Distinguished Professor Pavel Pevzner Sheds Light on the Transformative MAITs Model in STEM Education
6 May 2025
Professor Pevzner explores Massive Adaptive Interactive Texts (MAITs) as a pioneering teaching model that transform STEM education.
The lecture sparks an engaging discussion on the future of tertiary education and the evolving dynamic between professors and AI assistants.
Professor Jiming Liu, Associate Vice-President (Research Development) and Chair Professor in the Department (right), presents the souvenir to Professor Pevzner.
Distinguished Professor Pavel Pevzner, a renowned expert in bioinformatics from the University of California, San Diego, delivered a thought-provoking lecture titled “Will AI Replace Professors?” on 2 May 2025.
In this enlightening lecture, Professor Pevzner examined the limitations of conventional classroom settings, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, where large lecture halls often hinder effective learning. He identified three fundamental challenges in traditional pedagogy, which include the tendency to focus only on average learners, difficulties to track individual learning progress, and the lack of timely support. To tackle these challenges, Professor Pevzner introduced Massive Adaptive Interactive Texts (MAITs), an innovative evolution of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). It is designed to diagnose and meet diverse learners’ needs while providing immediate personalised feedback and learning resources, shifting from one-to-many to a personalised one-on-one learning experience. This approach has shown significant improvements in student engagement and academic performance.
Furthermore, Professor Pevzner emphasised the growing role of AI-driven adaptive learning tools, urging educators to adapt or risk falling behind. While AI is unlikely to replace professors entirely, those who integrate these technologies will redefine teaching excellence. He also explored how professors can collaborate with AI assistants to enhance their teaching approaches and provide personalised learning experiences for students. Professor Pevzner’s insights not only illuminate the future of education but also underscore the potential of AI to revolutionise teaching and learning in higher education.
Pavel Pevzner is the Ronald R. Taylor Chair and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. He earned his Ph.D. from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Russia. He has authored textbooks "Computational Molecular Biology: An Algorithmic Approach", "Introduction to Bioinformatics Algorithms"(with Neal Jones),“Bioinformatics Algorithms: An Active Learning Approach” (with Phillip Compeau), and “Learning Algorithms through Programming and Puzzle Solving” (with Alexander Kulikov). He co-developed the Coursera online specializations in Bioinformatics and Algorithms with over 600,000 enrolled students.
