FD NEWSLETTERCENTER FOR
TEACHING AND
LEARNING
INTERNATIONALCHRISTIAN
UNIVERSITYTOKYO, JAPANVol. 28
March 2024

AY2023 FD Newsletter
Published by Center for Teaching and Learning
International Christian University
1F, Othmer Library, 3-10-2 Osawa, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo 181-8585 Japan
Phone: (0422) 33-3365
Website: https://office.icu.ac.jp/ctl/
Email: ctl@icu.ac.jp

Table of Contents“I Am Not A Robot.”

Kei Nasu, CTL Director ....................................................................3

Progress, Not Perfection - Why Writing Teachers Got a Lucky Start Facing the Challenge ofAI Text Generation Tools to Academic Work

Guy Smith, English for Liberal Arts Program.................................................................................................................................................5
The Emergence of Reasonable Accommodation through Dialogue

Mari Tsujita Associate

Director, Center for Teaching and Learning / Department of Education and Language
Education .................................................................................................................................7
Brown Bag Lunch & Learn: Supporting Students’ Development of Quantitative Skills
Tomoo Matsumura, Department of Natural Sciences ...........................................................10
Neurodiversity and Student Support: Perspectives on the AY 2022 FD/SD Seminar

HiroyaBanzono, Special Needs Support Services, Center for Teaching and Learning ....................12
Report on the Academic Skills Project Ayaka Murakami, Hiroya Banzono, Yusuke Tanaka,
Kumi Kunii and Asuka Asano, Center for Teaching and Learning .......................................13
Insights from AHEAD’s 46th Annual Conference, “Equity & Excellence: Access in Higher
Education” Mizue Sugita, Special Needs Support Services ................................................21
Watashi-no Sensei - What I Learned about Teaching from My Teacher ..............................24#1 Mari Tsujita, Department of Education and Language Education .................................24#2 - Julian R. Koe, Department of Natural Sciences............................................................25
AY2023 FD Activities ............................................................................................................26

2

“I Am Not A Robot.”

Kei Nasu, CTL Director
June 20, 2023

*This is a revised version of an article with the same title, originally written for the online
edition of the FD Newsletter, June 2023.
In the spring of 2023, while observing ChatGPT and Bing AI churn out seemingly coherent
sentences, I felt like the protagonist of the sci-fi film Arrival (2016, dir. Denis Villeneuve).
Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is a linguist whose mission is to communicate with aliens who
have suddenly arrived on Earth. Upon boarding an extraterrestrial spacecraft, Banks holds
up the word “human” written on a dry-erase board, saying “Human, I’m human,” in
response to mysterious symbols that are flashing on a giant screen[1]. The scene is both tenseand hilarious at the same time. I mean, how could you expect aliens to read the alphabet andunderstand English if you also assume they don’t know the concept of human? But there
may still be a lesson to be learned here. When encountering the unknown, perhaps the rightthing to do is to return to the question of who we are.
University educators are continuing to grapple with the advent of generative AI tools that
can instantly produce complex sentences in response to our “prompts,” that is, questions,
instructions, or statements that initiate an interaction. Will AI deprive students of theopportunity to gather information from diverse sources by themselves, think critically, andarticulate their own ideas and opinions? Have questions of copyright and user safety been
sufficiently considered and resolved? Are such tools that can tell outright lies (or, in thewords of the AI industry, “suffer hallucinations”) with impunity acceptable for use ineducation and research? Clearly, there are numerous issues that remain to be addressed.
However, when I started browsing the ongoing discussions on mailing lists and in FDrelated articles in 2023, the question that drew my attention was not whether to allow or
prohibit student use of AI tools, but what it is that we, in academia, have come to value as“originality.” AI-generated texts are products of large language models (LLMs) that havebeen trained on vast amounts of pre-existing text data, including web pages, social media,
published books and papers, and other licensed data. They are not, at least in myunderstanding, “original” works in the sense of new ideas produced entirely from scratch.
Yet when we humans think, speak, and write, it is also, one may argue, an extension of what
we have learned from the different people we have conversed with and the countless texts
we have read throughout our lives. From that perspective, what is it that we can truly callour own creation?
As a historian by training, I can share with you one simple rule of historiography: When
writing about past events, we must cite all the sources on which we relied, be they centuriesold historical documents or contemporary research papers. Conversely, writing something
without citations indicates that we are making an original assertion of our own, which meansthat we have a responsibility to respond to any criticisms (all of which current generative3

AIs will not, and cannot, do). We humans have created the concept of “my own” ideas
through the process of distinguishing other people’s ideas. In practice, of course, the ideal of
citing “all” our sources is not always feasible for various reasons, such as requests frompublishers, word limits, and the researcher’s own carelessness or forgetfulness. In spite ofthese challenges, I contend that this act of constantly referring to our sources will remain
crucial in recognizing and clarifying our own ideas.
This rule of historiography, in fact, has a history of its own. According to US historian
Anthony Grafton, the footnote as a referencing method was devised by historians andscholars in seventeenth-century Europe [2]. (And yes, I just cited my source, as you can see!)An interesting paradox is that while Renaissance intellectuals were fascinated by the notionsof individuality, free will, and genius, they were also extremely conscious of how much they
depended on the writings of others. Originality, one could argue, was an idea invented at atime when the printing press had made the mass copying of information possible.
New technologies have had lasting impacts on human thought and behavior, shaping ouroutlook on the world. While it is not yet clear how university education will be affected by
the changes we are witnessing, I believe that the increasing prevalence of AI will ultimately
serve to highlight the importance of human creativity and critical thinking skills. Besides, aslong as the relationship between faculty and students remains inherently human, how could
our potential for new ideas and intellectual discoveries ever be lost?
[1] See Paramount Pictures, “Arrival (2016)—"Human” Clip—Paramount Pictures,” directed by Denis
Villeneuve(Paramount

Pictures,2016),

YouTubevideo,

uploaded

November

18,

2016,

https://youtu.be/PkYh9e-fvbA.
[2] Anthony Grafton, The Footnote: A Curious History (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997).

