Seven Tokyo Tech Principles for Good Practice in Learning
Competency for Self-Directed, Lifelong Learning for Students
Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) encourages you to develop a deep
understanding of society, self-improvement capabilities, communication skills, as well as abroad perspective not limited to outstanding knowledge in your field of expertise and relatedscience and engineering fields, but that also encompasses a wide range of studies in scienceand technology.
Needless to say, we are living in an unpredictable world and facing numerous shifts intechnologies as well as a global movement, which will sometimes be far beyond ourpredictions. You will need more than what you have learned, memorized, or achieved. It isessential to acquire competency for self-directed, lifelong learning to contend with thosechallenges. We hope you are determined to strive for it.
Before entering university, you may have got by learning passively and doing what you
were told. However, at Tokyo Tech, you will be encouraged to develop your criticalthinking skills, understand your strengths, and identify your aspirations. This education
will prepare you for your future.
The Institute fully supports you in identifying and realizing your own goals. As such,
following our spirit of learning, we introduce the “Seven Tokyo Tech Principles” that will
help you in your academic life.

1. Actively Connect with Professors
Direct communication with professors and researchers offers experience more valuable
than only listening to them lecture from afar. To begin with, you can try asking questions afterlectures or visiting their laboratories to learn from their deep expertise and get to know theirpersonalities. Knowledge about their research fields as well as their career paths may guideyou in choosing your own steps to take. In addition, familiarize yourself with researchers ofthe past 100 years by frequenting the library, and search recent research trends via
international websites.
Tokyo Tech professors and faculty members are there to help you. They can share withyou both their enjoyable and painful experiences of learning and life in general. The Institutestrives to provide you with an academic environment where educational encounters will
inspire and motivate you in your studies.
2. Build Cooperative Relationships with Other Students
While you may be able to work well individually, each person’s abilities contributing to agroup effort will work effectively in accomplishing more difficult and challenging tasks. Many
great achievements by the collaborative work of diverse members have been recognized insociety. This is also true of learning. Interaction, sharing ideas, and friendly competition withyour fellow students will further refine your ideas.

Tokyo Tech professors encourage you to establish connections and develop relationships
with other students, by offering opportunities for group work and activities. Critical feedback
from others will also help you further advance your learning. The Institute has launched an
educational system and academic environment that promotes cooperative relationships
among students.
3. Engage with Active Learning
You will learn very little just by passively listening to lectures, simply memorizing lecturer
notes, and reiterating them in an exam. Reflect on subject matters taught in the classroom
and compare them with your own ideas. Actively participate in group work where diverse andingenious ideas come together and are generated through brainstorming. Learning is thecombination of the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes, none of which stand alone.
Tokyo Tech professors recognize achievements when your abilities are showcased bytaking action, and practicing and applying what you learn. The Institute supports learning andteaching methods that enable students to engage in active learning.
4. Monitor Your Academic Progress
To know how much you have achieved is to know how much further you need to go. Makea habit of periodically evaluating your learning progress from a third person’s viewpoint. By
reflecting on what you have learned and how you did it, you will come to realize your strengths
and weaknesses, which in turn should help you plan your studies going forward. To
accurately evaluate your achievements, sometimes with the help of people around you, you
should always keep your goals and learning methods in mind, and if necessary, revise them.
Learn to self-evaluate your progress.
Tokyo Tech professors will consider proposals from you, and your ideas may be taken into
account when they think of making improvements to their lectures. The Institute’s educational
system is replete with ways to record your progress, such as the learning portfolio system.
5. Manage Your Time Effectively
Learning does not begin in the classroom when the lecture starts. For classes wherepreparatory work is involved, what you do before class should be regarded as the mostimportant. If you are taking more than one course, you need to manage a lot of preparatory
work and may be pressed for time. Use your time wisely, and develop efficient learning
methods. By doing so, you will be able to better review after class and also have some sparetime for extra-curricular activities.
Tokyo Tech professors will present a syllabus to facilitate your preparatory and review work,
specifying what you need to do. They may improvise during class based on the response ofthe students. The Institute’s system is designed to aid you in your preparatory work andreview studies.

6. Reach for the Stars
Expect great things from yourself. By studying, you will grow to heights you have never imagined
possible. It is important to keep in mind the goals you have set when entering Tokyo Tech. However,be flexible and do not be afraid to revise them. There are infinite opportunities for self-development
at the Institute. How quickly one grows varies from person to person, and there is no need to compare
the speed of your progress with others.
Tokyo Tech professors expect you to discover possibilities of development of which you may not
yet be aware. They will first show you what you can achieve as a stepping-stone to your academic
and personal development, which we support via constant review of its systems and organizations.
7. Cherish Diverse Talent and Ways of Learning
Prejudice tends to hinder your activities and free way of thinking. Students, faculty and staff
members on campus have diverse views and values. What each student learns and through what
methods they learn it will vary from one person to another. It is important that each student accepts
one another’s personalities with open minds. New discoveries and wider perspectives will come withmutual respect for each other. By appreciating such diversity, you will be able to think in ways you
could not before.
Tokyo Tech professors communicate the importance of diversity. They know that transcultural andtransgenerational understanding enhances effective learning, which is why we put great emphasis on
providing a barrier-free, open space for you.

The “Seven Tokyo Tech Principles for Good Practice in Learning: Competency for SelfDirected, Lifelong Learning for Students” were inspired by the most famous method ofundergraduate education in the US – “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate
Education” by Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson.

The original text runs as follows:
Good practice in undergraduate education
1. Encourages contact between students and faculty
2. Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students
3. Encourages active learning
4. Gives prompt feedback
5. Emphasizes time on task
6. Communicates high expectations
7. Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
Reference:Chickering, A. and Gamson, Z. (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate
Education, American Association for Higher Education, AAHE bulletin, 3:3-7.