The course "Course Design and Teaching Methods," organized by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in collaboration with the Singapore Foundation (SIF) in 2012, consisted of four sessions with the participation of 39 young lecturers from the University. On March 15, 2012, the University held a meeting with the participating lecturers to summarize and share the achievements of the first session and prepare for the subsequent sessions in late May, August, and December 2012. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Kim - Vice Rector of the University - attended and listened to the lecturers' sharing about the course design and teaching methods.
The days of a lecturer's school life
Sharing her teaching methods before participating in the course, lecturer Truong Bich Hanh from the History Department said: "It's paradoxical that lecturers have to give presentations in class every day or participate in large and small seminars, but have never been trained in presentation skills. The problem is that I do it quite instinctively, without knowing the names or techniques to perform those skills systematically and effectively. Participating in the course, learning and sharing knowledge and skills with experts, young lecturers said the results were very useful and could be creatively applied to their teaching methods." Lecturer Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang from the International Studies Department said: "This is the first time I've been introduced to Yoshimi and Jon Brett's TetraMap diagram. This model helps me better understand the strengths, interests, and styles of myself and those around me." From that experience, I gained a clearer understanding of how to prepare and deliver knowledge to diverse student groups with different styles, interests, and habits…” Lecturer Dieu Thi Lan Phuong – Faculty of Literature shared: ““Who am I? – Who am I?” is a new concept I learned for the first time. Recognizing that I and others may belong to one of four personality types (Earth, Air, Water, Fire) helps me understand others better and accept and adapt to differences more easily. This allows us to get along better with hundreds of students…” Although some of the knowledge in this course wasn't entirely new to the lecturers, most were surprised by the results: “I had attended several classes on presentation methods and teaching methods… So before participating, I prepared myself to review what I already knew, but I was very surprised.” Learning is more fun, more engaging, and more effective... I've been quite influenced by the teaching styles of my professors, and now when I go to class, I feel much more energetic. That energy of mine has also been passed on to the students," - Lecturer Do Hong Duong (Faculty of Linguistics).
Result
Lecturer Pham Thuy Chi from the Department of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language said: "There are some methods I have applied to some extent, but not frequently, and I often considered them just teaching experience. However, after the recent course, I have thought about it and elevated it to a real teaching method and will apply it regularly..."
Up until now, I've mainly focused on imparting knowledge and skills to students, often neglecting to improve their concentration and learning ability. It's the opening and energizing skills that will make students more enthusiastic about class, increasing their focus and thinking skills during long sessions...
— Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang – Department of International Studies“Up until now, I’ve mainly focused on imparting knowledge and skills to students, often neglecting to improve their concentration and learning ability. It’s the opening and energizing skills that will make students more enthusiastic about class, increasing their focus and thinking skills during long sessions…” – Lecturer Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang (Faculty of International Studies). Lecturer Tran Ha Thu – Faculty of Psychology shared: “The important thing after this course is that I realized I shouldn’t be just a ‘lecturer’ but a ‘facilitator’ in the classroom. I should constantly change and believe that I can do it. Those are the great spiritual meanings that the course has brought to me…”
Proposals
Beyond these achievements, the young lecturers also hope that after this course, they will continue to share knowledge, skills, and experiences with each other in an even more effective way. "I hope that the network of lecturers who participated in this course will be built, developed, maintained, and shared with other colleagues in the school." - Lecturer Phan Hong Giang (Faculty of Management Science) and Lecturer Nguyen Thi Anh Thu (Faculty of Psychology) shared their concerns regarding the idea: Should students be trained to be more dynamic and work with lecturers to bring about change? They argued that a core group is essential in the classroom to create a lively atmosphere. This core group then in turn creates and shares information with other students. Students are always at the center of the training process. Therefore, according to Lecturer Do Thuy Lan Khoa – Faculty of History, because students are at the center, it is necessary to further enhance students' self-study, self-research, self-transmission, and self-acquisition of knowledge; in which lecturers act as "designers," "supervisors," and "implementers," providing guidance and answering questions (this is much more difficult than simply teaching knowledge). Lecturer Dinh Thi Thuy Hien – Faculty of History, on the other hand, proposed a very practical and specific suggestion: Knowledge and skills should be introduced and implemented. The potential within this project is shared by all faculty members in the university, alongside adjustments to management and supervision mechanisms, to comprehensively and synchronously innovate teaching methods in the university, in order to effectively fulfill the mission of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Some other opinions from faculty members mentioned that applying innovations in the current conditions still faces certain difficulties, such as: the fixed arrangement of desks and chairs making class organization difficult; classrooms with bright white glass windows resulting in ineffective screen use for media and slides; and the inability of speakers in lecture halls to connect to computers. In his concluding remarks, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Kim emphasized: In the next semester, the university will create conditions for faculty members to apply innovative teaching methods. Faculty members need to apply what they have learned in the course effectively and appropriately to the Vietnamese context. The Vice Rector expressed his hope that the university's young faculty members will soon reach international standards and confidently participate in teaching at international universities. The course on course design and teaching methods for young lecturers at the University has concluded. The lessons learned have been, and are being, creatively applied by several lecturers, including Nguyen Thu Giang and Hoang Thu Ha (Faculty of Journalism and Communication), and Hua Ngoc Tan and Do Hong Duong (Faculty of Linguistics), to suit the current conditions of the University. Many more young lecturers will apply these innovations in the future.
