Center for Higher Education StudiesWaseda University

Waseda University defines “Faculty Development” (FD) as “Organized efforts to maintain and further improve the quality of education”, and provides all university faculty members with opportunities to participate in FD programs or learn about active learning methods.

To promote effective student learning as well as to assist faculty in acquiring advanced course management skills, Waseda University signed a memorandum of agreement with the University of Washington, USA, on April 15, 2014.

◆早稲田大学 ワシントン大学と協定 新しい教授法の開発で協力(Japanese, 2014/04/21)

◆An Exciting Moment for the UW and Waseda University (UW, 2014/4/15)

Details are as below.

A seminar is held each year for newly hired faculty members to familiarize them with Waseda University’s educational philosophy and objectives, organizational structure, educational system, research support system, etc.

Video recordings of the New Faculty Seminar is later made available online to all Waseda University faculty and administrative employees via the on-demand system.

A dispatch-type program, involving a 2~3 week planned stay, has been established to promote the implementation of student-centered teaching methods on all Waseda campuses as well as to assist faculty members in acquiring the most advanced course management strategies and techniques.

During their stay, participating faculty will engage in class observations, attend lectures on pedagogy, and give mock lectures as part of the program.

Dispatch Destinations：
University of WASHINGTON
Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) / Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM)
University of Queensland

The Faculty Café, held once a month, was established as a place for faculty to freely exchange ideas, experiences, and opinions regarding course management. As the name implies, participants can sip coffee or tea while introducing actual cases to others, consult with other faculty about any issues or concerns one may have about managing one’s own classes, or share ideas about pedagogy.

Participants have already contributed practical applications, such as discussing optimal classroom designs for active learning and relaying suggestions to the department responsible for classroom design.

It is believed that faculty can benefit from observing each others’ classes and sharing course management tips and methodology. Classes mainly subject to observation will be those taught by faculty who have received either the Waseda University Teaching Award or the Waseda University e-Teaching Award, or have experienced the Overseas Dispatch-type FD Program.

On-site (Waseda Campus) FD Training Seminars can be conducted by instructors invited from partner universities as needed per request by any academic or administrative department.

Pre-FD is a professional development initiative for graduate students and others who aim to become university teachers (faculty).
The University has established the regular subject ‘Teaching and Learning in Universities’ at the Global Education Centre (GEC) and is engaged in pre-FD.
The following pre-FD programmes are also being implemented at other universities, so please refer to them if you are an eligible student.

・The University of Tokyo UTokyo FD Open: Deadline: Wednesday 23 August 2023
UTokyo FD Open: Event information and application – University of Tokyo Faculty Development | Todai FD | TODAI FD.COM | The University of Tokyo

・Tohoku University PFFP (Preparatory Programme for University Teachers) Deadline: Wednesday, 25 January 2023
PFFP FY2022 [Call for Participants] – Center for Supporting Higher Education, Tohoku University (tohoku.ac.jp)

・Kumamoto University Teacher Improvement Skills Acquisition Online Program (free program is always open for applications)
List of online programmes for acquiring teaching improvement skills ｜ Research Centre for Teaching System Studies Department of Teaching System Studies, Graduate School of Social and Cultural Sciences, Kumamoto University (kumamoto-u.ac.jp)

The following content are available via the on-demand video distribution system in addition to our FD programs.

*Requests for permission to view the following videos are accepted throughout the year.