According to Dr. Vu Dinh Chuan, Director of the Department of High School Education under the Ministry of Education and Training, since the beginning 7 years ago, the national contest about scientific and technological research among high schoolers has attracted a large number of students and scientists. From the starting quantity of 140 projects in 10 fields, the competition now receives 481 projects in 22 fields, an increase of 3 to 4 times.
Dr. Chuan commented that theoretical knowledge only offer a student a beautiful academic record. Yet in reality, not only teachers but also learners generally lack the necessary skill of conducting scientific research, both in Vietnamese and in English.
The representative of the Department of Education and Training in Soc Trang Province explained that many high schools at the moment do not have a specific budget for scientific research, and have to mobilize this money from students’ family. In addition, the projects of high schoolers still mostly focus on the familiar topics of mechanics and robots, or theoretical knowledge.
Therefore, the Department of High School Education recommended that there should be more incentive policies to aid teachers and students to participate in scientific research. It is also advisable that the two ministries of Education and Training and Science andTechnology to closely cooperate with each other in local areas while partnering with scientific organizations, universities, research institutes, and businesses to guarantee the outcome for potential products of high schoolers’ research.
As said by Associate Professor Dr. Le Huy Hoang from Hanoi National University of Education cum member of the Board for New Educational Curriculum, increasing scientific research among high school students is an essential preparation step toward the upcoming new curriculum. In particular, teachers should become researchers themselves and be able to design a research-oriented lesson in order to form necessary skills in their learners.
The Board for New Educational Curriculum suggested that the contest about scientific and technological research should be held for teachers as well to help these people gain real experience and then pass it to their own students. It is also advisable that these researches be more practical.
Mr. Le Duy Tan, Head of the Division of High School Education under the HCMC Department of Education and Training, shared that in order to help teachers in the to-be integrated subjects, the city has piloted field trips to Can Gio Mangrove Forest and Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens.
Similarly, Lam Dong Province has tried to partner with businesses in the fields of coffee manufacturing and fruit processing to help students understand more about applying theoretical knowledge in class into the reality, while offering vocational guidance simultaneously.
These activities are supposed to better prepare teachers and learners for the upcoming new educational curriculum. They also aim at implementing the governmental guidance of comprehensive educational renovation.
