Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No.4, 2023 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet ISSN 2576-1846 (Print) ISSN 2576-1854 (Online) 81 Original Paper Research on Demonstration Curriculum-Based Political and Virtuous Awareness Construction of Introduction of International Chinese Language Education Course Zipeng Zhou1* & Yunhai Liu2 1 Qingdao Institute of Technology, Qingdao, China 2 Nanfang College·Guangzhou, Guangzhou, China * Zhou Zipeng, E-mail: zhouzipeng@qit.edu.cn Received: October 10, 2023 Accepted: November 2, 2023 Online Published: November 21, 2023 doi:10.22158/fet.v6n4p81 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/fet.v6n4p81 Abstract The course Introduction to International Chinese Language Education occupies a central position in the undergraduate curriculum in the major of Chinese International Education, significantly influencing the cultivation of talent in this domain. This research paper systematically examines the present condition of course delivery, discerns the multifaceted factors that contribute to suboptimal teaching outcomes, and utilizes a case study approach, focusing on our university’s exemplary ideological and political education course. The case study provides a comprehensive overview of the course’s role in promoting ideological and political education. It elucidates the strategies and initiatives implemented in the context of ideological and political education development. Drawing on the empirical results derived from curriculum reforms, this study synthesizes a coherent model and a well-defined pathway for curriculum enhancement (365 Model). Keywords Introduction of International Chinese Language Education Course, curriculum-based political and virtuous awareness, 365 Model 1. Introduction While ideological and political education in higher education has been continually reinforced, the majority of university educators remain specialized in their respective academic fields, and the curriculum continues to be predominantly focused on specialized courses. Students still allocate the majority of their study time to major-specific coursework, with 80% of students acknowledging that www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 4, 2023 82 Published by SCHOLINK INC. specialized courses and their corresponding instructors have had the most profound impact on their personal growth. As a result, specialized course instructors constitute the mainstay in higher education, and specialized course instruction remains the primary arena for education in higher institutions, serving as the main channel for knowledge dissemination. The release of the Professional Competence Standards for International Chinese Teachers (PCSOICT) in 2022 aligns with the new trends and demands in international Chinese education in the modern era, introducing novel concepts and offering a fresh framework for the development of international Chinese education. In light of this backdrop, the crucial task becomes the implementation of the fundamental mission of cultivating virtue and talent and the unwavering pursuit of the ultimate goal of nurturing individuals for the Party and the nation. This encompasses achieving lifelong and comprehensive education, the cultivation of well-rounded, capable applied talents, and the promotion of high-quality development in international Chinese education. These objectives constitute a pressing challenge for the professional course instructors in the field of international Chinese education. The research takes course Introduction to International Chinese Language Education (IICLE) as a case study, analyzing the current state of ideological and political education within this specialized course. It outlines the development pathway, implementation processes, and outcomes of a model curriculum on ideological and political education at an applied university. The aim is to use this specific course as an example to explore the pathways for talent cultivation and curriculum ideological and political education in the context of international Chinese education in the new era and establish a demonstrative effect. 2. Current Status of Curriculum Instruction IICLE is a core mandatory course for students majoring in Teaching Chinese as a Secone Language (TCSL), and it also serves as a distinctive compulsory course for majors such as Chinese Language and Literature and Chinese Linguistics. This course encompasses various disciplines, including linguistics, cultural studies, education, psychology, and more. It systematically introduces the essential knowledge of teaching Chinese as a second language and the theory of the Chinese language. It is a comprehensive, practical, and specialized course. Through systematic theoretical lectures, case analyses, and practical teaching exercises, it provides students with the necessary skills in various aspects related to international Chinese education, such as curriculum design, textbook development and utilization, classroom instruction and management, language testing, and assessment. The course is offered in the third year of the undergraduate program when students have already acquired foundational knowledge in the field of international Chinese education and are beginning to contemplate their future career paths and professional development. Therefore, in the teaching process, it is essential to guide students in applying their prior foundational knowledge while also enhancing their individual professional competence and competitiveness. This course aims to cultivate students with an international perspective, a strong ideological awareness, and elevated personal moral standards, helping them www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 4, 2023 83 Published by SCHOLINK INC. establish the right values and life outlook. The goal is to nurture high-quality, innovative, and application-oriented talents, guiding students in career planning. However, due to the course’s strong theoretical nature, extensive content, and the abstract nature of some concepts, teaching often remains confined to the knowledge level, with insufficient attention to skill and value development. This limitation results in lower quality in the cultivation of professional talents. The main challenges can be summarized in the following aspects. 