4

Progress, Not Perfection - Why Writing Teachers Got a LuckyStart Facing the Challenge of AI Text Generation Tools to
Academic Work Guy Smith, English for Liberal Arts Program
November 21, 2023
The Chronicle of Higher Education just released a special issue, “Big Bot on Campus”, including
two sections - 1: How Will Artificial Intelligence Change Higher Ed? and 2: ChatGPT's
Influence on Classrooms and Careers. In the college context, we are realizing more and more
every day that with the spread of these free AI text generation tools, the challenges ofmaintaining academic integrity, academic standards, and intellectual honesty are becoming
greater and more complex. The key to success in facing and reacting to these challenges lies
in discussing and sharing effective practices and then adapting them to our different
contexts. In this article, I will outline some of the ELA writing teacher practices that can help
prevent abuse of text generation tools.
One of the goals of the ELA is to improve and practice academic writing skills that students
can refer to and apply as they progress through their ICU journey. The approach is generally
a process-oriented one in that writing teachers will break writing down into steps so that we
can work very closely with students in pre-writing discussions of writing prompts, draftingof thesis statements and outlines, citing sources, writing first and second drafts, conducting
peer reviews, having tutorials on the writing, responding to teacher comments on writing,and practicing important elements of academic writing. Writing is generally approached incycles where students build up their essays slowly. Further, ideally, a writing cycle starts as
early as possible and ends as late as possible to put strong focus on the process. For example,
in my own class this term for one essay we are doing 3 peer reviews. In peer review 1,
students are expected to have around 350 words, in peer review 2, around 6-700 words andin peer review 3, around 1000 words. During this process, right from the start, I am looking
at their work and putting comments on it as they build up the paper.
A nudge is to encourage or persuade someone to go about something in a manner that isgentle rather than overly forceful or direct. Writing students and the writing teacher work
together very closely from the start on stages with students slowly building up their writing
over time. The attention paid to their writing and low pressure situation act as persuasive
nudges to guide students firmly on the path of recognizing the importance and value of
producing their own writing.
Along with these writing-process focused nudges, it is important for a writing teacher tocatch any abuse of AI generation tools early. If writing teachers collect an in-class writing
sample from students in the first week of classes and then find they are looking at otherwritten work early in the term that seems to be unoriginal, they can compare the in-classsample to this. If there does appear to be a problem, the teacher can talk to the student very
early on and make sure that this issue is resolved and the student clearly understands what5

is required. Then, the situation is less likely to develop into an extremely serious one in thata teacher is put in the position of taking action on a final essay that appears to be unoriginal
work.
Will some students still use AI text generation tools for writing tasks? Undoubtedly theanswer is yes. Although the writing teacher process approach reduces, and controls for, thetemptation to use such tools this process-oriented approach was not designed to combat andmanage AI use and abuse. Rather, it was a lucky accident. In order to really face the coming
developments in AI text generation tools, writing teachers need to build on this fortunate
start and specifically target this challenge looking at the unwelcome outcomes and potential
benefits of AI. We will also need to discuss and consult with our students as they represent
insiders who know what is really going on in our classrooms.
So, let's get together! Thanks so much to all of the CTL staff for their continuing hard workand dedication to bring various ICU groups together to address the issue of “Big Bot on
Campus” and share their respective concerns, ideas, and best practices. This is undoubtedly
the key to our community rising to the challenge.

6

The Emergence of Reasonable Accommodation throughDialogue Mari Tsujita Associate Director, Center for Teaching and
Learning / Department of Education and Language Education
February 16, 2024
In April 2024, reasonable accommodation will become mandatory in private higher
education institutions. I have been thinking about "reasonable accommodation" whileworking with CTL/SNSS this year. At ICU, reasonable accommodations for classes have been
provided through requests for accommodations from SNSS to each faculty member incharge, and there would be no major changes in the support provided.
It is noteworthy that the name of the office will change from Special Needs Support Services(SNSS) to Learning Accessibility Services (LAS) starting next academic year. Some students
have expressed discomfort with "special" in "Special Needs Support". Through discussions
with CTL/SNSS staff members, the candidates for the new name were narrowed down. I hada chance to consult a researcher who had surveyed the names of related departments andpositions in the U.S. at the annual conference of the Association on Higher Education andDisability (AHEAD). It was confirmed that the term "accessibility" was more readily
accepted by students. As for the system of the university, the inclusion of LAS within CTL
was regarded as making sense.
Reasonable accommodation has been discussed in FD Newsletter, as well as training
programs and lectures for faculty and staff from time to time, so that opportunities to obtainbasic knowledge and information on campus are ensured. Even so, some faculty members
may feel unsure when they actually have students eligible for special support in theircourses. Although I do take some measures every term, I am not confident in providing
appropriate accommodation to the needs of students and for the goals of each course.
Reasonable accommodation means removing social barriers for others to do something. Let
me consider it from the perspective of language education which is my research area. In
applied linguistics, adjusting language to the proficiency level of the other person is called"linguistic adjustment." In the case of native language, the way parents and other adults
communicate with young children is called motherese. When a teacher talks to a student, it
is called teacher talk, and when the adjustment is made for a person speaking his/her second
language, it is called foreigner talk. Thus, when we speak, we are more or less adapting tothe other person. In sociolinguistics, conversation is viewed as an interaction. Conversation
does not go smoothly unless you speak somewhat in synchrony with the interlocutor. Thereare cases of communication breakdown even among native speakers.
When teachers talk in class, what kind of speech style do they use, and how is it perceived
by students? I was once surprised to observe a class taught by a normally quiet teacher. As
soon as the class started, her voice became loud and expressive, and she spoke clearly andintelligibly. This also happens during student presentations and mock lessons. When7

