This article describes how research on “flipped learning” is being pursued at the III under the leadership of Prof. Yamauchi.

What is “Flipped Learning”

In the past, it was established practice for course instructors to teach the fundamentals in the classroom and have students apply these fundamentals in their individual work. In flipped learning, however, this practice is reversed. The knowledge previously learned in the classroom is now acquired online beforehand, and discussions about application can now be conducted in the classroom. This not only makes it possible to advance the level of discussion without altering the total time investment, but also holds the promise of reducing the burden on learners by allowing knowledge to be acquired through watching video content. (For further details, please refer to the webpage of the Department of Flipped Learning Technologies [FLIT].)

Flipped learning in the course “Visualizing Postwar Tokyo” (taught in 2014) was divided into two parts suited to the levels of undergraduate and graduate students respectively. In the graduate school classes, the flipped learning program was conducted in cooperation with the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute using visual material from NHK Archives. One of the authors of this article (Pan) was a student in these classes and recalls that the sharing of knowledge and opinions through flipped learning allowed participants to deepen their understanding of postwar Tokyo.

At the University of Tokyo Historiographical Institute (with which the III has close ties), flipped learning has also been implemented in a course on “Freedom and Equality in Medieval Japan” (distributed by the Japanese MOOC provider Gacco since 2014). Rather than simply providing lecture content to students, this course has given rise to some very valuable and interesting new research insights as a result of intense discussion among its diverse participants.

While recognizing the importance of MOOCs as a means of updating people’s knowledge, Prof. Yamauchi believes that this alone is insufficient for the nurturing of advanced skills: “An important task for the future is to look at how to combine online learning such as MOOCs with face-to-face learning.” While MOOCs remain largely based on visual material, current research on MOOCs has progressed to the stage of seeking ways to integrate online learning with advanced face-to-face learning.

The Future of MOOCs at the University of Tokyo

MOOCs continue to develop at a fast pace. It is therefore no longer sufficient to simply keep churning out courses. Research and development in this field must remain nimble in order to meet the challenges of the new era. “It is important to meet the challenges of the future learning environment rather than remaining satisfied with the current format of MOOCs. This precisely is the role of the III.”

In April 2016, the III inaugurated its new Media Studio. This is the first dedicated facility for the distribution of visual content at the University of Tokyo and will allow the III to provide even more advanced learning material.

New MOOCs are already being recorded at Media Studio, iii UTokyo. One of these is a course aimed at prospective international students called “Studying at Japanese Universities,” which broadcasts to the world about the opportunities for students in Japan and how they can prepare themselves for study abroad in this country.

MOOCs and flipped learning will surely bring great change to the way universities operate in the future. The university will nevertheless remain as a place where teachers and students meet and students interact among each other. As technology develops and the style of learning changes, the endeavors of the III will gain greater and greater importance.

The article was written by Pan Mengfei (PhD student), and Hideaki Matsuyama (Assistant Professor).
Material for this article was gathered by Pan Mengfei, Miho Okada (Secretary to the Dean of the III), and Hideaki Matsuyama.