Liu Hongsen: Key Focal Points for Effectively Teaching "Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era"
The course "Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" (hereinafter referred to as the "Introduction" course), as the core curriculum for universities to mold the soul and educate the person [1] using Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, serves as a pivotal point for advancing the construction of ideological and political elective courses (ideological-political courses) and the arming of the Party with its innovative theories in tandem. It shoulders the heavy mission of fulfilling the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education [2]. At the current moment, where the strategic overall situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the world's profound changes unseen in a century intersect and oscillate, successfully teaching the "Introduction" course is of great significance for cultivating a new generation of youth in the New Era who possess both scientific value-beliefs and profound theoretical cultivation.
Cultivating a Deep Foundation of "Using Scholarship to Discuss Politics" and Profoundly Explaining Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era
Using scholarship to discuss politics is a basic quality essential for Marxist researchers and, moreover, is the crux of ideological-political course teaching. For these courses, using scholarship to discuss politics means emphasizing the use of the Marxist worldview and methodology to provide a deep academic support for political discourse. If the academic explanation of scientific thought is neglected, theory will lose its proper discursive power, persuasiveness, and explanatory power regarding reality. Only by thoroughly explaining the academic support behind politics—clarifying the logic, the scholarship, the philosophy, and the principles—can we guide students to truly learn, understand, believe, and apply it.
Specifically regarding the "Introduction" course, adhering to the principle of using scholarship to discuss politics means presenting the academic nature of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to the students. Academic transformation is a process of ascending from perceptual knowledge to rational knowledge. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is rich in content, rigorous in logic, and profound in meaning. Its academic nature is prominently reflected in the academic, theoretical, discursive, and abstract qualities of its theoretical foundation, system, and discourse expression. On one hand, this requires us to ground ourselves in Chinese practice, refine Chinese experience, and scientifically define hallmark conceptual categories to clearly explain the theoretical connotations, core tenets, and the worldview and methodology contained within Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. On the other hand, it requires us to clarify the historical, theoretical, and practical logic behind the creation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, focusing on telling the story of the great changes in the New Era from the perspective of historical evolution. We must clarify the strategic measures taken, the transformative practices advanced, the breakthrough progress achieved, and the hallmark results obtained by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. Conducting in-depth academic explanations of these issues allows students to recognize and experience the logic and truth inherent in the theory, guiding them to strengthen their self-cultivation through deep study and meticulous comprehension, and to build a foundation of faith, supplement "spiritual calcium" [3], and steady the "rudder of thought" through ideological tempering.
Using scholarship to discuss politics must be supported by a profound academic foundation. This requires ideological-political course teachers to continuously improve their scientific research capabilities and strengthen the systematic research and academic explanation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. If teachers neglect research, their understanding of theory remains only at the level of document publicity or policy interpretation. Over time, it becomes difficult for ideological-political courses to truly trigger student reflection or touch their souls, deviating from the tasks and goals of fostering virtue and molding the soul. At the same time, teachers should focus on improving their ability to transform the language of official documents and textbooks into vivid and lively classroom teaching language. When language enters the ear, principles enter the heart.
"The essence of the ideological-political course is to explain principles; we must focus on methods and ways to explain principles deeply, thoroughly, and vividly." The teaching language of university ideological-political courses should reflect academic rigor and logical demonstration—being well-reasoned and convincing—while also possessing a sense of the times and daily life. By reasonably using "buzzwords" and skillfully applying rhetoric, profound theories can be expressed in a language that students find easy to accept and are willing to hear.
Upholding the "Content is King" Teaching Principle and Improving the Quality of Content Supply
In university classrooms, we always emphasize one saying: "The class is larger than the sky." To take the podium, to stand firm on the podium, and to teach well from the podium is the responsibility of every teacher. It may not be difficult to teach one good ideological-political session; the difficulty lies in teaching every session well. In recent years, to stimulate student interest and improve teaching effectiveness, teachers have devised many methods and put in much effort. Improving the quality of course content supply lies in adhering to the teaching principle of "Content is King."
Adhering to the "Content is King" principle first requires that teachers "have content" in their minds. Students can often adapt to a teacher who is strict or pedantic, but they cannot accept a teacher who is shallow in knowledge. in today's highly information-based age, to give students a bowl of water, a teacher should have a pool of water, not just a bucket. Teaching activities are a unity of scholarship, technique, and art; they are a unity of the "skill" (shù), the "learning" (xué), and the "Way" (dào) [4]. Only when an ideological-political course possesses solid and rich content, a scientific and clear structure, and a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere can it continuously improve its attractiveness, influence, and persuasiveness. The content of the "Introduction" course is extremely broad, involving core fields such as economy, politics, culture, society, ecological civilization, and Party building. It encompasses major issues such as governing the Party, the country, and the military; reform, development, and stability; and domestic affairs, foreign policy, and national defense. It also takes into account realistic contexts such as the state of the world, the nation, the Party, and the people. This requires teachers to read original works and grasp original principles, putting effort into transforming the "textbook system" into a "teaching system," and the "knowledge system" into a "value system," focusing on teaching the key and difficult points of the content.
