PKUHSC Program Returns to In-Person Teaching
September 14, 2020
More than six months after transitioning to virtual instruction, Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC) dual-degree students returned to in-person classes and restored normal campus life in Beijing.
China Initiative Community and Partners International Pandemic
After 7 months of online teaching that began after the Lunar New Year national holidays in February 2020, PKUHSC instructors and students finally returned to in-person classes, as the COVID-19 pandemic subsided in China. Cohort 1 continued their typical second-year coursework, including an in-person Level I Fieldwork at the Jimenli Community Health Service Center for their Adulthood and Aging course.
PKUHSC instructor Dr. Liguo Qian (far left) and the 1st cohort of PKUHSC students return to campus for in-person courses on September 14, 2020 for the first time since the pandemic.
Some of the 1st cohort of master’s students with their fieldwork educators at their in-person Level I Fieldwork at the Jimenli Community Health Service Center.
In the meantime, the second cohort of dual-degree students are beginning the master’s program at PKUHSC. They are enjoying their foundation courses in occupational therapy, and are full of curiosity and anticipation for the rest of their two-year program.
Cohort 2’s first in-person class with PKUHSC instructor Dr. Liguo Qian (far right).
The cohort 2 students display their crafts made in the Creativity, Craft and Activity Analysis class.
Now that PKUHSC has returned to in-person classes, Dr. Hui Wang thinks back to the experience of transitioning to online teaching. She reflects, in a time when so many aspects of daily life were uncertain and changing, PKUHSC administrators “helped me a lot with technical difficulties, especially when handling the virtual learning platforms.” Dr. Wang also comments on how that tumultuous transition brought about significant self-growth. “After taking on a new role as an educator, my communication and leadership skills increased significantly because I was teaching everyday online,” Dr. Wang says. “I also became more flexible, because there was a new problem to face every single morning.”
Even after fully transitioning to all in-person courses, Dr. Wang realizes that virtual instruction also led her to new and improved teaching methods, which she intends to maintain in the in-person classroom. For example, she now consistently incorporates more case studies to elicit more discussion, encouraging students to reason, process, and problem-solve together. Additionally, she uses more creativity by using different learning aids and resources, such as research articles and videos, to provide the students with varied learning experiences and match their unique learning styles.
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