From Classroom Observation to Cross-Cultural Dialogue: NTNU Education Delegation Visits Kagoshima University
National Taiwan Normal University's Transdisciplinary Program in College of Education (TPICOE) continued its partnership with Kagoshima University in Japan, sending three faculty members and sixteen students to Kumamoto and Kagoshima, Japan, from June 21 to 27, 2026, for an 'Interdisciplinary X Interregional' cultural exchange with Kagoshima University's Faculty of Education and its affiliated junior high and elementary schools.
Associate Professor Satoshi Kato of Kagoshima University visited NTNU with ten students in February 2025, deepening students' understanding of Taiwan's higher education and teaching practices. To further strengthen the partnership between the two institutions, TPICOE led a return visit this June, marking its first hands-on encounter with the Japanese classroom. Participating students reported gaining a great deal from both classroom observation and interpersonal interaction throughout the trip. They were especially struck by the ingenuity of local teachers' instruction, the self-discipline and engagement shown by Japanese students, and the realization — gained through their time with Japanese teachers and students — that understanding matters more than fluency in cross-cultural communication.
During classroom observation at the elementary school affiliated with Kagoshima University's Faculty of Education, students first sat in on an English class and observed a team-teaching model involving a Japanese teacher and a foreign-language teacher: the foreign-language teacher modeled dialogue and set the tone, while the Japanese teacher handled detailed explanations and guided the lesson, using songs, movement, and rock-paper-scissors pairings to encourage students to speak up and participate. The school's 'combined-grade' (mixed-age) classroom design left a strong impression on both faculty and students: students are grouped by grade band into three combined classes — lower, middle, and upper — with each lesson divided into two segments during which the teacher alternates between grades while the grade not being taught works independently, cultivating self-discipline and a sense of responsibility for one's own learning.
At the junior high school affiliated with Kagoshima University, students were welcomed with a greeting written in traditional Chinese on the blackboard at the school entrance, reflecting the host school's thoughtfulness. The visit unfolded in two stages: first, the group walked through the hallways observing different classrooms, noting bulletin boards that displayed each class's aspirations, messages from student officers, and club information — evidence of the school's emphasis on student initiative and class identity. In the second stage, students broke into small groups and joined seventh- and eighth-grade classes, chatting in English about favorite foods, sports, and colors. The group also observed how teachers wrote out the lesson flow and learning objectives on the board, and noted that every student had a personal computer and could look up images on the spot to bridge communication gaps. Students were also struck by the 'mood band-aids' posted near the school's health room, which let students pick a coping suggestion based on how they were feeling — reflecting the school's effort to weave mental health support into everyday campus life.
The final stop of the visit was Kagoshima University's Faculty of Education, where students took part in two Home Economics Education courses: 'Introduction to Childcare Studies' and 'Life Economics.' In the childcare course, students read Japanese picture books together with their Japanese classmates, following the story through illustrations, expressions, and their partners' explanations — experiencing firsthand the power of picture books as a medium that transcends language. The instructor also shared how picture books are classified and how the genre has developed in Japan. In the life economics course, students used a hiragana card game — designed by the instructor and later developed into a mobile app — to compare waste-sorting and recycling systems in Taiwan and Japan with their Japanese partners, while practicing hiragana and conversational Japanese. After class, the group held a discussion session with the Dean of Kagoshima University's Faculty of Education, sharing what they had gained from the trip and exchanging views on topics such as the gender ratio among Japanese teachers, urban-rural disparities, and the admissions process for combined-grade classrooms.
Between school visits, the delegation also made time for brief cultural excursions to Kumamoto Castle and the Kirishima Open-Air Museum, taking in Japan's historical heritage and its art installations set within nature — adding a further layer of cultural perspective to the exchange.
This visit to Kagoshima University marks TPICOE's fourth overseas exchange trip, following visits to Kyushu University in 2023, Chiba University in 2024, and Keimyung University in 2025. The trip was supported by NTNU's Office of International Affairs through its International Collaboration and Exchange Grant, with additional funding from NTNU's Office of Bilingual Education through The Program on Bilingual Education for Students in College. With this support, students were able to step directly into the Japanese education field through a series of activities including on-site observation, thematic coursework, cross-national student exchange, and cultural immersion, broadening their understanding of different educational systems and cultural backgrounds through both classroom observation and cross-cultural interaction. Looking ahead, TPICOE will continue to promote this type of international exchange, giving more students the opportunity to engage with the world and gradually build the perspective, confidence, and cross-cultural communication skills needed to navigate a diverse society.