursuing Doctor of Education degree from the University of Florida in the field of Educational Technology. This field is about using research-based theory to make informed decisions on how to better facilitate learning. Currently, I am working on my doctoral dissertation which is about faculty use of ICT usage and issues related to that use. From this research, I hope to better understand and design faculty development seminars that can have a meaningful impact on teaching at a Japanese university. 社会貢献活動の方針 My social contributions are also related to the field of education. In 2005, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology declared that the 21st century was the age of a “knowledge-based society” and stressed the importance of higher education to the nation. When I teach, I try to help my students develop skills that will serve them long after they graduate from university. In this age of “fake news,” information literacy and critical thinking are necessary skills for being able to contribute to society in a meaningful manner. In addition to my students, I have mentored other faculty. On high school visits, I have talked with high school teachers about these same issues and offered advice on how they can be implemented.
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Any philosophy of teaching must first begin with a philosophy of learning. When it comes to learning a foreign language, students must develop a skill set beyond what is necessary for most other subjects. I believe learning a foreign language requires a combination of skills: the methodical analytical skills of the accountant combined with the inspiration and imagination of the poet. Students must learn the concrete aspects of the language, for without a well-developed vocabulary and a thorough understanding of grammar, anything beyond basic communication becomes impossible. But more than that, students must develop a communicative competence that allows them to apply that knowledge in original ways. Being new and original is not something that comes easy to most students in a foreign language classroom, so it is up to the teacher to provide opportunities to help them develop these most essential skills. It was the Greek philosopher Plutarch who once said, “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.,” a statement that should be applied to all learning, but especially to that of a foreign language. For any fire to burn, three elements are required: oxygen, fuel, and heat. I believe it is the teacher who supplies the first two elements, while the student provides the third.
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As I teach, I try to show the students that the English they are learning is real, with applications beyond the walls of the classroom. To foster this sense, I have developed a lot of lessons that make use of realia in the form of internet resources, videos and music, and articles taken from magazines and newspapers. However, just as some wood doesn’t make good fuel for the fire, some materials also fail to capture the interest of the students. As the teacher, it is important to recognize which materials work, and more importantly, which do not. If the material fails to engage the students, it is important for the teacher to examine where the breakdown lies: in the material itself, or in the presentation of the material. Once the teacher recognizes the problem, actions can then be taken to improve it. Nothing can dim a students desire to learn more than being forced to plod through material that fails generate interest. As I teach, I set tasks that allow the students to think and develop their own understanding of the material. I never give them all of the answers, but instead, I ask a lot of answerable questions.
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Once started, a fire must be maintained or else it will go out. Fuel must be added, and sometimes the flames have to be fanned, the fresh oxygen helping it to burn better. And just like all fires are different, so too are all classes. As the teacher, I believe it is important to be flexible, and recognize that different classes will have different needs. I change my style and methodology in accordance with the individual needs of the students I teach. To keep new ideas coming and to improve my teaching, I try to keep up to date with current research into language acquisition and also perform my own pedagogical research. While student feedback is important in developing as a teacher, so too is feedback from other professionals. To this end, I participate in teacher training seminars, conduct open classes, and regularly attend and/or present at professional conferences.
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The fuel is the material I use in class. Anyone who has ever made a campfire knows that some wood burns better than others. As the teacher, it is important to use materials that the students can make a connection with. Over the years, I have seen students, even as they spend hours studying new material, lose sight of the fact that language is merely a means for communicating ideas and knowledge. They might study vocabulary and grammar with diligence, but unless they recognize that what they learn in class is not so much an end product, but new tools they can use to learn more, such effort is almost a waste.
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The heat is the willingness the student has to be an active participant in the class. This is perhaps the most difficult component of the “fire” for the teacher to foster. The best teachers in the world can teach the most interesting lessons, but learning will not occur unless the student has the necessary desire to learn. Motivation can be a tricky beast. To some extent, students can be motivated by the standard prize or punishment inherent in most teacher/student relationships. But this extrinsic motivation, more often than not, fails to push students to push themselves as much as intrinsic motivation, which is the desire that burns within students that makes them work for knowledge. The life of a university student can be a hectic one, filled with numerous short term deadlines. With so much focus on the here and now, students sometimes lose sight of the future. As the teacher, I try to open the students’ eyes to what will happen after graduation. If they come to truly believe that competency in a foreign language can greatly aid their professional lives, not to mention open more doors in their personal ones, students begin to rely less on the teacher for reasons to study, and more on themselves. Once this happens, study becomes less of a chore, and more of a pleasant activity. While I try to help motivate my students to the best of my ability, I realize that ultimately, the desire to learn (or not to learn) is one that is entirely up to the student.
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The oxygen is the atmosphere of the class. I try to create an atmosphere that is conducive to learning. I am energetic, friendly, and approachable, but I also set appropriate boundaries. I believe that class should be fun for both the teacher and the student. If the teacher is not enjoying the lesson, then the students won’t either. I use humor wherever possible, and always try to share a laugh with my students. I often have them work together in pairs or groups so they have the chance to be active participants in the lesson. There all too often seems to be a barrier in place, one where students feel that the teaching/learning process can only occur in one way: where the material is simply presented by the teacher, and then absorbed by the student. When students allow themselves to create such a barrier, they become unaware of the multitude of learning opportunities available from other sources. I show students how break down this barrier, and make them aware that learning can take place anywhere, from anyone, and from any type of material. When it comes to time in the classroom, I try to create a communal atmosphere. I feel that the best learning takes place when the students come to understand that they can learn from themselves and from each other. I try to limit the amount of class time that students spend focused on me.
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