RESEARCH AND PRACTICE OF A BLENDED TEACHING MODE BASED ON SMALL PRIVATE ONLINE COURSES UNDER AN INFORMATIZATION BACKGROUND

International Journal on Cybernetics & Informatics (IJCI) Vol. 12, No.3, June 2023
David C. Wyld et al. (Eds): SCDD, CIOS, EDUR, CSEAI -2023
pp. 109-123, 2023. IJCI – 2023
DOI:10.5121/ijci.2023.120308
RESEARCH AND PRACTICE OF A BLENDED
TEACHING MODE BASED ON SMALL PRIVATE
ONLINE COURSES UNDER AN INFORMATIZATION
BACKGROUND
Yan Li, Zhuoqun Lu and Heyun Liu
School of Energy and Mechanical Engineering, Hunan University of Humanities, Science
and Technology, Loudi 417000, China
ABSTRACT
With the continuous development of information technologies, the pace of education informatization is
accelerating increasingly. The traditional classroom-teaching mode cannot fully meet students’ learning
demands. Due to the emergence of new teaching forms in the post-pandemic era, rapid development of IT
applications, national education-informatization policies and deployment, and the plight of the traditional
teaching mode, there is a need to explore new ideas and patterns of integrating information technologies
and teaching approaches. With the course of Heat Transfer as an example, this study expounds a blended
teaching mode based on small private online courses (SPOC) on course aims, teaching contents, teaching
methods, and evaluation approaches under the background of informatization. The results show that this
teaching model can enhance students' learning effect and comprehensive ability effectively. The rules of
blended teaching were explored to guide teaching improvement.
KEYWORDS
SPOC, Blended Teaching, Informatization
1. INTRODUCTION
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, Internet of things, the 5G network, and other
technologies, every industry is changing. E-mails, E-commerce, E-government, and now
e-education have all been part of the E-evolution or E-revolution. E-education, also known as
online education, is altering our approach to teaching and learning[1]. Teachers attempt to
combine advanced information technologies with teaching ideas by implementing many new
measures such as massive open online course (MOOC), small private online course (SPOC),
micro course, and inverted class to achieve digitization, networking, intelligentization, and
multimedia in classroom teaching. As a result, an open-sharing, interactive, and collaborative
learning environment can be created for students. Online education can be used as a supplement
to traditional face-to-face teaching. In order to best meet the learning aims of the course, blended
teaching, which is the most popular method of delivering courses in higher education[2],
frequently combines face-to-face and online methods and technologies[3]. Therefore, various
methods are needed to achieve effective blended teaching[4]. As institutions around the world
adapt to changes, there is a developing body of knowledge that examines the potential and
difficulties of online education[5-7].
As a new online educational model, MOOC represents a new form of online course developed

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based on teaching theories and network/mobile intelligent technologies. In the post-MOOC era of
mixed modern online teaching and learning models, such as SPOC, pMOOC (personalized
MOOC), dlMOOC (deep learning MOOC), and so forth, MOOC had progressed through multiple
stages of cMOOCs, hMOOCs, and xMOOCs[8, 9]. MOOC started in 2012. Since then, due to the
numerous benefits of being large, open, online, interactive, and abundant in learning resources, it
gained popularity swiftly throughout the world. After a rapid-growth period, MOOC gradually
became rational in its development[10]. SPOC was first proposed by Professor Armando Fox
from University of California in 2013. SPOC refers to small-scale limited online course which
has become a more efficient and popular teaching mode in the post-MOOC era[7, 11, 12]. The
International Financial Times Dictionary regards it as a competitive teaching mode of MOOC,
while Anant Agarwal sees it as a branch of MOOC[13], and Rolf Hoffmann holds that it is a
mode of "classroom + MOOC"[14], Robert Lue argues that SPOC has replaced MOOC and
represented a post-MOOC era[15].
The increasingly obvious disadvantages of online education have prompted education experts
from all over the world to analyze and reflect to gradually form two mainstream viewpoints: (1)
online learning can achieve certain educational goals but cannot replace traditional classroom
teaching; (2) online learning cannot replace school education but can greatly improve the goal
and function of classroom teaching. These points of view laid a good foundation for the proposal
and development of "blended learning", which referred to a combination of the advantages of
traditional classroom teaching and network teaching[16], so as to obtain better teaching effects.
The concept of blended learning was first proposed formally by Chinese scholars in 2004[17].
The purpose of blended learning is to combine traditional teaching and online teaching under the
background of informatization to cultivate talents in applied innovations.
Heat Transfer is a subject on the law of heat transfer with a wide range of applications. It has
become a basic technical course in many engineering-degree programs. This course is a core and
specialized basic course in Energy and Power Engineering major. The students take this course in
their early stage of specialized course learning. They need to transition from traditional
theoretical-foundation courses to specialized courses. At present, the teaching reform of the Heat
Transfer course in most universities in China mainly focus on removing teaching contents and
changing teaching methods. The practice of applying information technologies to carry out
comprehensive and systematic teaching reform was very limited.
According to the teaching experience analysis accumulated for many years by the authors of this
study, there are some problems in the traditional teaching mode of the Heat Transfer course in
terms of teaching aims, contents, and methods. To solve these problems and realize an integration
of information technologies and traditional education, general rules of the blended teaching mode
with online and offline approaches based on SPOC were explored in this study by using this
course as a demonstration example.
2. NECESSITY OF COURSE REFORM
2.1. New Forms of Education and Teaching in the Post-Epidemic Era
The COVID-19 outbreak at the end of 2019 has led to massive changes in global education. The
pandemic has affected most countries around the world, forcing nearly 1.6 billion students out of
school. They must quickly adapt to a more challenging environment[18]. Numerous academics
started looking into how the COVID-19 affected higher education[5, 19-23]. As highlighted in the

