Vận dụng lý thuyết kiến tạo trong dạy học các môn khoa học xã hội và nhân văn ở trường sĩ quan quân đội TT TIENG ANH

1 PREFACE Rationale to choose the thesis topic Swifty changes in sciences and technologies worldwide over the past time, especially influences by the Industry 4.0, have required education in general & higher education in particular to bring learners basic knowledge, skills, creative thinking, and competence to adapt to occupational challenges and demands in the new age The followings have already been defined at the 13th National Congress of Delegates by Vietnam’s Communist Party: To continue the synchronous innovation in educational & training objectives, contents, programs, modes, and methods toward the intrenational modernity, integration, holistic human development, to meet new requirements for socio-economic, scientific, and technological development to adapt to the Industry [12, pages 232 - 233] To enhance the education & training to flexibly and effectively meet requirements for social development, it is a must to make basic and holistic innovation in lecturing objectives, program contents, methods, and ways to check learning outcomes toward the uphold of leaners’ positivity, creativity, and competence development for actions & working The learners must not only grasp contents of subject knowledge but gain competence to apply that knowledge to their occupational, practical activities or further education as well Therefore, the research to apply new theories and viewpoints on lecturing like: Situation theory, constructivitist theory, and project teaching, etc., are necessary to holistically develop learners’ virtues and competence toward the viewpoint on educational innovation The constructivism theory is a new viewpoint on teaching based on psychological researches into learners’ cognitive process According to the constructivism theory, studying activity means the process of cognitive changes and active build-up of knowledge upon learners’ experience The core thinking of the constructivism theory lies in the fact: knowledge will turn up when cognitive subjects put it away in their own internal structures Knowledge is subjective With the highlight on roles of the cognitive subjects in explaining & knowledge construction, the constructivism theory belongs to the subject theory The constructivism theory-based teaching process requires for organization with interactions by learners and learning subjects to help learners build up new information into their own thinking structures This has been adjusted by the subjects Studying does not only mean exploration but also explanations and new structure of knowledge During the process of acquiring knowledge by experience, the knowledge had already existed before through the assimilation and modulation, learners will build up their own knowledge system with its identity and get competent to apply this knowledge system to settle issues arising in the reality Applying constructivist theory in teaching shall help place learners in a positive learning environment, help them detect and settle issues by inherent knowledge & experience relevantly to new situations upon which to build up new knowledge for themselves; create chances for them to develop communications skills, search for, and share information on group cooperation This is the teaching way which anticipates the nearest development zone This means teaching attached with the development The constructivism theory may be applied to teaching many different subjects and eduction levels as well Military Officer Schools are places where officers operating in the Military field are trained Upon the specific traits of Military activities, this requires those people performing in that field gain good political virtues, flexible & creative thinking, and high fighting spirit; competence to detect and settle issues; competence for cooperation, personal responsibilities, high discipline, and especially they must be well knowledgeable and skills for Military activities The above-mentioned values and competence owned by Military officers need caring for development since they remain learners studying at Military Officer Schools by applying teaching methods functioned to develop those values & competence Social sciences & humanities take up a relative large amount of time in the training program at Military Officer Schools Lecturing social sciences & humanitites at Military Officer Schools is to foster learners’ levels of political argumentation, build up their political bravery, class stance, practice for moral virtues, lifestyles, intellectual capacity, social -political activities during the training process The lecturing of social sciences & humanitites has been making crucial contributions to educating learners at Military Officer Schools for fighting ideal, responsibilities to defend the Fatherland, regime, and practice for revolutionary Army officers & cadres The reality of strictly follow and enforce the Party and Central Military Commission’s viewpoints on educational innovation in lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools has gained many positive changes so the lecturing quality has gradually been enhanced Such typically considered lecturing methods for the constructivism theory as: Scenario method, discovery teaching method, issue settlement method, and cooperative teaching method are regularly utilized to lecture social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools However, the systematic research and application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools haven't been properly taken care of This must be systematically and generally researched to develop the reasoning of the constructivism theory in lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Thence, the launch of a process of lecturing organization upon the constructivism theory in relevancy to features of lecturing social sciences & humanities as well as the unique learning environment at Military Officer Schools is very essential to meet their output standards 3 The research into enhancement of lecturing quality of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools is very crucial with profound theoretical and practical meanings for lecturers There have been some research works into application of new theories and viewpoints at Military Officer Schools like: Situation theory, cooperative teaching, project teaching, and issue-based teaching, etc., however, there haven't been any research works that mention the application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities Therefore, the post-graduate chooses the topic of: “Application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools” as the research theme Research purposes and missions Research purposes Upon the foundations of constructivist theoretical research and application practice to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools, their lecturing organization process at Military Officer Schools shall be accordingly designed, making contributions to innovating and enhancing the current lecturing quality of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Research missions To make an overview on constructivism theory-related research situtation and its application to teaching social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools; To make theoretical researches into the constructivism theory-based lecturing of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools; To survey and evaluate the current actual state and its application of lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools; To suggest processes to organize the constructivism theory-based lecturing of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools; To make pedagogical experiments to