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LUJ Holds Successful 10th Annual Conference for Global Higher Education
On Saturday, June 1, scholars from all over Japan as well as a half-dozen countries—Germany, Lebanon, and the United States, to name a few—traveled to Lakeland University Japan for the 10th Annual Conference for Global Higher Education.
The day-long conference began with some enlightening opening remarks from Mr. Kuniaki Sato, the director of international affairs for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, or MEXT. Mr. Sato presented attendees with valuable information, such as MEXT’s 2024 annual budget geared toward “promoting international exchange” (37.8 billion yen), as well as the number of Japanese students studying abroad, as of 2022. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Japanese students in study abroad programs hovered around 115,000. After a sharp decline due to pandemic restrictions, there are now nearly 58,000 students studying abroad, as of 2022, the number sure to have increased now that restrictions have been lifted.
After Mr. Sato’s presentation, attendees chose between four panels for the morning session. Topics included “After Our Students Graduate,” a 75-minute session divided into three presentations, all concerned in a variety of ways with a student’s post-graduate experience. The moderator of these panels, LUJ Professor Patrick Parr, felt each session “complemented the other, so that by the end attendees felt they were having a larger, more valuable conversation.”
After a short break—refreshments provided in the main lecture hall—the conference continued with three new panel discussions. LUJ Professor Ruth Lionberger, who moderated “International Perspectives on Academic Staff Professional Development,” was impressed by the three-member team from Auburn University, the main presenter being James Groccia. Prof. Lionberger recalled that the Auburn team was keenly aware of the “massive changes occurring in education,” and added that “It was nice to hear a direct conversation about how to meet the needs of faculty so as to improve teaching.” Professor Paul Snowden, who presented in the afternoon, agreed, adding how he'd been impressed by the Auburn team, "in terms of both content and professional style."
Afternoon panels covered topics such as globalization, technology, AI, and student writing. LUJ Professor Shey Weaver—who also moderated an afternoon panel session and attended several others—was impressed by the discussion of large language models, or LLM’s, believing them to be “the highlight of the conference.” Prof. Weaver added that “Some of the presenters provided some very enlightening perspectives about different ways to use [LLM’s] that encouraged students to realize that they weren't a ‘magic box that gives you answers.’"
Dr. Anderson Passos, Vice President at LUJ and a professor, was inspired by many of the presentations he heard. Dr. Passos moderated the “Different Ideas for Our Students” panel in the afternoon, and appreciated how the presenters “interacted with the audience. It was very enjoyable to experience [even just] a little bit of their research.” Dr. Passos added that he hopes to apply what he heard "in the presentation of my own classes,” and believes that “the Conference for Global Higher Education (CGHE) is a great forum to exchange ideas and improve your own teaching skills.”
The CGHE is run by conference director and LUJ Professor Roger Grabowski, who also managed to moderate the Faculty and Professional Development panel. When recalling what he heard, he highlighted one presenter in particular. “Sylvain Bergeron gave some very practical tips for addressing stress and burnout among teachers. The audience had a chance to talk about their own teaching and life situations and a chance to think about how to apply Sylvain's ideas.” For Prof. Grabowski, the timing of the panel was perfect. “It was a great way to finish the day, after thinking about students and pedagogy and teaching and big ideas all day, to focus on ourselves for 25 minutes.”
The entire day’s schedule is below. For more information on the conference, or to inquire about possibly presenting at next year’s 11th Annual Conference for Global Higher Education, please contact Prof. Grabowski at conference@japan.lakeland.edu.
Also, check out our conference website here: Conference on Global Education at Lakeland University Japan (luj.tokyo)
All conference photos below were taken by Shihao Du. If you were a presenter and would like to inquire about a photo, please contact us using the conference email above.
Follow LUJ on Instagram.