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case studies of China[24], Philippine[25], India[26], Italy[27], Ukrainian[28] and Germany[29],
after the COVID-19 outbreak, colleges in numerous nations underwent a change from
"face-to-face" teaching to various types of online teaching.
The Chinese Ministry of Education creatively implemented the measure of "no suspension of
learning during the absence of classroom teaching." The universities in China adopted the online
teaching mode by fully utilizing online resources, teaching platforms, and information tools.
These efforts forcibly overturned the traditional "face-to-face" teaching mode. As a part of the
fight against the pandemic, online education not only accelerates the promotion of Internet-based
information technologies to reshape the new form of education but also changes the teaching
methods of teachers and the learning methods of students. Online education also promotes the
transformation of the teacher’s role[30]. However, the sudden appearance of online education
revealed many limitations. Faced with the cold information tools, students had difficulties
entering into immersive learning. Specifically, they had problems of emotional-communication
barriers, weak presence, and inadequate monitoring[31].
After the pandemic became stabilized, students returned to school and most teachers returned to
classroom teaching. The teachers used their experience of online teaching to innovate and reform
classroom teaching. Although the combination of online and offline methods seemed to be a
helpless move under the pandemic, it created a great opportunity for comprehensive
implementation of educational informatization[32]. The blended teaching mode is characterized
by function diversification of the course platform, diverse online resources construction, the
autonomy and flexibility of students’ learning methods, the spatio-temporal extension of the
teaching process, and multidimensional exam methods[33].
2.2. Information Technology Development
The rapid development of information technologies has a profound impact on all aspects of
education. In recent years, education informatization in China has grown from a weak start to a
strong presence. The information technology continuously promotes educational modernization,
promotes reform and innovation of teaching modes, and extends the breadth and depth of
education.
Information technologies enable the transition of educational responsibility from the government
to individuals and their parents. People’s expectations regarding education have transitioned from
aiming toward the full success of everyone to individualized development. Educational content
has changed from subject knowledge to mastering the learning approach, and the educational
method has changed from indoctrination to interaction. Likewise, educational evaluation has
changed from examination to embedded evaluation, the place of education has extended from the
school to everywhere, and the educational culture has changed from peer culture to mixed-age
culture[34].
2.3. Policies, Systems, and Strategies of Education Informatization
If a country’s education system is prosperous, the country will also become prosperous. If
education is strong, the country will become strong. The report of the 19th National Congress of
the Chinese Communist Party put forward a strategic task of "speeding up modernization of
education and building a strong country in education." On February 27, 2014, at the first meeting
of the Network Security and Informatization Leading Group, General Secretary Xi Jinping
emphasized that informatization is an important prerequisite of modernization, which is the
premise, support, and foundation of informatization[35].