speaking in public, we consciously or unconsciously change our posture, vocalization, speedof speech, intonation, vocabulary and expressions used, gestures, eye contact, and so on.
There was also an episode in which a baby heard his mother giving a lecture and began tocry, perhaps because it was not a familiar voice. People usually adjust their language to fit
the scene or situation.
When I recently spoke with a graduate, he mentioned that having studied linguistics, henoticed the way teachers talk, and coined the term "teacher pragmatics." In pragmatics, they
analyze instances in which a literal interpretation of the vocabulary of an utterance leads tomisunderstandings. For example, when a teacher asks the question "Why did you do that?”
the teacher is not asking for the reason, but rather intends to caution the student not to dosuch a thing. However, if the message is not interpreted as intended, it is necessary tocommunicate in a clearer way and also explain why the student should not do it. Whencommunicating in a non-native language, the intent of the utterance needs to be even clearer.
My first contact with SNSS was during my first year at ICU. One student was late on the
day of the quiz, and asked after class if there was a make-up quiz, which I did not allow
because I did not think it was fair to the other students. However, I later became concerned
and told her to come in during office hours to take a make-up quiz. Later, as I talked withthe student, she confided in me that she had a disability. I was surprised because it wasn't
apparent. When I asked her if she was using SNSS, she said she thought she wasn't eligible
because she was able to attend school and study without help. Even now, I sometimes thinkthat if I had not allowed the student to take the make-up quiz at that time, I would never
have known about her difficulties. Another student was often sick and was taking online
classes in bed. I allowed a make-up exam and assigned a report instead of comment sheets.
Another student said he was having difficulty concentrating on assignments, so I
recommended the use of SNSS, and he came back to report that he had made the decision to
go see a doctor, that he now had a diagnosis and could be treated, and that he was able totell people about it and gain some understanding. In an advising session for course
registration, a student was unable to get out of her bed at the time of appointment, and hermother entered the Zoom to apologize. Over the years, I have met with a number of students
who need various kinds of support. I feel helpless when I see young people struggling withconditions they have no control over. I am constantly searching for ways to remove barriers
and provide opportunities for academic learning without changing the nature of each class.
Reasonable accommodations for academic support are not limited to the way instructors
speak. There are many ways to adjust the learning environment such as the format of classparticipation (face-to-face, online, on-demand), the type of in-class activities (individual
work, pair work, group work), the type of assignments (reports, presentations, projects), tests(quizzes, final exams), assignment due dates, make-up work and tests, seating arrangements,
distribution of materials, and the posting of materials on the Learning Management System(LMS). There is no single answer to what is appropriate, as it varies depending on theindividual student's situation and the type of course. It is desirable to come up with ananswer that satisfies both the student who needs support and the faculty member. There are8times when things do not go well, but we should choose the best available option each time.
As teachers gain more experience, the skills of academic support should also improve. In thenear future, CTL/SNSS plans to hold a forum to share examples of accommodation practices
and issues, and to consult with the staff members. It is our hope that the ability to support
learning accessibility will be cultivated together as a university as a whole.

9Brown Bag Lunch & Learn: Supporting Students’ Developmentof Quantitative Skills Tomoo Matsumura, Department of Natural
Sciences
April 25, 2023
CTL’s Brown Bag Lunch & Learn (BBL&L) session on supporting students' development of
quantitative skills was held on February 27, 2023. It was a lively session, with more than 10
faculty members from different departments joining us to share their experience andinsights.
I started the session with a brief presentation of 10 minutes, drawing on my experience inteaching basic mathematics, including the general education course “World of Mathematics”(GEN025) and the foundation courses “Introduction to Mathematics” (Calculus of OneVariable Functions) and “Linear Algebra I.”
I noted that GEN025 usually has approximately 150 students, of whom about 20% areinterested in the NS major and about 40% have not studied math in the past two years.
Feedback from many students in previous years indicate that they have struggled to learn
math in the past and feel that they have no aptitude for it. There are also more students than
expected who want to be better at math or are under pressure to study it.
Each of the E/J foundation courses attract about 70 to 80 students. They include tworecitations in which the students solve exercises and present them to the class. This is aneffective collaborative learning approach, whereby students work out problems and teacheach other what they have learned. There are, of course, many other math courses, but basedon these examples, I raised the following issues as a starting point for discussion:a) How can we support those students who find math challenging?
b) How can we support those students who are self-studying rather than registering in amath course?
c) How can we encourage students to learn from and teach each other?
A stimulating discussion with faculty and staff ensued, which I’ve summarized in threeparts below.
1. Suggestions for Motivating Students to Study Math
Motivating students to study math is one of our biggest challenges, as students often
have psychological hurdles to overcome. Many students have had negative experienceswith math in their school years. One reason for this may be that they were not taught
math in context. Learning the real-life applications and history of math, as well as
understanding its importance and significance, would likely motivate the students’desire to actually use math. Another way to motivate students is to cultivate algorithmic
thinking skills, that is, breaking down a problem into smaller problems and arranging
them systematically, in a set of ordered steps, to find a solution. This is a different
approach to reinterpreting a problem to figure out a new way to solve it.

