A Self-Discovery Method Created for 20-Year-Olds Lacking Self-Confidence: Takasaki University of Commerce Edition

Since its establishment on October 15, 2015, DENTSU SOKEN INC. Active Learning "How About This?" Research Lab has conducted unique collaborative and practical lessons with teachers at various schools.

Rather than simply providing lesson content, we explore with the teachers—the education professionals—the form that will make that school and that class most "active" each time. Each session produces original methods and drama. The researcher in charge reports on the proceedings.

This single email started it all

At our institute, when we receive an inquiry from outside, we meet to discuss how we can assist before deciding on the lesson content. This self-discovery method project began with an email from the Academic Affairs Office at Takasaki University of Commerce to Director Hidetoshi Kurashige.

Dear Director Kurashige
I've compiled my thoughts on this matter.
(Apologies for the length, though.)

The most common concern I hear from students at the Career Services Office is, "They tell me to do a self-promotion, but I don't really have anything to promote..." This is the most painful part. Telling them, "Just express yourself honestly," feels irresponsible. And as an outsider, listening to their background and suggesting, "Maybe this aspect of you could work?" is incredibly scary—it could potentially ruin their life if handled poorly.

The same goes for interviews. Entering the room, sitting down, speaking style, gestures, exiting, choice of words... Does teaching such rigid formulas really help convey a student's strengths? Yet, all I could do was provide some kind of "framework." No, perhaps I wasn't even offering a "framework" but rather forcing my own arbitrary answers onto them.

Saying this negates my own work back then, but I think what makes the tedious job hunt meaningful and interesting is when students themselves discover their own strengths and express them in their own words. Because trying to fit fragments of yourself into a grid drawn by some random person, then presenting that crossword-puzzle version of yourself? That's torture, honestly. Besides, there's no single right answer.

To achieve this, we need a "frame" that helps students create their own "My Frame," not boring "frames" like those found in job-hunting reference books. Building this "frame for My Frame" requires stepping outside the traditional framework of job support. I believe elements of "Active Learning (tentative)" might offer a clue here.

107 emails, 6 meetings

At 20, you suddenly feel like you're becoming an adult, yet you feel out of place and uncertain. You're told to become independent, but you don't know how. It's a time when you'd grasp at straws.

To respond to the passionate desire to sincerely engage with these students' concerns and help them find answers, Director Kurashige and I met to discuss creating challenges. The solution we arrived at was developing a "world-first self-discovery method" – a challenge that allows them to re-examine themselves in ways not found in existing job-hunting or self-help books and discover their strengths. After all, existing books rarely spark genuine interest.

Ten staff members each brought their own ideas, resulting in 400 proposed exercises. That means 400 new self-development exercises were created. After exchanging 107 emails and holding six meetings with the Academic Affairs Office, the exercises were finally completed.

Completed: The World's First Self-Discovery Method