101

教職大学院
Newsletter No.
福井大学大学院

教育学研究科

教職開発専攻since2008.4

2017.7.31

For Global Collaboration of Reflective Lesson Study andProfessional Learning Communities of Teachers
Shoichi Yanagisawa, Director
Department of Professional Developmentof Teachers, University of Fukui
In this changing and unstable state of global
settings, there is no ready-made right solution to
be taught. If we are stacked traditional obedientlearner mode, this situation is far beyond ourcontrol. But our competency cannot be developed,
the enhancement of free learning will inevitably
fall into the free choice in the limit of our option
which we can see in the today’s situation. We
need grow the mode of reflective learner mode.
Even if we are in the situation without no readymade right solution, we can learn by doing for thesituation. We can approach to the situation withinquiring, practice, and reflection cycles. In thiscycles, we try inquiry the situation, try tentative
approach, listen carefully the back-talk against it,
and reflective think –and-reconstruct the nextreconstructive approach. And we also can learn
other practitioners challenge and reflection in ourshared situation. In these learning process, we theco-inquiry,collaborating,andreflective
communication cycles. And also, this is the truly
authentic learning for every participants.
Our situation is awful for traditional passive
learners, but for co-inquires this situation is theoccasion for challenge to new potential ofindividuals and societies. But all we know,transformation of the basic mode of learning is sodifficult. The mode of learning rooted in identitiesof the individuals, generational cycles, and cultureof communities. We can not change the basicmode of learning by teaching or transmissionmode, which is traditional learning modethemselves. So we need to realize an immediate,
rapid change is impossible and challenge longspan gradual try-error-reflection approach. For
this long-span gradual approaches, we need thebase communities for sustaining for each others
patient reflective practice. Our DPDT is to be thissustaining communities for challenges to newlearning mode.
Since 2007, Schools, education board, andUniversity
Collaborationforcultivatingstcommunities of 21 century learning has beenchallenging, reflecting, reconstructing together.
On the base of these endeavor, the new challenge
for international collaboration has been started

Newsletter Contents
DPDT’s International Efforts (1)JICA 2016 Knowledge Co-Creation Program (2)Knowledge Co-Creation Participant Introductions (3)Knowledge Co-Creation Program Closing Address (13)Reflections from JICA 2016 (14)Follow Up Reflection: Lesson Study in Ikot Ekpene (18)The World Meets Fukui in Three Days: Reactions on
the First International Fukui Roundtable (21)
WALS 2016 Conference (27)OECD ISN Project (27)Continuing International Collaborations (28)1

since last year. JICA-DPDT Knowledge Co-Creation
Program for improvement of quality of education
through “Lesson Study” in Africa, and theinternational Fukui Round Tables are the firstcycle of our global collaboration.
In these cycles, we learned the process of eachother’s experiences which have different
background, but also have common agenda
through small group sessions and co-inquiry
session of school-based reflective lesson studies.
I thought, as a matter of fact, there would be thecultural gap, and communication of educational
practice would face the difficulty from this gaps.
But our colleagues from Africa and other areas
were truly the actual reflective practitioners andinquires. And active and thoughtful learning ofstudents, teachers collaborative professional
practices, and culture of learning in schools
fascinated our colleges. We need to reflect andlearn these miracle encounter in Fukui and try
next co-inquiry cycles for wider settings.
We know the reconstruction of the learning
culture never happen immediately in one isolated
culture. If it happen, the process will based on thelong sustainable endeavor of generations andcross-boundary collaboration. Our joint challenge
will be the part of this endeavors andcollaboration for creating inquiry-based learning
for all of our century.

JICA 2016 PROGRAM:

Knowledge Co-Creation Program Improvement of
Quality of Education Through “Lesson Study” in Africa

The JICA 2016 Knowledge Co-Creation Program: Improvement of Quality of Education Through “Lesson
Study” in Africa was held on November 8th to November 25, 2016 at the University of Fukui Department ofProfessional Development of Teachers. Seven participants from 4 different African countries participated inthis program. The program was an intensive three-week training focused on inquiry-based learning andreflective lesson study. This newsletter includes a self-introduction and short reflection from each of theparticipants, as well as the closing address by Tomoki Nitta, Director General of JICA Hokuriku Branch Office,and the impressions and reflections from Elizabeth Hartmann.

2Aisha Aminu Bamanga
Nigeria

the sub-sector i belong to as education managers
and policy implementers. Our vision is to be aworld class education intervention and regulatory
agency for the promotion of uniform, qualitativeand functional basic education in Nigeria. Mission:
To operate as an intervention, coordinating andmonitoring Agency to progressively improve thecapacity of states, local Government Agencies andcommunities in the provision of unfettered accessto high qualitative basic education in Nigeria.
Objectives are to:•••

My Name is Aisha Aminu Bamanga, from Nigeria
West Africa. After my graduation at the Federal
University of Tecchnology Yola Adamawa State, I
served in a Federal Government Girls’ College Bauchi
for 1 year, and then got a Job in the same school, itaught Agriculture and Economics for 5 years,
because of the challenges I had in teaching such as
not been patience with students, so I decided toswitch to an office work as an education manager
and field officer at the Universal Basic Education
Commission (UBEC), where I am as a Senior
Academic Planning Officer in the Department of
Academic Services.

•

My job description is to:
•
•
•
•
•

The Educational responsibilities of the Federal
Government are carried out through various
agencies which include the Federal Ministry of
Education (FME). However; there are Agencies
and parastatals through which the Federal andState Ministries of Education carry out theiroversight functions on education. For the basic
education sub-sector, the Universal Basic
Education Commission (UBEC) at the National andState Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs)
at the State levels, implement its provision. That is

Ensure unfettered access to nine (9)years of formal basic education.
The provision of free, Universal Basic
Education for every Nigerian child of
school going age.
Reducing drastically the incidence ofdrop-out from the formal school
system, through improved relevance,
quality and efficiency
Ensuring the acquisition of appropriate
levels of literacy, numeracy,
manipulative, communicative and life
skills as well as the ethical, moral andcivic values needed for laying a solid
foundation for life-long learning.

•

Analyze Action Plans on Teacher
Professional
Developmenttrainings
submitted by SUBEBs.
Monitor the Conduct of Teacher
Professional Development trainings.
Review Staff and State reports based on
established modalities for Teacher
Professional Development trainings.
Analyze Training Institutions’ reports on
Teacher
Professional
Developmenttrainings.
Coordinate meetings between UBEC and
SUBEBson
Teacher
Professional
Development trainings.
Coordinate meetings between UBEC andInternational Development Partners e.g.
JICA, ESSPIN, JOLLY FUTURES, BRITISHCOUNCIL etc. on Teacher Professional
Development trainings in collaboration
with Department of Social Mobilizationand Special Projects Unit

Teaching is both interesting and challenging
as it requires the use of knowledge, skills andexperience for effective delivery of quality
lessons. As a teacher, I have very interesting3

experiences especially dealing with students,
setting the tone for effective classroom
delivery and engaging with key actors within
the school community for the improvement ofteaching.
Generally and following deliberate andsystematic engagements with students,
professional colleagues, school administratorsand educational planners, I have realized thatthe society, nature and quality of educational
inputs are the prime determinants ofeducational outcomes. However, in myteaching environment and society, theentirety of educational outcomes is perceived
to be a function primarily of what the teacher
does. Society is hardly willing to consider theneed to create the enabling environment forthe best teaching and is also not determined
to make the least standard investments for
quality education and deployment ofcontemporary and excellent classroom
delivery methods.
Some of the important experiences that I
have had in my routine activities in the field ofteaching are as follows:
•
•
•

•
•
•
•
•

•

Teaching overcrowded classes withinadequate seats for the students;
Teaching with improvised materials that
had to be prepared by the teacher;
Sharing experiences with colleagues on
how to prepare lesson plans andeffectively implement them within
stipulated time frame;
Organizing in-service training for teacher
of basic education as an educational
administrator;
Monitoring and evaluating trainings
conducted for teachers as an educational
administrator;
Monitoring and evaluating trainings
conducted for teachers;
Carrying out impact assessment of the
trainings conducted.
Initiating contacts with Parents/Teacher
platforms towards providing alternative
community based support structures toalleviate shortage of teachers
Role-modeling and encouraging early
student interest in education/teaching as
a life-long career.

These experiences have helped in re-shaping myperspective on the values of education and theimportant role that the teacher has to play if
educational targets have to be met. Teachingunder very abnormal circumstances has
highlighted
the
prime
importanceofinnovativeness and creativity on the part of theteacher in and outside the classroom setting.
Experience in this regard has impressed on me
that education reforms should focus on theteacher’s role as being central in the education
process. This is because the teacher stands in amost advantaged position to manage theinadequacies caused by the insufficiency of othercritical inputs. However, experience has taughtme that the teacher can effectively perform thisfunction if he/she is competent and professionallygroomed.
Coming to Japan especially in Fukui prefecturechanged my perspective, thinking and way ofteaching learning. Teaching learning can be easy
and enjoyable as you wants it to be If only you use
the right method of teaching.
The interesting thing I find with lesson study istheir methodology, i.e. way of teaching. They are
not using teacher centred but rather learner
centred which I believe is the best way of teaching.
The teacher allows the learners to actively
participate in the class and even set theirquestions which improve the learners thinking notlike my country which they use teacher centred
approach i.e. lecture method. As i observed in theclasses, the approach teachers are using and thelearning activities offered the students anopportunity to be actively engaged in dialogue
with their group members and the teachers. Theirlessons are designed to motivate and cultivate thestudent’s active participation and understanding.
From the lessons i observed and the discussions
made with teachers, contributed a lot to myunderstanding of the inquiry based learning
approach in the teaching and learning process andi have gained skills for improving and tocontribute to the improvement of the skills of ourteachers in my country in using the appropriate
teaching strategy and questioning techniques
which will assist them in interacting with learners
during their lessons, lesson study approaches.
My expectation from JICA was that to:
•

Build
my
capacityforeffective
management of in-service training ofteachers and managers of education•

Equip me with requisite skills for initiating,planning
andcoordinating
the4

implementation,
monitoring
andevaluation of lesson study in the Nigerian
education sector•

Share experiences, best practices andsuccess stories on INSET managementwith participants and experts from Japanand other countries especially on lesson
study training.

