Building experiential learning activity model in teaching literature towards developing students’ competences

26 HNUE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE Social Sciences, 2020, Volume 64, Issue 4D, pp. 26-33 This paper is available online at BUILDING EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ACTIVITY MODEL IN TEACHING LITERATURE TOWARDS DEVELOPING STUDENTS’ COMPETENCES Tran Hoai Phuong Faculty of Philology, Hanoi National University of Education Abstract. Experiential learning (also known as EXL) activities are among renovations of Vietnam’s general secondary education program and the Secondary Education Program for Literature after 2018. Building an experiential learning activity model towards developing students’ competences is necessary for providing guidance on execution steps for teachers during activities preparation, organization, and student evaluation. Based on David Kolb's experiential learning model, this research paper proposes experiential learning activity model for Literature and presents a concrete illustration activity to realize the pedagogical idea. Keywords: experiential learning, EXL activity model, teaching Literature. 1. Introduction Vietnam’s fundamental, comprehensive reform of its secondary education explicitly aims to put emphasis on intellectual development, formation of virtues and competences for human citizens, aptitude detection and enhancement, and career orientation for learners. It also aimed at improving comprehensive education quality; focusing on education of ideals, traditions, ethics, lifestyle, foreign languages, information technology, competences and practical skills; performing practical application of acquired knowledge; developing creativeness, self-study; and encouraging lifelong learning. Therefore, in principle, there should be radical reforms of objectives, contents, methods and manners of examination and evaluation in formal education. Knowledge itself is no longer the ultimate goal but the ability to apply it is all that matters. Showing students “How” to do things is more important than teaching them “What” a thing is. Keeping that in mind, formal education should target to teach students learning methods, knowledge application, relevant skills and attitudes for diverse real-life situations. Students are supposed to be able to develop and sharpen competences and virtues so that their learning is an independent and creative thinking process. To meet such requirements, an educational solution has been taken in the General Secondary Education Program (2017) and the Secondary Education Program for Literature (2018) with the application of experiential learning activities. Accordingly, there are 105 separate learning sessions, each of which is integrated with experiential contents integrated. Nguyen Thi Lien (2016) cited the opinion of Dinh Thi Kim Thoa, Bui Ngoc Diep, Ngo Thu Dung, Le Huy Hoang in Summary Record of conference Creative experiential learning activities for Secondary students (Ministry of Education and Training, 2014) that experiential learning activities are organized inside and outside the classroom, helping students to relate theory with reality, be directly involved in and become the subject of learning activities, take Received April 11, 2020. Revised April 24, 2020. Accepted May 15, 2020. Contact Tran Hoai Phuong, e-mail address: phuongth@hnue.edu.vn Building experiential learning activity model in teaching Literature towards developing... 27 an active role in experiencing and discovering aspects of life, and develop competences, values, beliefs, experiences, etc. A subject with its own characteristics and values will have respective experiential learning activities. Besides being an educational activity, the experiential learning activity is also directly integrated into the core subjects, and each subject with its own characteristics and values will have corresponding activities. Literature is defined as an instrumental and art subject, so the experiential learning activity also has its own characteristics which is completely different from other subjects. In Module 6, Course book Teaching Literature in Secondary Schools (Pham Thi Thu Huong, editor, 2017), Tran Hoai Phuong analyzed the goal of the Literature experiential learning activities in high school: emphasizing helping students participate in literary communication and life communication effectively; orienting each individual to become a positive and proactive person; always consciously experiencing actions and emotions to create values, motives, beliefs; knowing how to appreciate the beauty of literature and life, then connect them to enrich the soul. The writer also presented the characteristics of the Literature experiential learning activity on content, form, assessment to draw the conclusion that this activity plays an important role in the development of students' competences and virtues. In addition, the writer has other articles on specific issues of the Literature experiential learning activities such as the application to a specific group of texts in high school textbooks, the application for competence development, organizational forms (Tran Hoai Phuong, 2017, 2018). In practical terms, junior and senior high schools are also increasingly interested in researching and organizing activities for students as well as widely sharing their initiatives. In particular, the attention focuses on the specific forms associated with the subject and the ways to stimulate students' interest such as theatricalization of literary works, role-play, contests, literary clubs, etc... According to the articles published on moet.edu.vn and giaoducthoidai.vn, teachers generally perceive that experiential learning activity is a way to build a learning environment that is closely related to reality, in which learners actively explore and feel to shape their own experiences into new knowledge. It is suitable with the orientation to develop Literature’s specific competences such as aesthetic, language, communication, creativity. Thus, the experiential learning activity in general and Literature experiential learning activity in particular have been increasingly playing an important role in high schools. However, up to now, there has not been a unified model already but only personal experience. We need an experiential learning model aiming to develop students’ competences to ensure effective execution of the activities. 