The new school model at the lower secondary level has higher requirements.

This school year, the Ministry of Education and Training has directed the expansion of the new school model to the lower secondary level, following its successful implementation at the primary school level.

Alongside this new implementation, there are many concerns from teachers, students, and parents due to the significant differences between the two educational levels.

A lesson following the new school model at Ta Thanh Oai Primary School, Hanoi. This model will be further applied at the secondary school level in 1,600 schools nationwide this school year - Photo: Vinh Ha

Regarding this issue, Dr. Vu Dinh Chuan, Director of the Secondary Education Department, Ministry of Education and Training, stated:

- The new school model, whether at the primary or secondary level, is similar in its approach to organizing pedagogical activities, creating a democratic, friendly, and open educational environment. This provides opportunities for applying active teaching methods, focusing on student-centered learning activities; students independently acquire knowledge and skills to meet the requirements of the educational program.

The main difference, if any, is that at the lower secondary level, students have to study more subjects, the level of knowledge required is deeper, and the focus is on quantitative aspects while decreasing on qualitative ones. Therefore, lesson design at the lower secondary level must pay more attention to the suitability of each subject.

The qualities and competencies that students acquire through the new school model at the primary level are not only an important foundation and prerequisite, but are also further developed at a higher level in the new secondary school model.

* Given the specific characteristics of this educational level, what difficulties does implementing the new school model at the lower secondary level present compared to primary school? Specifically, there are more subjects, teachers teach each subject independently, and assessment requirements have changed. How can this model be implemented to achieve the desired goals?

According to him, given the current general level of secondary school teachers, are they capable of meeting the requirements of teaching according to this model?

- While each teacher has been equipped with theoretical knowledge of active teaching methods, the difficulty lies in the limited skills many teachers possess in applying these methods and techniques. The new school model presents a good opportunity for teachers to overcome these limitations.

In the new school model, each lesson is designed as a series of student learning activities: Warm-up - Knowledge Formation - Practice - Application - Exploration and Extension.

This series of activities aligns with the active teaching methods that teachers have been trained in at teacher training colleges, as well as during their annual professional development.

The new school model requires teachers to transform their roles into those of guides, monitors, motivators, and facilitators of students' learning activities, while also providing the most favorable conditions for teachers to implement active teaching methods and gradually improve their pedagogical skills and expertise. The practical implementation in primary schools and the pilot programs in secondary schools over the past few years have proven this.

In order to provide teachers with regular and practical support in innovating teaching methods in general, and implementing the new school model in particular, the Ministry of Education and Training is strengthening online training.

Currently, the Ministry of Education and Training has issued training procedures and uploaded illustrative lessons based on the new school model for teachers nationwide to refer to on the "Connected Schools" platform at http://truonghocketnoi.edu.vn. This is a close-knit, friendly space that creates a forum to help teachers improve and perform their work effectively.

Along with training programs, schools can change the format and content of professional development activities; arrange and assign tasks so that teachers within a school, or between schools in the same area, can support, assist, and learn from each other's experiences.

* At the lower secondary level, 9th-grade students will face an entrance exam for 10th grade. Currently, many localities use a method of admission to 10th grade that combines an exam with an assessment of academic performance and conduct in lower secondary school.

So, what guidance has the Ministry of Education and Training provided to standardize the assessment methods between students who have not yet studied under the new school model and those who are currently studying under this model, with the aim of ensuring fairness among students and facilitating the process for schools in admitting students to grade 10 and certifying their junior high school graduation?

- The new school model implements the current general education program by rearranging knowledge into appropriate lessons, along with active teaching methods and techniques.

In the students' learning activities, in each lesson, the "Knowledge Formation" and "Practice" activities ensure that students meet the requirements of the current curriculum in terms of knowledge and skills.

All students must complete the "Practice" activity, meeting the levels of knowledge, comprehension, and application; while the "Application" and "Exploration and Extension" activities enable students to achieve a higher level of application in the exam and test matrix according to the current general education curriculum.