2.1 Inadequacies in Ideological and Political Education in Curriculum Delivery Traditional teaching methods predominantly rely on lectures, with the curriculum’s core content primarily grounded in theoretical knowledge from linguistics, education, and psychology. This content is extensive, fragmented, and largely disjointed, resulting in challenges related to the effective infusion of ideological and political elements into the classroom. Firstly, the abstract nature of linguistic theories presents difficulties in identifying relevant ideological and political elements. As a consequence, some instructors abandon the exploration and integration of these elements, resulting in a lack of appropriate integration of ideological and political components within the curriculum. Secondly, some educators may unwisely adopt ideological and political elements from other courses, leading to inappropriate integration. This lack of alignment with the course content often results in awkward teaching arrangements and, in some cases, straying off-topic. Thirdly, the course is designed to encompass both theoretical and practical components. However, some instructors introduce ideological and political content primarily during the theoretical segments and often neglect to provide guidance on the emotional and values-based aspects of students during practical sessions. Given the inappropriate integration of ideological and political elements within the curriculum, there is a compelling need for an in-depth exploration of these elements. This exploration should be coupled with the optimization of integration methods to enhance the effectiveness of ideological and political education. 2.2 Shortcomings in Ideological and Political Education Assessment in the Curriculum The traditional assessment methods primarily rely on end-of-term closed-book examinations, consisting of question types such as multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, essay writing, lesson planning, and case analysis. These assessments are oriented towards grade evaluation and are meticulously designed and conducted following the teaching syllabus. They mainly focus on gauging the grasp of fundamental knowledge. However, they barely involve elements of ideological and political education within the curriculum, resulting in the confinement of ideological and political education to the classroom setting. This approach lacks the capacity to assess the effectiveness of ideological and political education, making it challenging to gather data that can support the enhancement of ideological and political elements and improvements in teaching methodologies. Furthermore, this approach fails to capture students’ attention and lacks the capacity to ensure that ideological and political education deeply resonates with them. The absence of an adequate ideological and political assessment necessitates a reevaluation of the assessment methods. This should include the incorporation of dedicated ideological and political assessment components that comprehensively www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 4, 2023 84 Published by SCHOLINK INC. evaluate students’ learning outcomes. Such modifications align with the objectives of talent development in applied undergraduate programs. 3. The Overall Concept of Curriculum Reform and Development 3.1 Direction and Emphasis The primary objective of this curriculum is to cultivate students with a fundamental understanding of the theory and teaching skills required for international Chinese language education, thereby paving the way for their career choices, employment, and further academic pursuits, such as postgraduate studies. In line with the quality requirements of international Chinese language educators, the design of teaching cases should emphasize the new development concepts of international Chinese language education, which prioritize ethical conduct, basic competence, learner-center, cross-cultural proficiency, collaboration, and lifelong learning. The target audience for international Chinese language education includes language learners for whom Chinese is a second language. The curriculum covers Chinese language, Chinese culture, and contemporary developments in China. In the design of ideological and political education in the curriculum, special attention should be paid to fostering students’ understanding of contemporary China, instilling cultural confidence, enhancing patriotism, nurturing the ideal belief in telling the Chinese story well and disseminating the voice of China, and strengthening their professional identity, sense of responsibility, and mission. 3.2 Approach and Objectives 3.2.1 Restructuring the Teaching Team Establish a diverse teaching team comprising frontline subject instructors, ideological and political educators, and industry experts. Frontline subject instructors grasp the foundational course content and direction, integrating knowledge objectives, skill objectives, and emotional objectives, and initiate the preliminary design of the integration of ideological and political education into the curriculum. Ideological and political educators, guided by the curriculum objectives, provide instruction in the integration of ideological and political elements, ensuring their scientific, contemporary, and influential aspects, and address the methods of integration, teaching approaches, and assessment methods. Instructors with industry experience incorporate real cases from international Chinese language education to enhance students’ professional competence. Invite experienced expert instructors and quality assurance experts to provide guidance at various stages of classroom instruction to enhance the teaching quality. 