On Tuesday, I taught a graduate-level course, also titled “Educational Information Engineering.” It was my first time teaching at the graduate level. The class size was very small—just one student (haha). It was a student whose graduation thesis I had reviewed for the 21st Century Program. I had heard the class would be very small, so I expected about one to three, or at most five students. That’s fine; I will make sure they read good papers, think deeply, and conduct good research.
In the first session, I introduced Educational Technology. After a brief overview, I touched upon the methodology and research targets discussed in the early sections of “What is Educational Technology?” (Educational Technology Selection Series 1), published by the Japan Society for Educational Technology. Finally, we read what I consider an essential piece of literature: a paper by Charles Reigeluth in ETR&D. He is a super-famous researcher in Instructional Design (ID) whom anyone in this field should know. Although this paper concludes with a focus on ID, the development of his argument leading up to that point is crucial. It is a must-read for students who want to pursue research in Educational Technology, as well as for practitioners like primary and secondary school teachers who are interested in conducting research. While it covers the historical background of Educational Technology, it also raises a question that feels like a kind of complex we still face today: “Why do educational technologists have so little impact on schools, even when we think about improving the quality of classes?” He builds a set of opposing axes (though they are not truly opposing, he uses them to clearly explain the mindsets held by educational technologists at the time) to provide a framework for thinking about this issue. (What is interesting is that he describes hearing someone say, “I didn’t know such a field existed! This is exactly what I was looking for!” Haha…)
My class might be demanding. Basically, we will be reading English papers and literature together. This might be what Professor Gaku Tanaka in the same department referred to yesterday as the “reproduction of education,” but it is the style of the “Educational Information Engineering” course I took at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Fortunately (?), this year it is a one-on-one setting, so we can be interactive, but I believe it is important to have students think about key topics in Educational Technology and read related English literature.
I hold the view that research on education and learning is being conducted all over the world. If you are going to conduct research, you are required to ensure that your research is truly research, which includes novelty and originality. Recently, in both master’s thesis interim presentations and submitted manuscripts, I often hear arguments like, “This kind of research has never been done before” or “This kind of survey has never been conducted.” Is that really true? You must properly review existing literature, including similar studies. In this regard, I think what my boss told me when I worked at a company still holds true: “Even if you come up with a good idea, you should assume that at that very moment, 100—no, 10,000—people around the world are already thinking the same thing and moving to realize it.”
Graduate school is an academic space. It is a place to conduct research (though I think professional graduate schools might be different). You are expected to do research. The mindset of “I’m not good at English, so I won’t read it” is not acceptable. We faculty members don’t care about that. If you don’t read, we consider it synonymous with abandoning your research. While there may be slight differences in the level of expression or strictness among faculty, we basically share the same view. If the same research has already been done overseas, you must revise your work. Especially if the survey content overlaps, it could lead to irreparable consequences. In graduate school, I want students to acquire the fundamental attitude required for Educational Technology research—not just looking at perspectives within the field, but also broadening their horizons to include international research when considering their own work. Recently, I have felt a sense of crisis that if we don’t properly cultivate this in the field of Educational Technology, we will be in trouble.
I will do my best.
Reigeluth, C.M.(1989) Educational technology at the crossroads: New mindsets and new directions, ETR&D, 37(1), 67-80
