Teachers' Retreat, June 11, 2006
Using and Developing the Website
Participants: Milt Miltiadous, Masaaki Okamoto, Mike Nix , Ellen Scattergood.
We met to talk about how we'd like to develop the Chuo website http://c-faculty.chuo-u.ac.jp/~mikenix1/index2.html further and for what purposes we'd like to see it used.
Our discussion led us to talk about more than just the website, but here are the main Q&A and other points we covered, followed by a suggestion for a slight addition/change to the curriculum.
Q1: What's the feasibility of taking students to the computer lab?
A1: We need to show the administration the need and go through administrative channels.
Q2: How do we want to use the PC lab?
A2: Ideally, we'd like to organize it so that each teacher can take his/her class to the (a) PC lab for at least one class, towards the beginning of the year to develop:
1) Internet research skills
2) Word processing skills
(Note: for writing classes, in which the latter are more important, it may be better to have 2 class sessions).
Q3: What about the possibility of offering word processing/Internet research skills as an elective (A/B) class?
A3: One potential problem: Can't talk in the PC lab. Possible solution: 6 weeks in the PC lab, then move to the classroom. Or alternating weeks in PC lab and classroom.
Q4: Can teachers expect students to find time to use the PC lab on their own?
Yes. The Law Faculty PC lab (the Joho Shouri Shitsu in Japanese) on the 2nd floor of Building 6 is open from 10.00am to 7.15pm. Although individual students cannot use it at times when computer classes are being held, every student should be able to get access to it as some point during the week, if not every day. It is always open to indivdual students from 6.05 to 7.15 in the evening.
Students can also borrow laptop computers from the kiosk in the 1st floor lobby of Building 6. More information is needed on this.
We need to have this info in our Teachers' Information Packet.
Q5: Are the students using the Chuo website?
A5: We've told our students about it, but just telling them doesn't seem to be enough for some students. They need a workshop at the very least. The other problem is the (rather valid) excuse that doing research in Japanese is easier. We need to deal with this issue, guiding them and developing research skills in English.
Q6:How can we help students feel more comfortable doing English research using the website?
A6: Make it easy to access and work on reading/research skills such as note-taking, paraphrasing, summarizing and the creation of research questions.
• This led to a summary of one of the morning sessions in which the importance of research questions was discussed. Reading needs to be led by RQs "'what are we looking for?") and the content/topic nees to be relevant and interesting to the reader/researcher.
• It also led to discussion about another skill that needs to be developed: the creation of annotated bibliographies. This is part of what's already on the Chuo website but needs upkeeping.
Q7: How about having the students upkeep the website - making annotated bibliographies and simplified readings as a project for a class?
A7: This question led to a suggestion for a slight curriculum addition/change: a 1st year required (?) class called Introduction to Internet Research in English (or something like that). Possibly as an alternative to 1st year Intro to Academic Essay Writing.
The idea: Exit objectives for IIRE (sounds a bit too much like 'ire' but...) could include:
• Upkeep website with annotated bibliographies and simplified readings
• Reading skills connected to Internet research (notetaking, summarizing, etc.)
• Creating Research Questions
• Planning a "product" (presetnation, speech, paragraph, essay or whatever)
The actual product (as in an assessed/graded speech or essay) may or may not be part of the objectives, but the research process is.
The primary concern was that in the J-system, there’s no such thing as “academic writing” in any language and many students need a step-by-step introduction not just to writing but to research/reading skills before “academic writing” happens. They’re The other/related concern was that “academic writing” may be overly intimidating, and it may not be an exit objective we really need to be working on in the first place.
Q8: How valuable is it to learn the conventions of academic writing? Should audience awareness and fluency be a more primary exit objective?
A8: It’s true that this year’s revised suggestions for how to interpret the exit objectives are working towards that: They are cycles of TOPIC CHOOSING > RESEARCH > WRITING or TALKING about that topic. And the focus on "skills" or "products" can be distracting. Perhaps it's just semantics, but maybe our goal needs to be not "academic writing" but "a piece (interpreted as a plan, a presentation, a speech, a paragraph or an essay – or some combination) that addresses a topic in a way that shows research in English, critical thought, and awareness of audience."
Summary of specific points about which we'd like to see some action (or further discussion):
· Info for the teachers about how, when and where the students can use computers
· A plan for teachers to take students to the PC lab for at least one class at the beginning of the year
· A new taught-in-English class that covers Internet research and basic word processing skills.
(Summarized by Ellen)