Profile
20 years in Japanese higher education, the last 7+ in program administration. Currently chairs a university language program and directs an English learning center, leading an international faculty team of 21 from nine countries. Handles formal academic integrity investigations end-to-end, including Japanese-language correspondence with advisors. Also builds the tools the job needs — quiz platforms, grading systems, feedback surveys — independently designed, shipped, and adopted institution-wide. Bilingual, cross-cultural, hands-on.
Professional Experience
- Lead the English Language Program’s international faculty team of 21, overseeing curriculum direction, hiring, and day-to-day program administration.
- Conduct formal academic integrity investigations, including case documentation, Japanese-language correspondence with academic advisors, and Moodle log analysis for evidence review.
- Direct the Essential English Center, KIT’s dedicated English-support unit for students.
- Design and maintain custom software tools — quiz platforms, grade-processing utilities, feedback surveys — adopted across the department.
- Teach up to 13 intensive English classes per academic year, including an introductory TOEFL course.
- Served as Vice Chair of the English Language Program and, from April 2021, Associate Director of the Essential English Center — building the program leadership experience that led to the Chair role.
- Chaired the Entrance Exam Writers Committee, responsible for developing KIT’s English entrance examinations.
- Served on the Hiring Committee and the KIT Progress Editorial Committee; contributed to the 2018 CDIO Conference Planning Committee.
- Taught up to 13 classes per academic year, including an introductory TOEFL course.
- Produced and hosted the KIT English Podcast and KIT Music Podcast, and led three student-facing Honors Projects (English Podcast Series, KIT Community Garden, Let’s Talk About Japan), publishing on each in KIT Progress.
- Co-led the Eagle Song Acoustic Concert Series and served on the Entrance Exam Writers and Subject Librarian Committees.
- Taught up to 15 classes per academic year.
- Taught up to 24 classes per academic year while serving on the Entrance Exam Writers Committee and volunteering at Ohgigaoka Daycare.
- Taught conversational and business English to students of all ages and proficiency levels.
Technical Projects & Skills
Independently designs, builds, and ships practical software tools that solve real institutional problems — from classroom engagement to administrative workflow.
- Kaga Quiz — Kahoot-style live classroom quiz platform with team and individual play modes, a JSON-based question importer, and QR-code join links; deployed via GitHub Pages.
- Moodle Grade Importer & Grade Viewer — Offline browser tools for processing and reviewing exported Moodle gradebooks, including multi-sheet support and keyboard navigation.
- AI-Assisted Writing Feedback Survey — Anonymous student feedback tool built to evaluate an in-class AI-assisted writing activity.
- Course Recommendation App — Web app (えいごナビ) helping students navigate English course offerings based on goals and proficiency level.
- Finance & Health Tracking Apps — Personal productivity tools (family finance, health tracking) with Google Drive sync and installable PWA support.
- AI Workflow Enablement — Designed and led a faculty session introducing colleagues to practical AI-assisted teaching and workflow tools.
Skills: Web development (HTML/CSS/JavaScript) · GitHub Pages deployment · Google Drive API integration · Spreadsheet & data processing (SheetJS, JSZip) · Moodle XML/LMS tooling · AI-assisted workflow design · Data analysis & reporting
Education
Academic Contributions
Papers
Bean, C. (2023). Revisiting the KIT Community Garden Project. KIT Progress No. 31.
Wood, M., Kawai, H., Bean, C., Fowler, J., & Vu, B. (2023). Bringing KIT Robotics Research Topics Into the Classroom. KIT Progress No. 31.
Fowler, J., & Bean, C. (2022). Student Attitudes Toward English Podcasts Hosted by Native English Speakers vs. Non-native English Speakers. KIT Progress No. 30.
Sasaki, D., Hashimoto, K., Doi, T., Kanemitsu, H., Fujii, K., Inoguchi, E., Wood, M., Bean, C., & Muraoka, T. (2020). CDIO Academy 2018: International Project-Based Learning Using Drones. KIT Progress No. 28.
Bean, C., & Wood, M. (2019). A Report on the KIT Community Garden Honors Project. KIT Progress No. 27.
Bean, C., Bennedsen, J., Edstrom, K., Hugo, R., Roslof, J., Songer, R., & Yamamoto, T. (2018). The 14th International CDIO Conference Proceedings — Full Papers.
Bean, C., & Whittinghill, J. (2018). Requiring Students to Make and Listen to English Podcasts: A Worthwhile Task? KIT Progress No. 26.
Bean, C. (2017). My Share: English Haiku Competition. The Language Teacher, Volume 41, Number 4.
Bean, C. (2017). Student-Produced Podcasts: Attitudes of Podcasters and Their Audience. KIT Progress No. 25.
Bean, C. (2016). Using English Podcasts in the ESL Classroom. KIT Progress No. 24.
Bean, C. (2015). The Effectiveness of Using Student-Generated Materials in Class. KIT Progress No. 22.
Bean, C. (2014). Student Blogs Revisited: Encouraging More Student-to-Student Interaction. KIT Progress No. 21.
Bean, C. (2013). Student Blogs as a Tool for Learning English. KIT Progress No. 20.
Presentations
Fowler, J., & Bean, C. (2022). Student Attitudes Toward English Podcasts Hosted by Native English Speakers vs. Non-native English Speakers. Online poster presentation at JALTCALL 2022.
Bean, C. (2019). The English Podcast Series. Poster presentation at the 45th Annual JALT Conference on Language Teaching and Learning, Nagoya, Japan.
Bean, C. (2018). Podcasts for All! Poster presentation at JALTCALL 2018, Nagoya, Japan.
Bean, C., & Wood, M. (2017). Cultivating Vegetables and English Speakers. Poster presentation at the 43rd Annual JALT Conference on Language Teaching and Learning, Tsukuba, Japan.
Bean, C. (2016). Student Podcasts in English. Presentation at the 42nd Annual JALT Conference on Language Teaching and Learning, Nagoya, Japan.
Bean, C. (2015). Homegrown English Podcasts. Presentation at the 41st Annual JALT Conference on Language Teaching and Learning, Shizuoka, Japan.
Bean, C. (2013). Student Blogs: A Fun and Effective Learning Tool. Presentation at the 39th Annual JALT International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning, Kobe, Japan.
Bean, C. (2010). Celebrities in the Classroom. Presentation at the 40th Annual Chubu English Language Forum, Nonoichi, Japan.
Volunteer & Service
- Nomi City Immigration Ambassador (2020 – Present)
- American Citizen Civilian Liaison Volunteer (2020 – Present)
- Copyeditor, The Language Teacher (2018 – Present)
- Chief Editor, CDIO 2018 Conference Proceedings (2018)
- Peer Reviewer, CDIO 2018 Conference (2018)
- Judge, Miyamura English Speech Contest (2017)
Additional Skills
- Japanese — advanced (professional working proficiency)
- Microsoft Office
- Podcast production — recording, editing, and hosting
Interests
Gardening (permaculture & forest gardening) · Weight lifting & running · Photography · Guitar