Future Class Network Ecosystem

In pursuit of an answer to the educational crisis, resources have been pumped into tech-base solutions and hardware yet the equity gap unsolved. Critical discourses and alternative frameworks are there yet the cycle of error has been repeated for decades with no actualization and real proven practises at hand. FCN has been building a sustainable innovative education ecosystem by test-prove-upgrade-distributing innovative pedagogical methodology using ICT to facilitate student-led learning in the classrooms. With this core educational solution at hand, 1)training the trainees with innovative pedagogy, 2)producing multimedia contents with secrets to effective learning, 3)providing a learning platform that enables student-led learning works as a trilogy to a holistic solution towards the educational ecosystem. FCN model is effective especially in the areas where learning lag is challenged. If scaled, reaching communities with low access to quality education can be matter of time allowing self-driven power to overcome its challenges.

While all are worrying about the ‘learning lag of students’ at the physical school shutdown during the pandemic, there is an even more pressing issue which is an “educational paradigm shift lag”. Schools for long have been failing to empower learners with the competencies that can be of use in the real world. The fundamental education quality gap lies at the educator’s level in grasping 21st century required skill sets and how to foster them. In Korea, more than 40,000 teachers are trained and sent to classrooms annually yet they are trained with traditional methodology confined to the framework of the industrial era. No teacher trainers and education professionals have working knowledge to implement 21st century skills education to pre-service teachers. Recent study shows more than 60% of English teachers responded that their tertiary education fell short to ready them for 21st century classroom. We are living in a VUCA world that is uninterpreted with the existing educational framework and experiences. FCN cooperated with the real world professionals, incorporated their learning and problem solving experiences and developed innovative pedagogical methodology through learning science. FCN has been solving the educational paradigm shift urgency through teacher’s training with its innovation.

FCN implemented its core strategy to 1)foster innovative educators 2)build a teacher's network who are willing to impact through peer facilitation 3)engage in activities to bring constant educational innovation. FCN holds regular workshops creating and exchanging ideas, materials and methodology that failed as well as worked. Especially with the advent of Covid, FCN proactively utilised ICT and by trial and error managed to further acquire skills to facilitate on and offline learning using online collaborative tools to the level enough for learning. Since February, FCN is currently experimenting with an international teacher’s empowerment project using a virtual conference platform. At start, 35 Master trainer candidates have been trained and coached in their online classes with minimum use of ICT adoptable for learning. With the seed trainer, FCN is currently running interactive online teacher’s training targeting 300 teachers nationwide. FCN is sharing various activities, worksheets and materials that support classroom innovation. In addition, a platform will be provided that could design, manage, operate and record student-led classes and easily shareed with peer teachers for further learning experience. With the success, we have verified the possibility of the FCN model to be implemented borderless with the appropriate use of ICT.

FCN’s primary target are teachers who are struggling with the helplessness of their students and are failing to change the quality of education themselves.

The problem is that the lethargic teachers did not know that effective teaching methods do exist. Also, there were neither experts nor institutions that could properly introduce and train such methods. 

Since 2013, FCN teachers have accepted the reality of the failure of schools, teachers, and education. They came to a point where they fully embrace the student’s emotional and psychological frustration towards school. Once they took the step of innovation they experienced the change in students and themselves as educators.The change was instant and irresistible which led FCN members to carry on implementing the innovative methodology and expand their activity to impact fellow teachers who are desperate for transformation. 

So far, FCN together with The Ministry of Education and the Office of Education jointly plan a teacher training project for the teachers nationwide. FCN provided in-service training on behalf of the state office. FCN built a community for teachers who participated in the training for further growth and support.

Trainee teachers participate like students in the training and experience how innovative classes make students enjoy learning and lead to amazing learning outcomes. When the classroom changes as a result of FCN training, the trainee will experience an immediate change in students and their class engagement. This in turn increases self-efficacy as a teacher of the trainee and the happiness level which further gives intrinsic motivation to continue in classroom innovation.

Peer learning-based class design that FCN specializes in brought a rapid growth in the learning level of the mid-lower performing students. This solved the education inequalities problem in subject learning within the given classroom. FCN program enables learners to realize 21st century competencies and experientially acquire its set skills in the process providing quality education for future learning unique to FCN. Online learning is indifferent allowing full participation and immersion of students. It further provides educational opportunities for vulnerable students whereby real-time monitoring of an individual's performance is possible and each learner’s weak points are identifiable and rectified in time. 

Since its start in 2014, FCN has trained about 20,000 Korean teachers and has grown rapidly. FCN was widely recognized as having the most advanced 21st century education methodology from the beginning and cooperated with Korea's Office of Education and the Ministry to carry out professional teacher’s training. 

COVID-19 crisis has created a new opportunity. During lockdown, FCN developed an effective online training method and Education offices and Ministry across the country have urgently requested for teacher training. The number of teachers trained by FCN exceeded 17,000 in 2020 alone. This number is close to the number of training teachers in the previous five years. Also, the Azerbaijan Teacher Empowerment project using distance education is proving that FCN model can offer a global solution using ICT. Uptil now, FCN’s journey was to validate the solution and grow at a rapid pace. Now is the time for a full scale up.

With FCN methodology, many teachers have been changing their classes for 21st century required skills and competencies and also their experiences and know-hows have been shared and spread because they have first hand experience of its impact. FCN has the actual solutions that can be immediately applied to narrow education equity gap and also accumulated know-hows in transferring its solution. People doubt the possibility of the solutions we have found but we have proved social conventions no longer to be true (e.g. the online classes will deepen the educational inequality). 

