Touching education - Reviving student motivation with the Soetanto Effect
Ken Kawan Soetanto
Professor, Faculty of International Liberal Studies
Director, Clinical Education and Science Research Institute
- Four doctorates: engineering, medicine, pharmacy and pedagogy
I first came to Japan in 1974 as a university student, and received doctorates in engineering and medicine. Recently I also obtained doctorates in pharmacy and pedagogy. Since my original field of study was medical engineering, which is an interdisciplinary field, it was natural for me to extend my area of interest. I did science and engineering research on health-related machines, and subsequently pursued clinical medicine studies of medical machinery. I extended the scope of my studies of medical machines from use in checkups to use in medical treatment, and in the course of my pharmaceutical research I invented an ultrasonic contrast agent which received dozens of basic patents in Japan and two in the U.S.A.
My last PhD, in pedagogy, is different in nature from other three. In 1993, I ended my research life in the U.S.A., and decided to teach at Toin University of Yokohama, a newly established private university in Japan. At that time, a number of new universities were being established throughout Japan. It seemed to me then that the university students had little motivation to study. University should be a place where students eagerly pursue their studies, actively learning and questioning, but what I saw was the same passive study I had seen in Japanese high schools.
The campus was full of students devoid of enthusiasm. In addition, teachers turned a blind eye to the situation. I started teaching in that kind of scenario but I was unable to find satisfaction; I had left Indonesia for the single-minded pursuit of my studies. How could I accept such unmotivated, incapable students, accounting for some 80% of the entire university enrolment? I took this as a challenge. Ever since I started teaching at Toin University of Yokohama, I have been creating activities to develop the students' spirit and to inspire them to seek an education. I took up education as one of my research areas, and I have been trying to achieve quality research and effective education simultaneously. Through my practice, I came to understand that if the teachers improve, the students will change and inevitably the school itself will be transformed.
In my fourth PhD I worked to create a theory based on my teaching experience in Japan: the IOC (Interactive Operation Control) teaching method. Put simply, the research is about how to give lectures that motivate students and what sort of education generates motivation and enthusiasm. This was a difficult study, but my education theory was recognized, and I was offered a position at Waseda University. Now I am eager to take on the challenge of a new research field, the conjunction of pedagogy and brain science.
It is important for a scholar to delve deeply into a narrow field, but it would be beneficial if that study were linked to social issues at the same time. Furthermore, it would be even more valuable if that research could provide leadership in a new field, rather than following in the path of existing research. As I look back on my past, although there were some times when I worked too much and took it too seriously, I think my life has been a happy one.
Before I came to Japan, in my home country, Indonesia, I helped my elder brother in his trading company from the time I was a high school student. The company was dealing in electronic devices and parts. I worked there because my Chinese high school closed during an abortive communist coup attempt (the 9.30 Incident in 1965 against the Sukarno regime). I was a first year high school student then. My brother's company bought medical goods in foreign countries such as Hong Kong and sold them wholesale in Indonesia. I seem to have had natural management skill, and as my decisions brought success, the company grew steadily.
At the same time that I was helping with the company, I was engaged in volunteer activity as a home tutor for children who could not go to school. In Indonesia there are many children who cannot finish even elementary school. Among them, I still remember one family vividly: the mother had died during childbirth, and the six children were living with the father, who was prone to heavy drinking and violence in the home. As there was no money even for food, all the children were busy trying to subsist, and had no time at all to study. I was just a nuisance to them and they would not even let me into their house. However, I finally worked my way into their lives by helping them with household chores such as cleaning, fetching water and washing, and by making fighting kites to amuse them.
The house had only 60 watt lighting and was always dim inside. One day when I was peering at the walls inside the house, I found that they were covered with hundreds of dead mosquitoes and blood. I spent my own money to buy some cheap lime, mixed it with some coloring and painted the walls nicely to brighten the children's lives a little. When the father saw this, his attitude dramatically changed, and finally he told me, "I feel I can trust you with my children." The children were also surprised, shouting, "Hey, our dad has changed!"