•

The training should inculcate skills on how
to organize effective Lesson Study. As astaff in charge of organizing In-set forteachers and education managers at thebasic education level, knowledge inorganizing effective lesson study will
enhancemyperformanceandcompetence in the discharge of my duties.

What i seen/learnt from Japan most especiallyin Fukui is that all the teachers have the same
method of teaching and learning i.e. they
allow the learners to think and actively

Ermias Chufamo Beshir
Ethiopia

participate in the class activities. Teachers use
Inquiry based learning approach, werestudents are engaged in inquiry about openended problems and then teachers are
expected to jerk the big ideas out of thecollective ideas generated by the class. In an
inquiry lesson, the teacher does not give thestudents the answer directly. Rather, theteacher uses questions and prompts to guidestudent’s thinking towards the concept andhelp the students really visualize the problem.
Allowing the students to arrive at theconclusion through their own problem-solving
strategies. This requires the teacher tounderstand the concepts very well, and toalso have a list of ways in which to solve theproblem at hand. This is because the different
processes the students use dictate thequestions to be asked. So I can say JICA/Fukui
University have touched in all my
expectations in one way or the other.

and promote “active learning” in our classrooms,
the intervention should be provided for all theseareas as a continuous form of training, by
employing lesson study approach.
Background Information

I am Ermias Chufamo Beshir. I work for thenational Ministry of Education of Ethiopia, Mathand Science Education Improvement Center as a
Math National Trainer since Sep 2010.
Before I entered in my current office, I worked asgovernment Primary and secondary schools Mathteacher for 16 Years. The lessons of my schools
were teacher-centred, and student’s participation
was limited and their learning tends to be apassive way. There was teacher’s skill gap, such as
in teaching methods, facilitation, communication,utilization of teaching and learning aids, lesson
planning and assessment, in order to make “active
learning” in lessons. Therefore, in order to realize

Ethiopia envisions transforming into middle
income country and being industrialized by theyear 2025. For that reason, it has become
mandatory for the education system to manifest
overall improvement in sciences, mathematics,
engineering and technology (MoFED, 2010).
However, looking at the current performance ofstudents in mathematics and science (M&S)
subjects in our schools, the vision to beindustrialized is in doubt. The National Learning
Assessment reveals that the performance ofstudents in these subjects has been unsatisfactory(NOE, 2008a, NOE, 2008b).
In response to this situation, the Government ofEthiopia through MOE, and the Government ofJapan through Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) have been working jointly on a
project titled National Project for Strengthening
Mathematics and Science Education in Ethiopia(SMASEE from March 2011 to Jun 2014), currently
it is a National Programme under MOE, and a
Project titled Learning Assessment on Math andScience Education (LAMS) since March 2014.
The Projects aimed at improving Mathematics andScience education in Ethiopia through teacher In5

Service Education and Training (INSET). It also
intends to establish a model of INSET system for
Grade
7
and
8
M&S
teachers.
The goals, purpose and expected Outputs ofProjects are indicated in the Project Design Matrix(PDM) of the Projects. To realize its goals, SMASEE
Project developed a one-week three-cycle INSET
at National and Regional level over three years(2011–2014). Based on the needs identified bybaseline survey, respective theme was alsodecided for each of the three-year training..
Major achievements of the project are:
1. Implementation body, at National andRegional levels are established andbecame functional.
2. National and regional INSET centres are
established and equipped,
3. Training contents and training modules
were developed by Ethiopian humanresources.
4. human resources were developed.
5. INSET M&E instruments developed by the
Project

2011 SMASEE-INSET program introduced Lesson
Study approach as a part of in-service teacher
training
Focusing on the theme of first year INSET of
SMASEE Project, particularly on the Lesson Study
approach, an assessment was made to determine
the project’s merit and its worth in strengthening
the teaching and learning of Mathematics andScience lessons in primary schools of the Projecttarget area.
Study findings /MSIC Follow up survey Reports/
indicated that teachers found Lesson Study tohave some impact on their teaching by improving
their ability to match instructional strategies tostudents' learning needs. However, the study has
revealed that the Continuous Professional
Development (CPD) program is inactive in most
schools and this hinders the smooth
implementation of Lesson Study. What is more,
the amount of time required for teachers topractice in Lesson Study, scheduling time to meetas a group, lack of administrative support and thelack of complete understanding of the Lesson
Study process were identified as the major
challenging factors for sustainable practice ofLesson Study in our schools. Support for
professional development, flexibility in scheduling
and a commitment to change will help lesson
study take hold.
Efforts also need to be made to harmonize thelesson study activities with the existing CPD
framework at schools.
The CPD Framework of Ethiopia
As stated in the “Continuous Professional
Development for Primary and Secondary School
Teachers, Leaders and Supervisors in Ethiopia –The Framework, the overall objective of CPD for
Ethiopia is to raise the achievement of students inEthiopian schools(MoE, 2009:15). The Frameworkprovides the aim of CPD as: “The aim ofContinuous Professional Development is toimprove the performance of teachers in theclassroom in order to raise student achievement
and learning. It is a career-long process ofimproving knowledge, skills and attitudes,cantered on the local context and particularlyclassroom practice. (MoE, 2009:16)

The theme of first year INSET was “Lesson
planning and teaching methodology for active
learning in mathematics and science lessons.” Inorder to address teachers‟ practices in classrooms
and promote “active learning” in M&S lessons, in

According to MOE (2009) all teachers must be
actively engaged in:
1. Their own learning process,2. Working with their colleagues,6

3. Identifying their own needs and4. The wide range of activities, formal andinformal,
that
will
bring
about
improvement of their own practice andthe practice of others.
In Ethiopia, Continuous Professional Development
can be placed into two categories: updating andupgrading (MOE 2009).
1. Updating is a continuous process in which
every professional teacher participates
during their career as a teacher. It focuseson subject knowledge and pedagogy andimproves classroom practice.
2. Upgrading, on the other hand refers to
the process by which teachers can choose
to participate in additional study outside
their regular work as a teacher atappropriate times in their career, forexample, convert a certificate to a
diploma, a diploma to a first degree, or afirst degree to a master’s degree.
According to MoE (2009) following pre-service
and induction professional training, each
Ethiopian teacher and instructor has aprofessional, personal and civic responsibility toundertake continuous Professional development
through his or her career. Each school teacher
must take part in planned CPD activities for aminimum of sixty hours each year. These hours
should be used flexibly to address the various CPD
priorities which impact upon the work of theindividual teacher or institution.
The resources to support the CPD come underhuman resources and material resources (MoE,2009). Human resources include professional
resource at the institution level and external
support. Committed and supportive colleagues
are the most powerful and accessible resources at
the institution level. External supports for CPD
include the local and regional educational
authorities such as the WEOs, ZEOs, REBs whichhave a number of supervisors and educational
experts. The institution organizing the CPD can ask
for the support of an experienced andknowledgeable expert or organization. Other
government organizations, for example the
Ministry of Education and several national andinternational NGOs such as VSO, IFESH, USAID,UNICEF, and JICA etc. have the capacity andexperience to provide expert support fromindividuals or teams (MoE, 2009:28).
Challenges of CPD in Ethiopia
According to MoE (2009) the challenges
encountered in CPD in Ethiopia include:
1. Absence or inadequacy of structure of cpd
in most schools,
2. Lack of adequate training for CRCs (cluster
resource centers) to run cpd activities,
3. Failure to synchronize the career
structure and the cpd values and activities,
4. high turn of cpd facilitators over, time
constraints on teachers and schoolleaders,
5. lack of minimum resources required to
run cpd and lack of systematiccoordination between the education
bureaus.
In order to overcome these challenges and forsustaining continuous professional development,
the ESDP IV suggests the implementation of needbased CPD program (specific to content andsubject matter methodology in all schools(MoE,2010). The application of Lesson Study
approach to the CPD framework, therefore, may
be an apt strategy to sustain the CPD
implementations in our schools.
The CPD Framework versus the Lesson Study
approach
From SMASEE Project, the protracted version of
the Lesson Study approach with the three basic
phases (Plan, Do/Implement and see/Evaluate) issuggested to implement training (SMASEE 1st
Year
INSET:
Session4).

7

Eva Kabayonga Kagimu
Uganda, Gayaza High School

My participation in the Knowledge- Co- Creation
Program B (improvement of quality of education
through lesson study) in Japan has positively
impacted on me.
Building and sustaining communities of learning isa very important tool in the Continuous
Professional Development of teachers. Withinthese communities teachers have an opportunity
to share pedagogical skills and experiences andalso simplify and demystify seemingly hardconcepts. This leads to the delivery of moreinteresting lessons in which the students areactively involved and thus improves the attitudeof the students and teachers towards learning.

