How Japan’s international schools are evolving

ACTIVE LEARNING.
A teacher stands before 40 students and talks for 40 minutes straight, asking the occasional question to make sure the kids are listening. Sound familiar? Not to today’s students. “A trend in recent decades has seen conventional schools shifting to where Montessori schools have been for more than a century: putting each student at the center of their own personal edu­cational journey,” said James Moore, assistant head of The Montessori School of Tokyo (MST).

TECH ENVIRONS.
The new methods are supported by a tweaked physical learning environment, which includes technology such as iPads and laptops, and a move away from rows of desks lined up facing the blackboard. Makerspaces, such as the one at ASIJ, allow students to gather together to create, using tools such as 3D printers and computer-controlled cutting machines.

BEYOND BOOKS.
Improved data gathering and analysis capabilities also allow teachers and administrators to make informed decisions and personalize learning for students.

From improving education to improving children’s lives, “a great learning program should go beyond the traditional academics,” said Coutts. “It should also be strong in supporting the overall growth and well-being of the person.”

GOING GLOBAL.
Post-secondary education in Japan is also experiencing an increase in technology integration. Gadgets such as clickers are being used for class participation, YouTube and Ustream are facilitating lectures, and various apps and games are increasing interest in a range of subjects and boosting comprehension. This increased use of technology is bringing forth a distinct set of challenges and changes.

Yuichi Kondo, dean of admissions at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), told The ACCJ Journal, “The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is encouraging universities to become more global, but the majority of Japanese universities are not making the necessary changes in time.”

Not so at APU. From the start, the school has sought a diverse student body and faculty. “Our challenge,” explained Kondo, “is to make APU a university imbued with the idea of global learning, where students and faculty members with different cultural and social backgrounds explore diversity in academic learning and training, and in other non-academic—or noncognitive—training.”

The past five years have seen a growing internationaliza­­tion at Lakeland University Japan (LUJ), which has gone from a student body that was 98 percent Japanese to one that is only 55 percent. Today, LUJ welcomes students from 40 different countries.

According to Dr. Alan Brender, dean of LUJ, this shift in demographics has helped the university find increased success in making learning more student based. “The international students are eager to participate in discussions and, as a result, we have seen a change in the attitudes of the Japanese students.”

Changes in pedagogy are also contributing to the evolution of the student experience, moving away from the straight lecture style of old. “We do not have professors dryly reading from their yellowing pages of notes,” said Brender. “Instead, they incorporate PowerPoint, film clips, YouTube videos, and other visual means to support the information they are imparting.”

Like APU and LUJ, McGill MBA Japan benefits from a diverse student body that includes more than 20 nationalities. Program Director Philip O’Neill said that McGill “relies on a wide range of student interaction—working with peers, making presentations, in-class discussion, and case analysis and discussion.” As in primary and secondary schools, it is important to tailor education to the student. “We personalize the learning experience through our final project, the Practicum, in which students work on a topic of their own choosing.”

In larger classroom settings, however, personalization isn’t always possible. “There are also limits to how far the university and faculty can go,” explained Dr. Steven Rothman, associate professor at APU. Other innovative teaching methods exist, of course—provided professors are given the means to learn them.

“Very few universities actually train the teachers in teaching,” said Rothman, “but instead assume it all takes place on the job.”

As Kondo explained, APU has “a faculty development program operated in cooperation with the University of Minnesota that provides our faculty opportunities to learn different types of pedagogy, such as flipped classes, small group discussion, and project-based learning.” Flipped classes reverse the traditional approach to learning by moving a student’s first contact with new material outside the classroom.

NEXT LESSONS.
What does the future hold for post-secondary education in Japan? Brender sees three key trends emerging: more focus on volunteerism; an increase in internships; and continuing education, which LUJ has been offering through its Open College in the evening and on Saturdays since 2008.

Rothman also foresees the expansion of continuing education, as well as movement towards online platforms. “Basically, if we look back at the past 10 years in the United States, I think we will see the next 10 years in Japan.”

For these schools, 2018 will bring its own changes. The McGill MBA Japan program will be making more material available online for study before class. “We will also be opening up our offering to the wider community here in Japan by offering executive and business education courses during weekdays,” said O’Neill. LUJ, which until now has offered two-year associate of arts degrees, is considering a move to a four-year program.

The overwhelming desire, Kondo said, is to encourage students to become autonomous learners and positively affect their futures.

Considering the future, Brender echoed the sentiments of the primary and secondary school educators: “We need to look at students as young people with complexities, and we need to deal with those complexities with humaneness, empathy, and understanding, as well as being able to offer sage advice and guidance. These are future citizens who are being molded by us.”

Custom Media publishes The ACCJ Journal for the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.