10

2. Developing Both Quantitative and Information Science Skills
It is important for students to develop not only quantitative skills but also information
science skills. Students should ideally learn some programming skills (e.g., theprogramming language R) for their senior thesis research. In addition, practicing
experimental calculations can help to facilitate the acquisition of quantitative skills.
Therefore, we should have a system to concurrently develop students’ skills in both mathand information science, not only at undergraduate level but also at graduate level incertain fields.
3. Bridging Gaps in High School Math
Individual students vary in the level of math that they have mastered by the time theyfinish high school, but it is possible to determine to some extent the minimum
quantitative skills required to take university-level math courses. Although somestudents might be looking for classes that help them acquire these foundational skills ina way that considers their various learning backgrounds, it is difficult for us to cover thatmuch ground with the current size of our faculty. The new general education course
called “Statistical Analysis in Society” (GEN028), launched in AY2022, however, aims toaddress this need, as the math and social science faculty work together to teach statisticalanalysis based on real data. Such courses help to bridge the gaps between the mathtaught at high school and university levels.
I would like to thank CTL for organizing this BBL&L, as well as all the participants forsharing their insights and experience. We ran out of time to address the second and third
issues I raised regarding self-learning and collaborative learning, but I look forward tocontinuing such discussions in future BBL&L sessions or in other spaces.

11Neurodiversity and Student Support: Perspectives on the AY
2022 FD/SD Seminar Hiroya Banzono, Special Needs Support
Services, Center for Teaching and Learning
April 25, 2023
The AY 2022 FD/SD seminar “Student Support Tailored to the ‘Characteristics’ of the Brainof the Individual: Toward Adequate Support for Students with Developmental Disorders
and Mental Health Problems,” jointly organized by CTL and the Personnel Division, took
place on February 17, 2023. Held in Japanese with simultaneous English-language
interpreting, the event was attended by about 70 faculty members. Our guest speaker was
Dr. Mitsuru Yamashina, a psychiatrist and clinical psychologist from the Faculty of Letters
at Chuo University. Ten years ago, he launched a campus system of social workers—which
now covers every faculty—with the objective of supporting Chuo University students with
developmental disabilities and/or mental health issues.
The seminar focused on individual differences in thinking and behavior due to thecharacteristics of one’s brain, as well as differences in the intensity of anxiety sensitivity.
Drawing on current research and his own experience, Dr. Yamashina explained thecharacteristics of different brains and their corresponding needs, regardless of whether or
not one has a clinical diagnosis of disability or mental health condition. How can faculty andstaff provide appropriate support to students in such cases? His talk outlined the keys forcommunication, interwoven with practical examples. He pointed out that understanding thedifferent characteristics of brains and learning ways to relate to students effectively will not
only improve the quality of support, but also alleviate stress for faculty and staff.
The concept of neurodiversity, which refers to the diversity of people’s brain functions, hasbeen attracting attention in recent years. Recognizing, respecting, and accepting
neurodiversity requires the creation of an environment that is inclusive of these individual
differences. This seminar was a valuable opportunity to learn how to support students inlight of neurodiversity.
* The name of the office will change to Learning Accessibility Services (LAS) starting next
academic year.

12

Report on the Academic Skills Project Ayaka Murakami, Hiroya
Banzono, Yusuke Tanaka, Kumi Kunii and Asuka Asano, Center for
Teaching and Learning
June 20, 2023
Launched in 2022, the Academic Skills project aims to help foster students’ academic skills
by providing relevant information and learning opportunities. We developed this project
after the sudden increase in the number of students consulting the SNSS Office during the
COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, as we realized that most of these enquiries pertained toessential academic skills such as writing comment sheets, note taking, and time
management.
We attributed this increase in consultations to the loss of everyday learning opportunities,
as online learning and self-study had made it more difficult for students to acquire certain
skills that they had previously been able to develop through their interactions in theclassroom and on campus. Furthermore, this problem was widespread and not limited to
students with disabilities.
In light of this, we held two pilot workshops in AY 2021, led by the then CTL director,
Jeremiah Alberg, and SNSS staff members, and at the end of the year, we created short videos(about 5 minutes long) on various academic skills, which students could watch on demandon Moodle. Since then we have been enhancing this online content and holding face-to-faceworkshops once a term.
AY 2022 Moodle Course and Workshop
In AY 2022, we released a Moodle course for self-study called “Academic Skills Basic,”
which summarizes university learning for students matriculating in April and September.
We also held workshops in person for all students, which provided an overview of academic
skills and how to develop them. The following is a summary of the online course and theface-to-face workshops, including feedback from the student questionnaires.
1. Moodle Course: Academic Skills Basic
The Moodle course consists of five core modules based on our 2021 pilot workshop. In
addition, there are five videos and a quiz with 15 questions on plagiarism created byProfessor Adam Randle (Psychology).
Students can progress through this self-study course at their own pace. It is structured asfollows:
1. Academic Skills Basic 1

What is university learning?