I am an experienced, inspirational and highly
motivated teacher of Chemistry and Biology
currently teaching in Gayaza High School, an only
girls’ secondary school (age 13-18years) in Uganda.
I have taught Biology and Chemistry in Uganda foreighteen years now. I am a head of the Biology
department in my school, a patron of the scienceclub and a class teacher. I am a senior assessor
and evaluator of the national examination.
I have taught in five different schools in Uganda.
One of these is a day school while the rest areboarding schools. Apart from Gayaza High School,
the rest are mixed schools.
Throughout my experience as a teacher insecondary school I have mentored and guided
learners as well as simplified scientific concepts toensure that they not only stay interested in thesubject but also pursue courses related to it.
As a seasoned teacher I have interacted withstudents from both rural and urban areas in
Uganda and have come face to face with thechallenges of teaching science subjects in Uganda.
These range from poor attitude of both learners
and teachers towards science to poor provisionand utilisation of science teaching aids.
The Ugandan education system is exam oriented
so a number of teachers have not yet seen thevalue of lesson study. Often such teachers do nothave time for lesson study they thus concentrateon drilling students for purposes of passing exams
ultimately affecting the quality of the content
delivered and destroying the interest of thelearners.

Some parts of Uganda are already carrying out
lesson study in schools but these are only a few
and not all teachers in these schools are on board.
The open lesson study sessions I have observed in
Fukui Prefecture have shone a bright light on the
future of education in Uganda because it isevident that open lesson study can be used to
improve the teaching of all subjects and not justscience and math.
As a participant in this KCCP I am convinced that it
is not only my duty to support the systems oflesson study in my country but also set a good
example of this in my practice. I will utilize thealready existing structures of SESEMAT todisseminate information on sustaining lesson
study cycles. With the knowledge acquired I
intend to strengthen lesson study groups in myschool and eventually organize an open lesson
study session in which teachers from at least fiveneighboring schools will attend and we shall shareideas.
I am fully aware that organization andimplementation of an open lesson study session
requires a great input of time and resources fromthe host school and the visiting teachers but I
know that its benefits outweigh its challenges so I
am prepared to forge a way forward. Equippedwith the skills I have acquired in reflection, inquiry,
improvisation and the enthusiasm I have gained, I
believe that I am ready to cultivate communities
of professional learning through sustainablelesson study cycles in Uganda.

8

Kahsay Hadera Gebrecirstos
Ethiopiafor 3 weeks. I have been teaching in elementary
schools for 5years in Chercher, Hawzen and
Tsigerda and also in secondary schools for morethan 6 years in Amara Saint, Edagahamus andAgazi located in the south and north part ofEthiopia. Starting April 2007 until know I am
working in education offices as experts and indifferent positions of in service training programs.
I did my graduate studies in BSC biology with in
the minor course of chemistry in Ethiopia, Addis
Ababa University and my second degree is in
Educational policy and planning in the same
university. Besides my first and second degree I
have get different short trainings from day 5-21
days concerning the quality of education andprofessional development of teachers and schoolleaderships. My current task is training design,
coordinating, cascading, providing, monitoringand evaluation.

Education is important in life because it gives
people the skills and tools they need to navigate
the world. Without education, people would not
be able to read, write, calculate or communicate;they would also not be able to perform jobs
competently, accurately and safely. Education
also teaches people about the world in which they
live, including information about history,
philosophy and culture. Education is a vital humanright and plays a key role in human, social, andeconomic development. Education reduces
poverty, boosts economic growth and increases
income. It increases a person's chances of having
a healthy life, reduces maternal deaths, andcombats diseases such as HIV and AIDS. Education
can promote gender equality, reduce childmarriage, and promote peace. Once children are
in school, the next challenge is to ensure that they
are learning to read, write and count, and acquire
the skills they will need to become productive
members of society. Good teachers are essential
to solving the global learning crisis and closing the
gap between poor and good quality education.
Therefore, it is vital that all children have teachersthat are well-trained, motivated, are able toidentify weak learners, and are supported by wellmanaged education systems. In sum, education is
one of the most important investments a country
can make in its people and its future.
Hi, my name is Kahsay Hadera Gebrecirstos from
Ethiopia and has been enrolled in the
improvement of quality of education throughlesson study program at University of Fukui in thecoordination of JICA since November 26/11/2016

Why I am interested specifically about teachersand school leadership’s development program isin order to educate students to learn, Teachers
also have to become a lifelong learners. My
experience as educational profession the teachersand school leaderships based on the mission andobjective of the organization the ability to learn,
UN-learn and RE-learn is important to cultivate
citizens for life and society is important. Realizingthat the teachers and school leaderships
overwhelmed with the paper work requirements,
the good system of professional development isbetter necessity.
The same reason also brought me to Japan toexperience the teacher and school leadershipdevelopment program is the improvement ofquality education through lesson study. Even
though context and culture are different, theexperience is why, how and what the inquiry
learning process involved situationally in different
cycles and discussion methods. What interestingis the University of Fukui is a reflective style oftraining and the attached schools methods ofteaching and lesson reflection based on lesson
study and the culture of society in relation to
discipline is similar.
I am interested more in about the lesson study
process and considering how to be applied on thebehalf of continuous professional development
program to enhance active learning and students
learning growth in Ethiopia.
Thank you to the JICA, University Fukui and all theExperience sharing schools.
9Charles Ndaziona Maonga
MalawiI am Charles Ndaziona Maonga from Malawi. I am
working in the Ministry of Education Science andTechnology in the Department of Teacher
Education and Development as a National Trainerof Mathematics. I have taught Mathematics atSecondary School for eighteen years. In myteaching experience, I have been a Teacher (6 yrs),
Senior Teacher (9 yrs), Head teacher (3yrs).
As a national trainer my core duties are planningand organizing in-service trainings for secondary
school teachers, developing write ups for inservice trainings, facilitating during national inservice trainings, supervising division trainers andteachers’ lessons and conducting monitoring andevaluation of the implementation of learner
centred teaching and learning approaches insecondary schools based on Activity Student
Experiment Improvisation (ASEI) and Plan Do See
and Improve (PDSI) principles.
During lesson supervision, the common challenges
teachers mention for failing to implement learner
centred teaching approaches despite being
trained in the same. Learner centred approaches
are the teaching which actively involve learners.
They mentions issues like students negative
towards mathematics and science, work load is
too big, pressure to finish the syllabus so thatlearners sit for national examinations, in adequate
teaching and learning materials, in adequate
qualified teachers, large classes and in adequate
number of in-service trainings for teachers, which
are usually conducted once per year under
SMASSE program which was started by JICA as
project but now running as a government
sponsored program with technical support fromJICA). SMASSE stand for Strengthening
Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education.

It is a program which organizes in-service trainings
for Mathematics and Science teachers country
wide for their professional development. Teachers
in my country are still struggling to deliver student
centred lessons (lessons which actively engage
learners in meaningful activities) despite theeffort we are putting to train teachers on thesame.
My hope and expectation was that the training
will enable me to deepen my understanding ofsome teaching and learning approaches andstrategies that promote active participation oflearners in class, learn how to cultivate
professional learning communities in schools
through lesson study, learn from participating
countries how they handle mathematics lesson in
their countries in relation to what we do in mycountry and eventually grow professionally and beable to trainer other teachers back home toimprove classroom practices through lesson study.
After undergoing this training in Fukui I havegained a lot of knowledge beyond my
expectations. As a teacher I read about inquiry
and reflective learning but I thought it works forhigh school and university students. This training
has proved me wrong and I have seen that it’s
workable even at elementary and Junior highschools after reading the poa annua, music Quist
and Petra and toy reports. Observing lessons have
deepen further my understanding of the inquiry
and reflective learning. All lessons I have observedin Fukui actively engaged learners in the learning
process and the teacher provided an opportunity
for learners to learn from each other. The learners
were put in manageable group size (4 learners pergroup) and were engaged in inquiry learning more
especially the science one (weather and soluble
and insoluble substances). They were researchingin class trying (experimenting) new ideas on theirown and writing reports about their findings. I
have indeed learned new approaches of teaching
and learning beyond my expectations.
The process of reflection learning is very
wonderful, it greatly promotes thinking in learners
because I see that at each stage of reflection thelearners are faced with new challenges whichneeds to be addressed and this leads to discoveryof new ideas. The spiral then continues andproblem solving skills are enhanced in learners.
More importantly a teacher also learn fromlearners.
My take home are all what I have learnt here but
there some which needs full involvement of many10

stake holders which can not to be done
immediately, such as introducing the ideas to allparts of the country. This will mean to haveproject proposal which may take long to beapproved. I will begin by making sure that I try thepractice of inquiry learning and reflective study
with one teacher who has also attended thistraining here at her school. Together we willorient her fellow teachers on how to conductreflective lesson study will then kick start theinquiry learning with her class. Other teachers willobserve her and learn from her. Once the otherteachers have developed interest and attachedvalue then these will form the core members.
These approaches are never used in primary, andsecondary schools my country. I now begin to
wonder why? I will make sure I introduce this typeof learning in my country because it can work
perfectly. Teachers in my country research forlearner and bring ideas into the classroom andlearners follow them. The teaching and learning is
examination oriented, where a teachers interest is
to give learners what the syllabus is demanding
and make them pass national examinations
without inculcating creativity, critical, andproblem solving skills in learners. I reallyappreciate what I have learnt here, will change
this line of doing things and eventually promote
the quality of learning.
Another turning point is the way reflection Lesson
Study is conducted here and how Professional
learning communities are cultivated. In mycountry lesson study is a new practice which manyteachers have heard it but not experienced it.
Currently we have just started at one cluster after
learning it from Zambia. (A cluster is made of few
schools around a community in a district. Thenclusters make a district and districts make adivision then divisions make the nation structure).

