• Business overview
• Event Overview
• Implementation Report
• Contact Information

Business overview

As an organizational initiative to help faculty improve and enhance their teaching content and methods, the University Consortium Kyoto has been promoting faculty development activities in the Kyoto region together with member universities since its founding in 1995.
The University Education Power-Up Seminar was launched in 2014 as a workshop-style study group dealing with themes that are useful for the educational (educational support) activities of individual university faculty and staff.

Event Overview

Part 1: Thinking about today’s students – What is the reality of student learning? Considering the connection with high school education

schedule	Monday, November 17, 2014 18:00-20:00
Lecturer	Hiroshi Mukumoto (Lecturer, College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University)
Application Deadline	Friday, November 14, 2014
Contents

Part 2: Thinking about today’s students – Students and internet literacy: Actual use of smartphones and SNS

schedule	Monday, December 15, 2014 18:00-20:00
Lecturer	Masayuki Murakami (Associate Professor, Multimedia Education and Research Center, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies)
Application Deadline	Friday, December 12, 2014
Contents

Implementation Report

Report on the 2nd University Education Power-Up Seminar

On Monday, December 15th, the University Consortium Kyoto held its second university education power-up seminar, “Thinking about today’s students – Students and internet literacy: the reality of smartphone and SNS use.”

On the day, 17 participants from member and non-member universities were welcomed, and after a presentation by Professor Masayuki Murakami (Associate Professor, Multimedia Education and Research Center) of Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, the participants engaged in group work.

The presentation began by introducing today’s students as “digital natives,” and then went on to explain their characteristics. He also mentioned the characteristics of mobile phones (smartphones) and social networking sites (LINE, Facebook, Twitter), how students use them, and the problems they face. He then went on to explain the phenomenon of “flaming” (a flood of critical and defamatory comments beyond the site administrator’s expectations), its background, and some case studies.

During the group work, participants were divided into four groups to discuss the topic of “Mysteries surrounding the use of the Internet by today’s students.”

Many of the responses from each group included, “There is a tendency to do everything via email or LINE,” and “Maybe face-to-face manners are declining due to increased internet use.” In response to this, one commenter said, “Because they have been exposed to IT since they were young, they may be using it as a communication tool without any malicious intent. I feel that it is necessary to explain how to use it appropriately for the time, place, and occasion.”

Finally, according to the results of the seminar’s survey, 86% of participants answered that they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied,” making it a well-received study session. Participants
also commented, “I realized that teaching methods need to change with the changing times,” and “This is not a topic that can be answered immediately, so I found it very meaningful to hear the thoughts and efforts of teachers from other schools and people in different professions.”

Report on the 1st University Education Power-Up Seminar

On Monday, November 17th, the University Consortium Kyoto held its first university education power-up seminar, “Thinking about today’s students – What is the reality of student learning? Considering the connection with high school education.”

On the day, 21 participants from member and non-member universities were welcomed, and after a presentation by Professor Hiroshi Mukumoto (Lecturer, Faculty of Science and Engineering) of Ritsumeikan University, the participants were divided into four tables and engaged in group work.

The presentation included a presentation on the background and issues surrounding how the shift in perception of abilities due to social change is affecting high school curriculum guidelines. The presentation also reported on the transition survey’s findings on the state of schools, including whether high school students possess the three key elements of growth (independent learning ability, rich interpersonal relationships and activity, and future awareness).

In the group work, the participants discussed the theme, “What’s different about today’s universities and college students compared to when you were a student?”
Each group expressed opinions such as, “It feels like people are no longer taking on challenges, but perhaps this is also due to the fact that there is an abundance of information these days and people tend to prefer standard correct answers,” and “There is an increasing mismatch between where students go to school and what their future path will be, but perhaps there is a tendency for parents to have a strong influence and for students to not be able to express their own opinions.”

Finally, according to the results of the seminar’s survey, 78% of participants answered that they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied,” suggesting that the training generally met participants’ expectations.
Participants also commented, “When teaching university students, I realized that I needed to keep in mind the realities of high school students,” and “There is a lot to learn about topics that delve into the realities of students (such as the realities of and responses to developmental disorders), so I hope that this will continue to be covered.”

Contact Information

Consortium of Universities Kyoto, Public Interest Foundation, FD Projects,
TEL: 075-353-9163, FAX: 075-353-9101,
Campus Plaza Kyoto, Nishinotoin-dori Shiokoji-sagaru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8216
*Reception hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 9:00-17:00 (excluding New Year’s holidays)