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Education informatization was stipulated for the first time at the third plenary session of the 18th
CPC Central Committee. Its implementation requirements were detailed at the fifth plenary
session of the 18th CPC Central Committee. The 19th National Congress of the Chinese
Communist Party emphasized the importance of online education. In "The Outline of the 13th
Five-Year Plan of National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of
China," eight major informatization programs were proposed. All of them were closely related to
the development of education informatization. Under the guidance of the national policies,
China’s Ministry of Education successively issued "The Ten-Year Development Plan for
Education Informatization (2011-2020) "and "The 13th Five-Year Plan of Education
Informatization, " and also jointly issued the "Notice on Several Key Tasks of Accelerating the
Promotion of Education Informatization" with nine ministries. Seven key tasks have been
deployed, including "three links and two platforms," full coverage of digital education resources
at teaching locations, universal application of high-quality digital education resources, and
application-capacity improvement of educational information technologies. The Chinese
government issued several guiding documents on education informatization in recent years, e.g.,
"Education Informatization 2.0 Plan of Action," "Guidance on Promoting the Development of the
Internet and Education," "The 14th Five-Year Plan of Education Informatization, " and "The
Medium and Long-Term Development plan of Education Informatization (2021-2035)."Moreover,
the annual work focus of education informatization was issued every year to form a
comprehensive overall deployment of the policy and construct a blueprint for promoting
education informatization in the new era.
The relevant educational policies and practice of informatization promote the integration of
information technologies into the entire educational ecosystem to ushering education into a new
era.
2.4. Dilemma of the Traditional Teaching Mode
The following problems were found by the authors’ team after the analysis on the teaching status
of the course with years of experience.
On the teaching aspect, there was a lack of sufficient analysis on learning situations and
effectiveness. The previous information-collection tool of learning situations and effectiveness
was only one instrument with limited capabilities and lack of pertinence. The cognitive
characteristics of the students were rarely considered in the analysis. There was also a lack of a
feedback-iteration mechanism. The teaching aims were usually ambiguous. The teaching was
carried out by experience mostly and lacked a systematic design. The teaching content did not
keep pace with the times. There are many crossover contents between the Heat Transfer course
and other disciplines. The obsolete content cannot satisfy the requirements of new engineering
education. The previous teaching style was tedious in assignments, and the students of different
levels were taught the same content and assigned the same homework without sufficient
differentiation. Such a teaching style is not conducive to the personalized development of students.
The teaching method was outdated, with too much indoctrination in the traditional classroom and
without in-depth communication between the teacher and students. The students passively
accepted knowledge without independent thinking and innovation capabilities. The examination
method was not sufficiently diverse. The final test and too many conceptual questions were used
in the traditional teaching. They affect effective implementation of teaching aims and depress the
students’ learning enthusiasm.

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On the learning aspect, the students have a good cognitive capability to think, question, and
explore. However, their self-learning ability and learning retention were poor. They need to
strengthen their advanced thinking and innovation capabilities. There are great differences
between different students in their cognitive and learning abilities.
Therefore, to solve the problems of the traditional teaching mode, it is necessary to adapt to the
requirements of the new era and government to realize the integration between information
technologies and traditional education. This task is a challenge for the teaching team of the Heat
Transfer course.
3. CONSTRUCTION OFAN INNOVATIVE TEACHING MODE
3.1. Creative Ideas
It is necessary to treat the student as the center of teaching and strengthen guidance during the
entire course. Study groups need to be arranged according to the differences in the students’
cognitive levels and learning abilities. Precisely refined teaching aims are assigned for different
study groups to reasonably organize the teaching contents. The teaching tasks are tailored for
different students. The students’ learning behaviors are paid great attention. This approach can
ensure that each student meets the basic teaching aim and encourage outstanding students to
obtain advanced capabilities through extended learning and tailored guidance.
It is necessary to teach both the learning approach and the subject knowledge by open teaching.
The "learning approach" refers to a combined capability of learning, research, and practical
problem - solving. The teaching task should be designed to have reasonable aims and contents to
cultivate students’ open thinking and innovative capabilities.
It is necessary to insist on iterative feedback and strengthen the "dual loops" for continuous
improvement. According to the concept of iterative feedback, the learning situation and effect
analysis were promoted in stages with timely adjustment and optimization of teaching contents,
tasks, and methods. The effects of learning situations and teaching aims were evaluated via
feedback based on comprehensive assessment. A dual-cycle continuous-improvement mechanism
was established to focus on the following two parts: the cycle of evaluation, feedback, and
improvement in the class as a focus; the same cycle before and after the class as mutual support.
This mechanism can continuously and iteratively optimize the entire teaching process to achieve
consistency in teaching aims, activities, and evaluations.
3.2. Innovative Methods and Paths
In the current information era, the course team followed Бабанский’s teaching optimization
theory, Taylor’s curriculum theory, and Bloom’s taxonomy of educational aims. Social
constructivism and humanism were also integrated into the course of Heat Transfer as teaching
philosophies. A "1-5-6" teaching mode was constructed and implemented. This teaching mode
emphasized the importance ofthe mutual influence between emotional and cognitive goals based
on the analysis of teaching status, learning situation, and effectiveness. The teaching aims,
contents, tasks, methods, and evaluation tools were designed to continuously improve teaching
effects.
3.2.1. "1" Center
Student growth was treated as the focal point of the new teaching approach. The students were