The lesson study we are conducting is different
from the one we have experienced in Japan. Ours
involve subject groups which meets to planlessons together based on the identified problem
and teach the lesson, others observe. They discuss
the lesson and plan it again incorporating theimprovements suggested by members and thesame teacher teaches the second lesson todifferent set of students of the same level as thefirst ones. They also discuss this lesson and makefurther improvements which are documented andkept as a reference material for all.
What I have learnt here is that lesson study
should not just focus on only trying to find asolution for a problem but it’s a forum for teacher
to grow professionally by learning from eachother even those teachers from different subjects
should meet and share ideas. By involving
different subjects specialist is when you learn
more. The group are very small which maximizes
participation of each member.
The idea of cultivating the Professional learning
communities of learning is just exception as it iscompletely new to me. I appreciate the principles
on which PLC are based such as learning throughpractice, sharing mission, vision and value
focusing on learning. Perceiving achievement asfrom real students learning, inquiring bestpractices as whole school activities, commit tosustainable evolution and collaborative culture.
The way PLC are organized in deed transformknowledge through the shared inquiry. It is also
evidence informed where the interest is onpractice of the communities. In my country thepractice is that knowledge is transferred from one
person to the other and it imposes the rigid
requirements. Usually it is results oriented andinterested in performance, as a results thebenefits are minimal and one way.

Udom Paul Michael
Nigeria
My name is UDOM Paul Michael, a Nigerian, from
Akwa Ibom State in the South South geo-politicalzone of the country. I am a teacher working with
State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB),
Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, since 2009. Before
my engagement in the public service, I had servedin Community Secondary Commercial School(CSCS), Urua Obo, Ikot Ekpene, as a Mathematics
and Computer Science teacher (2005 – 2006).
11

I also participated for 2 years in the Federal
Teachers’ Scheme (1st batch December 2006 –November 2008) where I was posted to Migrant
Farmers’ Primary School Adatak, Ikot Ekpene. The
school was a newly established school. So it was
not a big school.
The Federal Teacher’s Scheme (FTS) is a Federal
Government of Nigeria’s intervention programme
aimed at providing young graduate teachersinternship and employment opportunity. The
programme also tried to solve the problem of lackof qualified teachers in schools in the ruralcommunities.
Within the last seven (7) years, I have taught inGovernment School 1, Ikot Ekpene (2009 – 2015),
Migrant Farmers’ Primary School, Adatak, Ikot
Ekpene (2015 till now). Basically I am a
Mathematics and Computer Science teacher,because I studied these combination during my
pre-service years at Federal College of Education(Technical), Omoku, in Rivers State, Nigeria. But asa teacher in primary school, you are expected toteach all the school subjects like, English language,
Mathematics, Science, Social studies, Moral
Instruction, Agricultural Science etc irrespective of
your discipline.
ThoughI
studiedMathematics
education/computer science, it was not that easy

Victoria Mkungula
MalawiHello! My name is Victoria Mkungula from Malawi
and I am a mathematics teacher. I have been

to teach. Through many in-service trainings
attended like SMASE, I discovered that there wasalso the greater need to demystify Mathematicalconcept which are more of abstract ideas andpaper work. Through SMASE I was able to find out
the connection between everyday life andMathematics topics, so I needed to communicate
same to my pupils. This I see as the only way tobridge mathematics topics, textbooks printingsand pupil’s day to day life. SMASE trainings equip
teachers with skills of improvising raw materials
for my lessons. SMASE Nigeria project is an
initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria
and JICA aimed at improving teaching/learning ofMathematics/Science through positive change of
attitude of teachers. SMASE is an acronym forStrengthening
ScienceAnd
Mathematics
Education.
Prior to this training, I didn’t understand theconcept of lesson study. Of course it was
mentioned during the 2014 SMASE National INSET
at Kaduna. So I was excited when I was selected toparticipate in this training. Now I have witness
teachers sit together and reflect on theirperformances and students studying together ingroups. This is a way of learning and it isimpressive.

teaching secondary school students since 2010. I
did my tertiary education at Catholic University of
Malawi where I specialized in mathematics. The
reason why I was interested to study mathematics
is that by nature the subject is applicable for all
human kind directly or indirectly. It can be used
to solve problems in our daily lives. For instance,
when we want to buy things, foreign exchange,banking and so on… in short we use mathematics
in our real life situations in different ways. The
subject encourages students to think critically inevery situation they are in.
Education system in Malawi follows 8-4-4 pattern.
Students spend 8 years in primary school fromstandard 1 up to 8, 4 years in secondary school
and then 4 years in university. This depends on
the ability of the students because no student isallowed to go to the next class if one does notmeet the requirement of the final examinations ofacademic year. School calendar has three terms,
15 weeks first term from September to December,
12 weeks in second term from January to Marchand 14 weeks third term from April to July.
12

My school is Msalura Community Day Secondary
School in Salima, central part of Malawi.
Classroom experiences are a vital part of my job
as a teacher. No one can become educatedwithout the efforts and influence of a teacher,hence I was interested to join teaching with fullconfidence because teachers are important, they
not only provide instruction to students, but theyalso stand as an additional source of
encouragement and pride in students’ lives (rolemodels). For people to become who they aretoday and realize their goals, it is because ofteacher who imparted knowledge to them. Since I
am a deputy head of science department at myschool, I have a number of roles andresponsibilities to play such as; planning, checking
schemes of work, keeping records of work,
supervisingscienceteachers,
estimating
departmental budgets, handling indiscipline cases,
conducting
departmental
meetings
andparticipate in SMASSE inset every year which aims
at strengthening mathematics and science insecondary education. This inset normally occurs
during holidays. I have been a form teacher for
four years. In our school, we also involve students
to conduct study circles every week Mondays andWednesdays where they discuss some challenging
topics of different subjects. Time table is set forevery class by the form teacher and each teacher
is allocated a day to supervise his subject. Apartfrom this we are also doing lesson study at a small
scale within our cluster of 28 schools and myschool is the cluster leader. It has started with allhead teachers and heads of all departments. They
regularly meet and discuss lessons of different
subjects. Thereafter, it will be done at school level.
With challenges that face so many teachers in
Malawi, there are many problems that I haveexperienced in the practice of education and thisnegatively affects working ability and students
learning. Problems such as large class sizes, lackof teaching and learning materials, acute shortageof teachers, low motivation to teachers among
others are common in Malawian schools. For
example teacher-student ratio is 1 teacher to 50
students that may vary according to number ofstudents. In order to solve other problems likeinadequate teaching and learning materials, we
improvise using TALULAR. This means Teaching
And Learning Using Locally Available Resources
where students take part in bringing the requiredmaterials.
Let me express my gratitude and thank people
who have organized this program. We have learnt
a lot and this will assist us in our respective
countries to improve the quality of education. I
am happy that I have acquired knowledge about
lesson study and inquiry based learning processes
and when we will go back to Malawi, we shallconsider the provision of positive andconstructing behaviors of students in theclassroom. One of the most compelling reasons to
my hope for the future of school education is tomake a difference in education, lives of students
and experiencing the joy of making that difference,
having in mind a true vocation and experiencing ahigh level of interpersonal interaction. Working
collaboratively with colleagues will assist toinvestigate areas of interest and strategies
through discussions that can bring effectivenessof my teaching profession and improve student
learning. Learning never ends, I would also like tocontinue my studies in the field of education sothat I will be one of the educators contributing toeffective and active learning for students in
Malawi.

Closing Address for the JICA 2016 Knowledge Co-Creation Program
November 25, 2016
Tomoki Nitta, Director General of
JICA Hokuriku Branch OfficeDr. Hideo TERAOKA, Vice President, University of
FUKUI,
Dear JICA Participants and Ladies and Gentlemen,
good morning
I am Tomoki Nitta, Director General of JICA
Hokuriku Branch Office.

On behalf of JICA, I have the honor to say a few
words on this occasion of the closing ceremony ofKnowledge Co-creation program Improvement of
Quality of Education through Lesson Study (B)course.
First of all, I would like to extend my heartiest
congratulations to all of you for the successful
completion of the knowledge co-creation program.
I sincerely pay my highest respect to you all foryour active participation in each subject
throughout the program in Japan.
13

I think that this training course was finished as
fruitful for all participants. During this program,
you learned and found a lot of thing throughschool visits, discussions, lectures, and so on. I
hope what you have learned and experienced
here would be utilized in your own countries after
your return. Program is finished today, but yourchallenge will start in your countries. I wish you
good luck.

Reflections from 2016 Knowledge
Co-Creation Program
Elizabeth Hartmann, Lecturer
University of Fukui
In this short report, I hope to convey my personalreflection and the implications learned from therole of a co-facilitator of the program. There are
four main ideas I will reflect on:
1. Learning opportunities through cycles ofinquiry;
2. The importance of reflective reading andwriting;
3. The importance of context; and,4. Continuing the cycle of professional
learning.

opportunities for observation and reflection, small
group discussions, reading and writing of practical
records, and a culminating International
Communities of Practice Round Table event. This
structure with multiple cycles of inquiry andopportunities to read, observe, write, and discuss
about practice allowed for deep reflection andmeaningful experiences for participants. The JICA
participants came with a variety of experiencesand expertise in education. This afforded
opportunities for rich discussion and reflection onreflective
lessonstudy
andclassroom
observations.