It turned out that the father had been a teacher some years before. He did not like any of the home tutors who came to their house before me because they were not sincere enough to show their real motives. I believe that if you face somebody with sincerity, you can surely communicate with and relate to the person. My experience of facing the family sincerely in those days led to my approach to education.
Meanwhile, I entered an Indonesian high school and resumed my studies. I was interested in electronic and electrical engineering but there was no specialized school at that time, so I ordered English books and studied independently. I sometimes brought my friends together and taught them too. In Indonesia, books in the post are often stolen because of the valuable postal stamps on them. I often did not receive my orders. As a last resort, I would go to the black market to find my stolen books, and had to buy them a second time. That was a hard experience, but it was the beginning of my study of science and engineering.
Shortly after that, I started to think I'd like to study engineering seriously, at a Japanese university. Usually Chinese-Indonesian students go to university in Europe or the United States, but I was attracted to the excellence of Japanese electric-appliance makers at that time and wanted to learn technology in Japan. My elder brother strongly objected, saying, "There is no way you can study abroad now, when the company has just started making a profit." However, I managed to convince him that I really wanted to study. My family allowed me to leave because they all knew that it is difficult for foreigners to stay permanently in Japan, so they expected that I would be back shortly. I arrived in Japan with one years' savings.
- Associate professor in the U.S.A., then establishing the Soetanto Method in Japan
When I arrived in Japan, I first studied Japanese and then entered Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. I was 26, 8 years older than my fellow students. I went on to the graduate school of Tokyo Institute of Technology and received a doctorate in medical engineering. However, it is difficult to embark on a research career in Japan with only one PhD, so I studied for a doctorate in medicine at the graduate school of Tohoku University. Even with two PhDs, however, I still could not find a career opportunity. Having encountered a barrier in Japan, I presented my research at an academic conference in the U.S.A. Immediately a professor who was a leading authority on ultrasound medical diagnosis equipment in the U.S.A. offered me a position there. Thus began my research life, working as associate professor at Drexel University and Thomas Jefferson University, receiving a National Institute of Health research grant of more than 1 million dollars.
In the meantime, an offer from Japan came out of the blue. Although I had complicated feelings about going back to Japan, my sense of nostalgia won out; I declined a professorship in the U.S.A. and came back to Japan in 1993, taking a position at Toin University of Yokohama (then Toin Gakuen University of Yokohama). I created the Department of Medical Engineering, the first one in Japan, and established the Center for Advanced Research in Biomedical Engineering with a 1.5 billion yen subsidy from the Ministry of Education, as it was called at the time. Later, working in education, I established an original educational methodology, which was later called the Soetanto Method.
In my classes, I made rules such as "Students must attend more than 70% of classes", "Students cannot enter the classroom if they are more than 10 minutes late", and "Talking in class is strictly prohibited." Even if students got high scores on the exams, they would fail if they did not abide by my rules. In addition, the study materials for the class were all in English, as were the exercises and tests in the second half of the course. To motivate my students I said, "I will teach things important to you in a way that will interest you. If you take my class for a year, I promise that you will be confident in the future as a prospective engineer or researcher."
To keep such promises was very hard. How could I make my class attractive to students? Such a class cannot be a once or twice affair, but must be continuous. Even 50-minute high school classes are too long and too boring for the students, so it is indeed not an easy matter to get students interested in 90-minute university classes. So, while teaching the basics of science and technology such as electronic engineering, I added anecdotes and insights that seemed to be useful for them. Such talks should not only be interesting; they should also touch the students' hearts and stay with them.
The students responded very well. Comments such as "Soetanto's classes are interesting and useful and above all, they give me confidence," gradually spread, and I got profound results in my second year. My way of bringing out students' potential started to be called the Soetanto Effect. Reading the students' impressions, it is clear that their awareness and confidence increased.
