During the summer vacation, with support from all sides, ICI carried out a project of renovation of teaching and learning spaces to welcome new students and to ensure high-quality teaching in the new semester.
Based on the teaching needs and both aesthetic and practical considerations, the layout of the teaching spaces was re-adjusted, aiming to increase the overall utilization rate of the classrooms. 26 new classrooms were added to meet the needs of the curricula in the new semester.
Faced with various challenges posed by the uncertainty of the pandemic and the tight schedule of the project, ICI overcame all difficulties and successfully completed the renovation work before the return of the old students and coming of the new, embracing the new semester with a more modern appearance.
Classrooms taking a new look
Chang Xifei, a student majoring in Environmental Design, commented on the newly renovated teaching buildings by saying: “The design of the interior decoration in the teaching building looks simple yet not commonplace, creating a strong artistic atmosphere where we attend classes. And every inconspicuous detail of the design on each floor reflects the care ICI shows about its students. Each seat at the bar counter is equipped with a socket, and many small tables are placed around the sofas… All of this makes our studying more comfortable and efficient.”
Teachers from both sides work closely together both online and offline to ensure quality teaching
At the beginning of the new semester, in order to implement the university’s epidemic prevention and control measures, some teachers and students were unable to participate in offline courses on campus for a short period of time. Therefore, ICI flexibly adjusted the teaching mode, using a combination of online and offline teaching to ensure that students in epidemic-affected areas could attend classes on time.
Additionally, for the sake of teaching quality, ICI hires teaching assistants for UCA units, that is, UCA teachers work together with the teaching assistants to enhance online and offline interaction with students and to facilitate teaching. The diligent and responsible teachers and teaching assistants are well liked by the students, with many praising them as a “golden pair”. Liu Xiaopu, a student from Visual Communication Design, commented: “We can understand the unit contents better now as the UCA teachers who are under quarantine teach online in support of the teaching assistants who teach offline. XMU and UCA teaching units complement each other as students benefit tremendously from not only learning the context of the oriental culture, but also gaining a multi-faceted understanding of global design theory.”
In such a dual-track classroom, the interaction between teaching and learning and the effective communication between teachers and students have laid a solid foundation for an active classroom atmosphere. With the help of teaching assistants, students have shown that the efficiency and quality of their learning have been enhanced.
Online and offline teaching
ICI managers inspect classes, ensuring two-way communication
To be well-informed of online and offline teaching in the new semester, and strengthen teaching management and quality monitoring, the ICI managers observed classes and conducted inspections of the renovated teaching spaces, so as to gain an in-depth awareness of the teaching performances.
The ICI managers observe a class
During the break, ICI managers had a friendly conversation with the teachers, inquiring about the students' attendance and the cooperation between the teaching assistants and UCA teachers. They listened to feedback from both teachers and students regarding the teaching results and made requirements for improving the quality of online and offline teaching.
In the new semester, in the new space with new looks, all teachers and students embraced the new task of work and study with a full courage, passion and enthusiasm in the completely new teaching environment.
