Diversifying Learning and Media Use at Part-Time and Correspondence Courses

From the 2017 NHK Survey on High School Teachers’ Media Usage and Attitudes [Part II]

Abstract

The NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute has been conducting since 2013 “surveys on school teachers’ media usage” in order to grasp the media environment at school across Japan and to get a full picture of the use of NHK’s educational services such as broadcasts, websites, and events.In 2017, we surveyed individual teachers of upper secondary school (full-time, part-time, and correspondence courses). Following the June issue that reported key findings from the survey centering on full-time course teachers of science, social studies, Japanese, and foreign languages, this issue presents responses of teachers of science and social studies in part-time and correspondence courses.The survey reveals that the part-time courses’ media environment including internet access, computers, projectors, etc., is as good as that of full-time courses and that part-time course teachers use of videos such as NHK’s broadcast programs and commercially available DVDs more than full-time course teachers. Teachers’ utilization rates of NHK koko-koza (TV/radio school programs for high school students) and “NHK for School” (website providing educational content and information) among part-time course teachers were 31% for science teachers and 22% for social studies teachers. Meanwhile, those who have used any NHK’s general broadcast programs or NHK’s educational services including educational events account for 55% for science and 41% for social studies teachers.The media environment available for face-to-face classroom sessions of correspondence courses is almost the same as that for full-time and part-time courses, but its utilization rate is low. Meanwhile NHK koko-koza is much-used not only for classroom sessions but also for paper assignments and teachers’ preparation for lessons.Both part-time and correspondence course teachers use media off-class such as recording TV programs that may useful for classes at home. It is also found that many teachers are hoping to use media tools/content that can be beneficial for classes, with many citing tablet type devices as a necessary media tool to equip in the future.