Voters proposed to adjust integrated subject teaching, what did the Minister of Education and Training say?

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son responded to the proposal of Thanh Hoa voters sent to the 8th Session, 15th National Assembly on teaching integrated subjects in secondary schools according to the new general education program.

Voters of Thanh Hoa province requested the Ministry of Education and Training to consider adjusting the teaching of integrated subjects at secondary school level to ensure effectiveness in teaching and learning activities and consistency with the high school education program.

Responding to this issue, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son cited Resolution No. 88 of the National Assembly on innovation of general education programs and textbooks, clearly defining the content of innovation, in which, at primary and secondary levels, interrelated contents of a number of educational fields and subjects in the current program are integrated to form integrated subjects. Streamlining and avoiding overlapping educational content, and reasonably reducing the number of subjects.

Voters propose adjusting integrated subject teaching at secondary school level. (Illustration photo)

To specify the above resolution, the Ministry of Education and Training issued Circular No. 32/2018 on the General Education Program, in which the secondary school level has a Natural Science subject integrated from the subjects of Physics, Chemistry, Biology; integrating the subject of History - Geography to facilitate the exploitation of specific and comprehensive teaching contents from many aspects.

The topics in the integrated subject are arranged mainly according to linear logic, combined to a certain extent with a concentric structure, and at the same time there are some interdisciplinary, integrated topics to form general principles and laws of the natural world.

By October 10, 2023, the Ministry of Education and Training will issue an official dispatch to guide and train all teachers teaching these two integrated subjects nationwide. In particular, the assignment of teachers to teach Natural Sciences and History - Geography must ensure the appropriateness of the teachers' trained professional capacity with the assigned teaching content.

For example, with Natural Sciences, teachers will be assigned according to content streams, and a teacher who is not yet professionally prepared will not be required to teach the entire subject program.

The assignment of teachers who have been trained and professionally developed to teach two content streams or the entire subject program must be carried out step by step, ensuring the requirements for teachers' professional capacity to ensure teaching quality. Regular testing and evaluation are carried out during the teaching process; teachers who teach a content must conduct testing and evaluation for that content.

The Ministry of Education and Training's response only stated that it had provided guidance and training on teaching integrated subjects without directly addressing the voters' recommendations on whether to adjust integrated subjects or not. Meanwhile, integrated teaching at the secondary school level has always been the most worrying and pressing issue in implementing the new general education program when there has been no preparation of teachers for this subject.

In August 2023, at a meeting with teachers nationwide, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son admitted: "Teaching integrated and interdisciplinary subjects is one of the most difficult things when implementing the new general education program, a "stuck, stuck, difficult point". The Minister promised to make adjustments to the teaching of integrated subjects at the secondary level.

Khanh Huyen

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/cu-tri-de-nghi-dieu-chinh-day-mon-tich-hop-bo-truong-gd-dt-noi-gi-ar923758.html