2. Content 2.1. David Kolb’s experiential learning model David Kolb - an American educational theorist - defines learning as “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” (Kolb, 1984). He developed the theory on experiential learning a four-stage ELT Cycle. Figure 1. Kolb’s experiential learning circle Tran Hoai Phuong 28 In details: Stage 1 – Concrete experience : Learners actively experience a practical, specific activity, carry out actions on a defined object such as experimenting, going on a field trip, reading documents, listening to lectures, watching videos, etc. In other words, they are engaged in activities to gain personal experience and make the most of the sensory perception. The extent of experience varies among learners, depending on their level of involvement, interest, enthusiasm, and existing competences. Stage 2 – Observation and reflection : occurs upon learners’ reflection of experiences they have in Stage 1. Stage 3 – Forming abstract concepts : At this stage, learners’ mind seeks to process acquired experiences in a way where the experiences are conceptualized, idealized and generalized into a certain rule, principle or model. That is experienced events are developed into tools and products. Stage 4 - Testing in new situations : Learners apply their idea(s) to a new situation in order to examine the credibility of information processing activity and acquire (a) specialized skill(s) and apply them in real life in a creative manner. Kolb asserts that although a learner is able to commence experiential learning at any stage the aforementioned order of the stages should be followed. Kolb's learning theory sets out four distinct learning styles, which are based on a four-stage learning cycle. The style highlights better learning conditions for a learner. The learning styles include: Assimilators: The Assimilating learning preference involves a concise, logical approach. Convergers: People with a converging learning style prefer the provision of theories or practical application. Accommodators: The Accommodating learning style is 'hands-on,' and relies on intuition rather than logic. Divergers: prefer to watch and gather information. 2.2. Characteristics of Literature education in Vietnam high schools In Secondary Education Program, Literature is the core subject that helps shape and develop the competences and virtues, as well as equip students with the means of communication and the means of thinking, thereby they can effectively engage in social and artistic communication. Basically, Literature has the following specific characteristics that teachers should pay attention when designing experiential learning activities: First of all, Literature is a science focusing on the arts of language. Combined with other subjects, Literature helps develop students’ general competences such as autonomy and self- study, problem solving and creativity, communication and cooperation. Also, it develops specific competences including aesthetics and language. With these competences, students are able to enhance their understanding of history, culture and society, and being richer in life skills, sentiments, etc... Secondly, Literature is an art subject. This is a unique feature that distinguishes this subject from other ones in the program. The artistic expression is that each literary text is a word art product, where Vietnamese expresses all its exquisite beauty. Each literary work opens up a new world in which life becomes typical and condensed with different human fates. Literature helps students access to different aspects of life, thereby fostering the kindness, appreciation and love of the art and life’s beauty. Building experiential learning activity model in teaching Literature towards developing... 29 Thirdly, Literature is an integrated subject. Students can read and understand literary texts together with create words in an artistic way which is suitable for the specific context of communication. The integration requires students to use both mind and soul to study the subject. 2.3. Application of Kolb’s EXL model in Literature education in Vietnam 2.3.1. Principles of developing experiential leaning activity model The development of an experience-based model should base on teaching objectives, ensure the connection with the formal education of specific subjects, targeted learners, infrastructure, and facilities, etc. In general, the following fundamental principles of developing the EXL model shall be complied with: a. Ensuring teaching objectives: better activities for learners; enabling them to apply acquired knowledge, skills and attitudes into practical situations; developing general and specific competences of the subject; forming and improving crucial life skills for personal and public interests. b. Ensuring the science of pedagogy: selected experiential learning activities come in line with learners’ reception characteristics, psychology age level characteristics, demands, motivations, and interests; learners are enabled to acquire fundamental, cutting-edge knowledge in different scientific sectors and popular science through practical experiences and specifically oriented scientific methods, helping them to form their own view of the world and life. c. Ensuring practicality: experiential learning activities taken and applied by learners are usual, familiar, typical and common in daily life. Learners have a chance to experience visual learning from, within and via reality. d. Ensuring diversity and flexibility: experiential learning activities are diverse in forms; suitable for both individual and group work, small and big spaces, short and long periods of time; capable of ensuring both intellectual development and recreational purposes, etc. to guarantee learners’ highest level of involvement. 