Coordinated Learning / Teaching Discussion

June 18, 2005 Hayama

(Andy M., Carl, Steve, Suzanne, Yuji)

Summarised by Steve

The question was posed: How can we avoid overlap of materials, approaches and assignments across the Chuo English Curricula? The consensus was that this issue relates to: the overall curriculum; all teachers’ syllabi; homework in all classes; and, inter-teacher communication.

· Chuo doesn’t give a syllabus for each class, nor does it assign or encourage textbooks; teachers are simply given target skills to aim for; so how do we prevent overlap across classes, assignments, and years?

· New teachers tend to follow examples and use materials that are offered by the Chuo full-timers, assuming that these are ‘suggested’ for use. Teachers need to know that these are simply examples offering a sense of what students have done and can do.

· Part-time and full-time teachers need to communicate frequently to ensure that overlap is minimized and identified early when it does occur.

Any suggestions for how this can be done without asking teachers to submit a syllabus for each class?