2. Academic Skills Basic 2

Academic planning and scheduling/task management

3. Academic Skills Basic 3

How to take notes in class

4. Academic Skills Basic 4

How to write comment-sheets in classes

5. Academic Skills Basic 5

How to write reports

13

6. What is plagiarism? How do I avoid it?
7. Student feedback questionnaire (from September 2022)
The course was first offered to new students in April 2022 and will be offered for the thirdtime in April 2023. This year it was modified to allow students to earn skills acquisition
badges at three different stages to encourage them to complete the entire course:

The first badge certifies mastery of the five key skills in the course, which students
receive after watching the 5–10 minute videos in Academic Skills Basic 1 through 5
and completing the 3-question quizzes for each module.

The second badge is awarded after students complete the plagiarism module, which
is a quiz based on five videos and case studies. The quiz has a maximum of 50 points,
with a passing mark of 40 points.



The third badge is awarded to students who have completed all the requirements forthe six modules and answered the questionnaire.

In April 2023, 60, 58, and 46 students earned Badges 1, 2, and 3, respectively.
The following is a summary of the course enrolments and feedback for April 2022,
September 2022, and April 2023. Note that the number of enrolments in the English andJapanese courses differed, along with the order of presentation and the timing of
notifications.
(a) Academic Skills Basic (Japanese), April 2022
No. of new students: 639, No. of sessions: 11,521, Language: Japanese

Figure 1. Summary of Academic Skills Basic (Japanese), April 2022.
(b) Academic Skills Basic (English), September 2022
No. of new students: 246, No. of sessions: 796, Language: English

14

Figure 2. Summary of Academic Skills Basic (English), September 2022.
Feedback: The following excerpts are from the English-language responses to the student
questionnaires.
I finished this course before my university classes started, so it saves time and is very
helpful.



The videos were a great review on what ICU will be like and I found the University
learning video to be quite helpful.

I think this course is well structured and designed. It pinpointed some of the questions
that I had about ICU academics, such as comment sheets and academic planning, whilerefreshing me on academic skills like note-taking and writing essays.
(c) Academic Skills Basic (Japanese), April 2023
No. of new students: 679, No. of sessions: 9,346, Language: Japanese

Figure 3. Academic Skills Basic (Japanese), April 2023
Feedback: The following excerpts from the student questionnaire have been translated
from the original Japanese responses.

15



I did not know how to take notes or write comment sheets, so the course content
improved my understanding greatly.



I would like to make use of what I learned in “How to Write Reports” from now on.

I am glad that I was able to learn about plagiarism with case studies in the final module,
but I still feel anxious about it, so it would help to have more examples.

I had some concerns about the differences between learning at high school and atuniversity, but I’ve decided to take the initiative and ask questions during lectures while
also relying on support from others.



I found it difficult to write comment sheets during a mock class at the open campus, so
I was happy to have the opportunity to learn about it in this course.



I haven’t had much experience with plagiarism, so I think this course helped to raise myawareness of the issues involved.



I’m able to picture university studies more specifically now.

2. Academic Skills Workshops(a) Reading Texts (Spring 2022)
This workshop aimed to help students overcome the challenges of reading difficult texts
and reading a great deal with limited time throughout their university studies. The
workshop was hosted by Professor Jeremiah Alberg (Philosophy and Religious Studies
major), with guest speaker Professor Takashi Kibe (Political Science major).
Figure 4: A sample text from the academic skills workshop
on reading texts (Spring 2022)
No. of participants: 24 (face-to-face: 2, online: 22)
No. of questionnaire responses: 6
Feedback: The following excerpts from the positive
feedback we received on the session have been translated
from the original Japanese responses.


The workshop taught us how to overcome the psychological hurdles of feeling that weare not good at reading, as well as practical tips to help us read more effectively.

It was very good that the workshop taught us how to develop a different mindset, whichis the fundamental axis of reading.

[I liked how] the workshop reassured us that we shouldn’t measure our academic ability
based on whether we are good at reading or not.

16

Figure 5. Participant survey results for the academic skills workshop on reading texts(Spring 2022)(b) Designing Your University Life: Starting Your Long-Term Course Planning (Autumn
2022)This workshop was designed to help students who are not sure about course planning, havebeen registering randomly for classes, or often feel that their courses are not what they
expected. Professor Heather Montgomery (Economics major) and APS/SNSS staff explained
how to create a long-term plan and introduced helpful tools, giving students a spreadsheet
template to help them plan

Figure 6. “Designing your university life: Starting your long-term course planning”(Autumn 2022) and reflect on their courses.
No. of participants: 5 (max. 20)
Take-home tool: Spreadsheet
No. of survey respondents: 4
Feedback: The following excerpts from the feedback we received on the session have beentranslated from the original Japanese responses.


I am happy that I was able to sort out my graduation requirements, understand how to
prepare for courses, and learn about useful tools.

It was an opportunity for me to reflect on how I have been choosing and taking courses
until now.