verify the rightness and feasibility of the organization of the constructivism theory-based lecturing of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Research object, subject, and scopes Research object: Lecturing process of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools; Research subject: Application of constructivitist theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools; Research scopes: With respect of contents: The thesis focuses on researching the application of constructivitist theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools in the full-time training program for detachmentlevel officers To research to suggest processes of constructivism theory-based lecturing organization of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools, lecture, and seminar formats for social sciences & humanities toward the constructivism theory at Military Officer Schools With respect of space: The thesis focuses on surveys at such Military Officer Schools as: Political Office School, Air Force Officer School, Army Officer School 1, Army Officer School 2, Military Technical Officer School With respect of time: The data used for the thesis have been collected from 2017 until the present time With respect of surveyed subjects: Lecturers and learners who are performing the mission of Education & Training at the above-mentioned Military Officer Schools Scientific assumption The quality and efficiency of the lecturing process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools depend on many factors; in which, the organization of learners’ learning activity plays a very crucial role If lecturers apply the constructivism theory to lecturing, actively orient toward, organize, and support learners to build up new knowledge upon inherent knowledge & experience to adapt to the learning environment; which shall help learners maximum their competence for creativity, activeness, and positivity in studies, researches, flexible application of theoretical and practical knowledge, fast improvisation for case settlement, practical experiences; to make contributions to innovation & enhancement of lecturing quality of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Research methodologies and methods Research methodologies The topic has been researched based on the Marxist – Leninist methodology, and Ho Chi Minh Ideology Vietnamese Communist Party’s viewpoints on education, especially the current ones on basic and holistic innovation in education & training are to orient toward research objects and interpret missions of the thesis In addition, such specific approaching viewpoints as follows are also applied: Activity approach: The lecturing of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools shall get highly effective only when lecturers attach special importance to instructions for and organization of learning activities as well as create favorable conditions for learners to uphold their positivity & actively take part in such activities Therefore, it is necessary to choose the organization of lecturing and learning activities in line with a relevant process to enhance the learning quality of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Historical – logical approach: To research, review, search for, and analyze theoretical, practical issues, and application process of constructivitist theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities based on objective & specific historical conditions, contexts, and in relevancy to logics of specialty scientific history development as well as the reality at Military Officer Schools, to inherit and develop inherent knowledge, experience, and achievements in order to build up an organization process of constructivism theory-based lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools System – structure approach The lecturing process of social sciences & humanities is the system consisting of such many closely related components as: Lecturing objectives, contents, methods – forms, lecturers – learners, and outcomes These components don't independently exist but they interact with one another They are interdependent Thus, the research into application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities needs to define the system components, their relations, and functions to assure for efficiency enhancement of lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Practical approach The thesis topic on application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools has been researched based on the practical approach to the researched issues to increase reliability of judgments & evaluation; to suggest an organization process of constructivism theory-based lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Its efficiency shall be tested for verification to bring about practical values in lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Competence approach The current reality in Military activities request the lecturing process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools to form many different types of competence for learners, including that for issue settlement, creativity, communications, cooperation, persuasion, and dialectic thinking, etc., Thus, such above-mentioned types of competence need caring about in the application process of constructivism theory to lecturing Simultaneously, competence-based approach shall orient for lecturers and learners’ competence development in application of constructivism theory in lecturing and learning; uphold lecturers’ competence in implementing the process of constructivism theory on lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools as well as uphold learners’ competence for creativity in studies, researches, build-up of new knowledge based on gained one & experience, quick situation settlement as basis to evaluat application outcomes of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Research method: A combination of specialty and interdisciplinary scientific research methods is utilized in the thesis: Theoretical research methods: Such methods as: analysis, generalization, systematization, and summary ones of related documents have been utilized in the thesis to withdraw directly pertaining contents to the current application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools like: Some Marx-Lenin classical works, Party and Central Military Commission’s documents & Resolutions on education and training in general as well as training, cultivation, and development for Military Officer force in particular; Law on Education Law 2005 added and adjusted in 2009; Law on Higher Education 2012; Resolution number 29-NQ/TW dated 04th November 2013 , and the 8th Central Conference, Term XI on basic and holistic innovation in education and training The thesis-related curriculum and documents on the constructivism theory & its application to lecturing; scientific works and articles have already been announced & publicized in local and world scientific magazines & conference proceedings Practical research methods: Practical summarization method: To research summary, generalization, and analysis reports on lecturing process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools at Military Officer Schools to withdraw the thesis-related issues Observation method: To observe the organization process of lecturing social sciences & humanities at Army Officer School and Army Officer School to collect necessary information for supports to handle & evaluate investigation outcomes objectively and precisely, in which, to focus on lecture observation designed and implemented upon the constructivism theory as well as lecturers’ method operation Talk-show and discussion methods: To discuss with lecturers and learners to learn about