Physical Education 1

Instructor: Yuko Shoji, Associate Professor, et al.

How many students took the course?

30 to 40 students (varies by class).

What was the class format?

Live and fully online during the spring semester.

"Very SFC-like!"

With all classes at SFC moving online due to the impact of COVID-19, I felt an indescribable sense of heartbreak, especially when considering the feelings of the new students. How would they make friends? How would they enjoy their student life? Traditionally, Physical Education 1 has been a class where diverse students, regardless of their athletic ability, can enjoy sports and interact with others through various activities. It has been a valuable communication class at SFC, providing opportunities for relationships that continue even after graduation. In this situation, we, the full-time physical education faculty, wracked our brains on how to facilitate in-class communication just as effectively as in-person classes, even though it was online. Furthermore, as lectures increased, an approach to health became crucial. Moving the body correctly and receiving feedback on physical activity can be done immediately in an in-person setting. However, in a situation where that was not possible, we aimed to make this year's Physical Education 1 a class where students could feel the opportunity to make exercise a habit and foster communication. To achieve these goals, we implemented various initiatives for the class content as described below.

In the first class, each class shared their ideas on what they wanted to be like at the end of the spring semester and created goals for each class (the slides show Class 1 to Class 26). Various opinions emerged, such as "I want to go out for a meal with everyone" once the COVID-19 situation subsides, and "I want to be friends who can confide in each other about our worries."

We requested Satoru Nakamura, an alumnus (who promotes mindfulness as a practitioner at Yahoo Japan Corporation), to incorporate a mindfulness workshop into the introductory part of the physical education class. This short workshop involved three steps: 1. Composing the mind, 2. Viewing oneself objectively, and 3. Experiencing the knowledge of one's current self. The more we did this, the more we could focus on our present selves, which was fascinating. It was frequently mentioned in student reports as one of the most memorable initiatives. In the loneliness of being online and the state of being constantly assigned class tasks, this workshop was an opportunity to see oneself objectively. I also believe that acquiring such skills is very important for navigating university life.

The classroom is a "safe and secure" space where dialogue among peers is promoted. To create such a space, each group shares their "preferred name, physical condition, and feelings" every hour. We implemented a program to create a relationship where students can discuss and interact naturally, rather than one of "evaluating" and "being evaluated."

In the physical education class, we also provided opportunities to learn about "posture" and "how to sit." Currently, we are checking the "daily sitting time" as part of the physical activities undertaken in class. It seems that the time spent sitting has increased more than expected due to the elimination of travel time for online classes and reduced interaction with others due to restrictions on going out. There is a report1) that Japanese people have the longest sitting time in the world (7 hours), but among first-year students at SFC, those sitting for 8 hours or more accounted for 75% of the total. There is also a report2) that excessive sitting increases health risks. It is important to be conscious of not sitting too much by incorporating exercises between online classes, attending classes while standing, and actively making time for housework and hobbies.

With the decrease in physical activity and communication, we thought that the process of creating something together in class would promote communication. First, we had Professor Shinya Fujii theoretically explain the relationship between "movement and music" in a video. Rather than just moving the body aimlessly, we provided points for correctly moving seven parts of the body. In the first half of the class, we taught these points, as well as correct posture, online communication that cuts off language, and how to think about physical activity levels. These formed the basis of SFC Taiso, repeating theory and practice. Each class was divided into groups and worked on creating and connecting the content of SFC Taiso both inside and outside of class. As music was deemed better, three upperclassmen, Kenta Ueda from the Faculty of Policy Management, Taisuke Hirose from the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, and Takamasa Ueno from the Faculty of Science and Technology, kindly provided the sound source. Some classes created original sound sources and lyrics. It seems that group discussions and movement creation were actively conducted online outside of class. We set judging criteria and held a class competition from the preliminaries to the finals. The judges were faculty members Junichi Ushiyama and Shinya Fujii, staff representative Haruyuki Higuchi (who has been a great help to students at various events, including the Tanabata Festival), and alumni representative Rieko Dohi. The eight teams that won the preliminaries based on the judging criteria advanced to the final judging by the Dean. We also had a TA Award chosen by the graduate students who support physical education. The results were announced at the end of the class, but since every class worked so hard, we heard voices like, "What? Our class didn't win the Dean's Award?" (laughs). The Dean's Award was won by "Class 21," which can be done with one hand on a smartphone, and "Class 18," which can be smoothly accepted by any generation, after passing the final judging. We also received a video message from the Dean. We really wanted to do the SFC Taiso together, didn't we? (laughs). (You can watch the video at the link, but viewing is restricted to those with a keio.jp account). The lyrics created by Class 4 as an original piece represent the voices of the new students. Seeing these, the feelings for SFC, a campus they have not yet set foot on, are woven into the song, and it warms my heart.

