A skill up course in the HU graduate program—Basic Preparing Future Faculty Course (conducted in Japanese)—was offered on 29^th, July, and 1^st, 5^th, 6^th August in the first semester of 2025 academic year. This course aims to foster educational expertise and ethical attitudes required of those engaged in university teaching and to develop the ability to design and implement classes based on one’s academic specialty. Associate Professor Yusuke Sakurai gave the lectures with the support of Professor Toshihiro Yamada and Professor Takahiro Sumiya, along with five Teaching Fellows (TFs). A total of 25 Japanese and international graduate students from different research fields attended the course.

This course covered a wide range of topics, including syllabus design, theories of higher education, online teaching and copyright, course evaluation, and a lecture by an award-winning professor. The course combined instructor-led lectures with small-group discussions and interactive group works, creating an engaging learning environment for all participants. A highlight of the course was the microteaching activity, where students designed a lesson plan for a university course that they might teach in the future and delivered seven-minute microteaching lessons. Participants acted as both instructors and students, providing peer feedback to help one another refine their teaching practice. Based on the feedback, students revised their materials and teaching methods before doing the second-time microteaching. Many students showed remarkable improvement in their slides, delivery, and instructional design, demonstrating deep commitment and growth as future educators.

In the final session, students formed discipline-based groups to reflect on their learning and exchange insights. This process strengthened their ability to explain their disciplinary professional knowledge clearly to others while learning about diverse teaching methods across fields. Participants described the experience as highly meaningful and intellectually stimulating. The course also emphasized cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural collaboration. Students from both the humanities and sciences worked together, gaining new perspectives through discussion. Active interaction between Japanese and international students created a vibrant learning atmosphere, making the course a valuable space for academic and cultural exchange.

The course will be offered at the end of February in English. Those who wish to deepen their understanding of university teaching and reflect on their own educational philosophy are warmly encouraged to join.
 

Teaching Fellow: WANG YUANZHEN
(Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, International Education Development Program)