Institute for Teaching & Learning launched THE BEST Education Support Services last semester. With blended learning, which comprises online conceptual learning and offline application learning, and the variety of classes that incorporate generative AI, THE BEST is deemed to open a new chapter in the education at Ewha Womans University.
Professor Hyunju Lee from the Department of Science Education, who is also the director of the Institute for Teaching & Learning, clarified the differences between THE BEST Education Support Services from existing services. According to Lee, THE BEST is a support service and, at the same time, the name of a new educational model. Unlike Ewha CyberCampus, which is a website for managing general learning and Eureka, an administration support service, THE BEST provides an educational system keen to social changes.
Professor Lee explained that a gradual introduction of trends in education is necessary, but digital transformation was able to be established quickly in everyday life due to the pandemic. Students have become accustomed to online learning and educators realized that not only does online learning have environmental flexibility, but it may also benefit students with unexpected effects such as self-directed learning and technology-enhanced learning.
To maximize these advantages, THE BEST focuses on two points: blended learning and generative AI. One of the most well-known features of online learning is that students may choose the time and place, and this is especially relevant to foreign students. Tanja Kraaijeveld, an exchange student at Ewha, described blended courses as beneficial since it mitigates the pressure of being present in class every day over long school hours.
“Blended learning gave me time to get my bearings in a new environment,” Kraaijeveld said.
Another key point of blended learning is the application of theory during in-person classes. Seo Jieun, a freshman majoring in geography education, shared that she could actively participate unlike traditional lecture-style courses, where students tend to take a passive manner.
To elaborate, during her Geography for Life: Introduction to Human Geography class, Seo learned grain management online. In the following class, she used the knowledge during a role play activity. After interacting with different roles such as rural economy researchers, politicians, and farmers, she could put herself in other people’s shoes.
Another instance may be found when she did a hands-on experience of looking for electric scooters parked in the wrong place. She applied what she learned about geographic mobility and engaged in a discussion on the causes and solutions.
“I enjoyed marking the collected data on a map and actually getting a chance to try space analysis,” Seo recalled.
Professor Lee explained that THE BEST provides guidelines for generative AI as many Ewha students and professors requested. Also, THE BEST education aims to provide ample courses that incorporates new technology. Professor Ho-yeon Park from the Computer Science and Engineering major affiliated with the National Program for Excellence in Software shared her perspective on the utilization of generative AI. Professor Park’s Information Society Ethics class was chosen as one of the best classes of AI-related courses by student survey done by Institute for Teaching & Learning.
Showing that generative AI must be taught in the form of language and not mathematical formula, Professor Park combined digging consumption into her classes. In order to allow students to experience ChatGPT in diverse aspects, her course utilized recommending systems, emojis, and writing drama scenarios through ChatGPT.
“Since students learn the fundamentals online, in-person classes can be taught on a profound level,” Professor Park explained. “In this way, more time can be allocated for concentrating on creative problem-solving.”
THE BEST Education Support Services is looked upon as a promising mechanism for bringing the fourth industrial revolution to Ewha education. Through THE BEST, Ewha students may train their potential to posses the necessary capabilities of a leader in the present generation.