How we are cultivating future-ready graduates in Japan: Issues and expectations emerging from SoTL research at Teikyo University

Abstract

Ever since faculty development became a required element of higher education in Japan, numerous initiatives have emerged to improve teaching at the organizational and individual levels (2020). However, little focus has been placed on supporting or accelerating regular classroom improvement undertaken independently by individual teachers. Further, we observe that the burden of publicizing the results of their undertakings and sharing them with instructors who face similar problems still remains with the teachers themselves.
Since 2017, the Center for Teaching and Learning at Teikyo University has implemented the SoTL Project, which supports educational research conducted by faculty members on their own classes. A post-project survey completed by participants revealed that many felt their SoTL efforts were very significant.