“Online teaching” has been challenging for many university faculty members since 2020. Moreover, we have yet to find studies examining explanations for this improved understanding. In this study, we set up a live online explanation situation to examine the effectiveness of confirmation (i.e., asking questions to verify a figure drawn or the listener’s understanding of the speaker’s explanations). We recruited 44 pairs of university students (88 in total) for this experiment. However, these results did not indicate a significant effect. This may be because online verbal explanations have unique characteristics that differ from face-to-face explanations. Future research should examine factors not considered in previous studies on face-to-face situations, such as the timing of status confirmation and nonvocal cues.

Although proactive behavior, characterized by individuals’ active and proactive work on themselves and their environment to adapt to an organization, is noted to improve their working ability and self-understanding in the workplace, the process has not been studied. This study examines the effect of young workers’ proactive behavior on improving their competence at work, focusing on the mediating effect of reflection. A quantitative survey was conducted on 942 employees working in Japanese companies, all in their 20s. The participants had a mean age of 26.6 years, with 46.0% being women. Factor analysis demonstrated that proactive behavior comprised feedback-seeking, organizational information-seeking, and networking behavior, and their impact on ability improvement was examined through reflection. The path analysis showed that the feedback-seeking and organizational information-seeking behaviors of young workers positively influenced the improvement of competence in the workplace through the mediating effect of reflection. Based on the results, the significance of this study and future issues are discussed.

This study aimed to clarify the relationship between children’s listening ability, its influencing factors, and their academic abilities in science. In the teaching matters of listening, as indicated by the courses of study for elementary schools, the Japanese language version notified by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology in 2017, we defined children’s listening ability as listening to and understanding what the speaker wants to say and what they want to hear, and having their own impressions and thoughts based on what they hear. We examined whether children’s listening ability and its influencing factors defined participants’ academic ability in science using structural equation modeling. The results showed that academic ability in science is predicted by children’s listening ability, Kanji writing ability, and verbal working memory. The results suggest that designing lessons and curricula focusing on children’s listening ability, Kanji writing ability, and verbal working memory can improve their academic abilities in science.

This study aimed to explore the provision of experiential learning and reflective support to mid-level employees by conducting semi-structured interviews with managers who balance organizational performance and subordinate development. The purpose was to comprehend their approaches, and the data were analyzed using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach. The findings revealed that these managers executed business strategies following the Plan-Do-Check-Action cycle, based on a mid-term plan spanning approximately 2–3 years. This plan integrated their perspectives on both work and the development of their subordinates. Throughout the management process, mid-level employees were faced with a gap between the role expectations and initial plans of the organization and the actual actions and results. Furthermore, managers emphasized the significance of experiential learning, ensuring mid-level employees’ awareness peaked at crucial junctures. Additionally, it was found that this work was facilitated by managers themselves actively reflecting on themselves and deepening the meaning of improvement and development in their own management behavior. In conclusion, this study explored the ideal managerial practices necessary for effectively providing experiential learning and reflective support to mid-level employees.