On 13 May 2021, the Open University of China (OUC) launched a Teaching-skills Competition.
The event, focused on implementing both general secretary Xi Jinping's thoughts on education and the requirements for building high-quality teaching teams proposed in the OUC Comprehensive Reform Plan, aimed at developing the professional capabilities of teachers.
Liu Xianghong, deputy secretary of the OUC Party Committee and secretary of the Discipline Inspection Committee, delivered a speech urging OUC staff and faculty to take part in the competition. In her view, by 2025, a world-class open university with Chinese characteristics would be completed based on the development of top-quality majors, courses and teaching teams. She stressed the importance of young teachers as agents of university reform and development, and expressed the hope that all faculty members would teach with devotion, enthusiasm, and dedication to self-improvement. She also said that the OUC should keep organising such teaching-skills competitions in order to cultivate teacher skills, establish skilled teams, and constantly improve the quality of learner development.
The competition was hosted by Zhang Luanqiao and Tian Suxia, director and deputy director respectively of the Department of Student Affairs and Teacher Development. Professor Miao Rong of Peking University, Professor Wang Hongbo of Capital Normal University, Professor Yao Xinchao of the University of International Business and Economics, Professor Li Zhe of Beijing Open University, and Professor Wang Yanjun of Tianjin Open University served as expert judges, while 20 representatives of the students attending the lectures served as student judges. More than 150 teachers from across the OUC watched the competition.
Nineteen teachers were selected to participate, closely adhered to teaching objectives, and carefully designed their lectures with skillful use of information technology and flexible teaching methods. They displayed high levels of skill, reflected the ideological and political requirements for courses, and allowed their personal teaching styles to emerge – whether these consisted of passion, eloquence, humour, grace, or some combination of these. After a day of intense competition, two teachers were awarded 1st prize, three 2nd, and six 3rd.
This was the first teaching-skills competition to be held by the OUC, and it demonstrated the skills of its young and middle-aged teachers, showcased their positive outlook, and helped promote their professional development.
Written by Tian Suxia and Zhang Hongrui; Photos by Li Chao, OUC