Vol. 14

Q: In your classes, which subject do you
plan for the most?

training session, and a 2-day TA training session.

A: The course in which I put most of my effort into

teaching assistants through experiential learning.

planning is the Multicultural Cooperative Workshop

EDLSC Professor

HIRAI Tatsuya

・Research Field:
Career counseling,

Cross-cultural counseling・Subjects:

Career Design Ⅰ,
Multicultural Cooperative Workshop(MCW)
Interview date: October 2021

Tips

1. Understand the power of role models in students’learning: empower student TAs to share theirlearning experiences and incorporate thoseexperiences into the teaching content
2. Create oppotunities for students to connect thelecture content to their own lives for an
experiential and expediated learning process
3. Believe that students are capable and have somuch to offer, and turn one-way teaching into amutual learning process(MCW). This course is offered in both English andJapanese for first-year students. It is a team-taught
class, meaning that we work as a team to conductclasses. A typical team will include an English-basis
professor paired up with a Japanese-basis professor,
four leader teaching assistants (LTAs), and sixteen
teaching assistants (TA). To ensure that this large
group of professors and student teaching assistants
work in sync with the demands of the course, weDuring these training sessions, LTAs and TAs work
together as teams to increase their competency as
They learn about weekly class content, and practicetheir teaching skills. In addition, TAs will be briefed
about the rules and work conduct.
2. The professors and TAs hold pre- and post-classmeetings each week to discuss student concerns andaddress any issues which might arise, and discusspossible solutions to such issues.
3. Weekly training sessions are held throughout thehave established a set of practices:

semester to evaluate the performance of each team

1. Before the beginning of each semester, twocourse is heavily reliant on individual input fromprofessors from EDLSC (Education Development

member. As the quality of teaching in the MCW
both professors and teaching assistants, we areand Learning Support Center) hold a 3-day LTA

constantly training and retraining the instructors.

Q: In your classes, what do you do toincrease the quality of student learning?

students. During the main lecture, I utilize

A: Experiential learning is a tool I use to enhancedevelop a space where students can brainstorm,student learning. This teaching technique is centeredon the idea that students must be able to connect
taught theories to their everyday lives. I believe that
it is easier for students to understand concepts when
they can relate to them. The starting point of thisteaching approach is ensuring that the classbrainstorming platforms such as Padlet andMentimeter. The idea behind these platforms is tocollect their thoughts, and document the sessions
while the concepts are still fresh in their minds. This
platform allows all students to participate at once
which I find helpful when sharing ideas in a groupsetup. This method also allows each student toconnect the lecture material to their individualdynamics enable this connection.

experiences.

The process begins by dividing the class into two

Through my teaching experience, I discovered thatparts: the lecture and the seminar sessions. In thecase of MCW, I spend 30-45 minutes delivering themain lecture to approximately 100 students. The
remaining 60 minutes are then broken down withfour seminar groups of six members each, threeJapanese-basis students and three English-basis

most students have limited practical experience toconnect the knowledge they possess. Therefore, bydividing the session into a lecture and seminars, I
give the students room to connect the class content totheir practical experiences. For example, if we
discuss intercultural communication during thelecture, in the seminars students use Padlet tocomments help to develop peer connections between

describe their respective communication style andstudents and TAs through mentor-style relationships,

discuss how to be inclusive of all the differences inwhich can mature into meaningful networks later on

the group. This kind of simple exercise aims to raisein life. As former MCW students, TAs provide aself-awareness in a group setting, which is critical tounique angle to the learning process which is often

becoming a multiculturally self-aware individual.

appreciated by the students. For example, they canhelp Japanese- and English-basis students establish

motivated to carry out the given tasks and students

contents. Career Design I introduces students to thewho are not so motivated. If left unchecked, this mix

process of designing their actual careers, so using

may negatively result in the demotivation ofalumni who are currently working and who went

previously motivated students. Having students

through the same process is a practical way to show

assess each other’s performances enables students

students the result of this process. Moreover, thisto be responsible and stay engaged in the grouppractice helps students decide their career paths andactivities, both inside and outside of the class.

develop personal networks early on in theirStudents also find peer evaluation to be empowering

university lives.

The use of TAs as leaders in the seminar sessions isnonverbal forms of communication such as the use

also important for the experiential learning process.

of hand gestures (such as the “OK” gesture) as a

For many first-year students, TAs are role models.

method to confirm that other members understand.

constructive feedback.

Q: In your classes, what do you do toincrease students’ motivation forlearning?

2. Guest sessions (APU Alumni)

Their leadership and facilitation further promote
engagement from the students, and they may inspire
first-year students to enter leadership positions bothin and outside of the class. Some of the TAs’ roles
include facilitating interactive class contents such as
ice breaker exercises, group activities, and in-classdiscussions. TAs further provide positive andconstructive feedback on MCW students’ groupperformance and essay contents. These motivational

1. Peer assessment
Most of my classes involve group work and in mostcases the groups include both students who are

Pre-Training Session for MCW LTAs

andanopportunityfor

providingpositive

3. Utilizing Zoom functions to engage
students
Over the past few semesters, I have developed new

In two of the courses I teach, Career Design I andtechniques to motivate students in online classes,