A full description of the activities and extended
reflection is available in DPDT’s annual publication.

Learning Opportunities Through Cycles of Inquiry
The three weeks were structured in a condensed
version DPDT’s graduate programs and spiralprocess of learning and reflection. The three-weekprogram included inquiry-based activities,

Participants were able to develop their own
understanding and meaning of inquiry-basedlearning and reflective lesson study through theseshared experiences and discussion. This contrasts
lecture-based and short-term professional
development training programs that focus onproviding information about the structure of aparticular professional development model orstrategies to improve teacher effectiveness.
Previous JICA programs have focused on this typeof professional development, which often
provides a rigid handbook, protocols for
professional
development
programs,
andexpectations for implementation. In contrast, thisprogram focused on supporting participants inunderstanding how to reflect-in-action (Schön,1983) and how to engage in reflective lesson
14

study. Through this sociocultural approach toeducator learning, participants developed theirown images and meaning of reflective lesson
study and what it could look like in their contexts.
Week 1. In week one, the goal was to follow theprocess of reflective learning and reflective lesson
study. This involved sharing their job reports,
observing three lessons at Fuzoku Junior HighSchool, participating in the public lesson study at
Ago Junior High School, and discussing
observations in a cross-session. This allowed
participants to get a first glimpse of Japaneseclassrooms and the process of lesson study.
Participants were very impressed by the studentcentered teaching style, inquiry-based activities,
and management of the classroom environment.

within one school’s lesson study organization.
Participants had opportunities to reflect on thelogistics of such an organization, the content ofwhat gets discussed and worked on during theselesson studies, and the possibilities for their own
contexts.

An additional lesson study observation at a third
school of their choice (Maruoka Minami JuniorHigh School, Fuzoku Elementary School, or
Wakasa High School) provided another value
experience and opportunity to understand yet
another iteration of lesson study. On Friday,
participants were able to share about theseexperiences in cross-session groups.

Week 2. In the second week, the focus was theprocess of longitudinal reflective learning and theorganization of lesson study. Participants began
the week by reading teachers’ practice records
and discussing in small groups.

On Wednesday, they observed two additional
lessons at Fuzoku Junior High School, observed asmall study group of teachers meeting to plan forlesson study, and discussed the various activities
and structure of lesson studies at Fuzoku througha presentation by Pauline Mangulabnan. This day
was important in situating the previous week’sobservation, the reading of practice records, andobservations of various lesson study activities

Week 3. The final week focused on connecting theprevious observations, readings, and reflections totheir home contexts. Discussions, presentations,and reflections focused on how to cultivate
communities of reflective lesson study.
Participants focused on how this type ofcollaborative community and reflective practice
could be supported in their own contexts. In their
final reports, they summarized their observations
and reflections about reflective lesson study. In aculminating Round Table, participants shared
their reflections with educators from all overJapan. The response from participants about thethree weeks was overwhelmingly positive, andthey felt energized to return to their own contexts
and to engage in this work. Most participants feltthat this program was a starting point for a15

productive, ongoing partnership examining thepossibilities of reflective lesson study in their own
contexts. Their plan of actions showed that they
were attending to how to motivate and encourageother teachers to engage in this type of reflective
practice.

The Importance of Reflective Reading andWriting
Reflective reading and writing were integral
components of this training program. The
important role of the reflective reports wasarticulated in the programs’ design, but was also
something that the participants noted. In the
beginning, participants were unsure about the
purpose and process of the reflective writing.
However, after engaging in the writing,participating in small group discussions, andreading other practice records, participates
understood the value of writing as anopportunities for self-reflection and thinking and
as a tool for communicating experiences andknowledge.
Even with a wonderful translator, language
remainedabarrierforunderstanding
observations fully. Thus, reading practice records
allowed participants to understand more fully aclassroom’s contexts and the events as they
unfolded over multiple days, something that was
not logistically feasible in our short program. They
could read about class activities, student
responses, and teachers’ reflections. These
reflections allowed participant to understand avariety of inquiry-based teaching examples.
In addition, two book excerpts provided
background on the concept of reflection-in-action,
inquiry-based learning, trial – error – reflection
cycles, and principles for cultivating reflective,
professional learning communities (Schön, 1983;
Schön, 1987; Wenger, et al, 2002)From Educating
the Reflective Practitioner, participants came tounderstand the parallels between student andteacher learning and the important of reflection in

the trial and error process of teaching. The
excerpt from Cultivating Communities of Practice
was also important in framing how theparticipants talked about designing opportunities
for professional learning. Participants referred tothis chapter throughout discussions in the third
week about how to support and engage inreflective lesson study in their own contexts.
In addition to reading, participants engaged inreflective writing almost every day. Much of thiswriting was informal, based on observations andsmall group discussions. Three formal, morestructured reflective writing tasks supported
participants in thinking about the focal points foreach day. Through this writing, participantsreflected deeply on their experiences in the
program as well as their contexts back home.
While benefits of reflective writing were evident
in the program and understood by participants,
this process was not without challenges. From myperspective, the major challenge is how to
support this process of reflective writing. In DPDT,
teachers are accustomed to engaging in reflective
writing. They are used to talking about theirpractice and writing about their reflections andthinking. While I believe in the power of reflective
writing, I do not believe that this is necessarily anatural process to engage in. How should
participants talk about practice? How should they
write? What should be included in a practicerecord? How do they describe an observation?
What counts as reflection?
Writing is a skill. If educators have not engaged inreflective writing, then they will need support inunderstanding what reflective writing is and how
to engage in this process. Over the three weeks,through small group discussions and reading ofpracticerecords,
participants
gradually
understood this reflective writing process.
However, explicit writing support could havemore efficiently and smoothly supported their
engagement in this process. I am not suggestingthat participants need a checklist or a rigid
template for writing. I am suggesting that samples
of, tools for, and explanations for writing be more
intentionally included in the program to support
their learning.
In addition, to supporting the content of reflective
writing, it is important that the logistical processof writing be supported. Some of the participants
16

struggled with typing and thus needed
opportunities to reflect through handwritten
methods or needed additional time before orafter the sessions to work on their reports on
their own. In the first week we also struggled withthe logistics of compiling and printing reports. Thiswas improved on in the second and third weeks
by giving clear deadlines of when to complete
drafts of writing, having a Google Drive and email
address to transfer and store files, and provide avery simple template that standardized theformatting of reports.
While my reflections may seem critical, I believethat fact that the content of the reflective reading
and writing support participant learning is not
insignificant. This was a huge success in such a
nontraditional,
inquiry-based
professional
development
program.
Mysuggested
improvements are mostly logistical and are things
that can be better planned in advance by myself
as a facilitator.
The Importance of Context
Throughout the program, I continued thinking
about the importance of context: the culturalcontext, the participants’ home contexts, and thecontexts of the schools sites selected. Pauline
Mangulabnan’s presentation was a good
opportunity for participants to learn about theentire structure of lesson study at Fuzoku JuniorHigh School, how there are different kinds oflesson study, and how individual activities are
situated in the larger lesson study organization.
Participants appreciated learning about thebackground of the schools and seeing different
versions of lesson study. In addition, talking withteachers was helpful for participants to hear
about the background of the classrooms andinquiry-based teaching style.
One topic that kept coming up was the schools
selected for context of their observations. These
schools are clearly innovated and well-resourced
schools. This contrasts most of the participants
own contexts, where funding is low, schools lackresources, and class sizes are sometimes over 100
students. What is the role of context? How canideas from these schools be taken up in very
different contexts? While participants did discuss
this, I believe these questions should continue tobe considered in future collaborations.

In addition to the school contexts, participants
were very interested in the cultural context ofJapan and the Japanese education system. They
wanted to know more about Japanese culture andthe rationality behind reflective lesson study,inquiry-based learning, and the design of thesethree weeks. How to more explicitly discuss theseissues of cultural context is something to consider
for future programs.
Continuing the Cycle of Professional Learning
I have already discussed how the three-weekprogram was design to include multiple cycles ofinquiry. Participants began by looking at student
learning in one lesson and a single lesson study,
then student learning longitudinal learning
process and teachers’ longitudinal learning in
multiple lesson studies, and finally the cultivationand continuation of sustainable communities ofpractice. While the three-week program is over, I
hope that their learning continues in more cycles
of investigation and reflection. This is now thebiggestchallenge
point
inprofessional
development programs: How will we continue tosupport their learning?

While participants had a valuable experience inFukui and learned much, they stated (and I agree)that they wanted to continued support in learning
to facilitate this type of reflective lesson study. To
realize the potential of this type of professional
learning, continued support for these educational
leaders is necessary. For example, follow up
training sessions in Africa to support theirfacilitation of reflective lesson study. Invitations
for these participants to return to Fukui for future
Round Table events could not only continue
supporting their learning, but could help us learn
from their experiences. This brings me to achallenging, but important question:
What does it mean to productively cultivate andsupport international communities of practice ofreflective lesson study?
17

This final question is my challenge. It is notenough to engage educators in an intensive threeweek cycle, then to send them back to their own
contexts to engage in this work in isolation. How
can we continue to support their learning and tolearn from their experiences?

