UPSC Prelims 2021 CSAT Paper II · Q51 of 79 Comprehension medium

Passage

Directions for the following 2 (two) items : Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only. Passage – 1 The best universities like Harvard and MIT, despite having the luxury of having some truly excellent teachers on their payroll, are increasingly embracing the "flipped classroom" format, where students listen to video lectures at home, and spend class time applying their knowledge, solving problems, discussing examples, etc. Professors guide that discussion and fill in wherever necessary, explaining those bits that seem to be eluding the students and throwing in advanced ideas that happen to be topical. These universities have made their video lectures available free for anyone in the world. They are also encouraging colleges and universities all over the world to integrate these online courses into their own pedagogy, picking the pieces that are appropriate for their needs and building a package around them.

Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea of the passage given above ?

  1. (a) Efficacy of universities would be better in online mode of conducting classroom tuition as compared to conventional method.
  2. (b) Availability of higher education can be made easier and cheaper without diluting the content. ✓ UPSC's answer
  3. (c) We need not invest much in infrastructure related to higher education and yet develop better human and social capital.
  4. (d) Private sector institutions in higher education as well as coaching institutes can take advantage of this opportunity and thrive well.

Why the answer is (b)

• The passage highlights that top universities like Harvard and MIT are adopting the 'flipped classroom' model, where video lectures are done at home and class time is used for application and discussion.

• It explicitly states that these universities have made their video lectures available free for anyone in the world.

• The text mentions that they are encouraging other colleges to integrate these online courses into their own pedagogy to build appropriate packages.

• This combination of free access to high-quality content and the ability to integrate it into existing systems implies that higher education can be made more accessible and cost-effective.

• Therefore, the central idea is that availability of higher education can be made easier and cheaper without diluting the content, as the core academic material remains high-quality while delivery costs are reduced.

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Efficacy of universities would be better in online mode of conducting classroom tuition…
The passage does not claim that online mode is more efficacious than the conventional method, but rather describes a hybrid 'flipped classroom' approach where class time is used for active learning.
(c) We need not invest much in infrastructure related to higher education and yet develop…
The passage does not discuss the reduction of infrastructure investment or the development of social capital, focusing instead on pedagogical methods and content accessibility.
(d) Private sector institutions in higher education as well as coaching institutes can take…
The passage does not mention private sector institutions or coaching institutes, but rather focuses on universities and colleges integrating online courses into their pedagogy.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2021, held on 10 October 2021. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

Practise this paper free