Reports on teacher training at Taiwanese elementary schools
Reports of the practical teaching experience and observation that took place at affiliated schools of Taiwan’s National Kiahsiung Normal University as part of the international teacher training project in OKU’s teacher training program were presented on November 11 at the Kashiwara Campus. A total of 22 people attended, including third-year trainees who did their teacher practice (second-year graduate students), a representative of the fourth-year trainees who did teacher observation (first-year graduate students), international teacher training practice work group members, teacher training program staff and graduate students.
Trainees directed the meeting, which opened with an address and comments about the classroom practice by teacher training program head Toshio Itou and consisted of reports by each group of trainees.
Third-year students told about their classroom experience and showed educational materials and photos of the artwork created by the children in Taiwan as they reported on their yearlong process of preparation for teacher practice and the work involved in teaching a class with a different language and culture. They also told about their experiences overcoming unforeseen issues such as a computer breaking down right before class time and explained important points to bear in mind when using ICT educational materials in an unknown environment. Participants listened attentively to accounts of how careful preparation and sharing knowledge accumulated over the years had contributed to the success of each group.
The representative of the fourth-year students reported on what they learned from the observation practice, expressing enthusiasm about the coming year, saying, “We hope to put to work what we have learned from the senior students and from the training, and we will prepare thoroughly for our teaching practical experience.”