Applying Some Teaching Methods to Develop Students’ Competence in History Subject at Ha Huy Giap High School (Co Do District, Can Tho City)

Applying Some Teaching Methods to Develop Students’ Competence in History Subject at Ha Huy Giap High School (Co Do District, Can Tho City)

Dao Thi Tram Huong (M.A.)¹, Nguyen Thi Thuy My (M.Ed.)²

¹Ha Huy Giap High School

²Can Tho University

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.90600049

Received: 17 May 2025; Accepted: 26 May 2025; Published: 28 June 2025

ABSTRACT

Applying some active teaching methods to develop students’ capacity is considered the core and strategic element of the fundamental and comprehensive reform of education according to Resolution No. 29 of the 11th Party Central Committee in 2013 and Resolution No. 88 of the 13th National Assembly in 2014. In this article, the author proposes some active history teaching methods to develop students’ capacity such as guiding students to self-study, using original documents, using heritage, debate methods, and cartoons to meet the requirements and goals of the 2022 History General Education Program.

Keywords: Teaching methods, competencies, History subject, high school.

INTRODUCTION

In Vietnam, Resolution No. 29 dated November 4, 2013, of the 11th Central Conference and Resolution No. 88 of 2014 of the 13th National Assembly required fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training to meet the requirements of industrialization and modernization in a socialist-oriented market economy and international integration to meet the general trend of the world. That is a strong change in shifting from teaching to impart knowledge to teaching to develop learners’ capacity. In reality, at many high schools in Can Tho City, teaching in the direction of developing capacity for social sciences, including History, still has many shortcomings and difficulties. In the context of the 2018 General Education Program being issued and implemented with new textbooks, especially the adjustment of History from an elective subject to a compulsory subject (according to Circular No. 13/2022 of the Minister of Education and Training). The question is what teachers need to do so that History is no longer a “boring” subject or a “fear” of many generations of students while meeting the requirements of innovation in Vietnamese and world education. Therefore, the application of active teaching methods in History to develop students’ capacity in high schools is an urgent and practical issue today. That is also the content of this article.

Content

The current status of applying active teaching methods to meet the current 2018 General Education Program at Ha Huy Giap High School

Advantages of Ha Huy Giap High School

On the school side: The school has created conditions for teachers to participate in training courses on active teaching methods and has implemented the “Innovation of professional activities based on lesson research and lesson research”. In recent years, the school has tried to invest in facilities and equipment to meet the needs of innovation in teaching methods, testing, and evaluation. The School Board regularly monitors and urges subject teachers to apply active teaching methods and encourages and rewards teachers who strive and achieve achievements with many initiatives and innovations during the school year.

On the teachers’ side: Teachers of the whole school in general and History teachers in particular have realized the importance and urgency of innovating teaching methods towards developing students’ capacity. The majority of teachers have applied active teaching methods in the process of preparing lessons and teaching. Teachers have invested in information technology in the process of organizing teaching activities; and applying the testing and evaluation process in a new direction. Teachers actively participate in training courses and teacher training on applying active teaching methods when there is an opportunity. During the school year, teachers in the school always unite and support each other to apply active teaching methods, apply information technology to the teaching process. Young teachers who are familiar with technology and are well-trained support older teachers. Older teachers with in-depth knowledge and experience share support for newly graduated teachers… It can be said that the above advantages have contributed significantly to improving the quality of teaching and learning of both teachers and students of the school.

Difficulties of Ha Huy Giap High School

In addition to the initial results achieved, the innovation of teaching methods, testing, and assessment towards developing students’ capacity still has many limitations that need to be overcome. Specifically, the innovation of teaching methods at school has not brought high efficiency. One-way knowledge transfer is still the main teaching method of many teachers. The number of teachers who are proactive and creative in combining teaching methods and teaching techniques to promote students’ positivity, self-study, and creativity is still low. Testing and assessment activities right in the process of organizing teaching activities in the classroom have not been carried out scientifically and effectively. A significant number of students are not proactive in studying lessons, not active, and not self-reliant in learning activities as well as knowledge discovery. The facilities and equipment of the school and the locality do not meet the requirements of innovation in active teaching methods. The market economy affects the mindset of the Board of Directors and parents of students about natural sciences and social sciences, so investment and urging students to invest in studying History has not received due attention.