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The Tenth Annual Conference on Global Higher Education at Lakeland University Japan
June 1, 2024
Location: LUJ’s Ryogoku Campus
9:30
Opening Remarks
Sato Kuniaki, Director of International Affairs, Higher Education Bureau of MEXT
Room 512
9:50-11:15 After Our Students Graduate
Howard Brown. University of Niigata Prefecture. “Near-term Post-graduation Student Outcomes in English-medium Education Programs in Japan.”
Dr. Steve R. Entrich. University of Duisburg Essen. “Contesting the traditional Japanese path to happiness? International student mobility and its gendered impact on labor market returns and life satisfaction: Findings from the SSJDA Panel Survey 2021-23.”
Dr. Ana Sofia Hofmeyr and Dr. Fern Sakamoto. Dr. Hofmeyr, Kansai University; Dr. Sakamoto, Nanzan University. “Exploring University Students’ Post-Study Abroad Experiences in Japanese Society.”
Room 514
9:50-11:15 The Japanese University
Dr. Antonija Cavcic. Toyo University. “Rhetoric vs. Reality: Deconstructing ‘Internationalization’ PR in Japanese Higher Education.”
Sachiko Horiguchi. Temple University. “The Impacts, Possibilities and Challenges of ‘Global University Campuses Under-one-roof’ in Japan and Other Parts of Asia.”
Room 417
9:50-11:15 Perspectives on Pedagogy
Keith Charles Hoy. Independent Scholar. “Activating Students’ Passive Knowledge-Making Connections through Contemporary Issues.”
Dave Learoyd. Lakeland University Japan. “Designing a Lexical Framework for an EAP Program.”
Dr. Ruth Vanbaelen. University of Tsukuba. “Five-minute Reflection Cards and Their Outcome.”
Room 419
9:50-11:15 Inside and Outside the Classroom
Dr. Joshua Jodoin; Stewart Markel. Dr. Jodoin, Konan University; Prof. Markel, Konan University. “A Comparison of Environmental Accountability in Japanese Higher Education: Moving Beyond the Recycle Bin.”
Prof. Cristiano Lippa, Prof. Federico Scaroni. Prof. Lippa, Lebanese American University; Prof. Scaroni, University of New York Tirana. “Lessons from an Extreme High-Density Area: A Stratified Multi-Cultural Neighborhood in the Outskirt of Beirut.”
Elisabeth Ann Williams (PhD). Kobe Women's University, Department of Global Local Studies. “Exploring Diversity and Building Community Connections Through Fieldwork Experiences.”
Room 512
11:25-1:10 Disruption and Dissent in our Educational Institutions
David Kennedy, Nihon University Charles Cabell, PhD, Toyo University Myles Chilton, Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Nihon University Joff P. N. Bradley, Professor, Teikyo University.
Room 514
11:25-1:10 International Perspectives on Academic Staff Professional Development
James Groccia, Auburn University; Andrew Gillespie, Auburn University; Jennifer Mason, Auburn University.
Room 417
11:25-1:10 Practical Ideas for Teaching SDGs in English
Dr. Melodie Cook, Dr. Eucharia Donnery, Chiyuki Yanase, Dr. Frederick Bacala, Parvathy Ramachandran, Mariana Oana Senda Leveth Jackson, Susan Laura Sullivan, Judith Kambara, Dr. Melodie Cook, University of Niigata Prefecture; Dr. Eucharia Donnery, Soka University; Chiyuki Yanase, Keio University; Dr. Frederick Bacala, Yokohama City University; Parvathy Ramachandran, Kanazawa Institute of Technology; Mariana Oana Senda, Meiji University; Leveth Jackson, Chiba University; Susan Laura Sullivan, Tokai University; Judith Kambara, Nagoya City University.
1:10 ~ 2:40 Break
Room 512
2:40-4:05 Teaching and the Environment
Dr. Incoronata (Nadia) Inserra, Univ. of Tokyo; Audrey Emiko Short, Virginia Commonwealth University. “Global Competency in the Post-Covid Era: Promises and Challenges of COIL Pedagogy.”
