Annual Reduction of Over 5,000 Sheets of Paper, Mock Exam Average Scores on an Upward Trend

▼First case study published in 2022

Case Study - School Corporation Hokuriku Gakuen | learningBOX e-learning system

In this issue, we interviewed Hokuriku Gakuen Educational Corporation. We introduce the case study of their use of learningBOX to support individual students by visualizing their learning status.

Expanding the Scope of Use Over 5 Years

Could you tell us about the current ways you utilize learningBOX, about five years since its initial operation?

Ms. Chitani:The main use is for national exam preparation. All full-time teachers and academic affairs staff use it 100%, and about 40% of part-time lecturers utilize it. This primarily includes part-time lecturers involved in national exam preparation.

For practical subjects, instructors upload videos to learningBOX so students can practice at home, repeating the exercises while watching the videos.

In terms of specialization in national exams, the primary target departments are those aiming for national qualifications, such as the Department of Registered Dietitians, the Department of Confectionery and Baking, and the Department of Food Master.

How has the utilization of learningBOX changed since the interview three years ago?

Ms. Chitani: Over the past three years, the use of learningBOX has expanded significantly.

One such expansion is uploading in-class quizzes to learningBOX so students can voluntarily attempt them repeatedly. The tests can be reused across academic years, and updates can be quickly replaced if revisions are made.

The slide materials used in class are also uploaded to learningBOX, allowing students to review them after class or at home.

Furthermore, all school events and class announcements are distributed via learningBOX, sometimes including videos to explain the day's proceedings. Sharing the flow of events in advance has become very convenient.

Who is responsible for operating learningBOX and registering the teaching materials?

Ms. Chitani: A dedicated staff member in charge of national exam preparation handles the centralized creation and uploading of teaching materials for learningBOX. Quizzes and other problems are received from the lecturers and then uploaded in collaboration with them.

We can also constantly check the students' progress from the learningBOX management screen, and this information is shared with lecturers and incorporated into their guidance.

Improved Quality of Learning Through New Summer Vacation Initiatives

2025We heard about a new initiative implemented during the 2025 summer vacation.

Mr. Saiki: Yes. We categorized and processed past national exam questions by field and deployed them on learningBOX as self-study assignments.

We set a condition where 20 questions are randomly selected from over 100 questions, and students must repeat the test until they achieve an 80% or higher correct answer rate. Students with slower proficiency development need to attempt it many times.

In addition, we conducted extra tests once a week and evaluated the process, such as the number of attempts, and the level of achievement.

Ms. Chitani:With paper assignments, the goal often became merely "submission." With learningBOX, we can set the goal based on the correct answer rate. As a result, the purpose of the work became clearer, and I feel the meaningfulness of the learning has deepened.

How do you evaluate this initiative?

Mr. Saiki: I feel it had a positive impact. While some students mentioned the "high number of problems," I believe that by repeatedly engaging with the material, they came to realize the necessary hurdles for passing the national exam.

Visualizing Student Learning Status and Strengthening Individual Follow-up

A feature of learningBOX is its ability to visualize learning progress, which was not possible with paper. How do you follow up with students who fall behind in their studies?

Mr. Saiki: First, we check whether they have established a habit of studying. We then conduct individual interviews and provide support by sharing the situation among the teachers.

Since learningBOX can track data such as when, for how long they worked and how many times they solved a problem, we can now grasp the learning process that was invisible with only submissions. I feel we can provide more accurate follow-up and encouragement.

Is the learning process also reflected in the evaluation?

Mr. Saiki:Yes. Based on daily learning progress, we award extra points for forming a study habit as one of the evaluation criteria. Since we can grasp each student's pace, we can provide early follow-up.

Ms. Chitani:It's also convenient to know who has viewed the materials. Previously, we had to call each person individually, but now we can quickly reach out to students who haven't viewed it. learningBOX's Notifications and Message are useful for prompting learning.

Greater Results Are Experienced in Subjects Where LearningBOX Was Used

Has the use of learningBOX for qualification exam preparation led to improved academic performance?

Ms. Chitani: As for whether there is a clear numerical difference in the national exam pass rate, I believe we need to observe that carefully. However, the variety of teaching materials has increased, and the collection of past questions is quite substantial, so I feel that the learning environment is definitely more organized and the quality has improved than before.

In particular, the Registered Dietitian national exam is becoming more difficult each year (*1), but our top-performing students are consistently scoring well. This growth in scores can be considered a sign of success.

On the other hand, for students in the lower-scoring group, we believe continued support is crucial to maintain their motivation and ensure they complete their assignments reliably.

Aside from preparing past questions, what other initiatives are you undertaking for the increasingly difficult Registered Dietitian national exam?

