Editor's Notes: The Open University of China (OUC) has initiated a programme to nurture candidates for the inaugural session of "Outstanding Young Teachers," resulting in 104 teachers being bestowed with the esteemed title of "OUC Outstanding Young Teachers."

By sharing the stories of some of these young teachers and highlighting their experiences of learning and personal growth, our aim is to showcase the dedication and enthusiasm of all OUC teachers who are devoted to contributing to the establishment of a lifelong learning society for all.

Cao Xiping, a Party Member, associated professor, currently serving both as a teacher at Hunan Open University and a key player in the teaching team of OUC. Her teaching and research focuses on human resource management and distance education. She used to work conscientiously in the border areas of the country for four years. Among the courses in her charge, are Corporate Planning, Modern Management, Business Strategy Management and Agricultural Produce Marketing Practice. Cao Xiping has a rich background in teaching and is highly acclaimed by her students. She has also won titles, such as Model Young Teacher Affiliated to the CPC, from the general higher schools in Hunan Province in the “Pioneer Project”and “Outstanding Party Member” at Hunan Open University.

Appreciating opportunities, being grateful to the cultivation of teachers

It’s an honour to join the inaugural OUC Outstanding Young Teachers Training Programme with which I have achieved great results. 

Through the training I have been made deeply aware that, as a teacher, I should keep learning and upgrading my knowledge actively. The traditional teaching model is not applicable to the new ways of learning required by the innovative courses, namely, active, exploratory and collaborative learning. Additionally, innovation is also essential to academic research. Especially when it comes to thesis topic selection, forward thinking and innovation cannot be overrated.

Through the training, my teaching outlook has also changed to some extent. Now I think teachers should not teach for teaching’s sake; they should teach students how to learn by themselves. Once students grasp learning strategies, they can obtain knowledge all by themselves, and they will benefit from such strategies throughout their entire life.

Through training, I have realised that it’s necessary to advocate and practise course reform, to thoroughly understand new ideas and the cognitive development patterns of students.

Cultivating practical talent for rural areas, by adopting special teaching models

How should we cultivate more highly educated new farmers, who will stay, settle down in rural areas and serve local communities? It’s not easy to answer this question for me, who is responsible for the programme of Business Administration (with orientation in Rural Business Administration) integrated in the Hunan Highly educated Farmers Cultivation Project.

To foster highly educated farms, the education we provide should make sure that such undergraduates don’t have to leave local villages or sacrifice their precious time during planting and harvest seasons. Besides, they should have the opportunity to put what they have learned into practice, and get customised courses suitable to their needs. Furthermore, even though such students are cultivated in a unified way, course schedules should be flexible. Last but not least, the content of the courses should be more concrete, vivid and easier to follow. Therefore, drawing on the practical experience in education, I have accumulated over many years, I have come up with an innovative teaching model in order to meet their special needs. Communicating the latest information on rural business administration,by combining theories with practical experience, familiarising them with new concepts on rural business administration and innovative agricultural economy. Through the combination of classroom teaching and practice, I have valued the relevance of classroom knowledge to actual situations, and tried to answer all the puzzling questions the students have experienced.

To provide the opportunity to receive a higher education, for farmers who are descendants of generations of peasants who knew nothing but hard work on the farmland, I have made good use of the learning platform for Hunan highly educated farmers, built characterised teaching resources, timely adjusted the teaching methods to various subjects and provided individualistic guidance via the learning platform.

Because many farmers/undergraduates usually have to work on a tight schedule, I have arranged classes at night, on weekends and during holidays, so that they could interact with me while watching the live-streaming lectures and I could answer their questions, while imparting knowledge. My vivid presentations and brilliant case analyses have won unanimous praises from the students. As the feedback from rural college students in the branch goes, “Ms Cao Xiping’s courses are very practical.”

Releaseing the potential of rural college students

Some students have applied what they learned and have become entrepreneurs, who lead the local communities to common prosperity. In addition to titles such as a “national heroic model”, some students lead the whole village to win honours such as “Hunan Provincial-level Demonstration Village for High Grain Yield”, “Hunan Provincial-level Demonstration Village for Full Agricultural Mechanization ”, which makes me feel, that by imparting knowledge, I also contribute to transformation of the spiritual outlook of our new villages. In other words, successes of the students reinforce the faith in my chosen endeavours.

In my own field, I have guided my students to winning first prize in the following contests several times, case design and analysis competition, outstanding paper design competition, and innovative design competition. I myself have also won honours, such as Outstanding Party Member, Outstanding Supervisors and Advanced Individual. In terms of academic research, I have published two monographs successively, participated in many provincial/ministerial level projects as a principle or supportive researcher and published more than 20 academic papers. Besides, some of my significant ideas and scientific research results, have been adopted and applied by both governments and businesses, generating great social benefits.

The training programme is over, but there’s no end to in-depth understanding, applications and practice of its content.

By OUC News Network