3.2.2 Restructuring the Teaching Content The foundation of ideological and political education in the curriculum lies in the curriculum itself. Based on the objectives of professional talent development and the curriculum standards, on the basis of the overall curriculum design, and considering the knowledge and skills points along with the six fundamental concepts determined by the competency model for international Chinese language www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 4, 2023 85 Published by SCHOLINK INC. educators outlined in PCSOICT condense them into five professional modules: professional philosophy, professional knowledge, professional skills, professional practice, and professional development, and integrate these into the central theme of ideological and political education. Combine this with the in-depth exploration and selection of ideological and political elements according to 16 professional objectives, identifying integration points, collecting ideological and political cases, and forming the curriculum’s ideological and political education design. Gradually infuse the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and ideological and political elements that international Chinese language educators should possess into the teaching, in a layered and phased manner, and continually update and refine the case library. Furthermore, the teaching model will be restructured, primarily concerning the course delivery process, which will be discussed in detail in the following section. 4. The Implementation Process of Course Instruction This course adopts the “365 model” implementing a blended teaching approach based on both online and offline modalities, integrating professional knowledge, skill enhancement, and ideological and political education. 4.1 3 Stages 4.1.1 Pre-class Stage Building upon the existing SPOC preparatory materials, team discussions are conducted to select multiple ideological and political education cases from a case library. The optimal cases are determined through collaboration with the teaching team and added to online resources, forming preparatory tasks. These tasks guide students to combine pre-class preparation with activities such as voting and thematic discussions, encouraging them to explore cases infused with ideological and political education. To ensure the continuity of ideological and political education, the selection of pre-class elements should align with in-class and post-class ideological and political elements. 4.1.2 In-class Stage The evaluation of student preparation is integrated into the introduction of new lessons. Positive ideological and political education cases are introduced during lesson explanations, transforming traditional knowledge-oriented teaching cases into knowledge and ideological and political education cases. This integration ensures the subtle infusion of ideological and political elements into the classroom environment. New ideological and political education cases should be related to pre-class preparation cases, rekindling student reflections through in-class teaching and reinforcing the guiding effect. 4.1.3 Post-class Stage Constantly aligning with current events, leveraging online teaching platforms, and promptly disseminating assignments and cases infused with ideological and political education into the course, students engage in independent exploration for consolidation and expansion. Additionally, new lesson preparatory task lists, incorporating elements of ideological and political education, are released. Case www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 4, 2023 86 Published by SCHOLINK INC. selections are relevant to daily life, achieving a silent yet profound impact. Through the cyclical repetition of the three major teaching stages, the ideological and political education objectives persistently and continuously influence students. 4.2 Six Fundamental Principles The course adheres to PCSOICT as the normative document, explicitly outlining the teaching, technical capabilities, and professional knowledge system that Chinese teachers should possess. Serving as the main thread of ideological and political education, the course is purposefully designed. The six fundamental principles address attitudes, knowledge, skills, and professional development, setting clear requirements for teachers’ instructional and learning objectives. It aims to establish a strong sense of the Chinese national community in terms of ideology, nurture students’ patriotic sentiments, and contribute to the overseas dissemination of the Chinese language through linguistic and teaching skills. Through course learning, it further reinforces students’ disciplinary literacy for practical application, cultivates scientific literacy characterized by rigor and attention to detail, and fosters students’ research capabilities in problem identification, analysis, and resolution. This ensures the scientific and effective nature of educational activities while serving as a professional integration point for ideological and political education in the curriculum. This approach avoids blind ideological education, prevents ideological teaching from becoming formalistic, comprehensively enhances the effectiveness of nurturing, and facilitates convenient implementation for teachers and easy comprehension for students. 4.3 Five Major Professional Modules This section outlines the incorporation of moral education elements in each course, serving as the foundational understanding for advancing ideological and political education within the curriculum. Drawing on various textbook editions and the PCSOICT five primary indicators are utilized to restructure teaching content into five professional modules and sixteen professional skills. Collaborative lesson planning among front line teachers is guided by sixteen secondary indicators as points for exploring ideological and political elements. Carefully selected ideological and political education case studies are discussed with ideological and political education teachers, modified, finalized, and implemented before, during, and after classes. The main sources for these case studies are important educational discourses, combined with local elements such as the school motto and educational philosophy. Each module selects corresponding ideological and political education elements. 