SoTL trends in Japanese academia: Insights from Teikyo university

In this chapter, two scholars, Takashi Yasuoka and Fumiko Inoue, detail their journey in introducing and promoting the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) at Teikyo University, Japan. Teikyo University is a private institution that has been focusing on SoTL since 2005 under the leadership of the president. In 2017, the university started the SoTL project operated by the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The authors have promoted CTL's SoTL project as directors. At CTL, they implemented a SoTL program for faculty members and recognized that the program participants were transformed into researchers in the field of class improvement and development. The SoTL was effective in further improving the quality of education at the university. The authors also found a lack of community discussion about education, mainly due to a cultural background long rooted in Japan, and suggested that working on SoTL is a shortcut to stimulating discussions on education at Japanese universities.