College of Education Global Engagement

The College of Education promotes global engagement through international partnerships, exchanges, and virtual collaboration. These efforts foster cross-cultural understanding, support culturally responsive teaching, and prepare students to serve communities worldwide. This page highlights our global partnerships and their impact on education.

Shinshu University, Japan

Sacramento State Global Engagement Programs with Universities in Japan

Understanding Japan’s Cultural and Educational Landscape

The short-term study abroad experience introduces teaching credential students to Japanese culture, technology, and education, and how cultural values inform curriculum and pedagogy. Students reflect on their cultural competence and understanding of Japanese STEM education. They also use their understanding to design instructional unit plans that explicitly identify and integrate technology and include pedagogical strategies that support diverse learners.

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Program:

The Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) initiative builds on the partnership established in 2018 between California State University, Sacramento (CSU Sacramento) and Shinshu University to prepare globally competent educators. The program enables teaching credential students from both institutions to engage in structured online collaborative activities that emphasize equitable partnerships, co-designed learning experiences, and meaningful intercultural exchange. Through these interactions, students examine their pedagogical beliefs, challenge assumptions about teaching and learning, and develop a broader global perspective on educational practice.

Building on this foundation, Professor Chia-Jung Chung (lead faculty at CSU Sacramento) and Professor Takeshi Morishita (lead faculty at Shinshu University) launched a pilot COIL project in Fall 2025, engaging teacher candidates in asynchronous discussions on technology integration across diverse educational contexts. Following the success of the pilot, the partnership will continue to expand these learning opportunities through the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS), with ongoing technical and infrastructure support from Binod Pokhrel and Professor Masaaki Niimura. This next phase aims to strengthen cross-cultural dialogue, reflective practice, and global engagement among future educators.

Co-design Shinshu University MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) Grant Project Assessment Plan and Training:

Collaboration with the Shinshu University project assessment team to plan assessment based on three pillars: Problem Solving, STEAM, and Practice Internationally. This collaboration also includes planning and organizing the assessment training for faculty involved in the grant project.