Mathematics Education Eagles participate in 15th Asian Conference on Education in Tokyo, Japan

Concluding this year’s conference engagements by the Mathematics Education students and faculty of the Ateneo Department of Mathematics, five delegates embarked on another journey flying to the land of the rising sun to attend the 15th Asian Conference on Education (ACE2023). It is, by far, the biggest Asian Conference on Education, annually hosted by the International Academic Forum (IAFOR) since 2009. The successful hybrid conference held at Toshi Center Hotel in Tokyo, Japan was attended by more than 750 delegates from over 70 countries worldwide.

Through the warm welcome address of the Chairman & CEO of IAFOR, Dr Joseph Haldane, the participants were cordially greeted into the stimulating atmosphere of academic exchange and collaboration that awaited them for the next four days, from 22 November to 25 November 2023. Following this, all participants were encouraged to initiate interactions with fellow delegates from other countries through a five-minute getting-to-know-each-other event before proceeding to the last presentation of the morning session.

Having spent his entire adult life working with established non-governmental organizations, the keynote speaker, Lowell Sheppard, consistently engaged in social and environmental improvement projects in Japan, such as founding the HOPE International Development Agency Japan. In his talk, he highlighted the limitless pursuit of knowledge that transcends age and boundaries through his experiences as a sailor and a digital nomad who runs several small companies. The talk reflects his latest book, Dare to Dream, which presents a four-step plan on how to redesign your life.

The keynote presentation was followed by two featured panel presentations: one focused on fostering synergy in Asian education, and the other on the impact of AI and ChatGPT in revolutionizing education.

During the first panel presentation, the members emphasized the importance of building connections between higher education institutions (HEIs) and private tech companies to advance the "modernization" of HEIs. This advancement would enable students, educators, and education researchers to effectively communicate and generate ideas. Tips on how to build and sustain these connections were also provided by each panel member. One piece of advice, mentioned by Rachel Chan from Esperanza HK, Hong Kong, was to consider what you can offer to your colleagues and project partners, rather than focusing solely on what you can gain from them.

The second panel presentation focused on the ever-growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT in the educational landscape. Emphasizing AI as an indispensable part of education, the discussion centered on the concept of human-AI collaboration, utilizing AI as a dialogic partner, and adopting an emerging process-oriented approach to use AI for providing valuable feedback on student work. Ethical considerations were also highlighted regarding the use of these technologies in the classroom. Specifically, faculty members were encouraged to embrace the idea that AI would not be misused if educators learn how to develop appropriate assessments for students.

After the panel presentations, a special seminar on writing good grant applications was also held. James McNally (University of Michigan, USA), Lowell Shepard (Never Too Late Academy, Japan), and Sela Panapasa (University of Michigan, USA) shared their knowledge and experience in applying for grants, covering aspects from understanding your aims in making the application to planning how you will execute it. They emphasized the integrity of researchers, stating that "reputation is everything in science."

The first day of the conference came to an end with a poster session featuring delegates from all over the world, where each participant had the opportunity to discuss research experiences and interests with the poster presenters and other delegates.

The second and third days of the conference were allotted to oral parallel presentations. Angel Mae Ombid (MS MathEd) presented a part of their project, the Modern Bahay Kubo Program, co-authored with Dennis Lee Jarvis Ybañez (PhD MathEd '23) and Dr Catherine Vistro-Yu. Ombid's presentation proposed five principles for developing interdisciplinary tasks for mathematics considering the insights gleaned from the implementation of the first cycle of their project.

Vitus Paul de Jesus (PhD MathEd) presented a method to modify the general mathematics education curriculum in the Philippines to cater to the needs of the deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) learners. His talk is part of his dissertation (with Dr Angela Fatima Guzon as adviser).

For the Math Ed Eagles, the second day of the conference concluded with a presentation from Ms Heidi Lynn Faustino (MS MathEd '23), who shared the results of her master's thesis under the supervision of Dr Catherine Vistro-Yu and Dr Flordeliza Francisco (FEU). Her study discussed designing manipulative materials using bamboo sticks, woven trays, and betel leaves, and investigated the benefits of using indigenous materials in learning the addition and subtraction of fractions,

The third and last day of the onsite parallel presentations included the presentation of Dr Dennis Lee Jarvis Ybañez (PhD MathEd '23) who also served as the session chair for Learning Experiences, Student Learning & Learning Diversity. His presentation was part of his dissertation study under the guidance of his adviser, Dr. Catherine Vistro-Yu. It highlighted the importance of transforming students’ subjective visual imageries to a more structured visualization through designing visual artifacts, such as komiks, to teach probability concepts.

The onsite oral presentations, which comprised of 10 parallel sessions with 10 separate streams each placed in different rooms, were successfully held, and participated in by the delegates. Online sessions during the last day of the conference were also held with a featured panel presentation about equitable opportunities for tertiary education, joined by the panel members Susie Kung of Manukau Institute of Technology, Mary Moeke from Manukau Institute of Technology, and Yvonne Ualesi from Auckland University of Technology.

While the exchange of ideas through formal presentations and discussions is the heart of every academic conference, IAFOR invited all the delegates to an informal gathering via the first-ever Gala Dinner at the Asian Conference of Education. This event provided attending participants with the opportunity to network with various individuals, including plenary speakers, organizers, panel presentation members, and co-delegates from different countries. All of them shared a bountiful meal together over two cultural presentations from the English Rakugo Association and the karate club at Waseda University.

Attending an IAFOR conference onsite and experiencing the cold weather of Japan was a first for all five Ateneo Mathematics Education delegates. Staying in Japan for almost a week provided them with an opportunity to explore the beauty and richness of Japanese culture, from the food and advanced technologies to the historical places.

All the shared experiences of ACE2023 participants contribute collectively to the goal of interdisciplinarity, aligning with IAFOR’s mission to create and expand new knowledge through international, intercultural, and interdisciplinary research. The Asian Conference on Education continues to serve as a platform for educators and education researchers to share research and best practices in various contexts.