Làm thế nào để biến mỗi buổi sáng đến trường trở nên vui vẻ?

The Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, has requested that teachers not conduct sudden oral tests at the beginning of class, as it can make students feel stressed and pressured before the lesson. Mr. Hieu made this suggestion at the conference summarizing the 2022-2023 school year and outlining the tasks for the 2023-2024 school year in District 3.

Many teachers consider this to be a professional and humane directive, aiming to build a happy school where “every day is a joyful day” for students. So what should teachers do to assess students? According to Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDĐT, which regulates the assessment of middle and high school students, the assessment is carried out through various forms: questioning, writing, presentations, practical activities, experiments, and learning products.

In terms of a subject, each student is assessed multiple times. Regular assessment (excluding focused learning topics) includes mid-term and end-of-term assessments through tests (on paper or using computers), practical exercises, and project-based learning.

Assessing students according to the lesson plan can take various forms besides oral questioning, such as writing, presentations, practical activities, experiments, and learning products. Additionally, assessments do not necessarily have to take place at the beginning of class, but can be done during the lesson.

Therefore, teachers should not “call out suddenly, ask suddenly” as this can confuse or make students lose their composure, which goes against the teaching method of developing capabilities in the General Education Program 2018. Teachers can choose different methods to assess students as instructed in Circular 22/2021/TT-BGDĐT. They can gently and comfortably guide new lessons, creating interest for students in their learning and avoiding unnecessary stress at the beginning of class.

Gently testing prior knowledge
As a history teacher at Trinh Phong Middle School (Dien Khanh, Khanh Hoa), I often ask questions at the beginning of class to give students a minute to think before they volunteer to answer. Many hands go up, showing the students’ confidence.

The content of the questions is appropriate, ensuring the required knowledge and not puzzling students, thus making the assessments gentle. For example, when testing the topic “The Soviet Union and Eastern European countries from 1945 to the mid-1970s (grade 9 history),” I ask students to list the Soviet Union’s achievements in science and technology. Many students compete to give correct answers.

Or when teaching grade 8 history, section 2 “The War for Independence of the 13 British Colonies in North America,” I ask the question, “Do you know why the American flag has 50 stars and 13 stripes?” Many students raise their hands to explain correctly.

I believe that teaching is an art, and teachers need to be flexible and creative in assessing students. As long as the students understand and enthusiastically answer, it is considered successful. Assessing prior and new knowledge is a preliminary step to create excitement before the lesson, helping the teaching process to be successful.

Each lesson can be executed over multiple class periods, ensuring enough time for each activity for effective student participation. The task of teachers is to help students always feel interested and happy in their learning, eagerly coming to school every day.

The General Education Program 2018 is developed with the aim of developing students’ capabilities and qualities. These capabilities and qualities are specified by the requirements for each subject and grade. The formation of knowledge is not just about memorization, but it is important to use learning activities to form and apply knowledge in real-life situations. This is the requirement and goal of the lesson for students. In Circular 5512/2020/TT-BGDĐT, the Ministry of Education and Training guides teachers in lesson planning through four activities:

Activity 1: Identifying the problem/task of learning/starting
Activity 2: Forming new knowledge/problem-solving/implementing the task set from the previous activity
Activity 3: Practice
Activity 4: Application.