Causes of difficulties of Ha Huy Giap High School

Objective reasons: Firstly, due to the habit of being passive in the teaching process. For a long time, in class, the image of the teacher enthusiastically presenting from the beginning to the end of the lesson, while students passively listen and take notes has become a habit that is difficult to change. Second, the number of students in a class is quite large (about more than 40 students). With such a number, the application of active teaching methods will not be effective. Teachers cannot control all the learning activities of all students in a class. Therefore, many students rely on, are not active, and are not proactive in thinking and seeking knowledge. Third, the school’s facilities have been gradually improved, however, the classrooms, subject classrooms, and information technology rooms to meet the current active teaching methods of the school are not yet fully met and will be gradually improved according to the plan. Fourth, the 2018 general education program has only been implemented since 2020, so students have not had much access to active teaching methods. When teachers apply them, students are still confused and do not understand the tasks that need to be done, and their subject-learning skills have not been formed and developed, causing a waste of time and ineffectiveness when implementing them.

Subjective causes:

* For teachers: theories on teaching methods and assessment in the direction of capacity development have not been invested in and systematically applied, and are still being applied in a patchwork manner, so they have not created consistency and effectiveness. Forms of organizing teaching activities are still in the traditional way of teachers teaching and students taking notes. Some teachers have not fully recognized the need to innovate teaching methods, assessment, and awareness in implementing innovation of a part of teachers. The capacity of the teaching staff to apply active teaching methods, teaching techniques, use of teaching equipment, and application of information and communication technology in teaching is still limited. Testing and evaluation mainly focus on the requirement of knowledge reproduction, students learn by memorization, and pay little attention to knowledge application. Many teachers have not applied the correct test preparation process, so the tests are still heavily subjective.

* For students: A large number of students have not clearly defined their learning goals, are not proactive, and are not active in acquiring scientific knowledge as well as practicing skills. Many students do not realize the role and significance of History in learning and life, so they are still passive, their creativity and ability to apply learned knowledge to solve practical life situations are limited. Most students use smartphones every day in life but do not know how to exploit smart applications to serve their learning and document search, which also contributes significantly to the difficulties when they study the new General Education Program.

Some concepts

Concept of capacity

– According to the Vietnamese Dictionary, Institute of Linguistics, Da Nang Publishing House in 2000, the word capacity means:

+ Ability, subjective or natural condition available to perform a certain activity.

+ Psychological and physiological qualities give people the ability to complete a certain activity with high quality (Phe, 2000).

– In the 2018 General Education Program of the Ministry of Education and Training, it is determined that: Capacity is a personal attribute formed and developed thanks to innate qualities and the learning and training process, allowing people to mobilize a synthesis of knowledge, skills, and other personal attributes such as interest, belief, will… to successfully perform a certain type of activity, achieving the desired results under specific conditions. There are two main types of capacity:

+ Core competencies: are basic, essential competencies that everyone needs to have to live, study, and work effectively. Core competencies include general competencies and professional competencies.

General competencies are competencies that are formed and developed by all subjects and educational activities such as autonomy and self-study, communication and cooperation, problem-solving, and creativity.

Professional competencies are competencies that are formed and developed mainly through certain subjects and educational activities such as language competencies, computational competencies, natural and social learning competencies, technological competencies, information technology competencies, aesthetic competencies, and physical competencies.

+ Special competence are intellectual, artistic, sports, life skills talents… thanks to the inherent qualities of each person.

The role and significance of History teaching methods in developing students’ capacity

The method of teaching History in the direction of developing capacity is implemented on the basis of the basic principles of historical science: through different historical sources to recreate history, reconstruct truthfully and objectively the formation and development process of historical events and processes, and at the same time place that development process in interaction with related factors throughout their movement. Teachers do not focus on imparting historical knowledge to students but focus on guiding students to identify and exploit historical sources, thereby recreating the past, perceiving history, making inferences, evaluating the context, origin, development of events, and historical processes to scientifically search for historical truths, building and developing professional historical competencies (Vy, 2018).

