Fora Launches Teacher Training Program "SCOPE" to Enhance Continuity of High School Inquiry-Based Learning.

A continuous training program enabling teachers to design collaborations with private businesses, companies, and government as a school system.

While teaching materials and methods for "Comprehensive Inquiry Time" (learning where students pose their own questions and engage with societal issues, hereinafter referred to as "inquiry-based learning"), introduced in high schools in 2022, have become more sophisticated, a structural issue has emerged nationwide: teachers are often overburdened, and when they transfer, the inquiry-based learning stops. Many schools are in a situation where the burden is concentrated on a few teachers, who are expected to handle everything from structuring lessons to coordinating collaborations with people from companies, government, and the local community.

Fora, a general incorporated association (Taito-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Takumi Fujimura; hereinafter referred to as "Fora"), is launching a new teacher training program called "SCOPE" to spread a system nationwide for sustaining inquiry-based learning through collaboration with companies, government, and local communities, without teachers bearing the burden alone. This initiative was selected for a grant from the Mitsubishi Mirai Ikusei Foundation (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Chairman: Shunichi Miyanaga; hereinafter referred to as "Mitsubishi Mirai Ikusei Foundation"), a foundation that provides grants to educational corporations supporting educational programs and teacher development for junior and senior high school students nationwide.

This program has been selected under Category 5 of the Mitsubishi Mirai Ikusei Foundation's grant program, "Teacher and Leader Development Programs for Practicing Active and Collaborative Learning (Learning that Drives the Engine of the Mind)," and is scheduled to continue for three years, until fiscal year 2028, in principle.

Starting today, Fora will begin recruiting teachers from high schools nationwide who wish to participate in this program, as well as boards of education considering collaboration.

Background | Systematization within the entire school is becoming increasingly important for the sustainability of inquiry-based learning.

Four years have passed since the introduction of "Comprehensive Inquiry Time," and various advanced practices have emerged across the country. However, in many schools, a structure exists where only a few teachers drive collaborations with government, utilize external human resources, and connect with the local community.

While initiatives by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) advocate for the enhancement of inquiry-based learning and the promotion of external collaboration, several challenges have also been pointed out. First, the burden of promoting inquiry-based learning is significant, and external collaboration is limited to only a few areas. Second, even in schools with external collaboration, the workload is concentrated on a few teachers, making handover difficult. Third, while the burden on collaborating companies and organizations is increasing, knowledge for improvement is not spreading.

Therefore, to truly sustain inquiry-based learning, it is crucial for teachers to systematically create sustainable mechanisms through collaboration with private businesses, companies, and government. This program is teacher training designed to enable teachers themselves to design and operate such collaborations.

Track Record | A model proven through over 4 years of support at Tokyo Metropolitan High Schools for General Studies and Private High Schools in Tokyo.

The foundation of this program is the "4-Stage Process of Role Transfer" that Fora has demonstrated in multiple schools. In particular, the track record of over 4 years of support at Tokyo Metropolitan High Schools for General Studies and Private High Schools in Tokyo serves as the direct model for this program.

In these schools, external collaborations were increased in the first year, and Fora's involvement gradually decreased from the second year onwards, transitioning to a state where teachers now lead and Fora provides advice. During the same period, the number of collaborators expanded, and a system was established where teachers could lead external collaborations.

This program systematizes the practical knowledge accumulated over these four years of support into teacher training.

[Comments from Schools and Teachers with Support Track Record]

Ms. Nami Iijima, Jūmonji Junior High School and Senior High School (Private High School in Tokyo)

Ms. Nami Iijima, Jūmonji Junior High School and Senior High School

In the inquiry-based self-expression course opened in fiscal year 2022, the teacher team was still learning about inquiry-based learning. As the students' individual inquiries deepened, their expertise grew, and we began to doubt whether our advice was truly appropriate. Despite this, the honest students took our words as "correct" and easily changed their course. It was at this point, when we were struggling with how to proceed, that we met Fora.

We are grateful for Fora's support through regular meetings with the teachers in charge, and for the multiple university and adult tutors who provided feedback on student presentations.

Through supporting inquiry-based learning, both students and teachers have undergone significant changes in their awareness. Inquiry-based learning is not something to be kept to oneself, but something to be opened up to the outside. Insights are gained and growth occurs through flat dialogue with others. And inquiry-based learning is not about the outcome, but a continuous process. We have come to be able to view inquiry-based learning more freely and flexibly.

