Case Studies
Hokuriku Gakuen Educational Corporation
Visualizing learning progress
resulted in extensive support for students
Ms. Keiko Chitani, Director, Academic Affairs Section, Academic Affairs Division
Mr. Masaki Saiki, Sub Leader, Educational Affairs Section and National Examination Preparation Section
June 13, 2022.
In 1948, we established "Nagaoka Dressmaker Girl's College". Since then, we have been involved in school management, and in the beginning of the Heisei era, we established the current two-school system of "Hokuriku Shokuiku Food College" and "Hokuriku Welfare and Childcare Vocational College". Under the philosophy of "fostering human resources who can meet the needs of the times," we not only provide technical training, but also nurture human resources who can be accepted as members of society. In recent years, we have begun operating nursery schools and small-scale childcare facilities, which are also used as places for students to receive practical training.
- Differences in admissions methods and pre-entry study efforts created differences in student status.
- Cost of training venue for several hundred people, transportation for participants, and other expenses are high.
- New Coronavirus Requires Online Classes
- There were limitations to individualized instruction.
- Providing learning materials through learningBOX prior to enrollment facilitates classes after entering the school.
- Visualization of time spent on assignments, making it easy to monitor learning progress
- Enables questions to be provided according to the student's proficiency level
- Reduce use of paper resources
- Utilizing the notification function improves staff operations.
Facilitates individualized attention by monitoring student learning and comprehension.
First of all, could you introduce the schools operated by Hokuriku Gakuen?
The school education is developed under the motto "to acquire national qualifications and play an active role in society.
[Mr. Chiya.]
We operate two professional training colleges, Hokuriku Shokuiku Food College and Hokuriku Welfare and Childcare College, as well as three nursery schools and a small nursery school.
The motto of the Senmon Gakko is "to acquire national qualifications and play an active role in society.
Hokuriku Shokuiku Food College offers courses for chefs, confectionery technicians, nutritionists, and registered dietitians, while Hokuriku Welfare and Childcare College offers courses for kindergarten teachers, nursery school teachers, elementary school teachers, school nurse teachers, and other national qualifications and licenses.
Thank you very much. What were some of the challenges you faced before implementing learningBOX?
A great deal of effort was required to monitor the learning progress of individual students.
[Mr. Chiya.]
At Senshu Gakuin, our curriculum is designed to ensure that all students pass the examinations for national qualifications such as confectionery technicians, registered dietitians, and in the past, nursing care workers. In addition, we prepare students for the national examinations.
In order to review and accumulate this know-how, we need to ask ourselves "How do we overcome differences in proficiency level? How can we overcome differences in proficiency level? We are working on these questions through trial and error.
However, each student's situation has become more diverse over the years due to differences in entrance examination methods and the content of courses taken during the educational stage prior to entering a special training college. The issue was that the effort required for instructors and staff to cover these issues was itself on the increase.
I see. How did you come to know about learningBOX?
With the Corona disaster, we were looking for a tool to use for online classes.
[Mr. Chiya.]
The major trigger was the spread of the new coronavirus. At the time of the outbreak in Japan, it was spring vacation, and graduation ceremonies and other events were being held with the introduction of measures to prevent the spread of infection, but at the same time, how to welcome the new semester? However, how to welcome the new school term was an issue.
Although the relevant ministries and agencies had issued a policy allowing the use of online classes, in reality it was difficult to grasp the PC and online environments of individual students, and at the time of the outbreak, there was skepticism toward online classes themselves, so we were groping in the dark.
At that time, a staff member on campus happened to see the learningBOX website and thought that this would be a good way for students to easily work on it from their smartphones. This was a good idea.
What were the deciding factors in your decision to install the system?
The ability to respond well to issues prior to the Corona disaster was significant.
[Mr. Chiya.]
Our "interest" became "confidence" as we had more and more online meetings with your staff.
The deciding factor was that the school was able to meet exactly the challenges of the pre-Corona period, and that even with the Corona disaster, it was sprinkled with "innovations that allow students to engage in learning without stress and with full of curiosity.
The ability to analyze not only the correctness of questions, but also the response time, etc., made it possible to visualize the amount of time students spent working on the questions, which had not been possible in the past, for example, when studying for assignments. I still remember the excitement I felt when the results of the analysis showed up.
What are some of the benefits that you have experienced in the actual operation of the system?
Not only did the school improve academically, but it also had a positive impact on the school's operations.
[Mr. Chiya.]
We have realized this in a great many ways.
Since the department's inception, we have been concerned about the fact that many of our incoming students have difficulty in science subjects and the limitations of our individualized instruction.
After the introduction of the system, by providing educational materials as advance study on learningBOX for students who have been offered admission, the anxiety that students had before entering the school has been reduced and a smoother introduction to classes has been realized after entering the school. By setting up the system so that students can advance to the next step according to their progress in the course materials, instructors and faculty members have evaluated that the differences in individual basic academic skills can be averaged out and the level of understanding in each area has improved when students finally enter the school.
In addition, by creating original questions in the learningBOX, such as multiple-choice and multiple-choice questions, students can concentrate on their weak areas, making it easier to respond individually according to students' weaknesses.
The effect has been felt in areas other than learning, as well, with a significant reduction in the amount of printed materials. The past problems used to be used for each class, but after the introduction of the system, the number of A4 size 250 sheets per person per year x number of students was reduced.
In addition, the "Notification Function" can be used to send necessary information to the students in a batch, which leads to more efficient operations. Students also feel secure in knowing that they can check the necessary information at their fingertips at any time.
I'm so glad to see that you are contributing to the content of your classes, the way you give assignments, and even the school administration itself! Are you considering any new ways to use the system in the future?
We would like to create educational materials for new purposes, as well as for training within the corporation and the university.
[Mr. Chiya.]
After enrollment, we are considering the use of teaching materials that connect knowledge from input learning to output training, application skills, and test-response skills, in order to help students quickly establish a self-study method based on an efficient learning structure.
We would like to increase the effectiveness of collaboration with each class by ensuring that both the teacher-in-charge - instructor fully understands the function. We would also like to actively utilize the system from now on for training within the corporation - within the university - within the school.
In particular, we would like to improve our organizational strength as a corporation by backing up these training programs, as opportunities for joint training, etc., have been drastically reduced due to the Corona disaster.
Also, this is in a sense a "trade secret" (laugh), but we would like to evolve it into a "training tool that allows anyone to become an instructor. Please interview me again in a year's time (laughs).
Afterword
How was the case study interview with Hokuriku Gakuen Educational Corporation?
This was a case where the functions of learningBOX meshed with the school's operations: daily learning efforts, classroom support, remote response, and monitoring and analysis of learning progress.
We know that students are working hard every day to achieve their goals in terms of certification examinations. We hope that the use of learningBOX will make your study more efficient and fulfilling.
In addition, they are planning to use it not only for students, but also for training of faculty and staff. We look forward to supporting this project so that we can be of further assistance to you.
Thank you very much for taking time out of your schedule to meet with us.
We appreciate this opportunity.
Thank you very much, Keiko Chiya and Masaki Saiki, for taking time out of your busy schedules for this interview!