KAIST has begun introducing a new method of education for freshman students this spring semester. The new system, named “Education 3.0,” aims to rework university learning into a student-centered and debate-focused process.

Touted by President Suh since last April, Education 3.0 is a manifestation of the I4 plan. I4 stands for IT-based, independent, internalized and integrated learning. This new system will move away from what most would consider traditional education, where an instructor talks about a subject in front of a class of students. President Suh himself commented last year that lectures are an inefficient method of transferring knowledge, and his newly proposed program, which will have students actively working with each other to solve and discuss questions, will help resolve such problems.

▲ Students participating in Education 3.0 will work in groups to solve and discuss questions.

Instead, students will now take classes taught by world-renowned lecturers through the Internet, and use the newly launched KAIST Learning Management System (KLMS) to watch video lectures, PowerPoint slides and various multimedia resources. Students must then attend classes at least once a week to receive additional instructions from a KAIST professor and discuss what they’ve learned in small groups. Teaching assistants are also expected to interact with the students to figure out the most effective method of instruction.

Tae Eog Lee, the man in charge of the program stated, “Mass-production type education cannot produce the type of talent that the industry and society of the future require. There must be a paradigm shift that places emphasis on problem solving and creativity in education instead.”

This semester, freshmen in Calculus I, Chemistry I and Freshman Design were given the chance to volunteer to participate in the program. Roughly 300 students had applied by the first week of classes. Plans have already been made to increase the number of classes that take part in Education 3.0 slowly over time.

Visit e-star.kaist.ac.kr for more information.

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