From November 26 to 27, the 7th Guangdong Provincial College Youth Teacher Teaching Competition for Higher Vocational Colleges, organized by the Guangdong Provincial Federation of Trade Unions and the Guangdong Provincial Department of Education, and hosted by the Provincial Education, Science, Culture, and Health Workers' Union and the Guangdong Provincial Education Research Institute, was held at Guangdong Polytechnic of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. Dr. Li Luya, from the School of Management at our university, won the champion title in the Humanities and Social Sciences category and will be awarded the Provincial May 1st Labor Medal. Dr. Yang Weimin, from the Industrial Training Center (Innovation and Entrepreneurship College), won first place in the Science and Engineering category and also ranked first in the Physics, Mathematics, and Chemistry group. Our university secured 5 first-place awards and 8 second-place awards, ranking first in the province both in the number of first-place awards and total awards.

This year's competition for higher vocational colleges was divided into two categories: Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Engineering. A total of 1,207 young teachers from 94 higher vocational colleges across the province participated in the online selection. After initial rounds at the college level, 210 young teachers advanced to the onsite finals. The finals were divided into two competition groups: Humanities and Social Sciences and Science and Engineering. Each group had 7 subgroups, making a total of 14 subgroups. The first-place winners from each subgroup competed in the grand finals for the overall championship in their respective categories. The final competition included a 6-minute demonstration of teaching skills, a 5-minute themed speech, and a 5-minute live Q&A.

In the Humanities and Social Sciences competition, Dr. Li Luya's teaching demonstration was titled"Crossing Time and Space—Etiquette in Classical Texts." To address the teaching challenges of low student interest and the difficulty of connecting theory with practice, she combined standard etiquette teaching with runway shows, dance, and other formats. She showcased four different elements: tea ceremony etiquette, Hanfu fashion, digital technology, and classical dance. The live performance engaged the audience in a dialogue between ancient and modern times, blending traditional culture with modern digital techniques. In her themed speech titled"Igniting Dreams to Cultivate Students, Etiquette Showcases Youth," Dr. Li used the metaphor of a flame to describe her unwavering love and respect for education while transitioning through her roles as a student, mother, and teacher. In the Q&A session, she elaborated on how to enhance personal quality in etiquette teaching from three aspects: digital teaching, industry-education integration, and an international perspective. She concluded by citing the educational philosophy of "enlightening minds and nurturing hearts, teaching students according to their aptitude," and expressed her hope to help students shine and approach the world with confidence and courtesy.

To address the challenges posed by traditional virtual simulation resources, which require specific operating environments and contain large amounts of content, Dr. Yang Weimin developed an autonomous physics self-learning platform that includes a digital resource library for key course concepts and skills. During the live demonstration, he showcased the Newton's rings experiment, using a combination of physical and virtual methods. The process was displayed on a screen showing experiment details, microscope eyepiece images, and a digital presentation of light path principles, solving the problem of students' low efficiency in learning experiments due to poor understanding of theory and principles. In his themed speech, Dr. Yang shared his insights and approach to vocational education physics, touching on the beauty of nature, the logic of science, the role of role models, the principles of good teaching, and the joy of learning. In the Q&A session, he emphasized that vocational education should not only focus on developing students' technical skills but also strengthen their theoretical foundation, foster scientific thinking, and cultivate the scientific literacy necessary for lifelong learning.

Our university will continue to enhance the work of faculty competitions, fully leveraging the competitions' role in improving the quality of the teaching staff. This will further inspire young teachers to engage in teaching research and refine their teaching skills, working toward the creation of a high-quality, professional teaching team that is committed to ideals, ethical values, academic excellence, and compassion.

(Office of Academic Affairs, Li Jiafan)