If you have questions and comments related to
the Knowledge Co-Creation Program, pleasecontact lizhart@u-fukui.ac.jp

Book Excerpts• Schön, D. (1987). Educating the reflective
practitioner. (pp. 26-29)• Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective
practitioner: How professionals think inaction (Vol. 5126). Basic books. (pp. 7693)• Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder,W. (2002). Cultivating communities ofpractice: A guide to managing knowledge.
Harvard Business Press. (Chapter 3)
Presentations• Kimura: Challenge for the Reflective
Lesson Study; Cultivating the Professional
Learning Communities• Makita: The Process Behind Developing
Teacher Competence• Mangulabnan: Professional Learning at
Fuzoku• Saikawa: Overview of the Fukui
Prefectural Institute for Educational
Research

A FOLLOW UP REFLECTION: REPORT OF LESSON STUDY MEETINGS WITH
TEACHERS IN IKOT EKPENE
The Knowledge Co-Creation Program was a positive experience for all participants and facilitators. It is the
DPDT’s sincere hope that this collaboration continues beyond the three week training program to support
participants as they engage in lesson study in their home context. Below is an excerpt of a report of one ofthe participants’ initial efforts to engage in lesson study after participating in the 2016 program.

Udom Paul Michael
Master Trainer and Classroom Teacher, Nigeria
Following my participation in the JICA training
programme held at University of Fukui, Japan, I
am well equipped with the knowledge and havedeveloped the skill and the capacity to:(i) Lead teachers in lesson study meeting(ii) Train teachers on the fundamentals of
lesson study(iii) Guide teachers to conduct lesson study
meetings(iv) To sustain the long term reflection
process of lesson study.
The objective of the training in Japan was “toenhance the capacity of the participants in
conducting lesson study which promote thequality of teachers”.
On my return I submitted my training report andwork plan to JICA, Federal Ministry of Education,
Abuja and SUBEB, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The work plan I drew had three (3) alternatives:A- work plan for lesson study – National,
B- work plan for lesson study –Akwa Ibom
State, andC – Pilot Lesson Study meeting withteachers (colleagues) in my locality.
Lesson Study meetings: I opted for the 3rdalternative as a pilot phase since:(i) It cost me and the participating teachers andthe host school little or nothing to meet, teach,observe and discuss.
(ii) The reactions of the participating teachers areuseful input in the overall focus of the lesson
study programme in Nigeria (planning, timing,
material resources, and funding, monitoring andsupport services).
18

(iii) Our training institution in Japan –DPDTUniversity of Fukui advised that we can startlesson study with our immediate colleagues bycultivating a culture of learning community among
ourselves, then generate useful reactions (input)
which is to be built into the overall lesson study
action plan.
(iv) It was easy for me as a SMASE State trainer todraw up core teachers who had been trained on
the SMASE principle of ASEI-PDSI for a follow-up
meeting and support service.
1st Lesson study meeting: Migrant Farmers’Primary School, Adatak, Ikot Ekpene. Jan 9, 2017.
Attendance: 7 teachers (home school).
Activity: I addressed the teachers on the topic:“Lesson Study- what is it all about”. Lesson study
is the practice of sharing ideas, thoughts, andskills among professional teachers. It is helpful tothe teachers in many ways. Once a teacher is able
to identify his challenge, and share it with otherteachers during lesson study meeting, solutions
will be provided for him.
Reaction from participating teachers: The
teachers were enthusiastic about being part ofthe lesson study meeting. They looked forward tobenefitting from it greatly. They called for regularmeetings. The head-teacher Mrs Hannah J Udoh,a SMASE teacher, was full of appreciation tolesson study, hoping that it will be helpful to theteachers just like SMASE training.
2nd lesson study: Methodist School, Ikot Obong
Edong. March 14, 2017.
Attendance: 9 teachers (please see list in attachedappendix).
Activity 1: I assembled the teachers by 11am andaddressed them on “Lesson Study- what is it allabout?”. Lesson study involved a group of
professional colleagues (teachers) visiting aparticular school, observe a class and have post
lesson reflection with a view to improving
ourselves on the practice.
Activity 2:We observed an English Language classin primary 5.
Class size: 34.
Topic: Reading and Comprehension.
Title of the passage: “why some pupils fail inschool”.
Activity 3: Post lesson reflection. The classteacher Ms Inimbom Akpan explained that she
treated new/difficult words from the passage withthe pupils the previous day. That the lesson was acontinuation from the previous day. That she wasparticularly interested in the passage. That “itpoints out things I should do”; and that “thepassage teach me as a teacher not to be a lazy
teacher”. She concluded.
Remark: It was observed that she stayed focusedon the lesson. She called for input from both boys
and girls (gender sensitive). She posted sufficientand relevant questions to stimulate the pupils tothink along the passage.
Professional Support: Shewas encouraged to usegroup study approach rather than wholeclassapproach in her class. The advantage is thatsome of the weak readers/even those who cannot
read at all will be able to draw help from groupmembers directly. Pupils learn better from theirpeers. She was also encouraged to pay attention
to individual pupil’s learning style/pattern; thatway she would be able to discover new surprises
in her class.

During L.S meeting @ Methodist School, Ikot
Obong Edong
3rdLesson Study Meeting: St Mary primary School,
Ikot Atatsung/Ikot Obong Otoro March 17 2017
Attendance: 9 teachers
Activity 1: 30minutes lecture on the theme“ Making
Practice Report”. Teachers wereencouraged to pay attention to their lesson as it
flows, make records of turning points of such
lesson. Note pupils initial thought, and final
discovery. Make note of input materials, howpupillearn and when they themselves require
extra support, assistance received, and such otherthings that may help effective lesson delivery.
Activity 2: Lesson observation. We observed amathematics class in Primary 2.
Topic: Subtraction of numbers.
Classsize: 56
Activity 3: Post Lesson Reflection:
Observation: Pupils were observed using bottlecounters and counting sticks to perform the classactivity. The class teacher was able to show
effective classroom management by moving
round to support the weak learners.Some pupils
were unable to count and subtract their counters.
SupportiveComment:The class teacher Mrs
Ekaette Obot, was encouraged to link the lesson
to more familiar objects like biscuit, sweets andeven books. She was also encouraged to attempt
working with them in groups than individual
19approach, and to study individual learner’s
personality while in class.

on to use prime factors to break two numbers andobtain their LCM.
Of course we are still open to any other idea thatwill be useful in teaching LCM.

During Lesson Study meeting @ St. Mary Primary
School, Ikot Atasung/Ikot Obong Otoro.
4th Lesson Study meeting : Government School,
Ikot Obong Edong, March 22, 2017.
Attendance: 6 teachers
Activity 1: I addressed the teachers on the theme“IF TEACHERS MUST PRODUCE ACTIVE LEARNERS,THEY MUST BE ACTIVE LEARNERS THEMSELVES”.
The bottom line is that teachers who has sincestop or refused paying attention to new trends in
his career cannot make much impact on his
learners, and hence cannot help them to become
active learners. Being an active teacher requires
more than writing lesson notes, and of course
talking to the pupils. It involve carrying out
research about what to teach?, how to teach?,what input should be brought in?, what activities
should be designed for my lesson?, how do mypupils reacts to lesson?, how do they learn?, can I
adjust my lesson to suit their learning styles?, andsuch similar stuff. Work all the time to learn fromyour pupils, colleagues, and other stakeholders.
Teachers should also study in groups, lessons they
are to teach way far ahead of time. This isnecessary so we could identify weak points of ourlessons.That way our learners will see and start toemulate us.
Activity 2: we observed a mathematics class inprimary 6.
Topic: Least Common Multiple (LCM)
Class size: 50
Activity 3: Post lesson reflection: the class teacher
Mrs Rose S. George explained that the lesson is afollow-up lesson. That she decided to use the longdivision method for that lesson.
Observation: some pupils were unable to solve
the class activity. They complained that they don’t
understand the process. Some pupils were quite
impressive, as they did not lost any time solving
the class work.
The class teacher was encouraged to re-teachfactors of numbers, show the pupils how to obtain
prime factors of numbers, and from there, move

During lesson study meetings @ Government
School, Ikot Obong Edong.
General Observation/Notes:(i) The participating teachers rated the lesson
study meeting as very good, in the sense that it
has help them to interact with colleagues fromother schools and from other background who
may be more knowledgeable and skillful in theirrespective subject areas.
(ii) They called for the program to be sustained.
(iii) They also express their willingness to attend
lesson study meetings anytime they are invited.
(iv) They observed that lesson study is notstressful, but that it serves as a guide to them.
(v) They demanded for lunch and transport
allowance as incentive to encourage them toattend more lesson study meetings.
(vi) The head-teachers of the schools where
Lesson Study were held, were very grateful tohave their schools selected to benefit from suchan interesting meeting. They prayed we comeback soon.
(vii) The Education Secretary was happy to hear
about Lesson Study and wish to attend ourmeetings by next term.
Recommendation: From the report above, it isobserved that teachers are very happy with thelesson study programme, and are willing tocontinuously participate in lesson study meetings.
Therefore I recommend that Lesson Study beinstituted in full scale in Akwa Ibom State, and in
Nigeria at large; and be sustained.
Prayer: it is my hope that the Federal Ministry of
Education, Abuja, Universal Basic Education Board(UBEC), Abuja, and State Universal Basic
Education Board (SUBEB), Uyo, Akwa Ibom State
will approve the creation of Lesson Study
meetings among our teachers in our publicschools, and that it will support full scale
implementation,andsustainedit.