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classified to receive differentiated guidance with continuously optimized teaching goals, contents,
tasks, and methods. In this way, the students with poor learning capabilities and weak foundations
can meet the course requirements. Meanwhile, the students with strong learning capabilities can
acquire advanced abilities.
3.2.2. "5" Combinations
In order to achieve the teaching aims, this course was designed to highlight the following five
combinations: (1) the integration of classroom teaching and ideological and political education; (2)
the combination of online and offline teaching; (3) the combination of theory and practice; (4) the
combination of independence and cooperation; and (5) the combination of the process and the
outcome. The goal is to create a new situation in which the students want to learn, and are able to
learn.
3.2.3. "6" Optimized Elements
 Staged-learning situation and effect analysis
The traditional analyses of learning situations and effectiveness lack pertinence and
feedback-iteration mechanism. Before the class, staged analysis was implemented in the teaching
reform to analyze the students’ cognitive levels, knowledge reserve, learning habits, methods, and
tools. The learning motives, willingness, and expectations were also analyzed for targeted
screening and design of teaching aims and contents. During the class, the students’ participation,
performance, questions, and encountered difficulties were analyzed to optimize the teaching
process and adjust teaching strategies in a timely manner. After the class, the consistency of
"goal-activity-evaluation" of the course was analyzed by using actual data and qualitative
materials to evaluate the reliability, validity, and objectivity of assessment tools. The students’
capability enhancement was also analyzed to facilitate the next iteration of curriculum reform.
Based on an analysis of the completion of factual and conceptual knowledge aims, the course
team discovered that students' understanding of knowledge such as categories, principles, and
models was not well mastered during the learning process, which could be attributed to students'
generally low cognitive level. According to the analysis of the completion of procedural and
metacognitive knowledge aims, it is discovered that procedural and metacognitive aims include
cognitive processes in which students perform poorly, which reflects the students' lower actual
cognitive level and has an impact on the realization of relevant cognitive aims.
 Precise teaching-target design
Due to the lack of systematic design and fuzzy teaching aims in the traditional teaching approach,
precise target design was carried out through an analysis of the cognitive process and knowledge
dimensions (as shown in Fig. 1). The core conceptual knowledge aim was emphasized in teaching
to adapt to the students’ actual cognitive levels. Applied procedural knowledge and metacognitive
knowledge-related aims were highlighted to match the requirements of professional competence
and literacy training. For example, the teaching aims in Chapter 3, Lesson 1 of Heat Transfer
course were shown in the following table (red indicates Cognitive Process, green indicates
Knowledge Dimension), as shown in Table 1.

