Bringing Web 3.0 and DAO into Democratic Class: A study of Pedagogy in Higher Education

Abstract

Blockchain technology introduces a paradigm shift into higher education, presenting opportunities for innovative transformations in human organization and democratic operations. Education-based Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) on Web 3.0 are anticipated to instigate change across the spectrum, from classroom pedagogy to broader educational systems. Our research concentrates on the micro-level exploration of the merger between the decentralization principles of educational DAOs and traditional democratic classrooms. In the course of our experimental study, we analyze an experimental postgraduate course that uses a governing token to stimulate decision-making processes, empowering students with a participatory role that mirrors DAO operations. The implementation of popular DAO tools is discussed with the goal of crafting a classroom environment reflecting the decentralized decision-making structures intrinsic to DAOs. While we underscore the potential of decentralized teaching methodologies to enhance democratic education, we particularly focus on students as the primary facilitators of collective decision-making. According to our investigation, students showed a greater understanding and positivity towards decentralization than expected, suggesting that a suitable environment could boost positive behavior in class. Furthermore, in an architecturally decentralized class, a properly operational tokenomics could enhance classroom liberty, particularly for elite students, who might exert significant influence due to tokenomics and reward mechanisms.