NOTES FROM FINAL BRAINSTORMING SESSION - JUNE 2002 TEACHERS' RETREAT
1) Need to get examples of curricula from other unis in Japan. Plus ask part-time teachers if they have any such docs.
• Particularly for guidelines on course objectives.
• Take these as examples of ways of thinking about curriculum objectives, not models to be adopted
• Frame guidelines in terms of things students should be able to do - leave the questions of how to achieve these to individual teachers and to dialogue/development, rather than imposing these
2) Question of modular units across different courses
3) Suggest routes for students:
• What paths are possible? What paths are desirable?
• Develop general guidelines for teachers and greater clarity for both teachers and students
• Focus groups of students
• Survey followed by interviews
• Need to talk with Ikeda-san (admin)
4) Curriculum Development
• International Div has basis of good curriculum framework, but need to:
- develop connections and progression within and between years
- make this framework clearer to part-time teachers
• Law/Politics is basically not a curriculum, just a proliferation of choices for students - leading to uneven development and no idea of what students have already studied/are studying - hence need for 3) above and 5) below
• Need to make the English Dept more aware of the confusion and problems this creates, so....
• Suggestion to present on paper the curriculum posters to the English Dept. and office as basis for discussion
• Need to rationalise course naming
• Differences in requirements for Law and Pol students also creates confusion
• Big question: If Faculty decides to integrate English courses across all three divisions, which will provide the model, International or Law/Politics?
• Law/Politics more likely to be taken as the model????
• How do we have an input into this decision: improve International in order to make it a more obvious model for the Faculty (because it's the better option), or work on clarifying Law/Politics as much as possible within current framework (because it's the more likely option, or both)?
5) Matrix of pathways for students
• Limitations: Scheduling for students
6) Question of blocking the curriculum
• Constraints:
- Eng Dept teachers and part-time J. teachers with preferred slots, plus also need to look at second foreign language limits
- Students should take no more than one language class each day
- Admin: may prefer micro rather any macro changes for fear of risk factor
7) Need for baseline information: Institutional TOEFL
• Listening and writing sections provide reasonable assessment of skills relevant to native speaker courses - plus Reading section provides reliable baseline info on reading skills not available at present from entrance exam
• Danger, if testing is implemented throughout the four years, of it becoming the target and measure of progress/success
8) Curriculum development could involve connections with semmon classes, around the idea of developing academic literacy?
9) Free brainstorm on what students should be able to do:
• avoid stressing the ends of words
• push words together
• understand use of pausing
• stand up and stand still while speaking
• keep eye contact
• use body language
• interrupt
• question
• ask for clarification
• have conscious strategies if they don't understand
• talk about self and common everyday topics
• understand language learning
• understand mistakes are part of the process
• be able to reflect on learning
• articulate specific goals for themselves
• be aware of different ways of learning
• be aware of different learning styles
• be able to organise their study and learning
• understand flexible student-teacher roles (can approach teacher)
• be open to feedback about their learning
• see learning as a shared process with other students and with the teacher
• be able to find useful information sources
• move from reading text to talking about ideas from text
• differentiate fact and opinion
• comment on opinions
• generate /choose /research topics for themselves
• take notes efficiently
• read for main points
• digest and condense information
• re-organise / organise information
• reformulate
• produce coherent speech for extended periods of times
• talk discursively
• organise an explanation and be able to signal the organisation
• understand an explanation and ask questions about it and summarise it
• be able to reformulate and reflect
10) Remember to bring aspirin and sun glasses next time!!!!