17

I learned how to set up a long-term plan.

Figure 7. Survey results for the academic skills workshop on course planning (Autumn
2022)(c) How to Make a Presentation (Winter 2022)
This workshop was designed forstudents who feel they are not very goodat giving presentations, an essential skill
for ICU students. Following a lecture byProfessor Aoki (Education major), theparticipants

prepared

their

own

presentations. We also invited Professors
Mie Moriki (Anthropology major) andRekishū Yamazaki (Physics major) to
provide feedback on what they were looking for in a presentation.
No. of Participants: 5 (max. 20)
Survey Respondents: 4
Feedback: The following excerpts have been translated from the original Japanese comments
in response to the question, “How satisfied were you with the workshop?”

I often have to give presentations at ICU, but I rarely learn actual presentation skills or
receive feedback on them. This workshop gave me the opportunity to reflect on my pastpresentations and find many areas for improvement. I also learned a lot from reading
the articles and designing my own presentation.

I finally understand how to create presentations for the first time in a logical, systematicway.



I was able to learn some helpful presentation tips from the professors.

18

Figure 8. Survey results for the academic skills workshop on creating presentations (Winter2022).
While we received positive feedback on the content of the workshop, there was also asignificant decline in the number of participants. This was most likely because the workshop
was held in person only. We are considering how to encourage wider participation in future.
Plans for Academic Skills Workshops in AY 2023
In AY 2023, we plan to hold workshops on the following themes.
In the Spring Term, with the help of staff from the library, CTL held an interdepartmental
workshop titled, “Making the Most of Helpful Services on Campus.” The workshop will bescheduled after the midterm exams, when students are likely to be most interested, as they
will be preparing for their final exams and assignments
In the Autumn Term, we will hold a workshop on contacting faculty, which will offer advice
for students on how to write emails to professors, including an understanding of online
communications. As many students seem to find it difficult to know how to communicate
effectively with their professors, we hope to break down some of the barriers by inviting
several faculty members to speak at the workshop. We expect that students will find it
particularly helpful at this time, when many of them will be looking for senior thesis
advisors.
Our workshop in the Winter Term will be on discussions and group work, focusing on how
to overcome the challenges of working with multiple people to accomplish a task. We plan
to ask several faculty members who regularly assign group work in their classes to talkspecifically about the purpose of these assignments and how they evaluate them. We chose
this theme because this is the time of year when ELA students tend to do more group work.
We hope the workshop will not only help students with their assignments, but also help
them communicate more effectively with each other.
Further Information
If you have any ideas or questions about the academic skills workshops, please feel free to19email us or drop into the CTL office for a chat and a cup of tea.

20

Insights from AHEAD’s 46th Annual Conference, “Equity &Excellence: Access in Higher Education” Mizue Sugita, Special
Needs Support Services
February 16, 2024
Introduction
At the 46th annual conference of the Association on Higher Education and Disability(AHEAD),1 “Equity & Excellence: Access in Higher Education,” held in Portland, Oregon,from July 17 to 21, 2023, Professor Tsujita and I learned about the latest developments inassistive technology (AT) and best practices in support and reasonable accommodations for
persons with disabilities at higher education institutions in the United States.
The percentage of students with disabilities at ICU is 4.83% (as of June 30, 2023, including
exchange students), which is over three times more than the national average of 1.53% athigher education institutions (AY2022 Survey on Academic Support for Students with
Disabilities).2 However, upon learning at the 2023 AHEAD conference that the figure was
15% to 20% at many universities overseas, I realized the importance of reviewing ICU’scurrent support system in view of an expected increase in the number of students withdisabilities by more than 10% in the future. In this report, I would like to share insights fromthe conference sessions and our discussions with Jen Dugger Spalding, former director of
the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at Portland State University, whom we had theopportunity to meet with privately during the conference.
The Use of Assistive Technology (AT)One type of support service that is increasingly being used at many US universities is peer
notetaking, which is a means of supporting students who have difficulty taking notes while
listening to a lecture by providing them with notes taken by other students. At large
universities, staff struggle to find over 100 notetakers, and there are low levels of satisfaction
among students who are using this service. Additionally, notetaking is an essential academic
skill that students need to develop in a way that suits them. Students who have not fully
developed this skill can find notetaking a major hurdle in their learning. However, it isextremely difficult to discern whether a particular problem is due to a disability or a lack ofskills. This is why AT in the form of notetaking apps has become useful.
Notability and Glean are two popular notetaking apps used at a US university mentioned
in a conference session I attended on July 21. It seems that some students also use OneNote,
but more than half of the students at that university currently use Notability. These apps
make users feel confident that they are taking notes on their own, and they can develop theirnotetaking skills without undue stress. However, it is not a matter of simply allowing
students to use such apps—rather, there is a need for staff who can recommend the mostsuitable AT for each student and give presentations on how to use these tools.

