Shin Tokyo Dental Technician College hosted the 11th Full-Time Faculty Seminar during the 4-day period from August 18 to 21. The seminar was organized by the Japan Association of Dental Technicians, comprised of member dental technical training schools from across Japan. The seminar was attended by 31 full-time faculty members from dental technician schools stretching across Japan, from Hokkaido to Kyushu. Three faculty members from Jikei Group schools also participated in the seminar: Mr. Masayoshi Sasaki from the Shin Osaka Dental Technician College; Mr. Masahiro Sugita from Toyo Medical College; and Ms. Yumi Kimizuka from the Shin Tokyo Dental Technician College.

 

In the past, separate dental technician national examinations have been held in each prefecture, but beginning next February, a unified national examination will be conducted across the country. Moreover, education for dental technicians will change dramatically from the current classroom hours-based system—where students accumulate 2,200 classroom hours or more of designated classes before they graduate—to a broader credit-based system.

 

The impetus for the seminar was the need for schools across the country to prepare for these changes to dental technician education and for full-time faculty members to brush up on various skills.

 

The Main Program for the 4-Day Seminar

 

1. 1. Changes to the Dental Technician National Examination and Dental Technician Education

       (Mr. Kazuhiko Suese, Japan Dental Technician Education Council Chairperson)

2. 2. The Road to a Unified Dental Technician National Examination

       (Assistant Professor Katsuo Oshima, Dental Technician Department, the Nippon Dental University College at Tokyo)

3. 3. Curriculum Planning

       (Professor Takashi Ikeo, Biochemistry Course, Osaka Dental University)

4. 4. Writing Objective Examination Questions

       (Mr. Haruhisa Koguchi, Principal, the Nippon Dental University College at Tokyo)

5. 5. Writing Objective Examination Questions

       (Mr. Haruhisa Koguchi, Principal; Ms. Rika Takei, Instructor; the Nippon Dental University College at Tokyo)

 

Participants learned the fundamentals of writing multiple choice questions from Mr. Haruhisa Koguchi, a leading authority on creating objective examination items, in parts 4 and 5 of the program. Afterward, the participants separated into 4 groups for a workshop. During the workshop, participants reviewed example questions and pre-tasks. The workshop was very productive, with Mr. Koguchi and Mr. Takei providing participants with detailed advice.

 

At the end of the workshop, Mr. Koguchi gave the closing address in which he remarked that “We urgently need to change the way educators across Japan think in order to improve the quality of dental technician education across the country. Without making educators more motivated, in other words, unless we are constantly working toward improving the quality of educators, the dental technician industry will not have a bright future.