In Brief: September 1

Falcon Outfitters to welcome University community Sept. 2

Falcon Outfitters, the reimagined BGSU Bookstore, will hold a grand opening Friday (Sept. 2) from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Faculty, staff and students are invited to stop by the Bowen-Thompson Student Union and see all the store has to offer in the way of academic, technology and apparel/spirit needs.

A ribbon cutting will be held at noon, door prizes will be given to the first 100 customers, and raffles will go on throughout the grand opening hours.

The Ziggabyte technology center has been expanded by 90 percent, the BGSU clothing and gift space is 40 percent larger, and a new service, Falcons by Design, offers personalizing service to complement the large selection of BGSU-imprinted clothing and gifts. In addition, large format printing is now available for marketing and promotional needs.

The space also includes a large new Package Distribution Center.

Visiting faculty from Japan to share lesson study method

Faculty and staff have an opportunity to learn about the concept of the “lesson study” as a way
to improve teaching. Professor Kazuhisa Fujimoto from Keio University in Tokyo will be on campus Sept. 9 to deliver a talk on the analysis of teacher discourse in Japanese lesson study meetings. His talk will run from 1-2:30 p.m. in 109 Education Building.

Lesson study is the core of the evaluation of public school educators in Japan. Fujimoto will introduce the concept of lesson study, and how teachers organize their peer review of their colleagues’ teaching. While much research on lesson study takes an experimental approach, which implies examining the process through hypothesis, Fujimoto’s research uses qualitative, inductive methods.

These qualitative approaches reveal how teachers make sense of their own evaluations, and more closely aligns to the professional value of the “reflective practice” among teachers and educators. As U.S. teachers and administrators struggle with value-added models and an overreliance on student test scores, the practice of lesson study can illuminate the rigorous, teacher-led peer evaluations used in Japan.  

Fujimoto is a graduate of Kyoto University and an associate professor at Keio University. His research interests include the history of curriculum development and curriculum studies. As part of his research, he regularly visits public schools across Japan and joins in lesson study meetings with teachers.

This event is sponsored by the MACIE (master of arts in cross-cultural and international education) Program, the School of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Policy, and the Asian Studies Program. Light refreshments will be served following the presentation.

For more information regarding the lecture, contact Dr. Chris Frey at cjfrey@bgsu.edu.