LookAtVietnam – Traditional methods are being challenged at Luong Dinh Cua Primary School whose new teaching style is said to be more western.

Students in classes sit across from each other making it easier to exchange views. In general, there are 11 or 12 groups in every class and four children in every group.

With each session the groups change. Head master Vu Thi My Hanh thinks the ever-changing small groups contribute towards making the children “more dynamic”.

Hanh says the new model of teaching was first implemented five years ago on a trial basis before being brought in on a large scale this year. They call it student-centered teaching.

“Exchanging views is natural therefore, we needed to allow discussion time during lessons,” Hanh said.

Reporters were present at Luong Dinh Cua School on October 8, when students were learning spelling. The atmosphere was described as open and friendly although local reporters questioned the level of concentration.

Instead of seeing teachers writing on the blackboard and students repeating what is written - as in traditional Vietnamese education - they saw students putting letters on their own small boards.

They then showed their work to the teacher by hanging the boards on the wall.

Students were also encouraged to talk about their homes including what was special about the areas they came from. Hanh says this helps students overcome shyness.

The students of Luong Dinh Cua School seemed to like the new way of learning with one first grader calling it “joyful”.

The new methods have been such a success that parents have urged the HCM City Education and Training Department to roll it our more widely.

It would then be down to the department to decide whether these new methods would replace the often criticised old ways.

Parents have taken it upon themselves to promote the new methods by adding their voice to education forums.

One of the few problems encountered was how could children sit facing each other in groups while still able to look at the blackboard when it was used.

When the new methods came to light in the media there were a number of innovative responses. One person suggested rotating chairs – another called instead for flat screens attached to each wall.

Other readers welcomed the innovation with one calling it a “breakthrough” in Vietnamese education.

Another said he’d seen similar practices in Europe and thought it was a technique used by “modern countries”.

VietNamNet/Dan Tri