Mr. Saiki: The Registered Dietitian national exam is divided into morning and afternoon sessions, with the morning subjects mainly covering fundamental fields. If students struggle with the morning questions, they become anxious and this can significantly affect their mental state, carrying over into the afternoon.

Because of this, we are utilizing learningBOX to intensively strengthen the five fundamental subjects covered in the morning session.

Ms. Chitani: The national exam mock tests are where we are recently seeing tangible results from using learningBOX. We conduct about 10 mock exams annually, and in the most recent tests, the school average for science and math subjects ranked 2nd and 3rd nationally.

We feel that the subjects where learning was intensively pursued using learningBOX are yielding results.

*1:
Obunsha Educational Information Center, "2025 Registered Dietitian National Examination Results"

Over 5,000 Sheets of Paper Reduced Annually & Improved Staff Work Efficiency

In the previous interview, the effect was a reduction of 250 sheets of A4 paper per person annually, but we heard that the move to paperless has progressed even further this time.

Ms. Chitani:Digitalization has advanced significantly. By making all printed materials distributed in class and academic affairs available online, we have achieved an annual reduction of approximately 5,000 or more sheets of paper.

Furthermore, about 80% of notifications for students that were previously posted on paper have been migrated to learningBOX. Students can now check necessary information online at any time, which has also reduced instances of missing notifications.

Mr. Saiki: Teachers used to spend about two hours every day after school in the printing room preparing printed materials, but that task is now mostly unnecessary. This has significantly contributed to the efficiency and reduced burden on faculty and staff.

What are the advantages of using digital teaching materials in class?

Mr. Saiki: Previously, due to the large number of pages, materials were printed in black and white. This made photos and diagrams unclear, but digitalization now allows students to see clear, color images.

We feel that proficiency has increased, especially in classes that deal with detailed diagrams, such as those of organs or nutrient structures. Since images are clearly displayed even on smartphones and tablets, the learning experience has become more visually understandable and easier.

Are there any other effects you have realized?

Mr. Saiki: We have reduced the individual workload of distributing materials and providing support for absent students. Previously, we had to prepare separate printouts for absentees and check for distribution leaks. Now, by uploading all materials to learningBOX, students can view them at their own convenience.

Furthermore, in the previous interview, we mentioned the pre-enrollment learning using learningBOX for incoming students who had a weak background in science and math, and we are continuing this initiative.

As a result, students who engaged in pre-learning can transition smoothly into their specialized subjects after enrollment, leading to better retention and improved understanding of the specialized curriculum.

Realized Work Efficiency in Both Learning Management and Communication

Are there any challenges you feel or future requests you have while using learningBOX?

Ms. Chitani:It would be helpful if the scores from paper-based tests could also be centrally managed within learningBOX. If the results of paper mock exams and quizzes could also be aggregated, students could more accurately grasp their score transitions and weak areas. For the school, it would facilitate data-driven guidance and individual follow-up, further enhancing the quality of education.

Furthermore, we are looking forward to the future use of AI. It would be extremely helpful to have a mechanism where AI automatically analyzes 10 to 20 years' worth of national exam questions to extract frequently appearing words and terms, or to automatically generate modified questions. If this were realized, it would reduce the burden on teachers and enable learning support tailored to the understanding level of each student.

Thank you for your valuable feedback. We will consider it. Now, what do you find to be easy-to-use or convenient for learningBOX?

Ms. Chitani:First, the ability to see "who has viewed the material" and "which students have not submitted" at a glance (Grage Management). It's easy to send reminders, and we can set an Access period, allowing us to assign homework even during long holidays. Additionally, the Direct message feature is convenient for contacting each student individually.

Has the use of grade management and message features resulted in any changes in student reactions or learning attitudes?

Ms. Chitani:Even students who are unresponsive to face-to-face communication often respond smoothly when they receive a notification email from learningBOX. I think conveying information in writing makes students feel they need to take action properly.

Mr. Saiki:The Manage notifications feature, which allows sending messages to everyone simultaneously, is also convenient, streamlining teacher workflow, and receiving a high response rate from students. Overall, I feel that work efficiency has improved in both learning management and information communication to students.

We Want to Build a New Learning Structure that Connects learningBOX with Daily Classes

Could you share your future outlook?

Ms. Chitani: Going forward, we want to establish a learning style where studying with learningBOX and daily classes or tests are mutually connected.

We aim to solidify foundational academic skills through self-study using learningBOX, confirm the results through face-to-face classes and in-school quizzes to quickly identify areas of insufficient understanding, and then reinforce those identified weaknesses again through self-study using learningBOX. We want to build this structure of learning.

Ultimately, we aim to link both face-to-face guidance and digital learning via learningBOX to create an environment where every student can reliably achieve their goals.

Thank you very much for your valuable insights!