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Round Table: International Zone
The World Meets Fukui in Three Days: Reactions on the FirstInternational Fukui Roundtable
Pauline Anne Therese M. Mangulabnan, Graduate Student
Nara Women’s University

Last February 17, 18 and 19, 2017, educators fromsix different continents were invited to take partin the Spring Roundtable at the University of
Fukui. They were from America, Australia, Bhutan,
Cambodia, Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia,
Lithuania, Malawi, Philippines and Uganda inwhich sixteen of them were sponsored by theuniversity. There were classroom teachers, schoolleaders, graduate school students and university
professors. We were also joined by specialteacher training program students of University of
Fukui. For three days, they were able to observe
classes, share their own educational programs,
listen to situations of educators across the globe
and reflect on their practices with respect tothose three days in Fukui. Moreover, each one ofthem were able to participate in the unique styleof roundtable discussion of University of Fukui
from listening to the plenary and panel
discussions to actually sharing what they are
currently working on.
Day 1: Classroom Observations at Fuzoku
Elementary and Junior High Schools
On the first day, everybody went to Fuzoku
Elementary and Junior High School (now, Fuzoku
Compulsory Education School) to discuss their‘three seeds’ and then observe classes.
Participants had sent us their ‘three seeds’ before
coming to Japan. It included their professional
background and experiences, teaching milestones
or episodes that had shaped their current
perspectives about education, and the challenges
that they did or are facing in their own work
places. Having the participants discuss thesethings in small groups at the start of the program
tear down all walls of anxieties or nervousness.
They felt comfortable with each other. Some had
even mentioned, ‘The similarities in the challenges
we face across the continents was interesting.
Despite differences in our locations, I was
surprised to hear how similar our problems are…
This was a great experience!’ ‘Despite our manyvaried contexts, we are all grappling with similar
challenges. Hearing the different strategies people
are taking consolidates for me the power ofshared learning.’
And then they saw, Mr. Yanagimoto’s Grade 8
Mathematics, Mr. Kinoshita’s Grade 8 Science,
Ms. Matsuta’s Grade 8 English and Ms.
Watanabe’s Grade 3 Mathematics classes. They
were impressed to see how students are wellbehaved and responsible towards their own
learning, how organized the classes are with very
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prepared teachers, how relaxed the learning
environment was which allowed students to voiceout even their misunderstandings and how
enthusiastic and active the students are towards
thinking and learning among many others. A
participant even wrote in his reflection, ‘I am
impressed to have seen classes which actuallydemonstrate what active learning, exploration,
inquiry and collaboration, and other ‘buzz’ words
are in action and reality…’
They also had a chance to speak to these teachersplus Mr. Makita and Ms. Yanagi of Fuzoku JuniorHigh School who shared about teachers’
perspectives on teacher reflections, lesson design,building a learning culture in school, andrelationship between students and teachers.
Participants wrote in their reflection about theschool visit,‘Teachers’ deep respect for students
were evident. Moreover, teachers’
professionalism, content knowledge
and knowledge of teaching were
impressive…’‘What stood out is having thepractice of research at all levels of theeducational practice, including first
graders, to be published in someform. Documentation is a very
important tool for research andeducation and provides learners andeducators alike to review what works
and what doesn’t…What can bebetter evidence for student learning
than the work/s of the students
themselves?’
Each one of them was also able to eat with thejunior high school students and observe their dailycleaning tasks. The students were also delighted
with this experience as they were not only able topractice their English but at the same time learn
about other countries. It was the first time thatthey had seen that much of foreigners in theirschool. One of the Colombian teachers even triedcleaning with them. At the end of the day,participants moved to the university and were
given the chance to discuss among themselves thewhole day’s activities.
The participants were divided into three groups:
Science, Mathematics and English. Mala, Mauricio
and Andrius were in the Science group; Christie

was in the English group; Liz and I were in the
Math group. All the groups were provided withcolored sticky notes (1) to provide structure to thediscussion (i.e. pink sticky notes for positive
comments, blue for questions, and yellow forother comments or room for improvement), and(2) to allow them to experience one of themethods of post lesson discussions in Fukui. After
thirty minutes of discussion, each grouppresented a summary of what they had discussed
among themselves. In the pictures below, one
would notice the the pink stick notes showing
how impressed the participants were with thelessons and also how the classroom observation
sparked more questions with all those blue sticky
notes.
Below are some of the things that they had
written on the pink sticky notes on studentteacher relationship:• teacher's high respect towards thestudents and vice versa were evident in
the classes• strong spirit of cooperation between
students and teachers• the teacher gave all students a chance togive their hypothesis
On
student-to-student
interaction
andengagement:• student engagement is admirable; they
were engaged and active in class• students were using their own language
to give advices to the younger students topass on the culture of learning• students were discussing how to express
their ideas and their thoughts; it was also
very easy for the students to come up
with their groupings• students’ high level of autonomy and selfcontrol were impressive• the students seemed to really enjoy theclass
On class atmosphere and pedagogy:• the classroom is conducive for students tolearn; it is a safe learning environmentthat supports discussion• the teacher linked previous ideas to the
new ideas; the teacher also used students'
outputs to be able to deepen learning• the whiteboards allowed sharing andanalyzing students' strategies during a
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•
•

task that seemed to be exciting forstudents
the teacher utilized students’ reflections
from previous lessons to follow throughtheir thinking
the article used in the class was realistic

Each participant came with their own uniqueexperiences in education, the classroom
observations prompted a lot of questions related
to issues and challenges of their own educational
institutions and conditions. Despite thedifferences in backgrounds and contexts, theirquestions were related with each other and wereaboutclassroom
management,
student
engagement,
lessondesign,assessment,
collaborative culture, learning materials andstudent reflections. Below are some of the mostcommon ones:• How did the school build such a culture
where students are very responsible, wellbehaved and enthusiastic in doing theirtasks?
• Are teachers monitoring who speaks/
participates? How? Do teachers plan fordifferentiated learning?
• What is the most effective form of
feedback which is used? How do theyassess what students have learned? Do
they use rubrics in grading students’ workof performance tasks?
• How do they manage students’committees for each subject? When they
do start the committee system, is it
starting from the junior level?
The participants were so engrossed in their
discussions that they barely would allow us to callit a day. It was a packed tiring first day but no one
complained. On their reflection sheets, theyreiterated how impressive the classes have been
which demonstrated active learning, inquiry andcollaboration. They also wrote their appreciationof having the opportunity to experience first-handa student-centered class and reflective students.
These were some of the things that they would
want to bring back to their own respective
countries and institutions.
Despite the jet lags and the cold, participants
spoke warmly and greatly about the first day - thestudents, the teachers, the learning that took
place, and this activity of DPDT. In my small group,

teachers exclaimed how they could not wait forwhat was in store for the following days.
Day 2: Round Table Forum and Symposiums
Days two and three are the actual roundtabledays at the University of Fukui. On February 18(Saturday), everyone listened intently as Ms.
Hartmann discussed Fukui's roundtable objectives
and designs, and what is the Department ofProfessional Development of Teachers of the
University of Fukui. She had also introduced theinternational efforts of the department, had given
an overview of reflective lesson study, and had
clearly elaborated on what the roundtable is for.
After which, participants went back to small
groups to discuss more of their ideas andobservations in the previous day. In addition tothat, they shared what it means to their own
practices. One of them expressed, ‘It was my firsttime to see classes outside my country. I would
want to bring this new perspectives of listening tostudents and focusing on learning back to mycountry.’
After lunch, everyone moved to the 13th floor of
the Science Building to experience student poster
presentations where elementary, junior high andhigh school students presented their projects toparticipants from all over Japan and all over theworld. A group of elementary students discussed
about their research on the favorite lunch ofJapanese students; junior high school of theattached school shared about their batch TV
project; and some high school students shared
about their researches on Japanese traditions. The
participants were impressed not just with thesestudents’ outputs but also their abilities to speakin front of adults they do not know. They alsocommented that such an opportunity makes
learning more authentic for these students adding
more value to the tasks they do in school. Then,everybody headed back to Academy Hall to listen
to Charles, Victoria, Eva and Ermias’ presentations
about their actions to improve education in theirrespective countries after their three-weekintensive training on Knowledge Co-creation in
Fukui last November 2016. All four of them shared
what they had learned from JICA - DPDT training
last November, how the experience had inspiredthem to share about reflective lessons study,some of their challenges in the past three months
before coming back to Fukui, and their futureplans. This was also attended by more educatorsfrom JICA and other education sectors.
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Then, they participated in the poster
presentations of university students, pre-service
teachers and in-service teachers. The participants
got particularly interested in the presentations of
the Tankyuu Learning Community Network of
University of Fukui, practices of graduate studentsof DPDT, and community activities which weretied up with schools. Some of them asked thestudents how they came up with their research
topics and why do they wish to enter theeducation field. The group also had the privilege
to listen to the panel discussion of Mr. Morita,
Ms. Ishii and Mr. Kaneko on Lesson Study and new
Course of Study of Japan. The main points of thepanelists were:- when teachers collaborate with eachother, they help each other understand the
difficulties or complexities of the curriculum
and find ways how to adapt it as acommunity;- through lesson study, everyone thinks
together and discusses together how to
makeclassesmorefun;- through lesson study, everyone
understands students across subjects
promotinginterdisciplinary
learning;- through lesson study, teachers try tounderstand students’ ideas deeper; and- through lesson study, teachers share anduse each other’s abilities - even students’abilities - to improve learning situation andlearning itself.
And then, each country formed their own groups
to reflect about their experiences andobservations here in Fukui and how it can makesense in their own contexts. The room was filledwith engaged teachers speaking various
languages. My group had more questions thananswers but had agreed that reflection among
teachers is an important aspect of professional
development which would benefit both teachersand students. They were impressed with what
they heard during the panel and by the panelists
themselves. Discussions in the room were so
intense that many had continued it over dinner(while enjoying Fukui’s delicious food).