The teaching method of History in the direction of developing capacity focuses on issues such as: discovering and solving problems, working in groups, and attaching importance to the use of visual aids such as historical artifacts, historical pictures, maps, charts, and tables, models, historical documentaries. Students need to be equipped with self-study methods, know how to research and exploit historical sources, and know how to analyze historical events and processes and draw their own comments and assessments, creating a basis for developing lifelong self-study capacity and the ability to apply knowledge about the history, culture, and society of Vietnam and the world to life. Through organizing diverse educational activities, teachers help students become “historical actors” to explore history and creatively apply knowledge to learning situations and real life. Expanding teaching spaces, not only in the classroom but also in the field (historical and cultural relics), museums, and exhibition areas; organizing field trips for students, combining teaching activities in the classroom with practical experiences. Combining the achievements of modern educational science with the active use of historical methods is the key to the success of the history teaching process (Vy, 2018).

Proposing some teaching methods to develop students’ capacity

History teaching methods are very diverse and rich, each method has its advantages, suitable for each specific case. Therefore, in the process of teaching history, teachers need to apply them flexibly and creatively. Regardless of which method is used as the main method, teachers need to aim for students’ positivity and proactive learning. In the current requirements of innovation, I see that some methods have advantages in developing students’ capacity to teach history in high schools as follows:

Using original materials in history teaching

History teaching is the process of students’ perception of historical knowledge that has been summarized by historical science. Organizing students to “discover” historical knowledge along the path that historical science has taken, that is, organizing students to study original sources to read, understand, decode information, and explain history is necessary. Therefore, using original materials in history teaching is important, contributing to overcoming the phenomenon of “modernizing history”, and avoiding distortion and falsification of historical truth. Vivid images, authentic symbols of historical events, phenomena, and figures in original historical documents will have a great effect in arousing students’ true emotions, which is the basis for educating their attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and ethics. In addition, it also contributes to developing students’ cognitive abilities such as observation, imagination, and ability to analyze, synthesize, compare, and evaluate historical events and phenomena. Practice practical skills in the subject such as reading skills, collecting documents, self-study…Original documents can be used in all stages of history teaching, from researching new knowledge, reviewing, consolidating, assigning homework to testing, and evaluating.

For example, when teaching about the Birth of the Communist Party – History 12 (Old General Education Program), teachers can exploit the following original document about the naming of the Party at the Conference to establish the Communist Party of Vietnam.

“After the unification, the communists explained the name of the Communist Party of Vietnam in three different ways:

1. The comrades in Central Vietnam said that the name Viet Nam symbolized the unification between the An Nam Communist Party and the Tan Viet Communist Federation.

2. In the South, the comrades explained that the name An Nam was too narrow, and the name Dong Duong was too broad, so it was necessary to choose a moderate name, Viet Nam.

3. As for the comrades in the North, they said that according to the Leninist principle of the right of self-determination of oppressed peoples, the communists had no right to force the Cambodian workers to join the unified Communist Party, so they had to use the name Vietnam to refer to the lands where the Vietnamese people lived”[1] [p. 411] From this original document, students will understand why our Party has such a name.

Using heritage in history teaching

Cultural heritage is a spiritual and material product of historical, cultural, and scientific value, passed down from generation to generation. Cultural heritage, whether in the form of objects or intangible objects, can be used in the process of education and teaching. The History subject has an advantage in using cultural heritage as a source of knowledge and a means of teaching the subject. To exploit and promote the value of heritage in teaching and educating History in high schools, it is necessary to create conditions for students to actively participate in learning activities that directly experience heritage. Students must be able to explore and exploit heritages related to the lesson content, helping them to both gain knowledge about heritage and understand the lesson content, thereby helping students to appreciate, preserve, and promote the values ​​of heritage. Note that using heritage in history teaching requires a flexible combination with other active teaching methods such as visual aids (images, diagrams… of heritage), problem-based teaching, project-based teaching, etc.

