The Center of Teacher Development and Teaching Evaluation at Inner Mongolia Normal University (IMNU) holds a seminar on practical teaching [Photo/imnu.edu.cn]

Founded in January 2016, the Center of Teacher Development and Teaching Evaluation at Inner Mongolia Normal University (IMNU) is an institution focusing on service, management and research across its three departments: Teacher Development, Teaching Quality and Teacher Education. 

Affiliated with the Innovation Alliance for Inner Mongolia Teachers and Education, the center is responsible for the development of teachers at the university, instructing them in evaluation, vocational training, and testing and educational research. 

Guided by an innovation-oriented approach to development, the center aims to uphold national policies while mapping out a development plan for teachers and establishing an evaluation system to help build a strong team of professionals.

The center's main work also includes arranging more generalized training for teachers, promoting basic education research, and providing education for ethnic minority groups. It has also taken on the role of secretariat for the Innovation Alliance for Inner Mongolia Teachers and Education.

It boasts excellent modern facilities, including advanced laboratories and classrooms, a teacher training room, a multifunctional academic facility, a teaching salon, digital recording studio, and laboratories for course development and teaching behavior analysis.

Having already made several impressive achievements in instructing middle school teachers, publishing educational textbooks, integrating resources and building online teaching platforms, the center continues working towards its stated goals.

Instructing teaching staff in middle schools

The center at IMNU has dispatched its teachers to instruct staff at No 14 Middle School, No 29 Middle School, and No 36 Middle School to further develop teachers across Hohhot.

Publishing educational textbooks

Dozens of textbooks written by the center's teaching staff have already been published. Teaching Research on Geographical Experiments in Middle Schools, edited by Xu Baofang and Zhang Weiqing, and Analysis on History Textbooks for Middle School, edited by Professor Shi Fengchun, shared second prize for outstanding achievement in philosophy and social sciences in Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The center has also edited 19 textbooks for primary schools.

During the development of educational courses, the center focuses its efforts on improving the quality of undergraduate courses at the university. Featured courses include Teaching Theory of Biology for Middle Schools, taught by Professor Hong Yu at the School of Life Sciences and Technology; Teaching Theory of Geography, taught by Professor Xu Baofang at the College of Geographical Science; and Teaching Theory of English, taught by Professor Wu Haiyan at College of Foreign Languages.

Integrating resources and building online teaching platforms

An official website with 4,456 teaching videos and more than 2,100 document resources, platforms for analysis, micro-classes, evaluation systems and charts for 13 disciplines was also created for school teaching staff.

Training teachers and developing practical projects

In 2013 and 2015, the center undertook the practical training of teachers in regions inhabited by ethnic groups. These projects are major undertakings of the Ministry of Education.

Conducting instructional supervision

It created a supervising committee that releases an annual report detailing the standard of teaching at IMNU, with the aim of improving teaching quality and aid educational reform at the university.

Organizing teaching skills competition

A teaching skills competition is one way for teachers to improve their practical abilities. The center has established a four-tiered system including contests in classes, schools, colleges and at national level.

The Secretariat of the Innovation Alliance for Inner Mongolia Teachers and Education

The Innovation Alliance for Inner Mongolia Teachers and Education was established on Dec 18 in 2015. Its secretariat held teaching seminars from Nov 26 to 27 in 2016, attracting 135 students and 70 teachers from such universities as Inner Mongolia University for the Nationalities and Hohhot Minzu College.