'A breath of fresh air' in the experiential lessons of teachers and students from Nghe An

Flexibility in organization

Flag-raising lessons at Ha Huy Tap High School (Vinh City) are no longer conducted in the old form, limited to commenting and evaluating activities during the week, but are organized more flexibly and interestingly. This is also considered an experiential lesson with many different contents and topics, withinNew general education program. The most recent time, on the 92nd anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam Women's Union, the entire school's students were shared by representatives from the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs about gender equality, career guidance, choosing a career that suits their characteristics, strengths, gender and social needs.

Previously, a program on “Prevention of domestic violence associated with propaganda and education of family ethics and lifestyle” also received the attention of many students. This content is included in the topic “Responsibility for the family” of the textbook for experiential activities - career guidance for 10th grade students. After this practical session, students wrote a summary and from there understood more about the harmful effects of violence, had awareness of preventing violence and practiced cultural behavior in the family.

Extracurricular activities with the theme of gender equality at Ha Huy Tap High School. Photo: CSCC

This school year is the first year that experiential activities - career guidance according to the new General Education Program are implemented for 10th graders. Unlike the old program, experiential activities are extracurricular activities, but now they have become compulsory educational activities oriented, designed and guided by educators with a duration of 105 periods/year (3 periods/week). Although there were some initial confusions, up to this point, the organization of teaching and learning in schools has basically stabilized and created excitement for students.

Mr. Cao Thanh Bao - Principal of Ha Huy Tap High School said: According to the timetable, currently, 10th grade students have 3 career orientation experience periods per week. Of which, we organize 1 period into the weekend activities, 1 period is organized during flag-raising ceremonies and the remaining period is taught by teachers according to the topics in the textbooks. During the teaching process, teachers can creatively adjust the content and form of activities to suit each topic, the students and the conditions, abilities and strengths of each teacher.

Experiential lesson of students at Ha Huy Tap High School. Photo: CSCC

At Thai Lao High School (Hung Nguyen), after nearly 3 months of introducing career orientation experience into teaching, teachers and students have begun to get acquainted and excited about the new subject and new learning methods. In the first topic of the subject, "Building a school", instead of just learning theory, each class will create a clip introducing the school. The clips are shared on the fanpage and teachers will evaluate the results based on the number of views and shares.

Another lesson by teacher Hoang Thi Lan Oanh, which was recently conducted on the topic “Responsibility to the family”, was also enthusiastically received by students of class 10A7. In this lesson, students listened to songs about family, the teacher discussed the issue of filial piety, and in part of the lesson, students debated and argued about the responsibility of children to their grandparents and parents. The surprising thing about this lesson was that instead of avoiding it, the students dared to speak up about their thoughts, mistakes, regrets, and even the fulfillment of promises to their parents and family.

When we first started implementing the program, teachers were quite confused because this was a new subject, the teaching method was open and closely related to practice. The subject was also taught concurrently, so there were certain difficulties in finding effective teaching methods. Therefore, before starting the official teaching, we held a meeting with the subject group, discussed each topic, and organized sample lessons for teachers to gain experience. Through the first lessons, both teachers and students were excited because each lesson was truly a different experience and brought many emotions.

We also determined that in order to have a successful lesson, teachers need to be well prepared before organizing activities, always be flexible and creative in organizing, and must be student-centered. The topics that the program offers are also very practical and close to the age of students.

Teacher Luu Thi Thanh Tra - Vice Principal of Thai Lao High School talks about the process of organizing experiential lessons.

Need for synchronous investment

Experiential activities (primary level) and Experiential and career guidance activities (junior high school and high school levels) are compulsory educational activities, carried out from grade 1 to grade 12, aiming to form and develop in students the ability to adapt to life, the ability to design and organize activities, and the ability to orient careers; at the same time contributing to the formation and development of the main qualities and general abilities specified in the overall program.

Previously, when the new general education program had not been implemented, experiential and career guidance activities were organized in schools. However, these were only extracurricular activities and were often integrated into other activities. However, implementing the new general education program, experiential activities are considered a special, compulsory activity with textbook guidance. Through the implementation process, although it is a fairly new subject, most schools have welcomed it with enthusiasm and interest.

Mock trial on propaganda and dissemination of laws on preventing school violence at Thai Lao High School. Photo: CSCC

Most recently, at the competitionGood homeroom teacherAt the provincial level, many teachers have built lessons that are associated with experiential and career-oriented activities with many different topics and contents. The participation measures demonstrate the concerns and enthusiasm of teachers, originating from their own teaching practices and current issues; in which, focusing on moral education and lifestyle for students, encouraging students to be proactive in learning and practicing, developing qualities and abilities, suitable for the students and the conditions of each school and locality.

Teacher Tran Thi Thuy - teacher at Dang Thai Mai Secondary School (Vinh City) said: We have to design these lessons to be fun, meaningful and convey a lot of practical content. Experiential activities and career guidance focus more on social activities, community service activities and step-by-step career guidance for students. In addition, we must help students develop their qualities and abilities, helping them to be bold and confident.

With the above changes, the introduction of experiential and career-oriented lessons into schools has clearly brought a new atmosphere to teaching and learning. However, the implementation process still has difficulties and shortcomings. Sharing this, teacher Luu Thi Thanh Tra - Vice Principal of Thai Lao High School (Hung Nguyen) added: What we are concerned about is that if we want to implement it effectively and for a long time, we need to have funds to organize dramatization activities, there must be facilities to support the teaching and learning process (such as television, Internet) and more importantly, teachers must be formally trained like other subjects. In fact, we are currently encouraging teachers to self-train and develop their own teaching plans according to the modules issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.

Class meeting with the theme of Loving teachers by teachers and students of Nhon Mai Primary School for Ethnic Minorities (Tuong Duong). Photo: CSCC

To make experiential activities interesting, many schools have also developed plans for practical study trips and out-of-school experiences. However, in the current conditions, not all schools can do this without close and systematic coordination and support from parents and students. This reality is even more difficult in schools in remote areas and without resources, material resources, creativity and responsibility from teachers, in the long run, the practical meaning of the subject will not achieve the set goals./.