Spanish group. Until 2:10 in the afternoon, theseteachers were sharing and learning from eachother’s practices. Questions were flying across the
big hall as these educators were enthusiastic tolearn more from their colleagues from anotherside of the world. Some of the practices shared
were about Math Labs (America), Mathematics
Learning Space (Australia), Alternative Vision for
Educational Change (Colombia), Adaptation of
New K12 Educational Policy (Philippines),
Teaching Tolerance Through English Camp
(Lithuania), Drama and Choral Reading(Indonesia), and Learning Assessment (Japan).
Those three jam-packed days seemed too shortand not enough to meet everyone’s expectations.
But that is just me; the comments from theparticipants spoke otherwise. Here are what someof them wanted to take home with them,‘My take home here is that teachers
should be open enough so that he cangrow professionally. the teacher
should thin about students’ needs
and on how students are learning andnot just knowledge itself. Also, theidea of school culture including
values, cleaning and characterbuilding
arevery
important.’(Malawi)‘From this experience, I want to bringback home the practice of reflective
learning, small group discussions inschool, and deep learning. I also havelearned about Math Labs coaching,as well as, the techniques of the
Science and Math classes. I would
want to bring that home too.’(Philippines)

Day 3: Round Table Discussions‘I would love to implement the idea ofopen lesson study in my country. I
have had this idea of doing reflective
study but never took it seriously. But
now hearing many talk about theeffectiveness f the strategy, I am fully
convinced to implement this when I
go home. I will also encourage mycolleagues back in my country to do
the same.’ (Bhutan)

On the last day - February 19, 2017, allparticipants were divided into smaller groups witheducators from at least four different countries
and a Japanese. In addition, there was also a‘I think the practice records are
fascinating both as a tool for
supporting educators to reflect on
their own practice AND as a tool for24sharing knowledge/experience within
a community. I am interested in think
about how this kind of experiencemight be incorporated into theprofessional learning structure weuse to support teacher learning.’(America)‘This weekend, I learned a lot.
Something interesting was about
curriculum, deep and active learning,and student poster session. Learningfrom other participants throughround table discussion also gave me a
lot of new insights. What I will try tobring to my country is mostly aboutreflection and lesson study. I will try
to apply it when I go back.’(Indonesia)
And some more reflections about their three-day
roundtable experience in Fukui,‘I believe that all of us educators
gathers for the past three days
appreciate more our respective
contexts. These contextual features
are different but I am one with theorganizers of this conference inmaking rooms for constructive
sharing of best practices and open
friendly environment in growing
together with our fellow educators. I
would like to bring home with mestories of inspiration and hope to
improve our education. Kudos to theorganizers of this conference. Will
you invite us again next year?’(Philippines)‘It is my first time to join theroundtable in English. I noted thatJapanese system has good points but
it also has to improve more.
Roundtable gives us motivation for
tomorrow. Talking with people whohave different backgrounds give us
different point of views and had
broadened my horizon. I hope more
and more Japanese teachers join in
the future! Thank you for this.’(Japan)‘To introduce my practice records toteachers abroad was very rewarding.
Firstly, I was able to look over thewhole picture of my whole report andextract something very meaningful.
Second, I was able to get wonderfulfeedbacks from guest teachers, andrealize that we teachers face similardifficulties and struggle to improve iteven though our cultures andbackgrounds are different. Finally, it
was challenging to do it in English but
it was also a good opportunity topractice my English. It was fruitfulexperience to discuss things withmany teachers.’ (Japan)‘Thank you so much for providing mewith the opportunity to participate inthis roundtable. I really enjoyed thepast three days and found all of it
extremely useful for my professional
practice. The practice f lesson study
extends the work that we have been
doing in Australia and I am inspired
to take this collaborative approachback to my college. The day threelesson study was really valuable as it
gave me an idea of how this could
look in my school. The day 2 panelsessions was also fascinating as I wasable to see the challenges of theJapanese teachers also face. Thankyou so much for this amazing
experience.’ (Australia)‘The DPDT organizers were amazing. I
liked everything that were in the
program. It was really informative
and we got the chance to interact
with educators around the world. It
wasanamazingexperience.’(Ethiopia)
Indeed, there were a lot of 'thank you's' from theguests but we, in DPDT, are equally grateful forenriching our own practices by learning about
theirs. And personally, I don’t think this would nothave been possible without the brilliant minds of
DPDT staff behind it, the generous Japaneseteachers who opened their classes and joined thediscussions, the awesome facilitators, and Liz! :)

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Continuing International Collaborations
The University of Fukui’s Department of Professional Development of Teachers (DPDT) plans to continue
many of the collaborations that were fostered in the previous year. This includes hosting the second JICA –University of Fukui Knowledge Co-Creation Program in November 2017 and the second International Round
Table in February 2018. Below are a few other collaborations that DPDT plans to continue.

World Association of Lesson Study
Annual Conference
Yoshiko Hambara, Assistant Professor
University of Fukui
Last year, four faculty members and one graduate student from the Department of Professional
Development of Teachers (DPDT) of the University of Fukui participated in the World Association of Lesson
Study (WALS) Annual Conference in Exeter, United Kingdom. One of the purposes of this conference is toshare various Lesson Study practices with different countries. Moreover, it is a venue for educators to
discuss their projects with regards to improving educational practices and promoting learning across ages
and stature. Yuu Kimura presented his research entitled, ‘Sharing Emotions through Lesson Study’; Mai
Kishino presented her research on ‘Teacher Development in Community Constellations’; myself and Pauline
presented our research entitled, ‘Cultivation of a Symbiotic Community for Japanese and Foreign Students’.
In each of the presentations, we were able to interact with the audience and had productive discussions withthem. It was a great opportunity for us to share our practices here in DPDT to those from outside of Japan;
at the same time, we learned a lot from other presentations.
To read more about the WALS 2016 Conference in Japanese, please look at Newsletters 90.
This year the WALS annual meeting will take place at the University of Nagoya on November 24-27, 2017.
Following the regular conference meeting, the University of Fukui and Fukui Board of Education will host a
two-day Lesson Study Immersion Program (LSIP) on November 27-28, 2017. To find out more about the
WALS 2017 Conference and Fukui LSIP, please visit http://www.wals2017.com.

Japan Innovative Schools Network OECD Project
Elizabeth Sugino Hartmann, Lecturer
University of Fukui
The University of Fukui DPDT has been an active partner in the
OECD-sponsored Japan Innovative Schools Network (ISN). The
purpose of ISN is to connect theory and practice by collaboratingwith educators and students to consider what new 21st century
competencies students need and how to support them indeveloping these competencies.
There are several clusters within Japan, and the Fukui Cluster includes the University of Fukui as well as
Wakasa High School, Usui High School, and Fuzoku Elementary and Junior High Schools. The Fukui Cluster ispartnered with local Singaporean elementary and secondary schools and the National Institute of Education.
Students and teachers from Japan and Singapore collaborated on project-based learning focused on
environmental studies including problems surrounding microplastics and societal issues such as addressing
the growing concern of aging populations. Studies and teachers shared their projects via web-based
meetings. In addition to the web-based meetings, several teachers from Japan and DPDT members visited27Singapore at the beginning of the partnership two years ago as wellas last year. During this spring, students from Wakasa and Fuzoku
had the opportunity to visit Singapore and work with theirSingaporean peers to continue the research of the projects theypresented to each other via the web-based meetings. The students
will meet again in August at the OECD student forum in Tokyo. Many
Singaporean and Japanese students, as well as students from otherclusters, will be in attendance.
The partnership with Singapore through the OECD ISN project has
been a wonderful learning experience for Fukui students, teachers,
and DPDT educators. We look forward to continuing this partnership.
To read more about the OECD ISN Project events, please look at Newsletters 88 and 90 or visit
https://innovativeschools.jp/en/ .

Looking Forward: Continuing International Collaborations
DPDT is grateful for the opportunities to engage in so many wonderful international collaborations during
the past year. Our hope is that these collaborations will not be singular events, but will be part of a networkof international professional learning communities supporting teacher and student reflection and learning.
In looking forward, many of the projects and events described in this newsletter will continue as annual
events or ongoing collaborations. We are excited to continue collaborating with our international partners
and eager to foster new collaborative relationships. Below are just a few of the many events andcollaborations for the upcoming year.
Upcoming Events

Dates

OECD ISN International Student Innovation Forum 2017, Tokyo, Japan

August 2-4, 2017

Japan – US Teacher Education Consortium (JUSTEC) Annual Meeting,
University of Hawaii at Manoa

September 14-17, 2017

Africa Round Table, Location TBD

Fall 2017 (tentative)

JICA – University of Fukui Knowledge Co-Creation Program, University of
Fukui, Japan

November-December 2017

World Association of Lesson Study (WALS) Annual Meeting, University of
Nagoya, Japan

November 24-27, 2017

WALS Lesson Study Immersion Program (LSIP), Fukui, Japan

November 27-28, 2017

University of Fukui International Round Table, Fukui, Japan

February 2018

International Student Teacher Exchange Program, TBD

TBDOECD ISN Collaborations with NIE and Singapore K-12 Schools, Various
Locations in Singapore and Fukui

Ongoing

International Teacher Training Program (18 Month Exchange for K-12
Teachers), University of Fukui

Ongoing

If you have any questions or comments about this newsletter or DPDT’s international collaborations, pleasecontact Elizabeth Hartmann at lizhart@u-fukui.ac.jp.

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