Mariana Oana Senda, Tokyo University of Science. “Clean Energy: Fostering Research, Creativity, and Innovation in Education - An Exploration of STEM Project English Lesson Students' Poster Presentations.”
John Nevara. Atomi University. “Women’s Universities: A Bleak Future?”
Room 514
2:40-4:05 Student Writing
Kevin Garvey. Rikkyo University. "Don’t write with ChatGPT - write about it”: student essay prompts on chat bots.”
Amanda Melbourne. Meiji Gakuin. “Comparative Forensic Analysis for Confirming Authorship in EFL Writing Tasks.”
Megumi Uemi. Toyo University. “Assessing Critical Thought Expression Skills of Freshman Students Using Opinion Paragraph Writing Tasks.”
Room 417
2:40-4:05 Using Technology Creatively
Christopher G. Haswell, Kyushu University. “Authentic teaching materials from academic podcast interviews.”
Jonathan Nahum Marpaung, PhD. University of Indonesia. “Artificial Intelligence in The Classroom: Indonesian Graduate Business Students’ Readiness and Perspective.”
John Rucynski. Okayama University. “Using Internet Memes to Examine and Dispel Misconceptions about Japan.”
Room 419
2:40-4:05 Questions of Globalization
Takao Kamibeppu. Fukuyama City University. “Diversification of doctoral students and internationalization of doctoral education in Japan: Implications for policymakers.”
Ms. Joanna Lai. Yin Shan Li Ka Shing School of Professional and Continuing Education, Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU LiPACE). “From Metropolitans to Cosmopolitans: Embedding Global Competency in Higher Education.”
Takako Tomite. Bunkyo Gakuin University. “Analyzing Japanese Student Perceptions of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC): Implications for Intercultural Communication Education in Japan.”
Room 512
4:15-5:40 Different Ideas for Our Students
David Gann. Tokyo University of Science. “Critical Thinking through Artful Deception.”
Dr. Maria Guajardo. Soka University. “Dialogic Learning: The Human Experience Examined.”
Lye Ke Yeng. Soka University of Japan. “Self-Discovery for Global Peace: Enhancing Learner Autonomy Through Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Practices.”
Room 514
4:15-5:40 Faculty and Professional Development
Sylvain Bergeron. Gunma University. “Addressing the ABCs of Teacher Well-Being as the Building Blocks to a Healthy Teaching Environment.”
Malcolm Larking. Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. “Training International Teaching Assistants (TAs).”
Mizuka Tsukamoto. Ryukoku University. “Instructors, Teaching, and the Japanese Higher Education.”
Room 417
4:15-5:40 Internationalization and International Students
Yingjing Du. Waseda University. “China’s Internationalization of Higher Education and Inbound International Student Mobility from the Belt and Road.”
Dawn Grimes-MacLellan. Meiji Gakuin University Center for Liberal Arts. “Preventing “Déjà Vu All Over Again”: Reinvigorating Study Abroad in a Social Media-Saturated World.”
James Lassegard. Hosei University. “International Students in English Taught Programs at Japanese Universities.”
Room 419
4:15-5:40 Our Changing World
Sudhanshita Arora. Soka University. “Value Creating Education’s Role in Fostering Authentic and Social Justice Leaders.”
Paul Snowden. Lakeland University Japan. “Turkey, or Türkiye? Peking or Beijing?”
Room 513
4:15-5:40 Behind the Pedagogy
Julia Christmas. University of Niigata Prefecture. “Sample Pedagogy from an Economics-based CLIL Course: Teaching How to Find, Analyze, Compare, and Present Data.”
Kelly Hansen. Kumamoto University. “Continuity and Change in English Language Ideology: The Case of Natsume Soseki.”
Stephen Jennings. Tokyo University of Science. “Measuring Academic Performance through Active Learning in Japanese Universities.”
5:45 Closing Remarks – LUJ Dean Charles Laurier. 6th Floor Conference Center.
6:30 Reception Dinner