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Figure 1. Pyramid of Teaching Aims
Table 1. The teaching aims in Chapter 3, Lesson 1 of Heat Transfer course
Unsteady
heat
conduction
characteristics
and
zero-dimensional
lumped
parameter
method
Factual
and
Conceptual
Knowledge
Aims
1.By comparing the differences between (unsteady) heat conduction, the definition and cha
racteristics of unsteady heat conduction are obtained, and the classification is obtained
2. Explain the characteristics of non-periodic and unsteady heat conduction (the first bound
ary) [Key]
3. Compare the difference between unsteady heat conduction and steady heat conduction i
n system equations
4. The influence of the other two cases can be deduced from the influence of one boundary
condition on the unsteady heat conduction temperature distribution, and the three cases are
compared [Difficult]
5. Explain the physical meaning of Bi and deduce the relative size of Bi under three bound
ary conditions [Key]
6. Infer the physical meaning of Fo and compare it with Bi [Key]
Procedural
Knowledge
Aims
1. Deduce the mathematical model of lumped parameter through comparing with the learn
ed mathematical model of heat conduction [Difficult]
2. Explain the solution process of temperature distribution by lumped parameter method
3. Summarize the general problem-solving steps of lumped parameter method [Key]
Metacognitive
Knowledge
Aims
1. Check the applicability of lumped parameter method in specific heat conduction proble
ms [Key, Difficult]
 Modular teaching-content organization
According to the actual cognitive levels of local undergraduate students and training aims of
professional talents, the teaching contents were selected and organized based on the epochal
curricular characteristics and the requirements of new engineering education. The course was

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divided into four main teaching modules to clearly define key and difficult contents (as shown in
Table 2). At the end of each module, a corresponding staged test and review sessions were
arranged. Each class included three parts: pre-class, in-class, and post-class (as shown in Table 3) .
Through various stages of efforts, the teaching content was organized to achieve the standards of
Golden Course.
Table 2. Key and difficult contents and module division of Heat transfer course
Teaching
Module
Teaching Content
Number
of Key C
ontent
Number of
Difficult
Content
Class Hour Of
New Theoreti
cal Course
Periodi
c
Review
Modul
e
Fundamenta
ls of Heat Tr
ansfer
Chapter 1: Basic modes and
analysis methods of heat tran
sfer
10 7 6
4
2
Gen
eral
Rev
isio
n
Heat conduc
tion theory
Chapter 2: Steady state heat
conduction
10 5 6
Chapter 3: Unsteady heat co
nduction
10 6 4
Chapter 4: Numerical solutio
n of heat conduction proble
m
6 0 2
Convective
heat transfer
theory
Chapter 5: Theoretical basis
of convective heat transfer
5 4 4
4
Chapter 6: Experimental corr
elation of single-phase conve
ctive heat transfer
13 5 6
Chapter 7: Phase-change con
vective heat transfer
7 2 4
Radiation he
at transfer th
eory and hea
t transfer an
alysis
Chapter 8: Basic laws of ther
mal radiation and radiation c
haracteristics
10 2 4
4
Chapter 9: Calculation of rad
iant heat transfer
10 2 4
Chapter 10: Analysis of heat
transfer process and overvie
w of heat exchanger
5 2 2
Total 86 35 56
 Hierarchical teaching-task setup
Different students have different cognitive levels and learning capabilities. A hierarchical design
was used to assign teaching tasks. Various assessment tools were used to gather feedback (this
will be explained in detail later). The students’ enthusiasm of learning was encouraged. The
students were guided to take their initiatives to acquire knowledge and capabilities. The
hierarchical teaching approach ensured that all students meet the minimum requirements of the

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course and some outstanding students learn more to acquire advanced abilities (as shown in Table
3 and 4).
Table 3.Hierarchical aims setup
Time Activities Hierarchical aims
Pre-class MOOC, PPT, Self-assessment exercises Basic Aims
In-class
Case analysis, Group discussion, Demo
nstration and communication, Interactiv
e interpretation, etc
Advanced learning aims for improving co
gnition and solving key and difficult probl
ems
Post-class
Mind mapping assignments, Unit tests,
Extended reading, and Group discussion
s
The high-level aim of stimulating thinking
, cultivating thinking abilities, concepts, a
nd self-evaluation
Table 4. Hierarchical tasks, feedback, and guidance
Modular Specific Content
Inquiry Learning
· Standard answer questions for key knowledge (Compulsory Questio
n)
· Extensive non-standard answer questions (Optional Question)
"Concept Mind Map"
Homework
· Basic Tasks: compulsory completion, self-evaluation and mutual ev
aluation
score
· Challenge Tasks: optional completion, teacher evaluation, flexibilit
y of the homework plus points
Online Discussion
· Discussion Topics: Difficulties and Extensive Conceptual Knowled
ge
· Free Discussion: Extensive Reading Materials - An Introduction to
Frontier and Hot Issues
Periodic Review Mod
ule
Review and Answer Course
· Key Conceptual Knowledge Aims and Procedural Knowledge Aim
s (for all students)
Phased closed-book test
· Main procedural knowledge aims and partial metacognitive knowle
dge aims (for all students)
Exercise class
· Targeted guidance on typical problems and errors encountered in e
xercises and phased tests (for all students)
· Answer-rush and answer-type interaction on key conceptual and pr
ocedural knowledge with high error rates (for students who have achi
eved 50% of the final grade in the phased tests)
 Implementation of diversified teaching methods
The course mainly adopted the SPOC form and targeted learning characteristics of the university
students in the new era with full utilization of information tools. The course deeply integrated the

