The“Two Depths” Education Model：An Innovation on the Educational Path for the “Five Identities” in Minzu Universities

Wang Yan　　Liu Yi

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1674-9391.2020.04.008Abstract：In 2015， General Secretary Xi pointed out that people of all ethnic groups should strengthen their identity with the “five identities”， namely “identity of the great motherland; the Chinese nation; Chinese culture; the Communist Party of China; and socialism with Chinese characteristics” . This concept is not only the ideological foundation for strengthening ethnic unity and the sense of community of the Chinese nation in the New Era， but it also provides the spiritual guidance for realizing the “Chinese dream” of peoples happiness， social stability and national prosperity.  Minzu universities are the frontier of the ideological education for the “five identities” in China in the New Era. Compared with other colleges and universities， Minzu colleges and universities have their special qualities. First， there are a large number of ethnic minority college students in Minzu colleges and universities. Second， these college students will become the main force for the social stability and economic development in ethnic areas. Ethnic colleges and universities should do a good job in providing the ideological education of the “five identities” in order to enhance students   national consciousness， their sense of unity and cooperation， awareness of mainstream history， sense of political responsibility and sense of public morality. These are all of great significance for maintaining the unity and stability of all ethnic groups， building a sense of community of the Chinese nation， and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Seen from the perspective of teaching practice in Minzu universities， the current “five identities” education model has the following disadvantages： （i） the teaching methods are still stuck in the shallow teaching paradigm of “bank deposit”（Paulo，2006[1970]）; （ii） a specialized teaching vehicle has not yet been established; （iii） the formalism in educational activities is too strong; （iv） there is little interaction between teachers and students in the current education model; and， （v） college students are not willing to actively participate in learning. Therefore， in order to break through the current education mode， this article constructs the “five identities” education model consisting of “two depths”. On the one hand， this model provides theoretical support for practical education， and on the other hand， it applies this model to the specific teaching process to ensure the effectiveness of “five identities” education in Minzu colleges and universities.

The“two depths” refer to “deep learning” and “deep experience”. Deep learning is a learning method based on superficial learning and driven by intrinsic motivation. It integrates the surface cognitive content into experience， thinking， and even into ones emotions and personality， through understanding and analysis. It then constructs an interpretive framework with personal significance through critical thinking， which will guide individuals to make decisions and solve problems. Marton and Slj （2005） put forward a deep learning model that goes from the simple to the deep. For them， memory leads to the quantitative growth of knowledge， which gives rise  to the acquisition of knowledge and skills that need to be applied， and only then can the abstract meaning of what is learned be extracted to deepen the understanding of reality.  The American educator Kolb（2009） believes that experiential learning is a cyclic process composed of four learning stages： concrete experience; reflective observation; abstract conceptualization; and active practice. Experiential learning is proposed in contrast to didactic learning. Didactic learning belongs to the shallow learning paradigm. In order to distinguish from traditional didactic learning， and highlight the characteristics of experiential learning， this article puts forward the concept of “deep experience” based on the connotation of experiential learning. This refers to the process of bringing learners into specific situations or events to build a conceptual system of personal knowledge through observation， interaction， reflection and verification. The “two depths” education model is an organic combination of deep learning and deep experience， and its logical basis is the close connection between them. Commonality is shown in the following： （i） first， both emphasize that learning is a process of creating knowledge; （ii） second， the greatest advantage of both is that they  stimulate learners interest in active learning; （iii） third， the learning purpose of the two is consistent， that is， to stimulate students to understand what they have learned deeply， and integrate what they have learned into their personal knowledge system and inner world through the mastery and “unity of knowledge and action”. Therefore， the “two depths” education model is a more complete and effective way to promote deep learning.

The “two depths” education model combines deep learning with deep experience， and logically builds up the learning links ， including learning （learning to master the core content）， thinking （thinking about the content what have learned based on the experience）， constructing （constructing abstract concepts  through reflection）， and integration （ integrating the knowledge network into the experience ）. By doing so， the content of what has been learned  will be integrated into the individual mind， and finally， be internalized as strong ideology system of individuals. The “two depths” educational model is different from the “shallow education model”. The former has the advantages of changing passive learning into active learning， changing rote learning into mastery， changing “knowing but not doing” into “combining knowledge and action”， and changing resultsoriented education into processoriented education.

