On 16th April 2024, the Open University of China (OUC) convened a special seminar on practical teaching. Various academic departments exchanged and reported on the current status, issues, and explorations of reforms related to practical teaching.

Li Song, a member of the OUC's Party Committee and the vice president, attended the meeting, joined by representatives from the Department of Digitalisation and the Academic Affairs Department.

Li Song emphasised that the various academic departments of the OUC have engaged in diverse and innovative reforms in practical teaching over the years, establishing a sound overarching framework. In the next phase, each academic department should strengthen the implementation and monitoring of practical teaching, focusing on the teaching effectiveness of practical components, with an emphasis on integrating theory and practice.

Li Song underscored three key aspects of practical teaching: being results-oriented, staying current, and prioritizing people. Looking ahead, the reform in practical teaching needs to address two questions: first, what kind of practical teaching should the OUC undertake? Does practical teaching align with the characteristics of each major, support students' professional development, and meet the talent requirements of socio-economic development? Second, how can practical teaching be effectively carried out? It is essential to deeply consider students' actual situations, the technical support for practical teaching, and the cost-effectiveness of utilizing digital technology in practical teaching.

Ten academic departments, including the School of Humanities, successively presented the basic situations of their respective course practical teaching and comprehensive practical teaching. They highlighted existing problems and challenges in practical segments and put forward insights and suggestions on how to enhance the effectiveness of practical teaching in open education for future reforms.

This seminar provided a platform for pooling beneficial ideas, further consolidating the consensus among various academic departments and academic management departments. It also clarified the direction of future reforms in practical teaching, to a certain extent, playing a positive role in enhancing the effectiveness of practical teaching in learner development and promoting the high-quality development of open education.

Written by Academic Affairs Department, photo by Zhuge Huanyu, OUC