quality actual state of lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools & that of application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools 7 Questionnaire survey method: To utilize questionnaires to survey quality actual state of lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools The questionnaires will also be used to survey learners’ opinions after the fieldwork process Research method into product works: To research learners’ implemented lessons and learning products to analyze and evaluate quality of the lecturing process & application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Expert consulting method: To consult to experts and scientists’ opinions on some thesis-related theoretical & practical issues Pedagogical experimental method: To make tests to initially verify the efficiency of the organization process of constructivism theory-related lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Support method The statistical maths method and software are used: to process SPSS data to reckon up and analyze the data during the thesis research process Thesis’s new contributions To clarify reasonings on application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools; making contributions to supplementing, accomplishing, and reasoning for lecturing at Military Universities in general & lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools in particular The generalization and analysis of such tool definitions are: constructivism theory, its lecturing, and application to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools The analysis of lecturing features of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools shows relevancy and natures of constructivism theory-based lecturing of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools To analyze, evaluate actual state of lecturing social sciences & humanities and its application to lecturing those subjects at Military Officer Schools, point out causes of such the actual state; help lecturers gain more scientific foundations to build up the organization process of constructivism theory-based lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools To build up the organization process of constructivism theory-based lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools; and that by forms of lectures and seminars Thesis’s theoretical and practical meanings The reasoning on application of constructivism theory to lecturing has been generalized and developed in the thesis while theoretical & practical foundations for its application to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools have been provided in the thesis, too 8 The thesis may be utilized as the reference for lecturing and scientific researches at Military Officer Schools, as the provision of foundations and arguments to lecturers & learners to apply to the lecturing process and contribute to innovation & enhancement of quality and efficiency of lecturing process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Thesis’s lay-out: The thesis consists of: Preface, chapters, conclusions, proposals, lists of the thesis-related publicized scientific works, lists of references, and appendices Chapter OVERVIEW ON THESIS-RELATED RESEARCH SITUATION 1.1 Research works on constructivism theory 1.1.1 Research works by foreign authors Original thoughts on constructivism theory have been mentioned by great educators in the ancient time worldwide, mainly focusing on methods like: Socrates, Aristotle, and Confucius By the end of the 18th century, the launch of constructivist perspective in lecturing was marked with the viewpoint system by the two philosophers: Giambattista Vico and Immanuel Kant [71] Later, Piaget inheritted this ideology and developed it in his theory At the beginning of the 20th century, John Dewey (1859 - 1952) [5] highlighted the importance of learners’ knowledge development upon experience Jean Piaget (1896 - 1980) [44] was the first person who researched for clear development of constructivist ideology and applied it to lecturing Another author with many contributions to the development of constructivism theory was L.X.Vygotsky (1896 - 1934) [84] He supposed: humans’ studies didn’t stop at the basic constructivist process but they would be made through interactions and arguments in the community Therefore, the constructed knowledge was social During the past decades, constructivism theory has been the research object for many psychologists and educators in the world, typically with: Bruner J (1966) [70], Steffe & Gale (1995) [81]; Tobin (1993) [82], Brandt D.S (1997) [69], and Kesal F (2003) [76] 1.1.2 Research works by local authors Vietnam’s scientists and educators have inherited the research achievements in the field of scientific education worldwide and initially made intensive researches into constructivism theory over the recent decades The researches by Tran Ba Hoanh, Nguyen Ky, Nguyen Canh Toan, Nguyen Ba Kim, Tran Kieu, and Nguyen Huu Chau have all focused on learners’ selfawareness of and self-construction for knowledge Most of contents in regular training and cultivation documents on current educational innovation highlight on positive lecturing methods based on such viewpoints of putting forward issues, interactive lecturing, and constructivist lecturing as: Phan Trong Ngo (2005) [38], “Teaching and its methods at schools”; Nguyen Huu Chau (2005) [2], “Basic issues on teaching curriculum and process”; Nguyen Van Cuog and Bernd Meier (2010) [4], “Some general issues on innovation in teaching methods at high schools ”; Tran Khanh Duc (2013) [15], “Teaching theory and methods” 1.2 Research works on application of constructivism theory to lecturing 1.2.1 Research works by foreign authors The constructivism theory-based teaching model has been intensively paid with attention by educators and more & more applied Starting in the 1990s of the 20 th century, many researchers have put forward constructivism theory-based teaching models in many different approaches, typically with: Douglas H Clementes Michael T Battista (1990) [73], Simon & Schifter (1991) [79], K Appleton & H Asoko (1995) [68], Brett (1997) [80], Mannikko Fahreus (1997) [77], Jonassen (1998) [75], Christianso Fisher (1999) [72], Kesal (2003) [76], and Troelstra (2011) [83] 1.2.2 Research works by local authors We can approach research works by such authors as: Nguyen Tien Trung (2013) [56], Pham Sy Nam (2013) [35], Tran Tuyen (2014) [59], Phi Thi Thuy Van (2014) [63], Pham Dang Tu (2014) [60], Tran Thi Mai Lan (2015) [30], Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy (2015) [51], Pham Van Hai (2016) [19], and Nguyen Thi Duyen (2019) [6] However, research works and application of constructivism theory to teaching in our country have so far remained limited They have only focused on subjects in the field of natural sciences Lecturing subjects in the field of social sciences, especially social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools, hasn’t been discussed yet So far, there haven't been any intensive research works on this issue 1.3 Generalization of outcomes from publicized scientific works and arising issues which need further settling in thesis 1.3.1 Generalization of outcomes from publicized scientific works Research works with many different approach viewpoints and angles have shown several judgments on constructivism theory-based teaching; pointed out individuals’ active and positive roles as well as interactions among them They are crucial conditions during the process of knowledge construction Besides, the authors have also shown the role of the constructive learning environment as supporting learners develop their competence for positive cognition based on their gained experience and