HCM CITY — Lecturers at universities should apply teaching methods that foster creativity and self-learning, experts said at a workshop yesterday in HCM City.
At the workshop on teaching methods, speakers noted that the Ministry of Education and Training had asked universities nationwide to apply new methodologies in the classroom.
However, rote learning, with students only listening to lectures and not asking questions, was still the predominant method used at the university level, according to Dr. Pham Duc Chinh of the University of Economics and Law under Viet Nam National University-HCM City.
Chinh said the traditional methods encouraged only passive learning, with many students unwilling to do research in the library or Internet.
The emphasis on exams also tends to promote this kind of learning, according to Chinh.
In addition, most universities and colleges nationwide, especially in HCM City, have had to rent spaces that lack proper facilities, including computers.
Some universities and colleges in Viet Nam have been applying the problem-based methodology, which is used in many universities around the world.
However, the learning results had not changed because lecturers at pedagogy universities were not trained in these methods.
Many lecturers, for example, assign students to solve problems but offer no guidance, which fails to attract students' interest.
The large number of sources on the Internet has also confused many students, who do not know how to select proper websites.
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Hanh, a lecturer with the Institute of Educational Management, said other methodologies, including project-based teaching, case studies, group discussions and research work, were available. Information about these approaches could be found on the Internet.
She said teachers should take more responsibility in choosing their materials and implementing new methods of teaching in the classroom. — VNS
