A Lesson for the Local Education Subject

Each province in Vietnam has its own characteristics of culture, history, geography, economy and society… Therefore, for many years, the content of Local Education has been included in the curriculum that aims to help students better understand the land they live in. There is no fixed curriculum or syllabus for this subject, as it depends on the reality and conditions of each district and even each school. Therefore, teachers, myself included, may find it difficult to address the given teaching task. They would like to be supported particularly in terms of pedagogical approach and curriculum development.

This video cannot capture all the sessions in my lessons, but for me it can best represent my attempt and readiness. I conducted a lesson with some local games (hand-made ball passing and traditional bowling), which had hardly been seen in my teaching previously. I gave students more time to enjoy playing and working together, not just as formal learning in the classroom. Then I asked the students to choose the task they would like to do, and they could negotiate and seek help from various sources.

Thanks to the training provided by ACES Vietnam, I have become more aware of Playful and Frugal aspects. I have become more familiar with designing/co-designing a learning activity, following Design Thinking. I started from the change in my mindset, with which I was ready to adapt a minor part of my lesson and learn how to reflect on my teaching. Then I tried to apply the new pedagogical approach to create different versions of my teaching plans, then worked with the students and listened to their feedback. I know it takes me much longer to ‘digest’ the new knowledge, but I am willing to make changes. By the end of the lesson, my students could revise the knowledge of the local festivals, traditions, several major historical sites, and typical features of Hoa Binh Province. More importantly, they were happy and proud of their exploration as well as their collaboration in completing a learning task.

My students have more time to enjoy playing and working together. They can decide which task they would like to do, and they could negotiate and seek help from various sources. They were happy and proud of their exploration as well as their collaboration in completing a learning task.

We make use of the school’s existing facilities and recycled materials to create this fun class.