To fulfill the relevant work requirements that "suspend classes but not suspend learning" in postponement of start of spring semester 2020 announced by Ministry of Education, and also to effectively address the learning needs of students in the preparation of High School Entrance Examination (Zhong Kao) and College Entrance Examination (Gao Kao), Beijing Municipal Education Commission and Advanced Innovation Center for Future Education of Beijing Normal University developed Implementation Plan of Expert-based Collective Advising Mechanism (ECAM) for Inclusive Online Q&A in Spring Semester 2020. Which is based on the pilot project Beijing Secondary School Teachers' Inclusive Online Teaching: Expert-based Collective Advising Mechanism (2018-2020). From Feb.17, tens of thousands of teachers have been answering questions online for 9th and 12th Grade students.
Fig. 1 The Login Interface of the ‘Smart Learning Partner’ Platform
The inclusive online Q&A depends on the 'Smart Learning Partner' platform developed by AICFE. Teachers providing mentoring service are all experienced subject teachers who specialized in preparation of high school and college entrance examination from 16 districts in Beijing (including Yanshan). To assure quality of service, teachers are selected by school, district and city education managers. Among these online teachers, award-winning teachers are leading force. Ninth and Twelfth Grade students in Beijing can post questions on the discussion forum in text or picture from 18:00 to 22:00 at workdays, and from 8:00 to 22:00 at weekends. Teachers of corresponding grades and subjects will choose the questions raised by students to answer, so as to meet students' asynchronous personalized needs while learning at home.
Fig. 2 The Interface of the Discussion Board (App)
The inclusive online Q&A operated by AICFE is an active measure responding to the Ministry of Education "suspend classes but not suspend learning" announcement, and also is a personalized service provided by Beijing Municipal Education Commission for students under pressure who preparing for high school and college entrance examination. During the postponed semester, students can ask teachers their questions online. The inclusive online Q&A makes qualified teachers break boundaries of schools and districts, makes children in suburban and rural areas inclusively connect to teachers at anytime and anywhere. This pilot project aims at reforming public education from supply side, also meets local authorities requirements during the coronavirus outbreak.