knowledge to construct new knowledge The application of constructivitist theory to 10 teaching is made very flexibly and empowers much of activeness to both teachers and learners, in which the former’s role is extremely crucial 1.3.2 Put-forward issues which need further settling in the thesis Firstly, to build up the definition of thesis center as application of constructivitist theory in lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools To analyze and clarify features, natures, and models of constructivism theory-based lecturing and features of lecturing social sciences & humanities, thence, to evaluate competence to apply constructivism theory to lecturing social science & humanities at Military Officer Schools Secondly, to analyze and evaluate actual state of lecturing social sciences & humanities as well as apply constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools & point out causes of that actual state Thirdly, to build up the constructivism process/ in lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Fourthly, to organize lecture and seminar formats in line with the constructivism process in lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools Conclusions in chapter The constructivism theory came into life at the end of the 18 th century and remarkably developed at the end of the 20th century Researches on it and its application to teaching have made many achievements in the reality of educational activities The application of constructivism theory to teaching has helped learners get positive and active to construct their own knowledge based on inherent knowledge and interact with the learning environment Constructive teaching does not only help learners grasp necessary knowledge, skills, and techniques but the more crucial thing lies in boosting up learners’ thinking & creative competence as well as experiences in reality to help them perfect their ability to meet requirements for social development Chapter THEORECTICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR APPLICATION OF CONSTRUCTIVISM THEORY TO TEACHING SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES AT MILITARY OFFICER SCHOOLS 2.1 Theoretical issues on constructivism theory-based teaching 2.1.1 Definition of constructivism theory Constructivism theory is the one on cognition in which knowledge is constructed by learners for themselves through assimilation and modulation activities upon the foundation of upholding inherent knowledge and experience as well as the positivity of cognitive subjects 2.1.2 Definition of constructivism theory-based teaching 11 The constructivism theory-based lecturing means the teaching type in which teachers or lecturers take initiatives to orient, organize, support, and consult learners to construct knowledge and show it upon their own experience and upon interactions with the learning environment, thence, to achieve the defined learning objectives 2.1.3 Philosophical and psychological foundations for constructivism theory-based teaching 2.1.3.1 Philosophical foundations Basic arguments by C Mark, Ph.Ăngghen, and V.I Lenin on activities, those in reality, and their roles in human development in general and cognitive activity in particular have acted as foundations for methodologies to organize learners’ learning activities 2.1.3.2 Psychological foundations J Piaget’s developmental psychology According to J Piaget’s research, the appearance and development of wisdom is the outcome of the two basic pieces of mechanism: Assimilation and accommodation/modulation Thanks to the very mechamism, human’s wisdom has developed The theory of “the nearest development zone” is worked out by L.X Vygotxki L.X Vygotsky’s viewpoint clearly reflects the social origin of psychological functions and is one of the theses greatly influential on teaching psychology He rejects the viewpoint of “teaching to follow or go with growth” L.X Vygotxki supposes teaching preceeds development, pushes the development and during the development process of children, two levels usually take place: Current level and the nearest development zone 2.1.4 Natures of constructivism theory-based teaching The natures of constructivism theory-based teaching mean a teaching type in which teachers take initiatives to orient, organize, support, and consult learners to construct knowledge for themselves through assimilation and modulation activities of gained experience (knowledge and skills) to adapt to new learning environments, thence, to achieve defined learning objectives 2.1.5 Constructivism theory-based teaching models Rodger W Bybee (1997) suggested 5E model upon the constructivism theory on studies, accordingly, learners will construct knowledge based on the experience process Eisenkraft (2003) researched the 5E model more profoundly and put forward 7E one which extended two additional steps: Extension and Elicitation David A.Kolb is an American Educator who, in 1984, based on researches by Dewey, Lewin, and Piaget, etc., to develop it to put forward the experience-based learning theory [84] In his research, Kolb put forward the experience-based learning model to be applied to teaching The author Tran Kieu 12 (1995) suggested the constructivism theory-based teaching model with three main phases: Mission transfer phase, Action phase for issue settlement, debate phase, legitimization, and application of new knowledge 2.2 Theoretical issues on application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 2.2.1 Definition of application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools Application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools means all activities to apply the constructivism theory to the reality of lecturing process flexibly and creatively; to orient toward organizing constructivism theory-based lecturing process of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 2.2.2 Features of lecturing social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools and competence to apply constructivism theory 2.2.2.1 Constructivism theory-based lecturing objectives of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools The training objective at Military Officer Schools is to attach titles with education The constructivism theory-based teaching is the one with many functions, advantages, and relevancy to development of officers’ virtues & competence The constructivism theory-based teaching requires for lecturers to attach special importance to formation of virtues and competence by facilitating knowledge and skills for learners Basic competence which learners must gain for the constructivism theory means: Cognitive competence, operational competence, competence for self-study, and that for issue settlement, etc., 2.2.2.2 Constructivism theory-based lecturing contents of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools and competence to apply constructivism theory Lecturing contents of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools are: clearly political, socially classified, so abstract, and generalized They are always strictly attached with specifically historical conditions, circumstances, and background Constructivism theory-based lecturing can meet the above-mentioned requirements for lecturing contents of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools 2.2.2.3 Constructivism theory-based lecturing methods of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools and competence to apply constructivism theory Lecturing methods of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools mean the combination of operation methods consistently cooperated by lecturers and learners to realize objectives and missions of the teaching process during which the lecturer force, at present, is utilizing such many different teaching