Most teachers in Korea felt intimidated and frustrated right after the school shutdowns and was passive to overcome the barriers under Covid-19 resctriction. However, with just a two-hour session with FCN, many participants left this feedback in average: “I am not afraid of online classes anymore, after all it is about communication and relationship with my students”, "It's doable", “I have learned that interactions and cooperation among students can happen even in the online classes and even without any fancy digital competency.” Confirming the possibility of student agency in online classes, and regaining confidence as an educator enabled the impacted trainees to design greater quality online class. 

FCN project in Azerbaijan proved that the training could bring the same effect despite language barrier. 

Hence, FCN has a powerful authentic solution not just for regional but a solution to make a groundbreaking turning point in improving the problem of educational inequality around the globe. 

Since 2014, we have spread the qualitative transformation method of classes to nearly 30,000 teachers both online and offline.In particular, about 20,000 were reached in a short period of time. Through this, Korean teachers were able to quickly cope with the loss of classes in the pandemic situation, and this impacted about 400,000 students, including students from underdeveloped areas, to receive quality classes.

In addition, there has been a qualitative change in the education of 300 Azerbaijan teachers through FCN and a teacher community is being formed to create an ecosystem of educational innovation rather than just individual class changes. In addition, FCN is providing facilitation training for 20 parents to build a community based education innovation ecosystem. FCN is also directly running a 21st century skills development program for 60 young adults who are out of school and in the process of building a pillar in the community ecosystem. 

one year

FCN is anticipating to train more than 30,000 facilitators who will continuously impact 3 million stakeholders in Korea and enjoy the educational effects of a self-sustaining educational innovation ecosystem. Internationally, FCN anticipates to train more than 1,000 facilitators in more than 3 countries, and 20,000 students can enjoy educational effects thereof. This is expected to have a great effect, especially in underdeveloped areas experiencing educational inequality.

In five years

More than 200,000 teachers and facilitators who have been trained in each target area around the world will be nurtured, and approximately 10 million people will benefit from education.

FCN has its own impact measurement formula as following

Measured impact = (number of trainee educators X 100 average number of students per year X number of years of service) + number of non educators trainees

However, this formula does not encompass other qualitative characteristics of each project of FCN. Accordingly, a more sophisticated measurement framework is being developed with the <Center for Social value Enhancement Studies>, a Korean institution specializing in social value measurement.

Full-time : 20 people

Part-time staff : 20 people 

Contractors : 140 people 

FCN consists of a network of in-service teachers from pre-school to tertiary level who have years of experience in transforming the traditional classrooms and transferring their know-how to fellow teachers in an innovative training methodology. 

FCN also has a team of experienced coordinators who have carried out both domestic and international teacher’s training projects. 

In addition FCN consists of professional contents producing team as well as years of experience in running educational content platforms.

60% of FCN employee are women headed up by female president. More than half of leadership consist of women as well. In addition FCN has an Indonesian female content creator working full-time. FCN is seeking every opportunity and is fully commited to employ diverse group of people including empowering the minor population in the context of Korea.

FCN's educational problem solving solution has already been verified for over 7 years.

As such, we are convinced that it has universal applicability as a groundbreaking solution that can solve the global education gap problem.

As FCN has already tried in Azerbaijan, we think and plan to continue to have that impact through Korea's ODA program.

However, this alone has clear limitations in terms of speed, scale, and quality.

FCN hopes to have a better impact on more people by maximizing the potential value of the solution.

Above all, if the value of the solution is recognized by being selected for MIT Solve, it will be possible to create an opportunity to spread the solution to more countries and people.

In particular, the importance of technology is growing. For the spread of FCN solutions, more advanced ICT technologies are still needed, and in particular, if AI technology can be used to support more sophisticated matching of accumulated education-related data and education techniques, it will be possible to dramatically reduce the risk of failure and accelerate the qualitative transition of education even in environments where direct support is not easy.

In addition to this, if Solve's human and social networks and appropriate funding are supported, it will be possible to solve the problems that humanity is currently worried about at a speed beyond imagination.

As the scale of training grows and the level of users increases, the importance of technology is increasing. For the proliferation of FCN solutions, more advanced ICT technologies that can cope with the rising level of users’ demand are still needed. In particular, if AI technology can be used to support more sophisticated matching of accumulated education-related data and education techniques, it will be possible to dramatically reduce the risk of failure and accelerate the qualitative transition of education even in environments where direct support is not possible.

N/A

The most distinguishable feature of the FCN solutions is that even qualified teachers do their job not as a lecturer but as a facilitator of their students’ peer learning in the class. It means that trainees who are not qualified and have less educational careers can become competent facilitators for students’ learning. Also their work will be consistent and stable after taking the FCN solution programs. 

A good example is that one of FCN members has been working at Refugee camp in Lebanon since 2020. She designed and gave the classes of ICT, which is appropriate for Lebanon. She has made  an educational change in Lebanon with her career as a FCN member. 

Therefore, when the Andan Prize uses the accumulated experiences on educational innovations of FCN members, any learners in need can get a suitable educational opportunity.

We are planning an AI solution that accumulates comprehensive data on innovative classes through an online platform and recommends and guides teachers, persilators, or parents and students on the optimal teaching method by reading the difference between learning content and learners' performance.

FCN은 교사들이 ICT를 교육에 효율적으로 사용하는 방법을 개발해서 교육 격차 해소 뿐만 아니라, 교육의 질을 전체적으로 끌어올리는데 유례없는 성공을 만들어 내고 있다. 코로나 상황에서 한국에서 20,000여명의 교사들에게 확실하게 증명했으며, 아제르바이잔을 시작으로 글로벌 교육문제 해결의 강력한 솔루션으로 그 가치를 증명해 나가고 있다. GSR PRIZE는 이 솔루션을 세계의 더 많은 이들의 교육 격차 문제를 해결하는데 큰 동력이 될 것이다.