Pedagogical Contents
Teaching methods of the teacher
​
If there is one word to describe the teaching at DSID, it is "interactive".
The teachers are always asking questions of the students. The students respond actively and the classroom is always lively. When students have questions, they immediately ask questions and the teachers respond to them as much as possible. I have not yet had any teaching practice in Japan, so this is a subjective opinion based on my personal experience when I was in primary and high school, but in Japan, students are often hesitant to speak up in class, especially as they get older. Also, the style of teaching is mainly that the teacher explains one-sidedly and the students quietly take notes on the board.
The classroom atmosphere in DSID was therefore new to me.
In Japan, the Courses of Study aim for "independent, interactive and deep learning", and I felt that there were many aspects that could be used for the improvement of education in Japan.
​
Also,teachers incorporated many activities into their lessons to ensure that students were not bored in class for 50 minutes. In Japanese classes, they sometimes started the lesson with a song or dance.
Learning Material and Innovation
​
Textbooks, workbooks and worksheets were the main learning materials. It was also new to me that the students were using Ipads and other devices to access online game-style learning materials created by the teacher and manipulated by using their own devices. What I found very different from Japanese primary school classes was that the teachers did not force the students to write on the board. Some students used their notebooks while others concentrated on listening without using them.
Technology Used by the Teacher
Teachers are using electronic blackboards. Since the content of the textbook can be projected directly onto the board, students do not have to wait while the teacher writes on the board, which seems very efficient. The students can check the textbook's video materials together and sometimes watch YouTube videos, which makes it easier for them to understand the material in a sensory way.
In Japan, each student is given a tablet for learning. This can lead to better quolity of education for students, and also reduce the bardun of teachers. However, not a few teachers, especially older teachers, are not used to using ICT equipment and find it difficult to transform their teaching styles to be in line with the times.
I'm surprised that the teachers in DSID have been able to "utilise" such learning materials and technologies and this has led to a high quality of teaching, such as the use of apps such as KAKOOT to consolidate learning content through online games and YouTube videos as teaching materials. They also
utilised YouTube videos as teaching materials to ensure that students were not bored and that they could easily remember what they had learned.