**7. Conclusion**

*specializing in different fields of social robotics, AI, and art, there was great chemistry and it stimulated Japanese students to think from a different point of view. … presented his arguments and opinions by providing his own cultural and historical experiences associated with his home country, which led Japanese students to reconsider from their own point of view. Sometimes the topic varied; however, it was clear that he and the other two international students tried to connect and find the similarities in the topic, when the debate was not going back and forth. Some Japanese students were not trained in a spontaneous discussion style classroom; however, the foreign students just like … were more active and provided many strong points, which led to a great discussion. I think at the same time, it was also a great opportunity for … who comes from abroad to learn and understand the unique perspectives that Japanese students provided from their own cultural, historical, and educational backgrounds. Overall,* 

Throughout this class, the cultural, academic, educational, and social background of each of the nine students had a significant role and impact. Students who were trained and educated in Western countries such as the United States and Europe had completely different set of values, mindset, and understanding of the different debate topics. Their dissimilar culture, societal values, and concerns affected a range of topics, such as how they perceive AI, the role and importance of robotics, how each country's education should be and perceived, and so on. More importantly, what stood out the most was how language, each student's cultural background and style of sharing their knowledge had a significant impact on their participation. For instance, the majority of students who were educated in Western countries were trained to approach their arguments philosophically, providing examples to build their opinions logically. Notable, all of the international students seemed to be very confident to share

Through observation, the Japanese students faced difficulty in sharing their opinions on the basis of philosophy, and the majority of them indicated that they never had the chance to study Western philosophy in depth. Since this class was structured while considering the international backgrounds of students, most cited examples from their cultural backgrounds, relaying how topics are perceived in their home country and the rationales behind this thinking. Initially, Japanese students were reluctant to speak and did not engage as actively in sharing their opinions. However, through this bidirectional communication, as the class went on they shared more and became familiar with the class style, atmosphere, and communicating with each classmate. By the end of the class, the Japanese graduate students in particular became more active in terms of speaking and sharing their thoughts, though still behind their international peers. Nine weeks spent in this active learning style debating class provided a new approach of teaching and learning and changed the way students approached classroom

Through the nine class sessions, students reached and developed deeper understanding of course concepts. Share their opinions, but also hearing the other students and then changing, adjusting, or think critically, and beginning to consider problems from multiple

their opinion without hesitation in comparison to the Japanese students.

*his class participation was perfect = A*

54 Active Learning - Beyond the Future

learning and development.

**6.6. Student development and outcomes**

**6.5. Findings of the active learning debate class**

In the environment where the MEXT has shifted the learning-centered policy in recent years, this chapter shows how active learning becomes the major concern for Japanese higher education institutions, and active learning methods have been encouraged to utilize in the undergraduate education in order to develop the proactive learning. Many previous studies have shown that the learning outcomes of students are strongly associated with the quality of pedagogy and student experience. Such pedagogy often includes active learning methods and it is often expected that active learning methods are strongly associated with proactive learning of students. In terms of graduate education, there are small number of studies spotlighted the active learning methods. However, in a knowledge-based society, more active learning and the Socratic model are important to be introduced in Japanese graduate programs in order for students to obtain more interdisciplinary and frontline learning skills.

In the case of debate class shown, using active learning to examine queries allowed us to view questions from a broader perspective and take into account multiple perspectives. Active learning discussions allow each participant to be introspective, share his or her knowledge, and then reconsider their points of view by hearing from others. One clear benefit is that the critical application and extension of knowledge happen naturally in the Socratic style of active learning. Most traditional Japanese style classes severely limit or disregard the value of active learning. Furthermore, even in Western education, there is a divide where the Socratic style of learning is more commonly used in the social sciences and humanities. On the other hand, due to the nature of STEM classes where lab exercises and experimental style of learning happens, simplistic and quantitative teaching and learning assessment has become ingrained.

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As Japanese higher education aims to introduce Western style active learning, one point of concern is proper training for both students and faculty. In order to mix students coming from these two distinct academic backgrounds into one debate/discussion style of active learning class, instructors need to pay careful attention to understand each student's characteristics, each individual's personality, and how students will express themselves and react in a group made of diverse backgrounds. As this study found, Japanese students had little foundational experience in this model of learning and initially found it quite difficult compared to their international peers. Similarly, because active learning is not commonly adopted in Japanese academic traditions, faculty would benefit from training, or first-hand experience with this type of instruction. Michael explains to improve the quality of active learning style classes, faculty development programming, conducted locally or at national meetings of academic disciplines are important [21]. Additionally, it is important for faculty development to learn and take courses to understand the outcomes of active learning compared to lecture style classes. These sessions give teachers opportunities to see the techniques in action and practice to them eventually.

Despite these challenges, we feel that there is real potential for active learning in Japan's ongoing educational reform strategy. MEXT policy papers frequently suggest the need to further internationalization, interdisciplinary approaches, and an ability to link academic knowledge to real world problem solving for the benefit of society. The class of this case study focuses on providing a great example of how reflective discussion can bridge these boundaries. Internationalization efforts are often critiqued as being superficial, for example, even where there are significant numbers of international students, studies have found that they are not as well integrated within their Japanese universities, dampening the beneficial aspects of internationalization [25]. Yet classes like the one this case study examines create an environment where both international and domestic points of view are examined in depth and widen the perspective of all students involved. In addition to the instructor teaching and sharing their own learnings and understandings on an academic topic, in an active learning pedagogical style, students also share their thoughts by discussing topics together. In this manner, students are able to communicate ideas with a deeper and philosophical understanding by sharing the perspectives and beliefs that underlay their opinions.