4.3.1 Module One: Professional Philosophy Selects exemplary deeds related to professional ethics, model stories of educating and teaching, national language education policies, education-related laws and regulations, and outstanding Chinese teacher experiences. Aims to establish ideal beliefs and adhere to professional ethics. 4.3.2 Module Two: Professional Knowledge Incorporates cutting-edge knowledge from foundational disciplines such as education, linguistics, psychology, and cultural studies. Emphasizes Chinese traditional culture, history, art, literature, etc., www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 4, 2023 87 Published by SCHOLINK INC. guiding students to analyze social and cultural phenomena, appreciate the profoundness of Chinese culture, and foster cultural confidence, tolerance, innovation, and a global perspective. 4.3.3 Module Three: Professional Skills Utilizes diplomatic and cross-cultural communication case studies, guiding students to understand different regional ways of thinking, values, and effective solutions to cross-cultural communication challenges. Selects the latest applications of advanced educational technology in international Chinese education to cultivate students’ basic information ethics, including knowledge of protecting intellectual property, respecting others information, and prioritizing information security. 4.3.4 Module Four: Professional Practice Selects high-quality demonstration cases in Chinese teaching to enhance teaching abilities. Incorporates advanced educational philosophies from ancient and modern times, such as “teaching without discrimination” and “tailoring education to individual needs,” to further establish professional ethics in teaching practices and focus on student development, aiming to be an exemplary teacher. 4.3.5 Module Five: Professional Development Integrates innovation and entrepreneurship education to cultivate students’ self-development awareness, guiding them to establish a lifelong learning philosophy. Encourages active participation in academic lectures and conferences, deepening their understanding of the profession and promoting continuous professional development for the benefit of humanity. 5. Effectiveness of Demonstration Course Construction 5.1 High Evaluation of Students Over the past two years, the average scores for team teachers in student evaluations were 99.53 and 99.6, ranking first in the entire department. Post-course surveys reveal that students believe the course effectively prepares them for the teaching interview component of the teacher qualification exam. It significantly aids in the selection process for Chinese teachers at the language center, offering students a new understanding of the teaching profession. Students consciously contemplate how to become qualified teachers and plan for future educational activities. The course has led to a reevaluation of Chinese culture, dispelling initial uncertainties about the profession, and clarifying future career plans. Students now perceive limitless prospects in their field. During internships, they successfully apply acquired knowledge to their work, resulting in substantial gains. Additionally, the course has ignited students’ patriotism, professional responsibility, and a sense of mission. They actively emulate role models of the era and teaching, maintaining a corrected perspective on the world’s development patterns. Students engage in independent research on Chinese language and teaching, demonstrating good professional ethics in simulated teaching. They emphasize cooperative learning and achieve high-quality completion of practical teaching tasks. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/fet Frontiers in Education Technology Vol. 6, No. 4, 2023 88 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 5.2 Wide Impact of the Demonstration The establishment of the Ideological and Political Resources Library for Language Teaching Courses has been completed, continuously updated, and refined. Efforts have been made to skillfully integrate ideological and political elements with theoretically strong linguistic content. The course’s design, lesson plans, and material library serve as templates for other courses in the same department. Due to the abundance of ideological and political material, not all of it can be incorporated into this course. Therefore, the material is utilized in other courses, extending the influence of comprehensive education from individual courses to the entire professional, academic, and institutional levels. 6. Conclusion Taking the opportunity of ideological and political education course construction, this course, guided by industry standards, explores and integrates ideological and political elements, continuously optimizing the construction path through blended teaching. Teachers enhance their sensitivity to ideological and political issues and teaching capabilities, motivating students, playing a primary role in professional course teaching, radiating through course clusters, building a resource library, and creating a demonstration effect. References Danrong, M. (2023). A Study on Strategies for Improving the Professional Quality of Public English Teachers under the Background of Curriculum Ideology and Politics. Frontiers in Educational Research, 6(21). https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2023.062117 Johnsona, S. et al. (2016). Shanghai Co-construction and Sharing Platform of Moral Education Curriculum Resources in Schools and Universities. Journal of Residuals Science Technology, 13(7). 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