(Kurita)Hello, everyone. (Students)Hello. (Kurita)This is the last session for WEEK 1. I would like to have time for the self-introduction of all the graduate students here. There are two purposes for this self-introduction. We are going to learn about interactive teaching through eight weeks together. As such, I would like you to have yourself known to your peers, and to get to know one another. The self-introduction is for these purposes. First, say hello and give your name. All of you are graduate students, so tell us briefly about your field, and tell us about what you do to get rid of stress. Let me show you an example. Hello, everyone. (Students)Hello. (Kurita)My name is Kayoko Kurita. My research is on developing and spreading portfolios. I get rid of stress by eating chocolates and hot food. Let’s learn together. Nice to meet you. Like this. Now, let’s begin with Kaneko-san. (Student)Hello. My name is Chihori Kaneko. My research field is in architecture, especially construction and destruction. I get rid of stress by swimming. Nice to meet you. (Kurita)Thank you. Hodrigo-san, it’s your turn. (Student)Hello, everyone. My name is Hodrigo Kendy Yamashita. My research field is on the temperature of optical fibers and strain sensors. I like to sing while walking in the campus when I’m tired from conducting experiments on optical fiber. Nice to meet you. (Kurita)Thank you. Horiuchi-san, it’s your turn. (Student)Hello, everyone. My name is Tae Horiuchi. My field is clinical psychology. I am researching on the career development of mental health support specialists. I get rid of stress by having a relaxed time at home watching TV. Nice to meet you. (Kurita)Thank you. Yoshida-san, it’s your turn. (Student)Hello, everyone. My name is Lui Yoshida. My field is bioengineering, a field that merges medicine and engineering. What I do to get rid of stress is… when there’s no one inside a room usually occupied by students, I enjoy singing in a loud voice. Nice to meet you. (Kurita)Thank you. Nakamura-san, it’s your turn. (Student)Hello, everyone. My name is Nagafumi Nakamura. My field is international politics, and I’m researching the civil war in Syria today. Given this subject of my research, it is important for me to get rid of stress. I love watching baseball games, and I must work hard in my research to avoid giving the impression that I’m only doing it in my spare time. The team I’m supporting is decisively at the bottom of the league these days, so it’s not much for relieving stress, but I’d like to stay optimistic. Thank you. (Student)Hello, everyone. My name is Mai Mizukoshi. I am researching the mental health of couples in the perinatal period based on my experience as a midwife. I get rid of stress by making a tour of hot springs. I love taking a bath in a hot spring without thinking of anything. (Student)Hello, everyone. My name is Chie Teramoto. I used to be an emergency room nurse, so my research is on the relief of emergency room patients and their lives in the local community. How I get rid of stress is the same as with many of you. I love singing, too. I can’t go to a karaoke with my one-year-old kid, but there’s a nice room at home where the acoustics are good: the bathroom. I love singing in a loud voice in the bathroom. I hope we can learn and have fun, too. (Student)Nice to meet you. (Students)Hello, everyone. (Student)My name is Akito Ozawa. My field is energy engineering. In my research, I especially focus on helping people conserve energy at home effortlessly, and on helping introducing solar power generation and fuel cells to households. I get rid of stress when I’m busy with my research by working out or running hard at a gym, looking in the mirror at my body hardened by exercise, and feeling self-satisfied with it. It is a useful diversion. Nice to meet you. (Kurita)Thank you. You shared so many ways to get rid of stress. Thank you. This was the self-introduction time for us to get to know one another. What we did is also how you can introduce yourself at the beginning of a class you will have in the future. I make it a rule to talk about these things in my own class. You need to clarify the name of the course, because sometimes, there are students who come to the wrong classroom. Then give your name, and explain what your class is about. You usually explain it by showing the syllabus. We will learn about the syllabus in WEEK 5. Then, by talking about your own research, students will be intrigued. Be sure to tell your message to the students. That’s how the self-introduction goes. Now let’s look at the handouts. You introduced yourselves simply to get to know one another. However, what are the roles of an instructor’s self-introduction? Could you write them down on the handouts? I’ll give you a few minutes. Think of the self-introduction of instructors you listened to in the classes you have had. OK then, let me ask a few students. How about you, Yoshida-san? (Student)Well, I think, by introducing yourself, you can have your students understand why you came to be in charge of that course. It would intrigue students to look into your field. (Kurita)Intriguing function. (Student)It might be a trigger. (Kurita)I see. Thank you. Are there any other functions? How about you, Mizukoshi-san? (Student)Yes. By making yourself acquainted with the students, I think you can make an atmosphere for students to feel free to ask questions in the class. (Kurita)You can bring yourself and the students closer. Yes. Instead of directly proceeding to the main topic of the class, talking about who you are would help you become acquainted with the students. As Yoshida-san and Mizukoshi-san said, the roles of the instructor’s self-introduction can be classified into three. First, everyone is nervous during the first class. Students are nervous, and actually, instructors are very nervous, too. Adding a bit of a frank topic, like how to get rid of stress, could help students feel relieved. Students are often worried about the difficulty of the course, so by showing the outline of the course, they would feel less anxious. This also helps enhance the students’ expectations of the class. This is similar to what Yoshida-san said. The introduction provides a strong message of what the course is about. It helps less enthusiastic students to become more interested in the topic. These things are the roles of the self-introduction. Moreover, it helps create a cooperative environment. This is similar to the first role. It is good to create a comfortable atmosphere and not start a class without knowing each other at all. The instructor’s self-introduction could be the first step to that. As such, when you become an instructor, keep these things in mind and introduce yourself. That’s all for this session. Thank you.