For example, one student wrote, "Something very warm welled up deep inside of me and I could not stop my body from shaking. At that moment I was overwhelmed by a strong impression that it was not too late, I could be reborn: I wanted to change and I did not want to have an inferiority complex any more." This student had had a dream of becoming a medical doctor but had given it up a long time before I met him. However, when he found out that my specialty was medical engineering and that after getting a PhD in engineering I had gotten a PhD in medicine, his hopes for such a career began to revive. My job as an educator is to encourage students not to give up their dreams, and to make them aware that they can achieve those dreams if they try.
That student later entered my laboratory, and I entrusted an important part of my ultrasonic contrast agent research to him, and I let him to fill out the patent application form himself. It is important to give students opportunities and to make them think. This will develop their motivation and lead to a feeling of confidence that they can succeed if they try.
In the end, the traditional Japanese soft approach has led students to think that 'the easier the better" and has spoiled them. What is necessary now is an education that changes their outlook. It is essential for them to understand that a society where people can get things without making effort is not possible. If teachers convey the message, "I believe in you, so I want you to do everything you can," the students will be able to retrieve their lost confidence and cultivate their ability to face their environment.
I worked for Toin University of Yokohama for nine years and was chosen best researcher and best educator seven years in a row. Some of my students received PhDs, and a number of them proceeded to doctoral programs in leading universities such as Tokyo Institute of Technology. Some students, hearing of my reputation, decided to repeat a year in school, waiting for their turn to study in my laboratory. There is a deep-rooted thinking in Japanese universities that research must come first and education second. However, I believe they are equally important.
During that time, I damaged my health with overwork and had to take rest for a while. Nevertheless, my nature did not let me lie back; while recovering I earned a PhD in pharmacology at Tokyo University of Science, based on my previous research on ultrasonic contrast agents. Following that, I received a PhD in pedagogy from Waseda University based on my past ten years of practice of the Soetanto Method. I was invited to join the Faculty of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University as a visiting professor in January 2003, and became a full-time professor in September 2003.
- Elucidating the mechanism of motivation by connecting brain science and science and engineering
My article, 'Higher education that doesn't touch students' hearts: it is too late to think about ways of preventing the freeter (part time worker) phenomenon' was published in the Nikkei Shimbun interview column in September 6, 2004. There was extensive public reaction to the comments I made there, such as "Teachers focus on only 20% of the students, and the rest will be seen as a burden when they go out into society," and "Teachers should seek out a teaching method that touches students' hearts and changes them instantly, rather than using superficial, symptom-oriented approaches."
The large number of young people who have no motivation or no intention of getting a job, the freeters and NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training) has become a major social issue. However, I think the fundamental cause of this phenomenon lies in the Japanese school system, which fails to develop students' motivation, and in parental values, which accept young people's apathy and amae (emotional dependence). In Japan schools tend to brand students with low grades as 'students without motivation' and give up teaching them anything. Even if the top 10 or 20 percent students are leading the society, if 80 percent cannot be channeled into useful work, both society and the environment will be spoiled.
There are still so many unresolved issues in Japanese higher education. Students still have no motivation. This issue is strongly related to issues such as the shape of Japanese society and the family. Likewise, many university teachers lack the technique and intention necessary for a motivating education. Addressing this issue will be my last research challenge. With Waseda University as a base, I would like to practice the Soetanto Method and spread it in Japan and overseas, and then work to elucidate the mechanism of motivation through a scientific approach incorporating brain science, science and engineering.
In October 2004, I established the Clinical Education and Science Research Institute for Project Research Institutes, Comprehensive Research Organization, Waseda University and became its director. In February 2005, I was given a chance to provide a special 4-month course at Venice International University to practice the Soetanto Method. I gave students from more than 10 world leading universities two lectures in English entitled "Comparative study of higher education," and "Issues and solutions in higher education." The theory of the Soetanto Method was used in both lectures and the effect was well demonstrated. The students increased their activity levels: there was a remarkable difference in their attitude between the beginning of the class and the end. This demonstrated that the Soetanto Method is effective regardless of country or region.