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teaching method, demonstration method, flipped-classroom method, PBL (Project-Based
Learning), BOPPPS, case-teaching approach, and collaborative tasks to stimulate the students’
learning enthusiasm and improve learning effects. For example, through introducing cases such as
drying quilts in winter and fogging glasses in daily life, as well as hot issues such as the
greenhouse effect, we try to combinie obscure knowledge with real life to concretize abstract
issues.
 Comprehensive evaluation of the entire process
The process examination was strengthened. The final tests, which were intensively crammed for, no
longer determined the final course score. Attention was paid to the diversity and collaboration of the
evaluated subject, so as to give the learning process a sense of participation, investment, gain, and
improvement. The final course-score included a process examination score of 60 %: class attendance
score of 10 %, homework assignment with non-standard answers of 20 %, and staged tests’ flexible
score of 30 %. The staged tests’flexible scores were included in the process-examination scores, with 60
points as a cap and 0 points as the minimum. It was composed of learning tasks of the new theory course,
a self-assessment questionnaire before and after each teaching chapter, voluntary submission of
homework assignments, online Q & A and discussion, racing answer in the staged review class, and
racing answer in staged homework. The final test score accounted for 40 %. It adopted a closed-book
form and had a certain number of questions without standard answers that attempt to test the capability
of analyzing and solving practical problems.
4. EFFECT ANALYSIS OF TEACHING REFORM AND PRACTICE
A eight-year reform was carried out for the Heat Transfer course with the support of "the Hunan
Provincial Comprehensive Reform Pilot Program during the 13th Five-Year Plan" and "the
National First-Class Undergraduate Program." This course was offered from 2014 to 2022 to the
students majoring in Energy and Power Engineering as a core specialty course at the authors’
university. In 2013, the course team began to explore the teaching pattern of combining offline
teaching with interactive tools. In 2015, the course team cooperated with Leon Eco-Energy
Company to establish an order class and explore the implementation of case teaching with
enterprise engineers. After the preliminary attempt of reform, the course team adopted an
innovation group and an academic tutor system in 2017 to explore the integration of class and
competition to encourage students to participate in competitions and teachers’ scientific-research
projects. Since 2018, the course team implemented a pattern of "SPOC + Chaoxing" to mix the
online and offline teaching modes. After continuous reform, significant improvements were
achieved, which are detailed as follows.
4.1. Analysis of Student Course Learning Effect
4.1.1. Analysis of the Effect of Achieving Cognitive Aims
The overall scores are shown in Fig. 2, where Class 2016 had a merged class, with students
coming from different classes. And Class 2018 used the MOOC and virtual class due to the
sudden outbreak of COVID-19. The examination difficulty was reduced for Class 2018. The class
failure rate basically decreased as a trend from Class 2013 to 2020. The satisfaction of meeting
the course teaching aims increased gradually over these years. In the following figures, Class 13
is the abbreviation of Class 2013, and so are others.

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Figure2. Failure rate of general assessment for each grade of Heat Transfer
4.1.2. Analysis of the Effectiveness of Improving the Consistency of the Course
"Aim - Activity - Evaluation". As shown in Fig. 3, the statistical differences in the score samples
of Class 2013 to Class 2020 in terms of the normal results and the final score basically show a
decreasing trend. The average rank of the normal results of Classes 2013 - 2015 was higher than
the final test score. There was generally a bad situation that the normal results were not good. The
normal results cannot reflect the real learning situation of the students. This situation was
improved with the reform in later years for Classes 2015 - 2020, where the increased difficulty in
usual tests could reflect the real learning situation of the student, effectively changing the
common habit of "end-of-term cramming" among the students.
Figure 3. Relative errors of the average rank of normal results and final test scores.

