On the afternoon of 26 March 2025, the first session of the Wen Rui Teaching Salon of the School of Law at Southeast University and the award ceremony for the Wen Rui Teaching Contribution Award were successfully held in Room 203 of Teaching Building 1 at the Jiulonghu Campus. The event, themed ‘Standing Firm at the Lectern: Exploring Common Issues in Undergraduate Teaching,’ attracted over 30 faculty members from the School of Law, who collectively brainstormed strategies to enhance the quality of undergraduate education. The event was hosted by Professor Shan Pingji, Deputy Dean of the School of Law.
Professor Liu Qichuan, Party Secretary of the School of Law, delivered an opening address. Professor Liu first emphasised the pivotal role of undergraduate teaching in talent cultivation, noting that the undergraduate stage is a critical period for students to accumulate knowledge, enhance their abilities, and shape their values. The quality of teaching directly impacts students' growth and development, as well as the future of the school. Secondly, Professor Liu highly commended Mr. Meng's outstanding contributions to undergraduate teaching. He pointed out that Mr. Meng not only possesses extensive experience in teaching management but has also dedicated significant effort to the professional growth of young faculty members. Under Professor Meng's meticulous guidance, the school has produced a series of teaching newcomers who have achieved outstanding results in various teaching competitions, bringing honours to the school. These achievements would not have been possible without Professor Meng's selfless dedication and silent contributions. Finally, Secretary Liu encouraged teachers to hone their teaching skills, study teaching techniques, stand firm on the podium, fall in love with teaching, and work together to push the school's teaching achievements to new heights.
Subsequently, Professor Xiong Zhanglin, Dean of the Law School, presented Professor Meng Hong with the Wen Rui Teaching Contribution Award to recognise her outstanding achievements and contributions in the field of teaching. Professor Meng Hong has always maintained a rigorous and serious attitude in her teaching work, employing flexible and diverse teaching methods, and focusing on cultivating students' practical abilities and innovative thinking, earning her widespread admiration from both students and colleagues.
During the thematic activity, Professor Meng Hong, the keynote speaker, first explained the rationale behind the selection of the activity's theme, the scope of discussion, and the approach and methods of the seminar. She then drew on her years of experience in undergraduate teaching and classroom observation to analyse and address the top ten common issues faced by young teachers in undergraduate teaching, categorising them into three areas: pre-class preparation, in-class instruction, and post-class follow-up, and proposing corresponding solutions.
She identified three issues in the pre-class preparation phase. First, the development of course syllabi lacks a thorough understanding of the programme's talent cultivation plan, leading to a disconnect between the syllabus and the programme's objectives; once developed, the syllabus is not effectively implemented in teaching activities. She stressed that the programme's talent cultivation plan serves as the guiding principle and basis for developing course syllabi, and the syllabus consistently guides teaching activities. The determination of course objectives, selection of teaching content and methods, as well as the choice of assessment methods and content, are all constrained by the syllabus. Second, the preparation for the first class was incomplete, neglecting to introduce the nature of the course, its relationship with related courses, the knowledge system, learning resources, learning methods, and learning requirements. Professor Meng Hong pointed out that the first class is the ‘debut’ of the course and the teacher, and it is crucial for stimulating students' interest in learning. Therefore, teachers should prepare thoroughly to showcase their personal charm and the appeal of the course. Third, inadequate lesson preparation, with an emphasis on preparing teaching content while neglecting teaching methods and other aspects of instructional design. She suggested that young teachers, in addition to preparing teaching content, should also engage in instructional design, considering how to present content more effectively and conduct teaching activities with students as the central focus. Professor Meng Hong proposed that teachers could enhance their teaching abilities through participating in young teacher training, observing classes, and engaging in peer exchanges.
There are five main issues in classroom teaching. First, lessons lack an introductory segment and fail to introduce the teaching objectives for the session. Students cannot understand the learning focus and requirements of the lesson. Second, teaching content overly emphasises telling students ‘what it is,’ and should instead increase thinking-oriented and research-oriented content, making ‘why’ and practical issues the teaching focus. Third, classroom activity levels are low, and interaction is insufficient. Professor Meng Hong emphasised that teachers should not dominate the classroom but instead find ways to engage students in teaching activities. Effective questions should be designed, allowing students time to think, and teaching methods such as lectures or case studies should be selected based on the teaching situation. Fourth, the pace of lectures is monotonous. Professor Meng Hong reminded teachers that their speech should have variations in tone and pace, and they should walk down from the podium to interact with students or guide discussions at appropriate times, while maintaining eye contact with students. Additionally, Professor Meng Hong emphasised the importance of monitoring student attendance and managing the classroom effectively. Finally, teaching aids should be used effectively. PowerPoint presentations should not be overly dense, and their design should consider the students' perspective. Blackboards should be used to present content that cannot be adequately conveyed through PowerPoint.
In the post-class teaching phase, Professor Meng Hong addressed the issue of disconnect between teaching and learning, as well as the lack of requirements for students‘ post-class learning. She suggested that teachers assign preparatory, review, and exploratory homework, and reasonably determine the criteria for evaluating regular grades. Regarding the inadequacy of course assessment methods and content in evaluating students’ abilities, she recommended diversifying assessment formats and reducing the singularity and arbitrariness of regular grade evaluations. She also suggested avoiding closed-book exams at the end of the course and reasonably setting the difficulty level and question types of exams.
Additionally, Professor Meng Hong offered suggestions on teachers' professional ethics, emotional control, handling teacher-student relationships, preventing teaching incidents, and appropriate attire for classes.
The free discussion session brought the event to a climax. Teachers engaged in lively discussions around Professor Meng Hong's keynote speech, sharing the issues, challenges, and solutions they encountered in their teaching practices. For example, some teachers asked how to address the significant differences in student engagement across different classes, while others sought advice on designing more effective classroom questions. Professor Meng Hong and other experienced teachers provided detailed answers, creating a vibrant atmosphere of exchange where ideas sparked continuously.
In his concluding remarks, Professor Shan Pingji highly commended the significance of the event, encouraging teachers to apply the outcomes of the exchange to their actual teaching practices and continuously improve their teaching standards. He emphasised that teaching and research are mutually reinforcing, urging teachers to identify issues in teaching, deepen their understanding of teaching content through research, and drive the sustained improvement of teaching quality.
Finally, all participants took a group photo to commemorate the event, which concluded successfully. The first session of the Wenrui Teaching Salon provided a platform for exchange and learning among faculty members of the Law School, playing a positive role in addressing common issues in undergraduate teaching and enhancing teaching quality. In the future, the Law School will continue to organise a series of activities to promote the continuous improvement of teaching capabilities among faculty members, laying a solid foundation for cultivating more outstanding legal talents.
(Text: Cheng Yue, Wang Weiwei; Photos: Pan Chenrong)