Currently, our collaboration with Fora has expanded to "Comprehensive Inquiry Time" for all first and second-year high school students, and seeing the students thrive, teachers have naturally come to accept the effectiveness of external collaboration. Furthermore, because we have accumulated data from the first cohort with Fora, the direction of inquiry-based learning remains stable without wavering, even if the teachers in charge change. This is also a benefit of external support. We feel that it is very important for schools that tend to think "teachers must guide students" or "what the teacher says is correct" to collaborate with the outside and improve communication.

Program Features | Three Pillars to Cultivate "Producer Teachers"

This program aims to cultivate "producer teachers." A producer teacher is a teacher who gathers and combines various resources, enabling the school organization as a whole to produce inquiry-based learning for children. They design the division of roles with private businesses, companies, and government within the school's curriculum, consider the utilization of collaborators' strengths and reduction of their burden, and establish mechanisms within the school to sustain inquiry-based learning. This program names teachers who have already engaged in advanced practices as "producer teachers" and aims to cultivate them.

[Three Pillars]

Pillar 1: Practical Skills for Government Collaboration:

Approaching boards of education, creating frameworks for collaboration, securing budget allocations.

Pillar 2: Design for Utilizing External Human Resources and Programs:

The entire process from selecting external businesses, NPOs, companies, and universities, to negotiation, integration into the curriculum, and evaluation.

Pillar 3: Practical Experience:

Observing classes conducted at Fora's supported schools and using that as a starting point for designing initiatives at one's own school.

[Program Format]

Continuous 6-month training program with 12 sessions (online + 3 in-person intensive sessions during the period).

Individual support from dedicated Fora staff for each teacher (once a month).

[Guest Lecturer]

1st Session Guest Lecturer: Makoto Sadohara

Makoto Sadohara

Worked at a public junior high school in Miyazaki Prefecture, the World Masters Athletics Championships organizing committee, sports administration, and educational administration.

After retiring as principal of a public junior high school, worked as a career education coordinator at the Kobayashi City Career Education Support Center until fiscal year 2025.

Utilizing his diverse professional experience, he has practiced initiatives that utilize various human resources from society to foster "confidence, pride, and strength!" in the children he meets, with "people nurturing people" as the core of co-education.

He strives to build systematic career education through collaboration and cooperation between schools and local industries and communities, deepening students' understanding of industries and other fields. Member of the Japan Association of Classroom Management.

Starting in fiscal year 2026, he will establish "Mirai Editing Room" as an individual entity, challenging himself to create diverse communities with local children while operating a free space and free school.

Parallel Operation of Nationwide Teacher Communities - A Place for Mutual Meaning-Making with "Like-Minded Colleagues"

A major feature of this program is the "Practice Sharing Community" operated in parallel with the training.

The act of "opening up to the outside" can also lead to isolation within the school culture. Even if one acquires skills, they may feel anxious upon returning to their own school, thinking, "Am I the only one doing something different?" and be unable to continue. This community is designed as a place where like-minded teachers from across the country gather online once a month to share their practices and challenges and make meaning together.

The community will continue after the training concludes, expanding the network of alumni for ongoing opinion exchange.

Recruitment for the First Cohort

This program is recruiting participants for its first cohort, scheduled to begin in August 2026 (a continuous 6-month training program with 12 sessions and a practice-sharing community). Participants sought include teachers from high schools nationwide, regional coordinators, and education officials from local governments.

[Teachers We Would Like to Participate]

Teachers who wish to establish a system for their school's inquiry-based learning that will continue even after their transfer.

Teachers who want to collaborate with government, companies, and local communities but are unsure where to start.

Teachers who feel they tend to be isolated in the staff room while trying to make inquiry-based learning a school-wide initiative.

Teachers who want to connect with like-minded teachers nationwide and learn from each other.

[Recruitment Guidelines]

Link to Information Brochure for Prospective Participants

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TSEPmQAZgeXqdso0Ztq_YBMa0kAL6hj9/view?usp=drive_link

Number of Participants

First Cohort: Approximately 20 participants

Target Audience

High school teachers nationwide, regional coordinators, education coordinators, and education officials from local governments.