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4.1.3. Analysis of Improvement Effect on Emotional Aim Achievement
As shown in Fig. 4, the attendance data showed that the lateness or absenteeism rates of the
students of Classes 2017, 2019 and 2020 were basically controlled below 6 % after the course
reform, reduced from the original peak-level of 25 % (Class 2016). This effect indicates that the
students’ attendance rate was effectively improved by the new teaching approach. Due to the
sudden outbreak of the COVID-19, Class 2018 temporarily adopted live broadcast course. Under
many unknown factors, the course had not been reformed, so Class 2018 will not be analyzed in
the following analysis.
(2)
Figure 4. Trend of weekly lateness or absenteeism of students.
4.2. Analysis of Questionnaire-Survey Results
The results of course questionnaire surveys and interviews are shown in Fig. 5. It was found that
the students could basically adapt to the modular teaching mode with 73.44 % in Class 2017,
73.50 % in Class 2019 and 74.60 % in Class 2019. The proportion of the students who thought
they had achieved the course’s conceptual knowledge aims continuously increased, reaching
69.38 % in Class 2017, 71.86 % in Class 2019 and 76.28 % in Class 2019. The proportion of the
students who thought they had achieved the course’s applied procedural-knowledge aims
remained high. The proportion of the students who recognized the course’s learning value
improved every year and remained at a high level, reaching 92.19 % in Class 2017, 81.36 % in
Class 2019 and 86.50 % in Class 2019.

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Figure 5. Survey results of students’ perceptual materials.
The students affirmed the effect, method, frequency, and overall difficulty of the staged test, and
they believed that it could enhance their understanding and help them master the course
knowledge, exercise the ability of team communication and cooperation, and improve their ability
to correctly and fairly evaluate others’ work.
4.3. Analysis of Students’ Comprehensive Professional Capability
Through innovation teams, academic tutors, and integration of the class and competitions, the
students have completed more innovative projects in recent years In the past three years, an
average of 18.85 % of the graduates have been admitted to postgraduate programs. High scores
were frequently obtained by our students in the past two years’ postgraduate admission exams of
Heat Transfer; for example, two students achieved a score of 149 out of 150 on the exam.
Approximately 45 % of the students have been employed by large energy-production enterprises
such as Datang and Huadian. Outstanding examples have emerged, such as Shijia Wang, a 2016
graduate who remained at the border of China for employment at the South Eight Immanuel Joint
Station of Qinghai Oil Field, whose outstanding deeds were reported by mainstream media such
as China National Radio. Bing Fan is another excellent example — a 2015 graduate who was
named "Ten People of the Decade" of Leon Ecological Energy Co., Ltd. These achievements
show that the comprehensive ability of the students has been improved by the course reform, and
their employment rate and work quality have been steadily improved.
5. CONCLUSIONS
The course-reform exercise in this study addressed deficiencies in the previous teaching process
by fully utilizing information technologies. Within the context of the course, learning situations,
course goals, teaching contents, task settings, teaching methods, and examination approaches
were studied. The results showed that the students’ learning effects and comprehensive
capabilities were enhanced. We tried to practice and summarize this innovative teaching mode,
so as to develop a more adaptive and flexible hybrid teaching method in the context of an
unprecedented global health crisis (such as COVID-19 epidemic). The proposed new teaching
mode is highly operable and conducive to the teaching-quality improvement of the basic courses
represented by Heat Transfer course in the degree of Energy and Power Engineering.

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AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Data curation, Zhuoqun Lu, Yan Li; Investigation, Zhuoqun Lu, Yan Li; Methodology, Heyun Liu;
Project administration, Yan Li, Heyun Liu; Writing-original draft, Yan Li; Writing-review &
editing, Yan Li, Heyun Liu.
FUNDING
This research was funded by Energy and Power Teaching Research and Practice Program of
Universities (NSJZW2021Y-47), Hunan Province Teaching Reform Research
Project(HNJG-2022-0290), Hunan Provincial Social Science Achievement Review Committee
(459) and The 14th Five Year Plan for Education and Science in Hunan Province (ND231336).
DATAAVAILABILITY STATEMENT
All data used to support the findings of this study are included within the article.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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