From 30 to 31 October 2024, the Open University of China (OUC) held a comprehensive seminar on teaching process in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province.
The event aimed to further standardise and implement the teaching process, ensure the order of open education, and enhance the quality of education and student outcomes. Li Song, a member of the Party Committee and vice president of the OUC, and Wang Zhengdong, president of Zhejiang Open University, attended the event. Nearly 40 participants, including leaders in charge of teaching from nine branches such as Beijing Open University, heads of teaching and academic affairs departments, and relevant personnel from the headquarters, participated in the event. The seminar was chaired by Gu Xiaohua, director of the Academic Affairs Department of the OUC.
Li Song attended the event and delivered a speech.
Li Song pointed out that in the context of building a learning society and a leading country in education, it is essential to accurately grasp the new situation and mission of open education, adhere to the development, quality, talent, and system perspectives of open universities, and achieve high-quality development in talent cultivation. The teaching process is one of the key links in talent cultivation, focusing on how to teach and learn by implementing a blended teaching model that combines online and offline methods, with an emphasis on online.
Li Song emphasised that the implementation of teaching at open universities should start from the following three aspects: First, study students’ needs and provide tailored education. Conduct analysis of students’ learning situations, enhance course development, and promote teaching methods such as inquiry-based, participatory and case-based ones to provide students more options for autonomous learning. Second, innovate intelligent learning support services. Offer multi-level, multi-form, and multi-type learning support services to meet students' needs for learning "anytime and anywhere." Third, upgrade and transform the digital environment by leveraging big data, artificial intelligence, and other technologies to create new networked, immersive, and intelligent learning models.
Li Song mentioned that the OUC would soon issue the "Implementation Opinions on Integrated and Collaborative Promotion of Comprehensive Reform in Open University Education and Teaching Empowered by Digital Intelligence." The document underscores the reform of all elements and processes of education and teaching empowered by digital intelligence, strengthening the implementation of the teaching process, enhancing the distinctive feature of applied talent cultivation in open universities, and exploring diversified and integrated practical teaching reforms.
Xu Zhili, vice president of the Beijing Branch; Geng Yulong, vice president of the Heilongjiang Branch; Ying Yue, vice president of the Zhejiang Branch; Chen Shu, vice president of the Ningbo Branch; Guo Pikuan, vice president of the Shandong Branch; Chen Zhiguo, vice president of the Hunan Branch; Wang Tao, vice president of the Sichuan Branch; Zhou Yong, vice president of the Guizhou Branch; and Ma Guoyun, deputy director of the Academic Affairs Office of the Gansu Branch, shared the progress made in the teaching process and practical teaching based on their respective educational practices. They also identified existing problems and proposed measures for future high-quality development. Liu Zhifang, dean of the School of Economics and Management, and Sun Zhijuan, deputy dean of the School of Science and Engineering at the headquarters, shared a series of exploratory achievements in practical teaching reform in related disciplines.
The event included a special discussion on the relevant systems for the standardised implementation of practical teaching work at the OUC. The representatives expressed their commitment to a series of actions, including building consensus, focusing on issues, overcoming difficulties, coping with common challenges, promoting open education towards excellent teaching and learning, which would collaboratively advance the high-quality development of the open-university system.
Written by Academic Affairs Department, OUC
Photos by Taizhou Open University