Why Does Only the Professor Have to Teach Alone? Innovating Universities with 'Innovative Classes'

Pukyong National University Introduces Collaboration and Team Teaching... Lectures Online, Discussions in Classroom

From March, One-Third of 2,752 Total Lectures Shifted to Innovative Classes

Pukyong National University.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Pukyong National University is breaking away from traditional university lecture methods and innovating its classes.

Pukyong National University (President Jang Young-su) decided to institutionalize ‘innovative classes’ this year, including collaborative lectures conducted by two or more professors, online on-site discussions, and student-led learning methods.

This is an effort to innovate the existing university lecture method where professors explain and students take notes.

Pukyong National University announced on the 26th that one-third of the lectures in the first semester of the 2021 academic year, starting in March, will be operated using this ‘innovative class’ method.

‘Innovative classes’ refer to teaching methods where learners lead their own learning, professors assist in this process, and various methods are used to enhance learning effectiveness.

It was actively introduced to respond to the rapidly changing educational paradigm and to strengthen educational competitiveness.

The ‘innovative classes’ offered by Pukyong National University this semester amount to 901 courses, which is one-third of the total 2,752 courses, including 705 major courses and 196 liberal arts courses.

Unlike last year, when existing face-to-face classes were simply changed to online or non-face-to-face formats due to the spread of COVID-19, this year the university completely revamped the foundation of courses, including lecture design, faculty, and operation.

Innovative teaching methods such as ‘co-teaching and team teaching,’ where two or more professors conduct classes, ‘flipped learning,’ where students watch online lecture videos in advance and engage in discussions during class time, and ‘blended learning,’ which combines online and offline classes, were adopted.

Additionally, methods such as ‘problem-based learning,’ where knowledge is actively constructed through solving presented problems, and ‘team-based learning,’ where team problem-solving classes are conducted based on individual pre-learning, were also introduced. The grading for ‘innovative classes’ is based on absolute evaluation principles.

The Academic Affairs Management Department of Pukyong National University previously established ‘Innovative Class Operation Guidelines,’ and the Future Education Innovation Headquarters provided related training to professors offering innovative classes and formed a research team in related fields to publish and distribute the ‘Innovative Teaching Method Guidebook.’

President Jang Young-su of Pukyong National University said, “We plan to support planning, research, and textbook operations for the operation of innovative classes, decide on continuation through lecture evaluations, and improve operational performance. We will pool our capabilities to ensure university lectures become student-centered, creative, and convergent innovative classes.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.