What was very active in conducting the physical education class was "SFC-GO." It is a class support tool created by an all-star cast including faculty, alumni, doctoral and master's students, and undergraduate students from the Nakasawa Lab. Amidst self-restraint and restrictions on going out, we thought that visualizing physical activity would enhance self-control over one's health. In just about three weeks, people from the physical education and information fields came together to form a development team. There were so many things to discuss one after another that I remember my head going blank many times along the way (laughs). Thanks to the amazing dedication and passion of the information field members, especially Wataru Sasaki from the doctoral program, Satsuki Hashiba from the master's program, alumnus Yuki Nishiyama, and coordinator Taku Okoshi, we somehow managed to start by the 5th class. I was moved when the students installed the app on their smartphones and started it. At the same time, all the physical education faculty members exchanged information on a mailing list about how each class was using it. This was our first attempt, so exchanging information with each other was very important. Furthermore, when there were uncertainties, the staff at the Virtual Master's Room, where the physical education office staff are stationed, and the undergraduate students from the Nakasawa Lab, who set up a support center, were there to answer questions. In class, we saw good relationships forming, such as students who were able to practice dividing into teams and using SFC-GO effectively, following up with students who were lost on how to operate it. There were 26 Physical Education 1 classes, and although there were many glitches and insufficient explanations in this first-ever initiative, the professors implemented it with warm hearts. The SAs who followed up on the faculty's IT shortcomings were also very reassuring. In SFC-GO, the faculty set exercise tasks, and the students worked on them inside and outside of class. For example, there were tasks sent from the faculty like "Please exercise in groups for the development of SFC Taiso" and "I'm going jogging next Sunday, won't you join me?" I think it was good to have a connection where we could enjoy exercising together in a relaxed way between classes and groups.

I am happy that the first-year students had a high level of satisfaction with the class. Every year, when I look at student reports, many write about the difference from physical education up to high school. This time, since we couldn't use the tool of sports, I think there were more opportunities to face one's own mind and body. Physical education up to high school tends to be led by those with high motor skills and competitive abilities, which is considered one of the reasons for creating a dislike of physical education. Just as the philosophy of the entire SFC campus is, people with special characteristics in various fields gather, so I think it would be great if we could integrate that in physical education as well. For example, the online reservation system and physical education notes used in SFC physical education were built about 20 years ago with the great effort of Professor Tatsuya Hagino in the fields of information processing and software development. With this foundation, the collaboration in physical education that only SFC can do, SFC-GO, has become a model of interdisciplinary fusion. For the completion of SFC Taiso, the strengths of people with various specialties, such as those good at video, those good at creating sound sources, and those good at dancing, were brought together. As we have seen so far, various faculty members participated in the class in fields such as SFC-GO and music. I believe that through such unique SFC classes, it becomes a valuable opportunity to perceive one's own mind and body from various perspectives. I am looking forward to the day when I can move together with the new students on campus doing the SFC Taiso after the COVID-19 situation subsides.