National unified textbooks: Learner-centered

GD&TĐ - Educator Nguyen Van Ngai believes that a common set of textbooks aims at the goal of fundamental and comprehensive development of the education sector.

Have a roadmap and a careful approach

According to Meritorious Teacher Nguyen Van Ngai, former Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, in recent years, the education sector has seriously implemented the policies and resolutions of the National Assembly.

Notably, the transition from the model of "a single set of textbooks" compiled by the Ministry of Education and Training to the model of socialized education with the orientation of "one program, many sets of textbooks".

Currently, there are 3 sets of textbooks being circulated and used in educational institutions, including: Creative Horizon, Kite and Connecting Knowledge with Life. In general, the groups of authors and editorial boards have made significant efforts, initially meeting basic learning needs and contributing to the process of educational innovation. Implementation practice shows that the policy of "one program, many sets of books" is feasible.

However, this model also revealed many limitations. For example, the fact that each school or each locality is allowed to choose its own set of books has caused difficulties for students when transferring schools, especially between provinces and cities, because they have to get used to a new set of books.

"From that reality, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in education and training development, which mentioned many important issues, demonstrating the deep concern of the Party and State for the education sector.

One of the key contents is the policy of unifying a set of textbooks for the whole country. Personally, I completely agree with this policy, because it will overcome current shortcomings, and at the same time aim at the goal of fundamental and comprehensive development of the education sector, as the spirit of the Resolution has set out," Mr. Nguyen Van Ngai emphasized.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ngai. Photo: Thuy Linh

He said that to effectively implement this policy, it is necessary to first establish a Steering Committee consisting of people with expertise, capacity and high responsibility, with enough authority to coordinate the entire process of building a unified set of textbooks.

In addition, it is necessary to establish a Council for compiling and evaluating textbooks. Although the current Council has been operating quite well, there are still concerns about the objectivity of the evaluation.

Therefore, the new Council needs to be carefully selected, ensuring solid expertise, good qualities and high independence, so that the new set of books is truly of high quality, worthy of being standard teaching materials for the whole country.

In addition, specialized and technical support departments should be established to ensure progress and quality in each stage of the compilation process.

Need to carefully calculate the time and method of implementation

According to Meritorious Teacher Nguyen Van Ngai, the construction of a new set of textbooks needs to come from the spirit of inheritance and promotion.

The three current textbooks all have certain advantages, so it is not necessary to compile them from scratch. It is necessary to organize a comprehensive assessment of these textbooks to determine the content that can be inherited, the points that need to be adjusted, thereby forming a new set of textbooks with high quality, innovation and more appropriateness.

The compilation of a unified set of textbooks needs to be implemented according to a master plan, including: clearly defining specific work contents, dividing them into stages and setting clear timelines from compilation, appraisal, testing to mass deployment.

"Although it is urgent, we must also be cautious and have enough time to ensure real quality. It is difficult to meet the current school year, so we should set goals for the next school year. After completing the draft, there needs to be a testing phase in some localities to promptly supplement and adjust before officially putting it into teaching," emphasized teacher Nguyen Van Ngai.

Primary school students donate old books to the school to give to disadvantaged students.

He also said that the unified set of textbooks must ensure harmony between general knowledge and practicality, suitable to regional characteristics.

Our country's education system is very diverse, including urban, rural, remote, delta and mountainous areas, each with its own characteristics. Therefore, the program needs to be specific to each target group, avoiding being too academic, overloaded and far from reality.

In addition, it is necessary to continue to innovate the examination method, avoiding the situation of "studying what you study, testing what you learn". The exam questions should be open, linked to real life, promoting the qualities, abilities and independent thinking of students, instead of just testing mechanical memorization ability.

"The new textbooks need to continue to uphold the spirit of 'taking learners as the center', and teachers need to be trained and nurtured in new teaching methods. No longer being one-way knowledge transmitters, teachers need to become initiators, companions and guides, helping students develop their thinking capacity, soft skills and lifelong learning ability," added Mr. Nguyen Van Ngai.

He emphasized: "Building a unified set of textbooks is a big task, of long-term strategic significance, and cannot be undertaken by the education sector alone. There needs to be synchronous coordination between many sectors and levels, from central to local levels. The implementation needs to be carefully calculated to ensure progress and real effectiveness."

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/bo-sach-giao-khoa-thong-nhat-toan-quoc-lay-nguoi-hoc-lam-trung-tam-post748183.html