History is no longer a boring subject for high school students in Hanoi, thanks to their teachers' hard work and creativity.
| Students at Chuong My A High School, Chuong My District, salute the national flag before starting class. Photo: Nam Du/The Hanoi Times |
According to Professor Vu Minh Giang, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences, history education has been neglected for years because students are not interested in history.
"The more they grow up, the less they choose to study history," he said, referring to the fact that history is no longer a popular subject among students, who in turn often receive low grades in history in their final exams.
The history textbook is full of facts, and students are advised to memorize these facts to get high grades instead of learning creatively, he said.
Meanwhile, the information in textbooks is not updated regularly, so history is not attractive to students, making it a tedious subject for students, Giang added.
But recently, the situation has changed, and students are getting excited about the subject thanks to the creativity of history teachers.
Dao Van Nam, a teacher at Chuong My A High School in Chuong My District, is loved by students for his passion and creativity in teaching.
"Many students and parents tend to ignore history because they think the subject is unimportant for children's careers," he said. "It is difficult to memorize all the events and facts in class."
Things have changed since the 2022-2023 school year, when history became a mandatory subject in the curriculum.
Nam has adopted several ways to get students more excited about the subject.
Using technological solutions and platforms, Nam creates relevant games to make lessons more exciting and his class more dynamic.
In addition to formal classroom activities, Nam organizes extracurricular activities to encourage students to research and study events in Vietnamese history.
"In the activities, we use our creative teaching methods to stimulate our students," he said.
By involving students in various projects, Ta Thi Ngoc Tu keeps them inspired and motivated to learn history.
A history teacher at Phan Huy Chu High School in Dong Da District, she has devised programs such as "The Sound of Peace" and "Preserving Hanoi's Handicraft Villages."
| Students from Phan Huy Chu High School visit a historical site in Hanoi. Photo: Nam Du/The Hanoi Times |
Like Nam at Chuong My A High School, Tu uses tech platforms to prepare her lectures, including Skype, Canva, and Microsoft TeamsIT.
"The projects and tech apps make us stand out in the classroom and get our students' attention," she said.
Tu is also able to get her students excited about studying history every day by giving them exercises and monitoring their progress.
As a result of their work, students' attitudes toward the subject have changed, improving the quality of history education.
Tu said that for the past seven years, she and her colleagues have designed the curriculum for all grades 10, 11 and 12.
She has suggested many creative activities when taking students to historical sites.
Activities usually include visits to local temples and artisan villages that worship ancient kings, legendary heroes, and the artisan village's tutelary god, as well as field trips to historical sites such as Dong Loc Junction in Ha Tinh Province, the ancient city of Quang Tri and Truong Son Martyrs' Cemetery in Quang Tri Province, and the hometown of the late President Ho Chi Minh.
Through the trips, students can understand the values and hardships the Vietnamese people have endured to build the nation today, making history an attractive subject, she said.
In 2022 and 2023, Microsoft selected Tu as one of the company's innovative educator experts. Together with her creative and smart colleagues, she has shared ideas and groundbreaking solutions with teachers nationwide.
Recently, Tu collaborated with the Center for Education Research and Application, a member of the Vietnam National University - Hanoi, to develop a training course titled "Teaching History with Modern Technologies" on the online education platform Edumall.
The course has helped many teachers gain access to efficient advanced technologies in teaching. In addition, Tu has participated in several exchanges and training programs in Hanoi and other localities to share her practices and experiences with colleagues.
According to Professor Giang from the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences, sector regulators, school managers and teachers need to reform their teaching methods.
History should be a science subject that gives students up-to-date information and knowledge about Vietnam and the world from different perspectives, he said.
"There should be artistic performances to show historical events. Especially, historical films must be made in a way that respects historical facts and figures as much as possible," the professor said.
