Students share how to study so that History is 'not as boring as I thought'

TPO – Through field trips, practical experiences, and presentations, students will remember knowledge about history faster and longer, to see that History is “not as boring as I thought”.

Students are excited about the thematic seminars. Photo: NVCC

Pham Quoc Phuong Tri – 10 News 2 – Gifted High School, Ho Chi Minh City National University: Passionate about History because of fascinating and surprising stories

Learning History is not as boring as I thought! I don’t approach History by reading and memorizing, because I realize that many Vietnamese people’s perspective on this subject is often quite limited to words. Instead, I am passionate about History because of the fascinating and surprising stories, and because of the opportunity to experience reality through global travel.

Thanks to studying History, I had the opportunity to visit the Demilitarized Zone between South Korea and North Korea; to go to Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya to better understand the talent and remarkable development of Japan in the 19th and 21st centuries; and to Dien Bien, standing on A1 hill to witness with my own eyes the great sacrifices of the children of Vietnam for the Fatherland.

Let me have a different experience from others, touching the stone wall of a cave or a castle wall – a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction comes to me – in that moment, my mind recalls what I have heard, seen, and I deeply feel that I am becoming a part of that story.

For me, History is not only stories written in books or told by previous generations, but also real-life experiences that I discover and feel for myself. I had the opportunity to make a Literature magazine with my friends, watch famous animated videos about history on YouTube – both cool and exciting.

It was my teachers who showed me the potential of History to satisfy my emotions and provide the information I needed. Knowledge came to me naturally, selectively, arousing my curiosity about the things I loved, thereby motivating me to delve deeper into exploring and researching in more detail. When I watched an animated video about a historical battle, I felt the vividness and meaning of what I was learning, seeing the connection between the past and contemporary culture. My teachers showed me that when I was involved in the creative process, I felt truly connected to what I was learning, making knowledge part of my personal experience, not just book knowledge.

Teachers and students of Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted during the report on the City Commando Project. Photo: NVCC

Nguyen Hoang Gia Khang 8A6 - Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted: Let students present

With the general view that history is a boring subject and a subject to memorize. But in the process of contacting the Tran Chuyen environment, my perspective has changed quite a lot. For me, history is no longer a boring and easy subject like sitting in a lecture anymore, but has created for me a feeling of high competition in the process of learning history.

During the course of studying with the teacher, I had to give many presentations, although I was not very good at presenting, and each time I presented, I was scared... I was not afraid of standing in front of the whole class, but of the critical questions that almost knocked me down... But thanks to that, I discovered my fatal weakness in the plot of history and discovered interesting things that I would not have known if not for being opened up through these presentations.

In addition, at the end of the year, I also listened to her talk about the battles and their fighting methods as a way to relieve stress and listen to the stories enthusiastically. In short, my teacher's teaching method has helped me gain more experiences and overcome more difficulties, helping me develop my thinking in an unexpected way to achieve greater goals in the future. Therefore, History is not a boring subject but very different from other subjects if we know how to exploit and develop it.

Le Thi Tuong Vy - Grade 12, Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted: Let's change the testing method

As for the way of learning that I experienced in grades 9 and 10, which was passively absorbing knowledge by reading books, answering questions and then going straight to the test, teaching by actively absorbing knowledge such as looking at maps, stating events or presenting strategies, learning about the causes and effects of those impacts has helped us to connect and form bridges between knowledge contents. From there, clarity between knowledge is formed.

Because history is a broad subject, if we only read, answer and test, it is like normal rote learning, after learning we will forget, so by learning like this, we can understand clearly, grasp the connection of events and from there become more interested in history because we understand what we are reading, realize how this knowledge is related to the content in the past and present, not just limited to the word "learning" but also "doing".

The way teachers can help students be more inspired and interested in the subject is to change the way they test (I also know that tests are mandatory and cannot be changed), but I think instead of testing with paper, we can give presentations as a way for students to both learn knowledge more actively and dig deeper to exploit a historical event better, because testing in the usual way makes students "reluctant to learn".

In addition, I also think that after each lesson, we can summarize the content in a diagram form. It will not be more interesting for students, but because the diagram is easy to see, easy to remember keywords, and students can connect the content more easily through the diagram, I think it will be easier for them to understand, learn, and will not feel too much pressure in having to deal with a lot of data such as dates or names of a character, etc. This will create a more logical and interactive learning environment for them with the background knowledge taught in textbooks.

Do Hop

Source: https://tienphong.vn/hoc-sinh-chia-se-cach-hoc-de-mon-lich-su-khong-chan-nhu-em-tuong-post1669174.tpo