methods as: Group of language using teaching 13 method, that of visual teaching method, that of practical teaching method, and that of methods which stimulate cognitive activities This is the very basic premise and condition to possibly and effectively apply constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools During the lecturing process, in addition to the fact that lecturers apply traditional teaching methods like: presentation, Q&A, and visual presentation, etc., some methods are considered as typical and core in lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools They are: Scenario method, discovery teaching one, cooperative teaching method, and project teaching method 2.2.2.4 Constructivism theory-based lecturing organization of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools and competence to apply constructivism theory Teaching in any conditions or levels is both conducted under certain forms which must clearly show purposes and reflect learners’ positive cognitive levels & lecturers’ guidance in each class and lesson Upon features of lecturing organization forms of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools, specific traits of natures of constructivism theory-based lecturing show its possibly effective application to all teaching forms at Military Officer Schools 2.2.2.5 Teachers with lecturing activities of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools and competence to apply constructivism theory Teachers are officers and lecturers at military schools as both pedagogists, scientists, and political and social activists Teachers both play leading roles and agents This is the favorable condition to apply the constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools with high efficiency 2.2.2.6 Learners with learning activities of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools and competence to apply constructivism theory Learners at Military Officer Schools are military soldiers They are both learners, pacers of scientific researches and futuristic military officers They will undertake leadership and manage soldiers by certain titles Learners are both influential people on teaching activity and subjects of selforganization and self-control of their own cognitive activity Application of constructivisim theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities shall create chances for learners to systematically understand and memorize knowledge; to form their competence for cognition, searches and detecting for issues Learners can develop communication skills, search for, share information, and group cooperation; to help learners experience & approach issues, 14 mobilize sources of knowledge, experience, and usefully utilize that source of knowledge 2.2.2.7 Teaching means and techniques as well as competence to apply constructivism theory Technical means of teaching is the combination of technical teaching devices and equipment which teachers and learners directly use to enhance the efficiency of the teaching process at military schools At present, they are various at Military Officer Schools like: Chalk, lights, visual models, maps, diagrams, and projectors, etc., This is very favorable condition to apply constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools with high efficiency 2.2.2.8 Checks and evaluation on outcomes from lecturing activities of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools and competence to apply constructivism theory Checking and evaluating are integral steps in the teaching process Basic functions of checks and evaluation during the teaching process are both to timely detect and adjust errors to grasp situations for measures to regularly consolidate and perfect the knowledge system, upon which to make positive contributions to learners’ intellectual development The application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools shall settle issues arising to checking and evaluating learners, contribute to enhancing the efficiency of reverse information collection as well as evaluating learners in a more substantive way 2.2.3 Conditions to apply constructivism theory to lecturing activities of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 2.2.3.1 Conditions for lecturing activities of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 2.2.3.2 Conditions for lecturers of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 2.2.3.3 Conditions for learners of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 2.2.3.4 Conditions for learning environment of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 2.2.3.5 Conditions for material infrastructure, manual documents, and references for constructivism theory-based teaching 2.4 Influencers on application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 2.4.1 Influencers by scientific and technological development; 2.4.2 Influencers by innovation in teaching objectives and contents; 2.4.3 Influencers by innovation in teaching methods; 2.4.4 Influencers by lecturers’ pedagogical levels; 15 2.4.6 Influencers by educational management Conclusions in chapter The constructivism theory-based teaching means the approach to the teaching process upon the viewpoint of constructivism Viewpoints of constructivism theory-based teaching are relevant to research outcomes in epistemology, philosophy as well as psychology & modern education Therefore, the constructivism theory-based teaching can meet new requirement for teaching process at Military Officer Schools It is to train officers with sufficient competence and virtues to serve for the work of building up and defending Fatherland during the current stage Chapter PRACTICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR APPLICATION OF CONSTRUCTIVISM THEORY TO LECTURING SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES AT MILITARY OFFICER SCHOOLS 3.1 Features of education and training at Military Officer Schools 3.2 Generalization of actual state survey 3.3 The actual state of lecturing social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 3.3.1 The actual state of accomplishing lecturing objectives of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools The data analysis shows both lecturers and learners suppose the current lecturing process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools remains focused on facilitating learners with basic knowledge and mainly realizing cognitive objectives However, those objectives for subject knowledge comprehension and application reach the mean scores of 3.4 and 3.2 – the rather good level The objective of learners’ thinking development has not been directly put forward during the lecturing process This is just the consequence of knowledge facilitation for learners os its mean score is rather low, at 2.51 – the average level 3.3.2 The actual state of lecturing contents of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools The survey outcomes (the chart 3.4) of lecturers and learners at Military Officer Schools show the evaluation levels on lecturing contents of social sciences & humanities are rather consistent with the mean score of 3.45 (lecturers: 3.66; leaarners: 3.24) ranging from 3.4 ≤ ĐTB ≤ 4.2 (rather good level) However, during the process of building lecturing contents, such issues as: Integration of subject contents; not having interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary contents; not focusing on skills to practice or apply 16 knowledge, competence to detect and settle issues arising in the reality of military activities 3.3.3 The actual state of lecturing methods of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools The overall survey data on the lecturing method use of social sciences & humanities show presentation is the traditional