21

Fostering Academic Skills
While it would be ideal to empower students to take responsibility for their own learning
by using AT, as in the case of notetaking support, it also takes time for them to gain
proficiency in using AT. Especially at ICU, where students are immediately busy from thefirst semester of the first year, students have little energy or time for anything else besides
setting up and adjusting to their new learning environment. Currently, CTL provides
Academic Skills Basics (Japanese/English) courses to pre-enrollment students in order tofoster their basic academic skills as soon as possible.
I think that a knowledge of various AT tools and how to use them would be a usefuladdition to such courses. Fostering academic skills at the pre-enrollment stage, or as soon as
possible in the first year, may help to reduce the initial stumbling blocks often encounteredby students. Moreover, I realized that keeping up with the latest technological innovationsin AT, including generative AI, will help staff and faculty to present students with as many
options as possible, thus enabling students to gain a sense of ownership and control overtheir learning.
Reasonable Accommodations for Attendance
During the conference, we had the opportunity to meet privately with Jen Dugger Spalding,former director of the DRC at Portland State University, to learn more about the DRC’scriteria for reasonable accommodations for attendance. The center offers types of reasonableaccommodation depending on each student’s situation: attendance flexibility and virtual
attendance. The former gives students a certain amount of additional time (24–48 hours) tocomplete missed class assignments or quizzes, whereas the latter enables students to attend
certain classes online.
Students who wish to apply for virtual attendance are required to present a clear rationale
for their request. The center carefully considers each case to understand what is making it
difficult for the student to attend a class in person. It then encourages the student to first try
attendance flexibility or other measures they propose to address the issue. However, if it isdetermined that it is still difficult for the student to attend in person, virtual attendance isoffered as a reasonable accommodation. In that case, the center ensures that the student
understands any potential disadvantages, such as missing out on a complete learning
environment (e.g., group discussions and the dynamism of the classroom), unless the classis originally offered in a hybrid or online format. It is also noted that virtual attendance is
not possible in all classes (reasonable accommodation does not apply if it involves a change
in the nature of the class).
As ICU has returned to face-to-face learning in 2023, we are expecting more requests forreasonable accommodations in the form of online classes. However, as Jen Spalding pointed
out, virtual attendance does not always provide a complete learning environment for
students. If the aim of reasonable accommodations is to ensure full participation in classes,
it will also be important to consider other kinds of options we could present to students
besides online learning.

22Conclusion
This was the first time in about seven years that I have had the opportunity to learn
firsthand about support for students with disabilities at US universities, and at theconference sessions I was surprised to find that their services and programs were not so
different from those at ICU. While there are still many issues that remain to be addressed,
ICU’s system has certainly improved over the past seven years.
Looking ahead, owing to the revision of the Act for Eliminating Discrimination against
Persons with Disabilities, the provision of reasonable accommodations will become
mandatory at private universities in Japan from April 2024. Therefore, I feel that it isimperative for us all—not only faculty and staff, but also students—to reexamine themeaning of “reasonable accommodation,” in order to foster an environment that empowers
students to take responsibility for their own learning.

* The name of the office will change to Learning Accessibility Services (LAS) starting
next academic year.
---------1

Established in 1977, AHEAD is a professional membership association that aims to advance equity for

persons with disabilities in higher education. Spanning all 50 states of the US and more than 10 countries,
its 5000-plus members include faculty, support coordinators, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
coordinators, who are engaged in service provision, consultation, training, and policy development on theircampuses.
2

JASSO, “Survey on Academic Support for Students with Disabilities,” 2023, accessed January 22,2024,

www.jasso.go.jp/statistics/gakusei_shogai_syugaku/index.html.

23

Watashi-no Sensei - What I Learned about Teaching from My
Teacher#1 Mari Tsujita, Department of Education and Language Education
November 21, 2023
A memorable teacher for me is Mr. Norio Hosoi from ICU High School. I was not in his
English class during high school, but he was my supervisor for teaching practicum. On thefirst day, he introduced himself, "My name, Norio, is 'kyo' [教] and 'sei' [生] in kanji, and I'm'kyosei' [teacher intern: 教生 (教育実習生)] for the rest of my life." He was already an
experienced teacher at the time, so I thought how humble he was. Even when the students
called him "Norio", he always smiled and rarely got angry. He had carefully prepared forclass and had the contents and expressions of the textbook in his head, so he observed each
student closely as he conducted the class. One student said, "Norio even remembers the page
numbers in the textbook", which shows that the student had some respect for Mr. Hosoi.
In the comments section of the teaching practicum journal, Mr. Hosoi's words ofencouragement and comfort, as well as his thoughts about the students are written. He
wrote, "Don't try to do everything perfectly from the beginning...I am still making a lot of
mistakes...Learn from the shortcomings of the teachers, including mine." "If everything inyour life is going well, you may not come to God." "When I played tennis for the first time, I
was so good at it that I thought I would be better next time, but then I got worse and worse.
Don't worry. You will begin to improve again." "I used to warn the students until they
became quiet, but students nowadays are not used to being scolded, and it seems to be badfor the relationship between me and them. I feel that teaching with patience, even if it isnoisy, will yield better results. If you don't build an open relationship with your students,
you won't have a successful class. It would be great if the students could stop chatting and
get interested in creating a class together..." Being in the position of sending out teacher
interns, it seems we still have the same problems and concerns.
When I was accepted to graduate school in the U.S., I had a visit with Mr. Hosoi. He looked
quite happy to hear the news, as he had also studied at Georgetown University through the24summer program for teacher training. Several years later, he passed away. It was
unfortunate that I could not see him again, but I feel a little closer to him, since I was baptized.
Mr. Hosoi sincerely hoped for peace. I still fondly remember his soft-spoken voice and gentle
smile.