Peer Leader Training, I often invite APU alumni orsuch as utilizing the direct message function onsenior APU students to join our sessions, or show aZoom. Most of my classes involve energy-intensive

video interview of the alumni. This method isgroup discussions, and one way to keep students

another way

motivated is by showing appreciation for theirof using role models as motivation to learn classcontributions. For example, after I assign them tosmall Breakout Room groups, I do follow-up visitseach semester with the 14 professors involved in theto these groups. If I discover a student who iscourse. During this meeting, we discuss the various

actively participating in the discussion, I send aissues that arose throughout the semester to gain

direct message to them with an appreciation note.

feedback, and discuss how to improve the class forThis seems to be a small act, but I believe that itnext year. In addition, the Academic Office releases

encourages students to continually contribute to

the class evaluation survey results at the end of thegroup discussions.

semester, and I usually note the areas for
improvement based on the student feedback. My

Q: When improving the contents of yourclasses, what kind of steps do you taketowards improvement?
A: I use three tools when improving the contents ofmy classes. The first tool is feedback and surveys,
the second tool is post-semester adjustment of classcontent, and the third tool is attending APU faculty
development

workshops,andotherexternaleducational workshops.
In the case of MCW, we have a meeting at the end of

post-semester class content adjustment is thenmostly based on the meeting at the end of thesemester and these survey results.
I also attend or lead APU faculty development
workshops

andotherexternal

educational

workshops. Annually, I attend an average of ten
workshops, some of which I participate in as alistener and some of which I lead as an instructor.
These workshops allow me to develop new skills,
gain new knowledge, and adapt to new teachingtechniques which other professors are using. Thesepassive or naïve learners, I have come to realize thatworkshops have been especially useful during this

we instructors need to instead provide students withpandemic period, as they have helped me navigate

opportunities to showcase their talents. Havingfrom in-person to online learning in consistency

students be TAs and encouraging them to lead groupwith other fellow professors. I can also receive

discussions empowers them to express themselves

feedback on my teaching style through theseand share their unique experiences and talents.

workshops from other seasoned educators.

These actions inspire students, allow them to gain
confidence,

andenable

themtoexperience

Q: What do you think is important in theprocess of education?

leadership in action to realize their leadership

1. Believing that students are capable andhave so much to offer

2. Enjoying learning as a professor

As an MCW instructor, I work with student TAs.

the learning process and enjoy this process. By

This opportunity made me realize that students
possess wonderful potential with the interpersonaland facilitation skills required to teach and manage

Pre-Training Session for MCW TAs

potential.

As an instructor, it is important to also be a part ofenjoying learning, the instructor can convey andpass on that same energy to the students that they areteaching. I think it is important for instructors toclasses effectively. Instead of viewing students asremaincuriousand

opentonewlearning

experiences, as curiosity enables them to continually

met students who possess high GPAs, are actively

endeavors such as continuous intercultural learning,grow through learning new things and become better

involved in extracurricular activities, and takeinitiating creative projects, and/or establishing ainstructors as a result.

various classes, but are still unsure about what theybusiness, for example. I have been approached bywant to do in the future. The above scenario isnumerous alumni who credit group work andIn a nutshell, the process of education is ananalogous to having various vegetables but notclassroom interactions as having helped them tointeractive process between the instructor andknowing how to cook. Merely having various

develop lasting friendships and a global network ofstudents. When the instructor believes that students

vegetables is not sufficient, a person must ultimately

a life time. Therefore, I recommend that students

are capable and have much to offer, the instructors

possess both a variety of ingredients and the ability

make the best use of developing friendship withwill become curious to learn from their students andto prepare a delicious dish. Therefore, students

people from every corner of the globe, and these

the joy of learning will therefore be delivered to bothshould be able to have a balance between goodfriendships will often support and encourage themthe students and the instructor.

grades and achievements and the ability to designin the future.

their life path. I believe that they will ultimately have

Q: What do you expect from the students
who take your classes?
1. Possess the ability to design your path
This expectation specifically applies to students whotake my Career Design I class. Over the years, I havea successful future if they achieve this balance.

2. Friendship and networking
University is an opportunity for students to develop
meaningful friendships as well as network. Havingfriends and a good network supports future

Interviewer Impressions

I took Professor Hirai Tatsuya’ s Career Design I class during my 4thsemester at APU. Career Design I was an interactive class that wasbroken down into a main lecture and group discussions. The
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) theory which explores the conceptof personality typology was introduced by the Professor. This tool
helped me to self-introspect on how I perceive the world and makedecisions. I found this tool to be useful not only for this particular classbut also in other aspects of my life. I now incorporate the MBTI modelwhenever I make critical decisions and I must say the quality of mydecisions has improved significantly. The group members I worked
with in the class have also become my friends and a part of mygrowing and diverse support network. I therefore see how thestrategies Professor Hirai discusses directly benefitted me as astudent.

Interviewer

Name: MUROMBA Pascal
SimbarasheCollege: APM
Country: Zimbabwe
Message: Hello! I am Pascal. I lovereading books. Two of my favorite
books are Educated by Tara
Westover and The End of History
and the Last Man by Francis
Fukuyama. Politics andsustainability are some of myfavorite topics. I am currently
learning martial arts and I find itvery interesting.

What is [Q]?

At APU there are many professors who put together wonderful classes, and if
we could get to know how these classes are planned, it would contribute to
the improvement of other professors’ classes. For that purpose, we havebegun doing interviews in order to learn about class planning. These articles
have been entitled [Q], comprising a variety of meanings such as: increasing
the [Q]uality of classes, answering [Q]uestions to increase quality, andforming a [Q]ueue, or line, of class improvements. We would be very happy
if these articles could contribute to the [Q]uest of APU professors’ class quality
improvement.