Based on the “two depths” educational model， the “five identities” education process of Minzu colleges and universities will be preliminarily constructed. This process consists of four educational links， as follows：

1. Learning to master the core content.  The teaching objective of this part is to teach students the core learning content of the “five identities” through classroom teaching， so that students can recognize and master these core contents. To achieve this goal， an effective classroom teaching vehicle must be formed. First of all， it is necessary to open up the position of the classroom， especially to add “five identity” courses in Minzu colleges and universities， or to set up a fixed credit hour in ideological and political educational courses. Secondly， the “five identities” teaching materials should be carefully compiled. The content of the textbooks should include the background， historical significance， historical origin， basic spirit， theoretical connotation and mutual connection of the “five identities”. Finally， colleges and universities should compile teaching programs and teaching plans according to their own characteristics and teaching advantages.

2. Thinking about the content and what is learned based on experience.  The teaching objective of this part is to let students bring their own experience， including what they have seen and heard， into their thinking about what they have learned， and deepen students cognition and understanding of what they have learned through personal experience， so as to help them realize the phenomenon via cognition. The specific method is that students can freely form study groups. In group discussion， everyone will talk about the learning experience or understanding of “five identities” based on their own experiences. Then each group will make PPT of each person  s personal experience， and the group leader will present an overall summary to the whole class. Through this kind of group discussion， students are provided with a platform on which they can share and deeply think about the “five identities” ideological theory.  Peer discussion， analysis， and sharing will help to encourage students to go beyond the surface， to get peer affirmation and be firm in correct thoughts and beliefs. Concerning some of places where the students feel confused or lose their way， they can get timely help from other students and teachers. At the same time，  they can also gain validation and faith from the experience of others， and in this way，  correct values will be firmly established.

3. Constructing abstract concepts through reflection.  The educational goal of this part is to help students to reflect on the abstract meaning of experience and the rational logic of the mutual interpretation of these abstract meanings and the theory of “five identities” by using certain teaching methods. In this way， one can promote students to construct the abstract concept of the “five identities” through the process of reflection. The teaching goal of promoting reflection with questions can be effectively realized by adopting a questionbased teaching method. The questionbased approach is based on a series of questions or groups of questions designed to promote students active thinking. This process is as follows： first， prepare questions around the core concept of the “five identities”; second， stimulate students to think; and， third， encourage students to answer questions actively.

4. Integrating knowledge networks into the experience. The teaching objective of this section is to help students apply and analyze acquired concepts within their own experience through various practical activities， and to understand and integrate the knowledge network through continuous experience and summarizing. In order to achieve the teaching goal at this stage， we should focus on two important teaching strategies. First is the effectiveness of practical activities. On the one hand， communication between teachers and students should be strengthened. On the other hand， practice teaching evaluation should be done well. Second is the use of log recordings to promote the integration of the students   knowledge networks. The log recording method includes a “reflection log”， sentimental essays， records of discussion， and so on. The records can take various forms， but the content should be comprehensive and detailed， because the records reflect students reflective activities and they are an essential part of any practical activity.

The construction of the “five identities” educational process based on the “two depths” education model can not only make up for the disadvantages of the current education model， but it can also effectively improve the efficacy of education， and fulfill the special mission of ethnic higher education with high quality.

Key Words： “two depths”; deep learning; deep experience; education model; ethnic universities; “five identities” education

References：

Alice Kolb & David Kolb， Experiential learning theory： A Dynamic， Holistic Approach to Management. In S. Armstrong & C. Fukami， eds.， Learning， Education and Development. The SAGE handbook of management learning， education and development. Los Angeles： SAGE. 2009， pp. 42–68.

Marton Ferrence and Roger Slj. Approaches to learning. In Marton， F.， Hounsell， D. and Entwistle， N.， （eds.） The Experience of Learning： Implications for teaching and studying in higher education. 3rd （Internet） edition. Edinburgh： University of Edinburgh， Centre for Teaching， Learning and Assessment. 2005， pp. 39-58.

Paulo Freire . The Banking Model of Education. In Provenzo， Eugene F. （ed.）. Critical Issues in Education： An Anthology of Readings. Thousand Oaks， CA： Sage Publications. （2006） [1970]， pp. 105–117.