#2 - Julian R. Koe, Department of Natural Sciences
February 16, 2024
The effect a teacher has on a student very much depends on the type of person the student
is. People are affected in very many different ways and can take home different messages
from the same lecture. For me, I am influenced by all the five senses of touch, sight, hearing,
smell and taste, and all have been involved in my learning experiences and utilized by myteachers, from touching bull's eyes in biology classes to tasting acids and smelling good andbad smells in chemistry classes.

Memories of practical science experiences throughexperiments and teacher demonstrations have thus stayed with me through the years – andof course I try to perform practical demonstrations in my chemistry classes for my students,
some of which are quite dramatic, such as explosions (and I further increase the drama withsome "stage theatrics"!).

Nevertheless, in terms of my everyday approach to my lessons, it is Dr. Ken Kite, whotaught me chemistry at the University of Exeter in 1983/4, who inspired my classroom
methodology: as much as possible, I write on the board, talking as I write, and pausing to
explain. The merit of this is that students process the same content using different senses
and through different parts of the brain: reading, listening and writing – and that my speed
is limited due to my writing on the board, so the speed is appropriate for the students.
In terms of research advising, my own supervisor, Prof. Edward Abel's, approach was togive me considerable freedom and space in my research, which encouraged independence
and a sense of responsibility, while expecting the highest scientific standards. He was the
Chair of the Department and very busy, but his door was always open if I ever needed
advice. I could largely decide my own schedule, and work when I wanted. I aim for thisapproach with my senior thesis students as well, and while some need more support andguidance than others, I find this has produced very good outcomes over the years.

25

AY2023 FD Activities
Date2023/4/4

2023/4/18

2023/4/5
2023/4/6
2023/4/18
2023/5/30

2023/8/31

1. 2023/9/12
2. 2023/9/19
3. 2023/9/26

4. 2023/10/03
5. 2023/10/10

6. 2023/10/17

Event/Seminar Title
You can see the activity report by clicking the link.
AY 2023 Spring Term New Faculty Development
Program (NFDP)(1) Welcome Session
Program:・Meet & Greet with CTL Director, Associate Director,
and AY 2022 NFDP Members
・Campus tour
・Lunch (optional)(2) ICU Essentials Session
Program:・ Introduction to CTL and Special Needs Support
Services (SNSS),・ Class management (graduation requirements andcurriculum, understanding student statuses, grading,terminology and acronyms used at ICU, etc.)
・Research-related matters (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific
Research [KAKENHI], etc.)
・Q&A session
TA Coffee Hour

AY2023 Spring Term Brown Bag Lunch & Learn
BBL&L#25: “Students’ Health — ICU Students from the
Perspectives of the Health and Physical Education
Program” Facilitator: Kayo Terada-sensei,
TA Workshop

Number ofparticipants
6

13

5

36

AY2023 Autum Term New Faculty Development
12
Program (NFDP)
Face-to-Face Sessions
Part 1: Your ICU
1. Introduction to ICU by VPAA Eskildsen
2. Campus TourPart 2: Your Courses
3. The College of Liberal Arts by Prof. Ikoma, CLA
DeanPart 3: Your Students
4. Knowing Your Students by Prof. Kibe, Dean ofStudents, and the Counseling Center
5. Academic Advising by Prof. Nasu, CTL Director,
and Prof. Kobayashi, Associate CLA Dean
Part 4: Your Teaching
6. Course Design and Class Management by Prof.
Nasu, CTL Director26

7. 2023/10/23-26
8. 2023/10/31
9. 2023/11/7

2023/9/22

2023/11/7

2024/1/29

2024/2/23

2024/2/19

7. Class Visitation
8. Teaching Workshop
9. Christianity and the Origin of ICU by Prof.
Alberg, Director of Religious Center, and Mr.
Tomioka, Trustee
Online Contents
Administrative Affairs GroupIT Center
Library
College of Liberal Arts Group
Graduate School Group
Educational Affairs Group
Personnel Group
Center for Teaching and Learning and Special
Needs Support Services
Center for Research Planning and Support
Counselling Center
Human Rights Consultation
AY2023 Autumn Term Brown Bag Lunch & Learn
BBL&L #26: Theme: Can You Learn from How the ELA
Hands-on Writing Approach Provides Natural
Immunity to Abuse of AI Text Generation Tools?
Guy Smith-sensei, English for Liberal Arts Program(ELA)
BBL&L #27: Theme: ICU Campus Exploration TourMr. Tetsuro Tomioka, Managing Trustee for General
Affairs
AY2023 Winter Term Brown Bag Lunch & Learn
BBL&L#29 Theme: "GEN028 N2: Statistical Analysis inSociety", one of the courses in the "Mathematics, Data
Science, and AI Education Program in the Liberal Arts
Sawa Omori-sensei, Yuji Shimizu-sensei and Yoshie
Moriki-sensei
BBL&L #30 Theme:: ”EMI (English as a Medium of
Instruction): How to Make Sure Students Are Active
Learners"
Facilitator: Olivier Ammour-Mayeur-sensei
AY 2023 FD/SD seminar on support for student withdisability“Revisiting the Question, ‘What is Reasonable
Accommodations?’: Towards the Implementation of therevised Act for Eliminating Discrimination against
Persons with Disabilities in April 2024”[Lecturer] Jun MURATA, Associate Professor, Agency
for Student Support and Disability Resources, Kyoto
University

27

9

9

16

7

71