Adhering to the "Content is King" principle also requires close contact with the actual thoughts of university students. From where do the focus and attractiveness of the ideological-political course come? One important point is requiring the course to directly face the intellectual confusion of students and teach toward their questions. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must adhere to a problem-oriented approach. The issues students focus on or have doubts about actually fall into a few major categories. We must break these issues down and pulverize them, conducting in-depth research to answer them, and explaining the facts and principles one by one." Many teachers have recognized this and attempted breakthroughs using methods like "problem-based entry" or "problem-chain teaching." However, teachers must be careful not to engage in "self-entertainment" when setting questions. The "problems" must be issues students truly care about, that they can actually raise, and that are representative of the student group. Teachers must not fall into the trap of "imagining student confusion" but must instead grasp what students think and doubt through actual surveys, such as questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. During investigations, we often find that students find it difficult to raise valuable questions related to the course due to low interest, insufficient basic knowledge, or a lack of personal experience and ideological awareness. In such cases, teachers should consciously adopt the student's perspective, using professional theoretical knowledge to analyze the daily life and social hotspots students encounter, gradually cultivating their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and guiding them to apply Marxist theoretical viewpoints and methods to the analysis of practical problems. It is evident that adhering to a problem-oriented approach and facing student confusion requires teachers to guide with heart and put in sufficient effort. Only by achieving a precise match between what the teacher "teaches" and what the student "doubts" can the focus and attractiveness of the course be effectively improved.
Integrating the "Small Classroom" of Ideology with the "Great Classroom" of Society
General Secretary Xi Jinping once said, "Do not look down on Liangjiahe; it is a place of great learning" [5], and emphasized that "we must make good use of the 'Great Ideological-Political Course' [6]; it must be combined with reality." When theory and reality are combined, "great learning" can be produced. As is well known, Comrade Mao Zedong had many discourses on "Great Schools." He successively proposed that "the whole of society is truly a permanent Great School," "turn the whole Party into a Great School," and "the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea is a Great School," etc. The essential orientations of the Great School, Great Learning, and the Great Ideological-Political Course are interconnected. Regardless of the expression, they all illustrate that the molding of a "Great Personality" requires reading not only "books with words" but also "books without words" [7].
Integrating the "small classroom" and the "great classroom" requires teachers to improve their teaching and nurturing abilities within the "great classroom" of society. In an era of rapid change, teachers face many challenges such as knowledge renewal and conceptual iteration. The "great classroom" of society provides a vast space to help teachers overcome "competence anxiety," allowing the "true scriptures" [8] of thought to be better transformed into practical ability and driving force. Teachers should uphold the concept of lifelong learning, learning while doing and doing while learning, and constantly cultivate their teaching skills by benchmarking social experience against book knowledge.
Integrating the "small classroom" and the "great classroom" requires teachers to integrate social life resources into classroom teaching. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The ideological-political course should be taught not only in the classroom but also in social life." The world-renowned achievements of socialism with Chinese characteristics are the most vivid, fresh, and persuasive teaching materials. Teachers should use the historic achievements and changes of the New Era as content support, being adept at transforming facts, cases, and stories that students can perceive into teaching materials. Telling the story of China in the New Era well can guide students to firm up their political convictions, enhance their political confidence, and inspire them to "put in even more arduous and hard efforts" for the rejuvenation of the nation, consciously plunging into the tide of the times to write a youthful chapter of responsibility for Chinese-path modernization.
Integrating the "small classroom" and the "great classroom" requires teachers to use practical teaching as a grasp, widening the teaching field so the course truly leaves the campus "ivory tower" and integrates into society. Students should not only learn theoretical connotations in the traditional "small classroom" but also be guided to feel the guiding role of theory in practice within the "great classroom" of society. Teachers can tap into local cultural resources based on regional and institutional characteristics to build "Great Ideological-Political" teaching bases and design targeted practical themes. For example, when teaching "Adhering to the People-Centered Approach," they can organize students to conduct surveys in their hometowns, go deep into the fields to experience China's poverty alleviation practices, or enter grassroots communities to feel the pulse of people's livelihoods and social development. When teaching "Xi Jinping's Thought on Ecological Civilization," they can lead students to local conservation areas to feel the contrast between past and present. When teaching "A Country Strong in Science and Technology," they can visit science museums, high-tech industrial parks, or production lines to guide students in understanding the institutional advantages of China's technological innovation.
In May 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping affirmed the achievements in the construction of school ideological-political courses since the 18th National Congress, noting that "the development environment and overall ecosystem of ideological-political courses have undergone a global and fundamental transformation." This is the result of the firm leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the solid advancement by schools at all levels, and the joint efforts of all teachers and students. But as General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, "on the new journey in the New Era, the construction of ideological-political courses faces new situations and tasks, and there must be a new look and new actions." As university teachers, we will always remember the earnest entrustment of General Secretary Xi Jinping, anchoring the classroom foundation with the power of truth and activating classroom vitality with innovative methods, making the ideological-political course a subject that students truly love and benefit from for life. We will strive to cultivate more "new people of the era" who are trusted by the Party, patriotic and devoted, and capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of national rejuvenation, contributing our strength to showcasing a new look and achieving new actions in the ideological-political courses of the New Era.