method used in almost all lectures The group of methods which stimulate learners’ cognitive positivity and combine lecturing methods toward upholding their positivity, self-awareness, activeness, and creativity is evaluated with a frequency of ‘occasionally” at mean scores of 2.92 and 2.72 3.3.4 The actual state of checking & evaluating method usage for social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools Survey outcomes for lecturers and learners at Military Officer Schools show the use of checking and evaluating method on social sciences & humanities mainly is the traditional essay method while other methods which stimulate learners’ positivity for creativity are only occasionally used 3.4 The actual state of application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 3.4.1 Lecturers and learners’ cognition about natures of constructivism theory application to teaching The survey outcomes show lecturers’ awareness of indicators belonging to natures of constructivism theory-based lecturing is rather good Nevertheless, when considering scores of the five put-forward indicators, none of them reaches the highest mean score This proves there remains lecturers’ confusion about the natures of constructivism theory-based lecturing; this shows the lecturers have not firmly grasped or profoundly understand about the natures of constructivism theory-based lecturing 3.4.2 Lecturers and learners’ cognition about indicators of constructivism theory application to teaching The survey outcomes on actual state show seven manifestations of constructivism theory-based lecturing gain rather high mean scores ranging from 3.33 to 3.76 & they successively rank from the st to the 3rd place while those not belonging to the constructivism theory-based lecturing gain rather low mean scores ranging from 2.43 to 3.24 This shows both lecturers and learners have initially got aware of constructivism theory but not a high level yet They occasionally mistake manifestations of traditional lecturing and constructivism theory-based one 3.4.3 The actual state of applying constructivism theory to defining lecturing objectives of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 17 The survey outcomes show the construction of lecturers’ teaching objectives has remained traditional or conventional They haven't applied much of constructivism theory to identifying their objectives Specific and specialized objectives for the constructivism theory have been mentioned by lecturers but not regularly 3.4.4 The actual state of applying constructivism theory to designing lecturing contents of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools Lecturers always specifically make pedagogical processing of lecturing contents in the syllabus, however, these contents mainly aim at providing basic knowledge to learners but not attaching special importance to constructivism theory 3.4.5 The actual state of applying constructivism theory to choosing lecturing methods of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools When looking at the actual state survey outcomes, it can be seen that the group of language using lecturing methods has remained the one used the most often at all lectures with a mean score of 4.06 According to lecturers and learners’ evaluation, the application of constructivism theory-based positive lecturing methods has remarkably changed despite the “occasionally” use 3.4.6 The actual state of applying constructivism theory to lecturing forms of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools In general, the application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools in the lecture and seminar forms is only occasionally made while that in the checking, evaluation, selfstudy, practice, and internship is rarely made This is partially because of the motif to perform lecturing organization forms of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools and the habit that has deeply rooted in lecturers’ subconcious 3.4.7 The actual state of applying constructivism theory to checking and evaluating social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools The survey outcomes show the current checking and evaluation activities in lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools focus much on evaluating learners’ outcomes based on contents 3.4.8 Learners’ expressions during their constructivism theory-based learning process of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 18 Initially, learners get aware of taking part in learning situations at classes, discussing, and exchanging; they are encouraged to to put forward solutions to settle issues in their own ways; encouraged to present their own individual viewpoints Besides, in order to further understand learners’ manifestations in learning constructivism theory-based social sciences & humanities, we have learned about not positive manifestations, too The survey and investigation outcomes show most of their not positive manifestations during the learning process get the mean scores ranging from about 2.6 to 3.4 (occasionally level) 3.4.9 The actual state of learners’ competence for knowledge construction for lecturing social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools The survey and investigation outcomes show all manifestations of learners’ competence for knowledge construction related to social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools gain the mean score of 2.92 (the occasionally level”) This shows lecturers, during the lecturing process, haven't fully upheld learners’ creativity or created much space for the learners to present skills specialized for constructivism theory 3.4.10 The actual state of conditions to apply constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools The survey and investigation outcomes show conditions to apply constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools gain the mean score of 2.99 (rather good level) So, generally speaking, guarantee conditions are rather well matching to application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools 3.5 The actual state of influencers on application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools The survey outcomes for lecturers and learners at Military Officer Schools show the influential level of influencers on constructivism theory-based lecturing process of social sciences & humanities is rather consistent The total overall mean evaluation score is at 3.64 (equivalent to the so influential level) However, out of all evaluated contents, there are three factors which are the most influential on the constructivism theory-based lecturing of social sciences & humanities, specifically as: “influences by innovation in lecturing methods ” at a mean score of 3.74, ranking at the nd place; “influences by learners’ cognition, attitude, behavior, and learning methods” at a mean score of 4.07, ranking at the 1st place; “influences by checks and evaluation on learners’ performance outcomes” at a mean score of 3.69, ranking at the 4th place These 19 are the very basic factors greatly influential on the efficiency of lecturing process of social sciences & humanities 3.6 Overall evaluation on actual state and causes 3.6.1 Advantages and their reasons 3.6.1.1 Advantages Firstly, basically, the lecturing process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools can facilitate learners with basic knowledge of subjects at the current development level of the corresponding science Secondly, the identification of objectives, content designs, and choice of lecturing methods of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools assure for scientificness, stimulate learners’ self-awareness, positivity & activeness in learning, and gradually approach constructivism theory