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.
Liu Chunxia, Ph.D. in Management, is a teacher at the School of Economics and Management, Shanghai Open University. She is a core team member of the OUC Online Course and the head of the Network Marketing and Management major. She joined the faculty in July 2008. In 2021, the entrepreneurial project she guided won the gold medal in the Shanghai Division of the "7th China International 'Internet+' College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition". In 2018, the original case she guided, "The Strategic Transformation of Company N," won the first prize in the case analysis and design competition of the OUC of Business Administration. The new major construction and teaching reform achievements led by her won the first prize of the Shanghai Open University Teaching Achievement Award in 2021. From 2016 to the present, she has won the "Shanghai University Student Entrepreneurship Decision Simulation Competition Excellent Guidance Teacher Award" issued by the Shanghai Education Commission for seven consecutive years.
I am fortunate to have been selected for the first Outstanding Young Teacher Training Programme of the OUC, where I have the opportunity to exchange and learn with peers from all over the country. The comprehensive three-year training plan covers aspects like teacher's ethics and style, teaching technology and capability enhancement, team building, research literacy and paper writing, etc., encompassing all the capabilities and qualities a teacher should possess. The training methods are diverse, including themed lectures, online courses, learning workshops, cross-border study tours, and book reading, which greatly enrich the forms and content of teacher training.
I am grateful for the training provided by the Outstanding Young Teacher Training Programme over the past three years, which has expanded the learning boundaries of young teachers, promoted mental growth, and reaffirmed my responsibility and belief as an open education teacher to "exchange the joy of the small self for the joy of the universe."
Teaching Practice: Engaging with Students
Since 2016, I have led teams each year to participate in the Shanghai College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Decision Simulation Competition, competing with nearly a thousand teams from universities across the city and even nationwide. We have won the first prize for seven consecutive years and received the second prize more than ten times. Upon analysis, the reasons for this are twofold. On one hand, it is related to the rich work experience of Open University students, which makes it easy for them to understand the entrepreneurial scenarios. On the other hand, it is also inseparable from the efforts of the Open University teachers to truly engage with the team and fight alongside the students. Through teaching practice, I have come to understand that open education is the science and art of helping people learn, and teaching is an important channel for imparting content and communicating ideas.
Teaching Enhancement: Reflection and Realization
Since the launch of the Network Marketing and Management major, I have been the person in charge. As we were preparing to greet the first batch of graduates, we were also faced with major inspections and degree review work. The summary of our experiences in the construction of the major, titled "Constructing a New Talent Training System for a New Major Through the Integration of Industry and Education, Multilateral Collaboration, and Dynamic Cooperation: Innovation and Practice of the Network Marketing and Management Major", won the first prize of the Shanghai Open University's Teaching Achievements in 2021. This innovative teaching model for the major, which uses decision consultation topics, provides a reference for innovation in open education teaching models.
In addition, the Management Economics course I preside over has been continuously optimizing its online course teaching design since it built a wealth of online teaching resources. At the end of 2021, we initiated the construction of an AI online intelligent assistant project to improve online personalized push services and help online learners have a good learning experience during the pandemic.
The end of the Outstanding Young Teachers training programme at the OUC is not the end point, but a new starting point. At this new "starting point", I will continue to guard the belief in my heart — love life and work. Loving life brings happiness to myself. Loving work brings happiness to many others!
By OUC News Network