COIL Project with Students from Espirito Santo University: Fieldwork (Saturday, May 24)

In the general educatoon class "International Collaboration (Brazil)," a COIL project is being conducted with students from the University of Espirito Santo (UFES), Brazil. COIL is an educational method in which students from universities in two or more countries are connected online and study together under the supervision of faculty members from both universities. In the project activities, the Ibaraki University students will live-stream to UFES students from a location in Japan that is of interest to Brazilian students, and conduct field research in the locations.

On Saturday morning, May 24, nine Ibaraki University students enrolled in this class and ten UFES students conducted online fieldwork together. The students were divided into two groups. Group A conducted fieldwork at Katsuta Secondary School with the help of students from the school. The secondary school students first gave a presentation about the school and school life. Then, they held a question-and-answer session and guided us around the classrooms, library, music room, and gymnasium.

Group B conducted fieldwork at Kairakuen. They were guided through the Kobun-tei Pavilion, Japanese garden, teahouse, and shrine. The Brazilian students who participated in the tour gave it high marks, saying that they enjoyed seeing Japanese schools and gardens in real time from the other side of the world.

From now, students from both schools will reflect on their fieldwork and prepare a joint presentation!