In terms of organization, teaching using heritage has the following forms:

1. Exploiting and using heritage documents to conduct lessons in high schools.

2. Conducting lessons at places with heritage.

3. Organizing study tours at places with heritage.

4. Organizing extracurricular activities – experiencing heritage.

For example, teachers apply the teaching method of using heritage and relics in the Local History education program with the topic “Preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage in Can Tho city”, teachers use documents on heritage to conduct history lessons by creating situations leading the whole class to “Journey to the source to visit the relic site of the Red Flag Party of An Nam”. Using heritage documents to teach like this makes the lesson light and fun, students get to experience the trips, equipping them with knowledge about heritage and related historical knowledge. In addition, teachers can assign tasks to divide the class into groups to prepare for the trip by collecting heritage documents, creating an introduction to introduce to the whole class as tour guides… students can demonstrate their own abilities, discover knowledge on their own, which makes history lessons more attractive and interesting.

Organizing historical experience activities through project-based learning

In addition to the form of organizing teaching in the classroom, it is necessary to increase the forms of experiential learning that combine learning with practice, link education in schools with education in society, “break” the classroom space, and at the same time have the participation of many resources in the educational process. This is a form of organized teaching that creates conditions for students to have new experiences and discoveries, thereby contributing to the formation of abilities, teamwork skills, skills in collecting and evaluating historical documents and events, and developing subject practice abilities.

To conduct effective experiences, avoiding activities that are more about fun, teachers combine the application of project-based learning. Project-based learning is a form (broad sense method) of teaching, in which students perform a complex learning task, combining theory and practice. Students perform the task with high autonomy throughout the entire learning process, from determining goals and planning to implementing the project, collecting information, analyzing data, checking, and adjusting to produce a product after the experience. Applying project-based learning to organizing experiential activities is demonstrated through the following steps:

Step 1: Select the topic and determine the purpose of the project when conducting the experience. In this step, the teacher will develop the topic associated with the experience location, divide into groups (can apply group division techniques), and guide the groups to choose sub-topics.

Step 2: Develop an implementation plan regarding time, product requirements, and assignment of tasks…

Step 3: Implement the project, students work independently. During the project implementation, students visit and survey the field, and some new learning methods are applied such as research, selection, verification of documents, interview methods, and investigation of research subjects… Learning projects are planned and carried out step by step, whenever they encounter difficulties, the groups meet with teachers for advice and help.

Step 4: Announce the product and evaluate the project, in this step the teacher allows the groups to present the product with regulations on time, free and creative forms such as magazines, posters, and clips…, creating opportunities for students to participate in the process of self-evaluation, group evaluation and peer group evaluation.

In the process of implementing the school program, teaching and learning according to the orientation of developing students’ capacity, we can apply the project teaching method to organize highly effective experiential activities, for example, the topic:

Project: “Learn about the typical achievements and introduce the most impressive achievements of the Phu Nam civilization” through a visit to some archaeological artifacts at the museum (Can Tho City) for 10th-grade high school students when teaching the topic Some civilizations in Vietnam (before 1858).

Using critical debate techniques in teaching history

Debate – critical debate is considered one of the techniques with advantages in developing students’ capacity, especially developing critical thinking. Teachers will encourage students to think and evaluate a certain issue in different, even opposite directions, and then based on their research, teachers will organize for them to debate – and support that issue. Students will present arguments defend their views, and convince their opponents of their views with arguments, reasons, and valid evidence to clarify different aspects of the issue and enrich their understanding according to the requirements of the teaching objectives and tasks. Teachers will divide into groups for important lesson content, taking up a certain amount of time in the curriculum framework. For example, when teaching about the Reformation of Ho Quy Ly and the Ho Dynasty – History Program for Grade 11. Based on the fact that students have learned about the context and content of the reforms of Ho Quy Ly in the late 14th century – early 15th century, teachers can organize students to debate about the character of Ho Quy Ly with the event in 1400, Ho Quy Ly established the Ho Dynasty to replace the Tran Dynasty, this event led to many opinions about him. In which, teachers are divided into 2 groups with the following debate content:

1. Group 1: Ho Quy Ly’s actions were completely wise Ho Quy Ly was a great, bold, and determined reformer.

2. Group 2: Ho Quy Ly was a usurper, a rebel, and should be condemned by history. Ho Quy Ly’s reforms did not make any significant contributions.