Thirdly, learners are basically and properly motivated to learn They have got positive and active to allocate time and collect materials to review & consolidate their knowledge and skills before learning 3.6.1.2 Reasons of the advantages Firstly, the awareness by Party Committee and Administrators at Military Officer Schools in general and that of managers at Faculties of Teachers in particular has got more and more sufficient & profound about positions and roles of innovation in lecturing methods to enhance the lecturing quality of social sciences & humanities, especially since the promulgation of the Resolution 29-NQTW on basic and holistic innovation in education & training Secondly, the lecturer force of social sciences & humanities has been thoroughly selected and basically trained with knowledge, skills, and love for their job Thirdly, necessary guarantee conditions, material infrastructure, and technical means for lectures of social sciences & humanities have been given with more and more care, supplemented, developed, and they must meet requirements for lecturing and learning at Military Officer Schools 3.6.2 Disadvantages and their causes 3.6.2.1 Disadvantages Firstly, during the lecturing process of social sciences & humanities, lecturers haven't cared about formation of learning objectives for learners in each lecture Secondly, lecturing contents of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools have remained much academic but not having caught up with the development of sciences, society, and reality of Military activities Thirdly, although the innovation in lecturing methods of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools has been profoundly and thoroughly grasped by leaders of all levels as well as all lecturers, it generally hasn’t brought about high efficiency yet Fourthly, application of IT and modern devices to the 20 lecturing process is one of the methods to enhance the quality of education and innovation in the lecturing methods upon modern viewpoints but there have remained some lecturers whose IT application level is limited or they haven't been able to fluently use modern devices yet Thus, they have still been confused or “hesitated” while innovating their lecturing methods 3.6.2.2 Causes of the disadvantages Firstly, lecturers‘ awareness of natures, signals, principles, requirements, and application process of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities have remained very limited because they haven't been facilitated with this reasoning Secondly, their application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools has still been limited as they mainly have been accustomed to the former old lecturing method whereas the constructivism theory-based construction as well as lecture preparation for social sciences & humanities aren't easy This work requires for many efforts by each lecturer when groping, searching for, and applying it Thirdly, lecturers at Military Officer Schools, during their lecturing process, often encounter many difficulties applying the constructivism theory Fourthly, so many lecturers appreciate the application of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities They admit its various advantages when applying it to lecturing but in reality, while performing lectures, they meet many difficulties, especially the application of constructivism theory to lectures and subjects whose contents must be close to the lecturing Its application is very demanding for lecturers Conclusions in chapter The research has pointed out the application actual state of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities is one of the crucial contents which contribute to clarifying theoretical issues and simultaneously the vital foundation to work out requirements and processes to enhance lecturers‘ current application quality of constructivism theory to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools 21 Chapter CONSTRUCTIVISM THEORY AND PEDOGOGICAL EXPERIMENTAL-BASED LECTURING ORGANIZATION PROCESS OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES AT MILITARY OFFICER SCHOOLS 4.1 Constructivism theory-based lecturing organization process of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 4.1.1 Perception of constructivism theory-based lecturing organization process of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools The constructivism theory-based lecturing organization process of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools means the process of phases, steps, and operation by lecturers & learners arranged and performed in a certain sequence of the constructivism theory-based lecturing organization process of social sciences & humanities, thence, to help the lecturing process effectively achieve the objectives 4.1.2 Common process of constructivism theory-based lecturing organization of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 4.1.2.1 Teaching preparation For lecturers: To precisely identify topic names, subjects, numbers of learners; time, lecturing objectives; select basic knowledge, identify central contents; new knowledge and its relationship with the learned one; identify learners’ inherent knowledge & experience; expect lecturing methods & devices; build up lecturing plans; anticipate possibilities; references; and build up detailed plans For learners: To grasp learning plans; review previous lessons; study curriculum, documents, search for lesson-related data; and perform work upon lecturers’ requests 4.1.2.2 Teaching organization Step 1: To create problematic situations, stimulate thinking, inspire learning, and develop on lecture topic Step 2: To organize activities to mobilze learners’ inherent knowledge & experience Step 3: To organize learning activities through which to connect learners’ knowledge with lecture knowledge Step 4: To organize learning activities, through which to gain new knowledge Step 5: To organize activities to consolidate the new knowledge and form corresponding skills 4.1.2.3 Evaluation and lessons from teaching experience 4.2 Process of constructivism theory-based lecture and seminar organization of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 4.2.1 Process of constructivism theory-based lecture organization of social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 4.2.1.1 Lesson preparation Lecturers’ activities: Step 1: To build up lecture plans Step 2: To apprve the lecture plans Step 3: To accomplish and skillfully practice the 22 lecture plans Learners’ activities: To read documents, fill in survey questionnaires, and note down thing which they haven't understood and which need discussing 4.2.1.2 Organization for class lectures Step 1: To create problematic situations, stimulate thinking, inspire learning, and develop on lecture topic Step 2: To organize activities to mobilze learners’ inherent knowledge & experience Step 3: To organize learning activities through which to connect learners’ knowledge with lecture knowledge Step 4: To organize learning activities, through which to gain new knowledge Step 5: To organize activities to consolidate the new knowledge and form corresponding skills 4.2.2.3 Evaluation and learning lessons from lectures 4.3.2 Seminar organization process for constructivism theorybased social sciences and humanities at Military Officer Schools 4.3.2.1 Preparation for seminars Lecturers’ activities: Step 1: To build up and disseminate plans for seminar instructions Step 2: To build up plans for seminar control Learners’ activities: Step 1: To learn about seminar themes, identify research missions, undertake research missions by grops, and select research methods Step 2: To perform scientific research activities 4.3.2.2 Seminar organization at classes Step 1: To create