Skills Development Conference 2022
The 2022 Skills Development Conference (外国語指導助手の指導力等向上研修) was held on October 14th. Due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 in Japan, the conference was held online this year, and JTEs were not in attendance.
Details
Information and materials for presentations will be distributed to ALTs ahead of the conference day. On the 14th, discussions and presentations will take place online through Google Meet and Zoom.
- Schedule:
- Scheduled time:
9am-4pm
- Dress: Business Attire
Opening Ceremony
Welcome to SDC Online 2022! We will begin with an Opening Ceremony for the whole group before splitting off into different sections.
Micro-Teaching
Description: Individually, ALTs will read the description and watch the video sent in a prior email for the prepared Elementary School micro-teaching demonstration lesson before SDC begins. While watching, they will be expected to formulate opinions about what went well and what could be improved. During the Micro-Teaching portion of SDC, ALTs will discuss their ideas in small groups, as led by a moderator, to try and improve their own lessons.
Instructions Click the link to your assigned group and Jamboard
Groups will discuss the following topics related to the video:
1. Recap the contents of the assigned microteaching video 2. Discuss with the group good points of the lesson 3. Discuss areas of improvement in the lesson 4. Give solutions to the areas of improvement 5. reflect on the video on how it could make you a better ALT in the classroom.
Group Members will use sticky notes to highlight the good points and areas of improvement and place them on the Jamboard. Then elaborate on them with their other group members. Moderators will organize the sticky notes into categories and facilitate the discussion.
SEE THE EXAMPLE JAMBOARD AND GROUP JAMBOARDS ATTACHED BELOW
NOTE TO MODERATORS: Please ensure your Whiteboard/Jamboard permissions allow others to edit it. You may find it is automatically "read only" so you will need to select the blue "share" button at the top right-hand of the screen and change the permissions to "allow anyone with the link to edit"
Micro Teaching sections
- Elementary School.
- Junior High School.
- Senior High School.
Guest-Speaker
This year, our guest speaker, Dr. Kazuyoshi Sato, will present on Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and how to provide effective English instruction using CLT.
Materials:
Homepage: https://www3.nufs.ac.jp/~yoshi/
Workshops / Presentations
Level up your PowerPoint game!
- David Ready.
Description: My name is David, and if you study with my 50-minute program, you will learn a system of PPT skills that I developed over years of teaching students. It is called David Point Do!" For 10 easy payments of $0, I will show how to animate, gamify and amplify PowerPoint in ways you have never seen before!
Material:
Level Up Your Power Point Game!
Here are some games I made to show you what you can do with the knowledge I bestow open thee
How to Tablet
- Chris Scrafford.
Description: With every ES, JHS, and SHS kids having their own tablet, what are you supposed to do with them? I will give you my experience with using tablets in the classroom and what the tablets are doing for the students using them.
Material:
The Great and Terrible Art of Parliamentary Debate
- Wesley Sweet.
Description: In this presentation, you will learn how to teach your students to argue with all the logic and tact of a career politician. We will cover the basics of Parliamentary style debate and the benefits of its application in the classroom.
Material:
5+ years in 50 minutes
- Marie E. L. (“Mariel”).
Description: Do you need ideas on how to be more efficient as an ALT? Do you want to know how to make students more comfortable approaching you? Do you want more ideas on how to spark the entire school community's interest in English and world cultures?
If you answered 2 or 3 yeses, then this workshop is for you. Its three main points are 1. Who we are as a Sensei 2. What we can do as an ALT inside the classroom 3. What we can do for our school(s)
I will do my best to put everything that I have learned and practiced in my 5+ years of being an ALT in Yokote. Also, towards the last part, I want to pass on the best life advice I received from a respected senpai who helped me navigate my JET journey.
Material:
Designing Activities for English Class
- Noel G.
Description: We will discuss techniques and methods for developing activities for lessons, as discovered according to my experience teaching JHS. Will include a brief survey at the beginning, with aggregated data sent out after the conference.
Material: Designing Activities for English Class.
International Day
- Owen Cunningham.
Description:International Day is an excellent way to expose children (and teachers) to new cultures, increase their interest in English, and allow them to use the English they have learned in class. This presentation will explain what International Days are and how you can start the process of hosting one at your elementary or junior high school.
Material: Kamikoani ES International Day
Differentiation: Do’s, Don'ts, and Devices
- Julia Wheelehan.
Description: Differentiation as a tool is helpful because, once you utilize it, it can make classes not just fun and engaging, but students will be able to improve their English ability even if Student A is at a different level than Student B. Furthermore, differentiation is essential, regardless of your teaching level, because if you teach at multiple schools, you will be faced with varying levels of English ability, and you cannot always use the same materials for each class.
Material: Differentiation Powerpoint
The Skill of Active Listening
- June Kim.
Description: Has anyone ever told you that you are a good listener? Did you know it is an actual skill you can improve upon? What if I told you that if you can improve your listening skills based on your personality, you can improve your communication skills with those in your life? Let us find out what kind of listener you are!
You will also be asked to take a DISC Personality Profile test. Feel free to do this before the presentation or during the short 10-minute time to take it. Please have your results handy! (An e-mail address is required to take the test, but your results won't be e-mailed to you, so use whichever address you like)
Material: DISC test: https://discpersonalitytesting.com/discassess/work-free/free-start.php
Block Meetings
All blocks held individual meetings in their own Google meet rooms to discuss upcoming events and block relevant information to finish the conference.
See Also
| Skills Development Conference | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-Year Conference | 2008 • 2009 • 2010 | |||||||||
| Skills Development Conference | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |||||||