Organizing debates for students in History lessons will help students form their cognitive and historical thinking abilities and develop their critical thinking. In addition, to develop critical thinking in students, teachers can organize debates in class when learning about the issues “Are the achievements of modern industrial revolutions positive or negative?” and “Is globalization good or bad?”. Or organize debates between teachers and students about the issue “Choose economic or cultural and historical benefits? Long-term or immediate benefits?” when teaching History and tourism development.

Using satirical pictures in teaching history

Creating motivation and interest in learning for students is an extremely important issue and only when students are prepared and have the mindset to receive knowledge, are interested in the issues being and will be learned, will the organization of cognitive activities be effective.

Teachers can use satirical pictures to create motivation for learning, attract students’ attention solve basic knowledge content, or use them to consolidate lessons and test and evaluate. For example, when teaching the topic “Some ancient and medieval world civilizations” in the current 110th-gradeHistory program, teachers can use the series of pictures “Ancient Egyptians built pyramids” as follows:

Picture 1. “The Egyptians didn’t need aliens to help them build the Pyramids”

Picture 2. “Moving the Stones Was Easy”

Teachers can use the above series of pictures in combination with pictures of the Egyptian Pyramids to teach about Egyptian history, Egyptian Civilization, and ancient Eastern civilization.

Step 1: The teacher introduces students to different perspectives on the construction of the Egyptian Pyramids.

Step 2: The teacher lets students observe the picture and asks the following questions:

1. Describe picture number 1, what are the people in the picture doing?
2. What is different in picture number 1?
3. What point does the author want to make when drawing picture number 1?
4. In picture number 2, what are the characters doing?
5. Observe the facial expressions of the characters in picture number 2, through those expressions, do you think this job is difficult or easy for them?
6. What point of view does the author of picture number 2 give about the pyramid-building technique through picture number 2?

Using cartoons in teaching History will help deepen historical events, improve the ability to reproduce knowledge, and develop students’ observation and thinking skills because of its characteristics of high symbolism and problem logic, there is always a layer of meaning hidden under the drawings, so it requires learners to have good basic knowledge plus high logical and critical thinking. In addition, cartoons also help educate students’ ideology and aesthetic sense (Ninh, 2019).

CONCLUSION

Fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education is an urgent requirement of Vietnamese education, which is the basis, requirement, and driving force for a comprehensive change, both in-depth and breadth, innovation from content to teaching methods. Innovation and application of active teaching methods in History are important in improving the quality of history teaching in general schools. At the same time, it contributes to promoting the positivity, proactiveness, creativity, and independence of students in the process of acquiring knowledge as well as applying knowledge to practical life, forming good qualities for students, and meeting the innovation requirements of the general education program in 2018.

REFERENCES

1. Ministry of Education and Training. (2018). General education program for History (Issued with Circular No. 32/2018/TT-BGDDT dated December 26, 2018, of the Minister of Education and Training).
2. Ministry of Education and Training. (2019). Training materials on History education in the general education program at the high school level.
3. Ministry of Education and Training. (2020). Training materials for core general teachers. Using teaching and education methods to develop the qualities and abilities of high school students in History.
4. Ministry of Education and Training. (2022). General education program for History (Issued with Circular No. 13/2022/TT-BGDDT dated August 3, 2022 of the Minister of Education and Training).
5. Nam, N. T. H. (2019). Organizing experiential activities for 10th grade students in social sciences. Vietnam Education Publishing House. Ha Noi.
6. Ninh, N. V. (2018). System of original historical documents in teaching History in high schools. Hanoi National University Publishing House. Hanoi.
7. Ninh, N. V. (2019). Using satirical pictures in teaching History in high schools. Hanoi National University Publishing House. Hanoi
8. Can Tho City People’s Committee. (2022). Can Tho City Local Education Documents – Grade 10.
9. Vy, N. D. (2018). Teaching to develop competence in History in high schools. Pedagogical University Publishing House. Hanoi.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Complete Party Documents, Volume 4, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi.