With a series of events for new students, things have been quite hectic. On the day of the entrance ceremony, I had my first-ever endoscopy, which was a terrible experience… I ended up with many small red spots around my eyes, and it looks quite serious. On the 8th, I saw the new students for the first time at the orientation for the Fundamental Education curriculum. They greet people properly. Wonderful!!

The Fundamental Education curriculum is finally starting. Classes begin this Friday. The core pillars are “Collaborative Problem-Based Learning (2 consecutive periods),” where students approach a single theme from three specialized fields and engage in collaborative learning, and the “Fundamental Education Seminar,” where students think about their own learning at the university through dialogue with other students and faculty, leading to self-reflection. Other components include “Humanities Discipline Subjects” and “Science Discipline Subjects” for developing expertise in fundamental areas, as well as “Advanced Fundamental Education.” For the first semester, I am in charge of “Collaborative Problem-Based Learning,” two “Fundamental Education Seminars,” and the Humanities Discipline subject “Introduction to Pedagogy” within the Fundamental Education curriculum. For the Collaborative Problem-Based Learning course, I am teaming up with a history professor and a content design professor to conduct a class that explores how society is formed from information and how the values of the people living in that society are shared. I am currently in the midst of preparing for various classes.

This morning, I participated in “EduBox,” a new student orientation planned by second-year students in the Faculty of Education, and it was excellent. Perhaps it is good that it is planned by the second-year students themselves. Designing an event that serves to connect lower-classmen and upper-classmen must be difficult, and I think it serves as a good learning opportunity. It didn’t lean too heavily toward the academic side and included icebreakers, which I think was good. New students rotated every two minutes to talk to faculty and seniors, and each person had a different theme, such as “Recommended [Something]” or “Actually, I am [Something].” I think that was good for the nervous new students. The subsequent free talk session felt truly open, and that was where more academic-related discussions took place. Some new students even told me they would be taking my “Introduction to Pedagogy” course (I thought to myself, “There are four sections of ‘Introduction to Pedagogy’ offered, so please read the syllabus before deciding,” but it makes me happy nonetheless).

Well, my classes finally start next week. I will put my heart into it and do my best. I want to provide good classes that will lead to their future.