problematic situations, stimulate thinking, inspire learning, and develop Step 2: To organize activities to mobilze learners’ inherent knowledge & experience Step 3: To organize learning activities through which to connect learners’ knowledge with the seminar contents Step 4: To organize learning activities, through which to gain new knowledge Step 5: To organize activities to consolidate the new knowledge and form corresponding skills 4.3.2.3 Evaluation and lesson learning from seminars 4.3 Pedagogical experiments The performance of pedagogical experiments for constructivism theory-based lecturing organization process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools upon application to the specific subject which is the Military Education to check the rightness of the scientific assumption has been made, asserting the efficiency, feasibility, and evaluation on influences by the process on learners’ learning outcomes of the Military Education The experiments were made upon the controlled method They were performed at Army Officer School and Army Officer School The 1st time experiment was made on 2nd year learners, term 68, Battalion 2, Army Officer School The experimental class consisted of 50 learners and so did the control class The 2nd time experiment was made on 3rd year learners, term 86, Battalion 13, Army Officer School The experimental class consisted of 50 learners while the control class consisted of 51 learners 23 Before the experiments, we had conducted surveys and selected the experimental & control classes; nurtured, instructed collaborators; compiled experimental contents; simultaneously built up criteria, measurement scales, evaluation tools, checked input levels of the experimental & control groups Upon the analysis of the qualitative & quantitative experimental outcomes, we have drawn the following conclusions: The experimental groups at both experimental facilities have made positive changes in their knowledge, skills, and attitude during their learning process That is shown on the fact that the mean scores from experiments gained by the experimental group are higher than those gained by the control one T-test optomtry shows the difference between the experimental and control groups The difference doesn’t randomly take place but it takes place because of the pedagogical impact The outcomes from the two experiments not only reflect the positive changes by lecturers and learners but also prove the stability of application of constructivism theory-based lecturing organization process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools for the lecture form of Military Education subject Conclusions in chapter Upon the research into reasonings on constructivism theory-based lecturing, its application to lecturing social sciences & humanities, their requirements, and features, we have proposed the constructivisim theory-based lecturing organization process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools To check the feasibility and efficiency of the constructivism process in lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools, we have made pedagogical experiments and tests at two facilitie which are: Army Officer School and Army Officer School within the scope of lectures of Military Education and their contents have remained limited (6 out of 10 lectures) The outcomes from the experimental process have been able to prove that: The utilization of constructivism theory-based lecturing organization process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools is initially doable and effective; it has made contributions to enhancing learners’ learning quality of social sciences & humanities & upheld their cognitive positivity CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS Conclusions 1.1 Constructivism teaching doesn't only help learners grasp necessary knowledge, skills, and techniques but the more importance lies in stimulating learners’ competence for thinking, creativity, and experiences in reality to help them perfect their cognitive competence to meet requirements for the Army and society’s development 1.2 Upon theoretical analysis on constructivism theory-based lecturing and its application to lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools, such definitions of constructivism theory; constructivism theory-based lecturing; its application to lecturing social sciences & humanities 24 as well as lecturing organization process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools have been presented; features of lecturing social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools; relevancy of constructivisim theory-based lecturing with features of lecturing social sciences & humanities and its natures at Military Officer Schools have been pointed out in the thesis Thence, it can be asserted that the constructivism lecturing is able to meet new requirements for teaching process at Military Officer Schools It shall train officers with sufficient competence and virtues to serve for the work of Fatherland construction and defense in the current stage 1.3 The investigation outcomes of lecturing actual state of social sciences & humanities and its initial application at Military Officer Schools in general show: The process of identifying learning objectives, designing learning contents, applying specialized lecgturing methods and techniques for constructivism theory-based lecturing hasn’t been attached with special importance by lecturers Instead, it has still been much academic and theoretical Therefore, it hasn’t created chances to learners to reveal their own gained experience and knowledge; it hasn’t encourages their creativity or cared about their interests or needs during the process of forming occupational capacity This leads to the fact that the achieved outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitude in learning social sciences & humanities have remained limited 1.4 To overcome the above-mentioned restrictions, conditions to apply and constructivism theory-based lecturing organization process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools have been pointed out in the thesis Simultaneously, the proposal for constructivism theory-based lecturing organization process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools has been made for two basic lecturing organization forms at Military Officer Schools: they are lectures and seminars 1.5 Application of constructivism theory-based lecturing organization process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools has been made for the lecture form of Military Education selected to perform pedagogical experiments The gained outcomes show the relevancy and feasibility of the process, simultaneously assert the rightness of the scientific assumption The constructivism theory-based lecturing organization process of social sciences & humanities at Military Officer Schools for the form of Military Education has remarkably influenced the learners, got effective to enhance learners’ learning performances, and contributed to forming & developing their occupational capacity Proposals 2.1 To Military Officer Schools; 2.2 To faculties of teachers  ... was marked with the viewpoint system by the two philosophers: Giambattista Vico and Immanuel Kant [71] Later, Piaget inheritted this ideology and developed it in his theory At the beginning of... researches into constructivism theory over the recent decades The researches by Tran Ba Hoanh, Nguyen Ky, Nguyen Canh Toan, Nguyen Ba Kim, Tran Kieu, and Nguyen Huu Chau have all focused on learners’... positive lecturing methods based on such viewpoints of putting forward issues, interactive lecturing, and constructivist lecturing as: Phan Trong Ngo (2005) [38], “Teaching and its methods at schools”;