Participation Fee

Free (This program is operated with grants from the Mitsubishi Mirai Ikusei Foundation)

Transportation Costs for In-Person Training

Partial reimbursement of transportation costs is available for participants from distant locations. (Subsidy limits will be determined separately)

Application Method

Please fill out the required information on the application form and submit your application.

Application Form URL

https://5b53fd5b.form.kintoneapp.com/public/apply

Application Deadline

First Deadline: July 17, 2026 (Fri) 23:59 (approx. 20 participants)

Second Deadline: July 31, 2026 (Fri) 23:59 (a few participants, if capacity remains after the first deadline)

Notification of Results

For the first deadline: Around 12:00 PM on July 22, 2026 (Wed)

For the second deadline: Around 12:00 PM on August 5, 2026 (Wed)

[Selection Process]

If the number of applications exceeds the number of available spots, we may not be able to accommodate all requests. For the first cohort, from the perspective of verifying the program's effectiveness in diverse settings, selection may be based on the following criteria:

Geographical balance nationwide (ensuring participation from both metropolitan areas and regional areas).

Balance of school types (diversity such as public/private, college preparatory/general studies).

Motivation for application (how the applicant intends to utilize the learning from this training at their own school).

Availability to participate during the training period (especially for the 3 in-person intensive sessions).

Outlook for 3 Years Later

We aim to produce over 80 graduates in total over three years and promote external collaboration in schools nationwide in a sustainable manner, in cooperation with producer teachers from various regions. We also aim to record and publish the course content to provide training and materials that can be utilized by various local governments and schools.

Furthermore, as an initiative related to MEXT's "N-E.X.T. (Next) High School Concept," we will develop the training program to meet the needs of boards of education.

Through this program, we aim to expand schools nationwide where students can regularly encounter "serious adults" and "real-world" societal issues outside of school, and deliver education that drives each student's "engine of the mind" across the country.

Comment from Representative Director Takumi Fujimura

In our efforts to support inquiry-based learning in schools nationwide, we have had the opportunity to challenge ourselves with our teachers to create better inquiry-based learning. As a result, we have achieved high-quality practices, including external collaborations, and in some schools, significant achievements that have attracted media attention.

While these excellent practices are driven by the strong leadership of passionate teachers, how to make these initiatives organizational and sustainable is a critical issue that we and many schools with advanced initiatives are currently facing.

We are pleased that the "Producer Teacher Development Program (SCOPE)" has been selected for the teacher and staff training program by the Mitsubishi Mirai Ikusei Foundation, and we will be able to offer it to school teachers and others nationwide starting this year. The need to systematically enhance inquiry-based learning in line with MEXT's "N-E.X.T. High School Concept" and the "mutual assistance" initiatives promoted by METI, and the roles required of teachers who will lead this, are higher than ever before. We express our sincere gratitude for this selection and grant.

In addition to implementing this training, we aim to return the knowledge gained through the training to society at large in three years. We want to expand schools nationwide where inquiry-based learning can be sustained in collaboration with companies, government, and local communities, rather than teachers bearing the burden alone.

Overview of Fora, General Incorporated Association

Name

Fora, General Incorporated Association

Location

1-13-1 Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0022 DK Noah 4F

Establishment

April 1, 2016

Representative

Takumi Fujimura, Representative Director

Business Activities and Achievements

Supporting school education with a focus on "inquiry-based learning" and "career education" with the educational goal of "fostering the motivation and ability to learn continuously." Track record in over 80 junior high and high schools.

URL of Organization's Website

https://fora.or.jp/

Overview of Mitsubishi Mirai Ikusei Foundation, General Incorporated Foundation

The Mitsubishi Mirai Ikusei Foundation was established in 2019 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Mitsubishi Group. With the aim of nurturing young people who will lead the next generation, 27 Mitsubishi Group companies have contributed 10 billion yen over 10 years to provide grants for educational programs by high schools, universities, NPOs, and other organizations.

Name

Mitsubishi Mirai Ikusei Foundation, General Incorporated Foundation

Location

2-2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005

Chairman

Shunichi Miyanaga

URL of Foundation's Website

https://www.mmfe.or.jp/

Inquiries Regarding This Matter

For inquiries regarding this program, please contact the following if you are a high school teacher or a board of education considering collaboration.

Fora, General Incorporated Association Public Relations

MAIL: producer_teacher_program@fora.or.jp

TEL: 03-6822-4100