The Ministry has issued guidelines for evaluating students according to the new school model at the lower secondary level, emphasizing that regular assessment throughout the teaching and learning process aims to help students learn better and achieve good results in periodic tests.

Students who receive good guidance, regular assessments, and achieve good results on periodic tests will perform well in the 10th grade entrance exams, including the entrance exams for specialized high schools.

Furthermore, regardless of whether students follow the new school model or not, they must still meet the general requirements of the current general education program; in addition, students studying under the new school model, with their more active, independent, and creative learning, will have greater opportunities to develop comprehensive competencies.

Furthermore, the regulations on admission methods for grade 10 by the Departments of Education and Training, including the consideration of academic and behavioral performance in junior high school, must ensure consistency with the general requirements of the general education program.

Different school models, using different sets of textbooks, must all meet that common requirement to ensure uniformity and fairness for all students.

* Last school year, the Ministry of Education and Training implemented reforms in primary school student assessment according to Circular 30. So, at the secondary school level, besides schools implementing the new school model, what guidance does the Ministry of Education and Training have for the remaining schools to continue this spirit of reform and avoid students feeling disoriented when transitioning to the next level and having to revert to the old assessment methods?

- As I mentioned above, the main goal of reforming student assessment at any level is student progress. For the lower secondary level, the Ministry has already issued guidelines in that spirit.

However, there are also differences compared to Circular 30 to better suit the higher, more quantitative requirements of knowledge and skills at the lower secondary level; and to better suit the greater development of responsibility, obligation to learn, and maturity in thinking of lower secondary students compared to primary school students.

Similar to primary schools, the reform of teaching methods and student assessment methods will be implemented first in schools adopting the new school model, and then spread to other schools following the traditional model.

Dr. Vu Dinh Chuan - Photo: N. Khanh

The Ministry has drawn general lessons from the new school model.

Due to teachers' limited skills and experience in guiding students to self-study in small groups, in many cases only the high-achieving students in the group actively participate, while other students are not properly encouraged or motivated, leading to passivity and a lack of understanding (as in the case recently reported in Buon Ho, Dak Lak).

Following the guidance and monitoring, during the past summer, the Ministry drew general lessons and organized the filming of several exemplary lessons by primary and secondary school teachers and students in Lao Cai province, clearly demonstrating individual and group self-study activities. These lessons will be used in teacher training and as reference materials for teachers nationwide.

Many teachers jokingly remarked that these were truly group lessons, rather than "group meetings" as sometimes happens in reality.

Furthermore, the new school model places particular emphasis on close ties with parents and the community, in which family members are involved in the educational process and learning activities within the community.

Experience from some places shows that they have organized introductory sessions for parents to understand the main characteristics of the new school model, participate in decorating classrooms, observe lessons, or participate in learning activities with students in the classroom, in order to understand and cooperate with the school to support students' learning at school and at home.

Dr. Vu Dinh Chuan

At the end of the 2014-2015 school year, 1,447 primary schools nationwide had students completing grade 5 under the new school model. In the 2015-2016 school year, more than 1,600 secondary schools in 62 provinces/cities across the country voluntarily registered to implement the new school model starting from grade 6.

To address this reality, especially the aspirations of students who had completed primary school under the new school model, from the 2014-2015 school year, the Ministry of Education and Training directed six provinces to successfully pilot the model in 48 grade 6 classes of 24 secondary schools.

(Source: Ministry of Education and Training)

New school model in Vietnam

The new school model at both primary and secondary levels shares a common feature: promoting initiative, self-learning, and self-reliance.Student management involves group work within a class or pair work within a group. The teacher's role shifts from lecturing and imparting knowledge to organizing and guiding students' individual and group learning.

Student assessment will be based on closely monitoring the learning process, encouraging progress, and developing individual strengths, diversifying assessment channels: teacher-student assessment, student-student assessment, and parent-student assessment...

According to Tuoi Tre Online