Practice and Evaluation of Teacher Training Based on Instructional Design: Focusing on Putting Training Contents into Action

Abstract

This paper describes a teacher training program aimed to improve listening activities in the classroom, which is conducted in a Japanese language institute authorized by the Ministry of Justice. In the program, after face-to-face training with before and after task sets, each teacher was encouraged to use the training contents in their practice. As a result, after three months it was confirmed that all the teachers improved in making lesson plans using the training contents. At the same time, issues other than lesson planning, such as operation of equipment, delivery skills, and classroom management were identified. Therefore, two learning opportunities were added: 1) Watching demonstrations and sharing tips for listening activities, and 2) visiting a colleagueʼs classroom to observe and discuss about the lesson with the peer. Nine months after the first face-to-face training, a follow-up survey showed that all the teachers used one or more of the training contents in their practice, while, on the other hand, less than half felt there were positive changes in their lessons. Continuous efforts are required to improve teaching quality.