News

The new year has started, and DAY 8 of the 10th UTokyo FFP was held on January 5th and 11th.

Participants created their SAP Charts on DAY 8. A SAP Chart is for reflecting on past activities, examining the value and significance of teaching and research, and thinking about future prospects. We believe that it is meaningful for the participants to create a chart while they are graduate students. The following is the explanation of a SAP Chart (repost from the previous article):

SAP stands for “Structured Academic Portfolio” (Yoshida & Kurita, 2016a). Essentially, an academic portfolio is “a reflective, evidence-based collection of materials that documents teaching, research, and service performance” (Seldin & Miller, 2009). The feature of a SAP is that “the description is structured with specific steps and points.” A SAP Chart (Yoshida & Kurita, 2016b) is positioned as a preparatory assignment for creating a SAP, but since it enables the author to reflect on his/her entire activities in a short time (though roughly) and makes it easier to overview the description, it can also be used as a single item. It is a suitable tool for graduate students to envision their career paths and gives them an opportunity to connect what they learned in the UTokyo FFP and their own teaching philosophy. This is why the creation of a SAP Chart is incorporated into the materials in the final session of the program.

Participants were given three and a half hours to create their SAP Charts. They shared their works in pairs at any time and deepened their reflection by explaining their charts and answering questions cast by their partners. They first seemed to be “awkward” in explaining their teaching philosophy and research values to another person, but they gradually got used to it and had a lively discussion with their partners; they could not stop talking even when we announced the closing of the sharing session.

We are deeply relieved that the UTokyo FFP completed the entire classes, marking the 10th semester. Five years have passed since the launch of the UTokyo FFP, and its course materials have been highly developed compared to the initial year. Although we finally made it to run the program smoothly, we find points to be improved in every session. As an organizing staff member, I hope the program keeps developing.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the participants of the 10th UTokyo FFP.

• ・Seldin, P., & Miller, J. E. (2009). The academic portfolio: a practical guide to documenting teaching, research, and service (Vol. 132). John Wiley & Sons.
• ・Yoshida, L., & Kurita, K. (2016a). Kōzōka academic portfolio sakusei no hyōka [Evaluation of the creation of a Structured Academic Portfolio]. The 22nd Kyoto University Conference on Higher Education, 238-239, 2016.3.17-18, Kyoto University
• ・Yoshida, L., & Kurita, K. (2016b). Evaluation of Structured Academic Portfolio Chart and Workshop for Reflection on Academic Work. Procedia Computer Science, 96, 1454-1462.