VietNamNet Bridge – The research team of the Vietnam Education Science Institute has suggested the integrated and individualized teaching methods for the general school curriculums, which would be applied after 2015.

Under the program, from the 10th grade, students would only have seven learning subjects which have relations to their future careers.

The integrated teaching method would be applied to first and second graders, while only the 10th graders and subsequent would follow individualized method.

The idea has been warmly welcomed by people, who believe that this is the growing tendency in the modern education.

Inevitable tendency

According to Dr Nguyen Thi Hong Van who represents the research team of the education institute, integration is the fundamental principle for building up the curriculums and textbooks for general schools in many other countries in the world.

The teaching program being applied in Vietnam is also a kind of integrated program, but it has been applied only in a small scale and mostly for primary education.

Meanwhile, the research team has suggested the expansion of integrated methods for all the three levels of education, primary, secondary and high education.

The integrated teaching method would be intensified for some key learning subjects such as mathematics, Vietnamese language (at primary school and philology at secondary and high school.

Meanwhile, the lessons on environment, climate change, life skill, population and productive health would also be integrated into learning subjects and education activities.

Primary school students would have two new learning subjects, namely science and technology and social studies.

Meanwhile, secondary schools would also have two learning subjects, natural sciences and social sciences.

General education would have two stages

Dr Dinh Quang Bao, Member of the National Education Council, said the general education would still last 12 years, though some details in the curriculums would be renovated.

Core learning subjects would be taught during the 12 years. Meanwhile, the individualized methods would be applied to 10th, 11th and 12th graders. This means that students would have the right to choose the subjects they would study and some subjects would be not compulsory for some certain students.

The academic content for the period after the basic education period would not be the same to all students, while there would be different optional variants which would create more choices for students.

The academic content would be in eight fields with a lot of subjects, training courses to be provided at different levels. Every student would have the right to choose the learning subjects after considering their capabilities, tastes and their university education plans.

There are four recommended compulsory subjects including philology, mathematics, foreign language No. 1, and citizens’ lessons. Besides, students would have three other optional subjects among these: physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, informatics, environment, technology, business and vocational training.

As such, every student would have seven learning subjects.

Explaining the idea, Dr Vu Trong Ry from the Vietnam Education Science Institute said that the model would allow to clear the overloading – one of the biggest problems for now.

If the model is applied, Vietnam would see its education system renovated fully. The national education system would be organized in two levels, the fundamental compulsory education period and post-basic education period.

The basic education period would provide the basic and most essential knowledge to students, while the next period would prepare students to make their way in the world or prepare students for the university education.

Le Huyen