Japan Association for the Study of Cooperation in Education Holds Annual Conference

The Japan Association for the Study of Cooperation in Education (JASCE) held its second annual conference at Nerima 3rd Elementary School in Tokyo, February 11-12, 2006. Approximately 120 people from 19 of Japan’s 47 prefectures attended. The conference was chaired by Professor Kazuhiko Sekita of Soka University. JASCE’s president is Professor Satoru Yasunaga of Kurume University.

The conference began with four research presentations: one on group decision-making, another on teaching Japanese literature, and two on English teaching. The afternoon featured the conference keynote address by Professor Hidenori Fujita of International Christian University, a well-known educational sociologist, who spoke on “Educational Reform and a Vision for Education and Society in the 21st Century.”

The afternoon of the conference’s first day also included various types of roundtable sessions on such topics as starting with CL and whether CL is really important in schools (in case you are wondering, the answer was Yes), as well as a mini-symposium, chaired by a retired principal, in which a current principal and a superintendent spoke on their perspectives on CL. There was also a presentation, using ICT, in which the BBCoach (Broadband Coach) project was demonstrated (http://bbcoach.mnw.jp/modules/news). This project prepares teachers to coach students in website making, such as in ThinkQuest (http://www.thinkquest.org).

The second day was devoted to four workshops, with topics such as using CL in English teaching and social skills training (particularly designed for fostering group work skills). Also, Professor Yasunaga did a workshop on the Learning Through Discussion (LTD) technique of W.F. Hill  http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3673/is_200404/ai_n9345138#continue), that Professor Yasunaga has been implementing and advocating. Additionally, Professor Shuji Sugie, a leading scholar of CL in Japan, conducted a guidance session for improving implementation of task-based CL lessons.

JASCE’s third annual conference will be held at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Aichi on August 5-6, 2006. The Japanese academic calendar begins in April and ends in March. Thus, the February, 2006 conference and the upcoming August, 2006 conference are in different academic years. For more information on the upcoming conference or on JASCE generally, please visit the JASCE website: http://jasce.jp.