I also initiated educational activities in Asia. When I gave a presentation at a meeting held by WAA (We are Asian) in Japan, there was a Chinese professor in the audience. As soon as he got back to China, he used the Soetanto Method in his marketing class. He wrote me later, "It was truly successful. I became the most popular professor in the university." I was shocked by that unexpected feedback, but it was most gratifying.
I have been giving presentations in Indonesia since 2000. In June 2005, a MOU (memorandum of understanding) affiliation was established between Waseda University and President University in Indonesia. On that occasion, I gave a commemorative presentation in Indonesia that was broadcast on three TV stations. In addition, a major Indonesian newspaper published an article about the Soetanto Method, which they called 'Education of Encouragement." The story of an Indonesian person with 4 PhDs who is a professor at Waseda University in Japan became a topic of conversation in Indonesia, a 'Soetanto Phenomenon.' I will be happy if I can take this opportunity to show my gratitude to my mother country by providing such service.
In Japan, professors of university faculties such as Business Administration at Senshu University and Information Sciences at Hiroshima City University are using the Soetanto Method now. For students, it does not matter who started the method, and I am not going to insist that it is my idea. It would be most gratifying if those professors who practice the method would develop it in their own way.
In 2004 I gave a presentation at Yoyogi Seminar, a Tokyo based prep school. A few thousand students, including students who watched the video conference version at branches in outlying areas, attended my presentation. That same evening, I received a great number of e-mails and cell phone messages from students in all parts of the country, saying things like, "I am deeply touched. I feel like I can do it too." and "I would like to study under Prof. Soetanto." I was deeply touched too and shed happy tears.
The other day I had my first class on "Motivation and Education" at Waseda University. I found among the students one who had entered Waseda because he had heard my speech at Yoyogi Seminar. He wrote me his impression in English, "Since I got so much power from your speech at Yoyogi Seminar last year, I feel that I can do anything I want to. I made a great effort to enter Waseda's School of International Liberal Studies because I absolutely wanted to study in your class. Today I listened to your first class and I was shocked more than before in that I felt I was still being too easy on myself. I became acutely aware of the necessity of making greater effort and of changing my attitude." I am convinced anew of the notion that the students are the leading characters in education, and that each one of them should act out a brilliant human drama.
Things have changed dramatically in the last decade. In this ever more competitive society with fewer and fewer children, this is not the time to compete by waving around the names of top class universities. A rosy future is never assured even though one enters Tokyo University or Waseda University. In order to have affluent and meaningful lives, people must develop themselves, open up to their potential and find something they really want to do, all by themselves. Universities should provide a matrix for that to happen.
Home page of Waseda's Clinical Education and Science Research Institute
http://www.waseda. jp/kikou/ lab/lab_n1. html
Interviewed by Emiko Tayanagi
Profile: Ken Kawan Soetanto
Professor, Faculty of International Liberal Studies
Director, Clinical Education and Science Research Institute
1Born in Surabaya, Indonesia in 1951. Prof. Soetanto specializes in clinical educational psychology, medical engineering, ultrasonic medical technology, pharmaceutical science, instrumentation engineering and equipment and process engineering. Before moving to his present position, he was associate professor in the Faculty of Engineering at Drexel University in 1988, associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson Medical University in 1989, and professor in the Faculty of Engineering at Toin University of Yokohama. At the same time, he was active as a member of the Economic and Industrial Policy exploratory sub-committee for the Industrial Construction Council of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. He has received a number of awards from academic societies including the Association for Medical Ultrasound, the Acoustical Society of America, the Acoustical Society of Japan and the Japan Society of Ultrasonic in Medicine. Among his jointly-edited books are The enjoyment of the unpopular fields of science and engineering and Progress in ultrasonic contrastive technique.
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