This paper describes the use of screencast feedback to enhance teaching presence and weekly self-reflection surveys to enhance social presence among students and build a community of learners. These approaches were found to diminish the feeling of isolation in online learning environments. Further findings indicated that this multimodal approach…

This study makes a comparison between what literature on Japanese Lesson Study suggests are key elements of a good mathematics lesson and what junior high school mathematics teachers in Japan value in planning their lessons. The teachers' strong consensus in their endorsements of these key elements explains why Japanese teachers strongly support…

In Japan, like most English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, students have few opportunities to use English in daily life, and this limits their ability to develop their language skills. To address this, many teachers provide homework tasks and guide students towards autonomous learning. In an effort to do the latter, a private Facebook group…

Japanese lesson study has attracted many international educators who have been impressed by its capacity to foster student learning and sustained professional growth of teachers. This paper reports a study on its cultural orientations that may explain why lesson study works seamlessly in Japan. Hofstede's dimensions of national culture are…

Although the importance of mathematical problem solving is now widely recognised, relatively little attention has been given to the conceptualisation of mathematical processes such as representing, analysing, interpreting and communicating. The construct of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (Hill, Ball & Schilling, 2008) is generally…

Introduction. The purpose of this research is to investigate the significance of public libraries as educational institutions. The meaning of lifelong learning in public libraries from the perspective of women's autonomous activities is re-examined. Method. The literature of the grassroots library movement and that of the empowerment of women is…

Twenty experts from eighteen countries attended the meeting, which was co-organized by the Intangible Heritage Section of UNESCO and the Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU). They discussed in three successive sessions three subjects concerning community involvement in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH): (1) the definition…

Lesson study is a form of teacher professional development that is intrinsic to the Japanese educational system in first and second level schools and in teacher education. Lesson study has been credited with the success of Japanese pupils in international comparative tests of mathematics achievement (Stigler and Hiebert, 1999). It is gaining…

Based in a stream of community-based health promotion activities rather than a fixed framework of hypothesis testing, the study described in this paper tried to solve the problem of the one-sided communication between Japanese health care providers and receivers by visualizing health-related feelings and concepts for both parties involved in the…

In the late 1920s, in conjunction with a new passion for freedom and concern for human rights, two associations were formed in Japan to promote parents' education and children's welfare. In 1928, following a 2-year study of education in America, Tetsuya Kamimura started the Japan Parents' Re-education Association. The association's members…

In this research report we share results of a study of an adaptation of Lesson Study, a form of professional development typically used in Japanese elementary schools, with secondary mathematics teachers in the United States. We draw on Wenger's (1998) concept of "communities of practice" and Grossman, Wineberg, and Woolworth's (2001)…

Many attempts have been made to explain how modern Japan has, with speed and minimal stress, become competitive with Western nations in terms of military strength and industrial productivity. One factor commonly mentioned is the "groupishness," the collective orientation,that is basic to Japanese society. Some research has suggested that…

The 12 papers in this collection were presented during the meetings of three sections of the Division of Regional Activities: (1) "Which Way African Librarianship?" (Kingo Mchombu); (2) "The Expansion of the University of the Air of Japan and the Changing Function of Regional University Libraries" (Katsuhiro Jinzaki); (3)…

This guide presents a description of a typical citizens' learning network in a small-sized city in Japan, guidelines for establishing and administering a similar network, and a copy of the regulations of the citizens' learning network in Munakata, Japan. Addressed in the first part of the volume are the following topics: the nature and scope of a…