PKU-UMich holds Teaching Development Webinar

Peking: On October 26, the PKU-UMich Teaching Development Webinar, co-hosted by PKU Office of International Relations and the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT), was held with the theme of “Innovation and Evidence-Based Teaching”. The aim of the webinar is to exchange ideas with international first-class universities on how to advance learning and teaching practices, as well as enhancing the professional development of faculty members so as to improve the quality of education. With a total of 117 teachers from Peking University and 66 teachers from other institutions participating, the webinar is scheduled to last until October 31.

On the morning of October 26, Dr. Matthew Kaplan, executive director of CRLT and Professor Sun Hua, director of PKU Center for Excellent Teaching and Learning, delivered their welcome speeches.

On the evening of the same day, Dr. Kaplan gave a brief introduction to the University of Michigan and CRLT. He listed out ten methods and working principles effective in improving undergraduate teaching. Dr. Kaplan then explained the definition of “evidence-based” education, and the principles behind learning how to innovate. In the Q&A session with Dr. Kaplan, teachers were active in raising questions and participating in discussions on evidence-based teaching and innovative teaching.

Zhu Erping, associate director of CRLT, then elaborated on the topic of innovative teaching through two case studies. Zhu also introduced an innovation-thinking framework. Zhu’s speech inspired everyone to think about different types of creative strategies that can be incorporated into teaching.