The action-oriented approach (AoA) is a powerful basis to inform teaching, learning, and assessment in the classroom that identifies learners as social agents and focuses on language learning through language use. This paper answers the call for developments that help teachers teach and learners learn in an AoA-informed way. We argue that…

In Japanese secondary schools, speaking assessment in English classrooms is designed, conducted, and scored by teachers. Although the assessment is intended to be used for summative and formative purposes, it is not regularly or adequately practiced. This paper reports the problems (i.e., lack of continuous speaking assessment, limited speaking…

The purpose of this article is to explain an international perspective on strategies to increase college students' empathy in gymnastics courses. One of the most popular basic physical activity courses in Japan is a trampoline-based gymnastics course that helps college students practice the safe use of the trampoline based on their own…

Virtual environments have the potential to be an important teaching tool for emotionally sensitive issues capable of producing a sense of presence, perspective-taking and introspection in users in a risk-free, rapid feedback experience. In designing such experiences, it is essential that users are regularly engaged in a collaborative design…

PeerEval is a mobile app created for evaluating student presentations. This paper covers the rationale for creating such an app, the features of the app, and the benefits for both teachers and students. The details and initial findings of ongoing research into the efficacy of PeerEval will be briefly discussed. [For the complete proceedings, see…

PISA presents a new image for academic achievement, which has prompted Japanese education reforms over the past decade to innovate teaching and learning for 'PISA-style literacy'. Supported by theoretical foundations, particularly with regard to the concept of 'PISA literacy' and 'authentic assessment', these reforms have accomplished progress in…

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has been increasingly used to inform language policies and teaching practices in Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Education proposed in 2011 that objectives of English curricula at the secondary education level ought to be stated using the "Can do" schemata of the CEFR and…

One of the challenges of developing assessments for young language learners is the shortage of evidence-based information about such assessments for languages other than English. In light of this situation, this paper discusses the development of an assessment for young languages learners in the context of Japanese as a second language (JSL). In…

In this article I outline how and why I have established a self-assessment system for class participation scores in an English-speaking skills course at a Japanese university. I explain how my experience with one particular student, who personally admitted to having abused the system, led me to realize that elements from Yin and Yang have been…

This paper describes a strategy for successfully implementing the teaching portfolio in higher education institutions in Japan. The teaching portfolio has gained recognition in Japan in the last few years as an effective instrument for improving and showcasing teaching performance. It is well known that the implementation process is very important…

Collaboration with stakeholders throughout Asia and the Pacific is increasingly important to develop quality and relevant lifelong learning systems. Technical planning tools like qualifications frameworks aim to promote transparency around expected learning outcomes, yet education and training providers in many countries struggle to deliver on…

This paper presents a compilation of personal reflections from 66 contributors on the impact of, and responses to, COVID-19 in accounting education in 45 different countries around the world. It reveals a commonality of issues, and a variability in responses, many positive outcomes, including the creation of opportunities to realign learning and…

This chapter features a recent conversation with Dr. Arnold J. Love, a long-time proponent of internal evaluation and one of the most cited internal evaluation authors. In 1983, Love edited the first issue of "New Directions for Program Evaluation" on the topic of internal evaluation. He is the author of the book "Internal…

This paper describes an innovative project-based learning framework theoretically based on the ideas of Transmedia Storytelling, Participatory Cultures and Multiple intelligences that can be integrated into the f?lipped classroom method, and practically addressed using Content- Based Instruction (CBI) and Project-Based Learning (PBL) approaches.…

World university rankings and their global popularity present a number of far-reaching impacts for vernacular scholarship. This article employs a multidimensional approach to analyze the ranking regime's threat to local scholarship and knowledge construction through a study of Japanese research universities. First, local conditions that have led…