2.3.2. EXL model in Literature education Based on basic principles, Kolb’s EXL model and current status of teaching Literature in Vietnam, we put forward the following experiential learning activity model: Figure 2. EXL model in Literature education Step 1 – Teachers select experiential learning activities: Experiential leaning model is regarded as an inevitable part of general education, including secondary education, contributing to realizing regulated education and training objectives of secondary schools. The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) says experiential learning is an important activity in every subject, typical experiential learning activities should be included in educational plans and each activity is supposed to harmonize different educational fields, knowledge, and skills. In other (1) Teachers select experiential learning activities (2) Teachers assign the experiential learning activities to learners (3) Learners perform experiential learning and generalize content (4) Teachers guide learners to shape new knowledge (5) Learners apply knowledge in new situation and receive assessments Tran Hoai Phuong 30 words, experiential learning activities can be integrated in either particular Literature curricular lessons or independent extracurricular activities. Teachers should pay attention to this point in order to select suitable experiential learning activities. For instance, if integrated in a curricular lesson, an experiential learning activity should be condensed, typical and suitable with the ongoing learning situation (role-play, language games). Furthermore, the application results should aim at an identified target closely connected with the learning situation. In case of an independent extracurricular activity, an experiential learning activity can be diverse, enriched and more long-term, incorporating different knowledge and skills and is an open activity (theatricalization of literary works, contests, literary clubs, outdoor activities). Step 2 - Teachers assign the experiential learning activities to learners: The assignment of an experiential learning task can be performed in different ways, including: via teachers’ direct assignment, guiding learning materials and documents, suggestive questions, etc. as long as learners comprehend the task given, are ready to take it and willing to perform it. In this step, the teacher is supposed to clarify specific learning objectives, identify form of experiential learning and maneuver activities that learners need to perform to ensure the targeted outcomes. In addition, the teacher can provide necessary resources such as books, articles, research papers, video clips. Upon any queries during the assignment process, the teacher is advised to give detailed instructions and answers so that learners shall well comprehend what they need to do to accomplish the task in the most efficient manner. Step 3 - Learners perform experiential learning and generalize content: After they understand and are assigned tasks, learners take an active role to perform the experiential learning activity. By mobilizing their background knowledge, available experience and peer, mass media learning, learners process information via manipulation and intellectual virtues like perceptions, imagination, and creation. Thereby, they need to achieve two outcomes. The first is the products which are associated directly with the experience such as sharing presentations, personal notes, etc. The second is to generalize the content of the experience, and find the answer to the questions: "What experience does I draw?”, “What does this experiential learning activity intend for?". That means learners need to not only create a demonstration of the activity but also understand its nature. In this step, the teacher acts as an observer, a supporter and an instructor; records learners’ results in different stages and great ideas to make adjustment plans if required; puts forward prompt questions or gives instructions to help learners accomplish their experiential learning tasks. Step 4 – Teachers guide learners to shape new knowledge: Based on the experiential outcome acquired in Step 3, the learner can exchange, discuss, compare their results under the teacher’s guidance in order to draw the most fundamental issues and form new knowledge connected with the learning contents. To do this, the teacher should design questions, exercises and create specific contexts to transform experience results into scientific knowledge, or make use of experience results as a basis for the learner to shape scientific knowledge. Step 5 – Learners apply knowledge in new situation and receive assessments: The application of theory in reality is essential for the theory testing. In this step, the learner applies the experiential learning results to handle a new situation which is/are (a) learning task(s) closely related to reality. The task can maintain or increase its challenging level so that following theory application, learners can rebuilt their awareness of information processing, strong points and weak points in knowledge generalization. They will be able to make self- adjustments to improve their competences and virtues. In this step, the teacher’s task is to perform the assessment. To ensure a fair evaluation, the teacher should set up various channels, including his/her assessment, peer assessment and the learner’s self-assessment. Building experiential learning activity model in teaching Literature towards developing... 31 Since Step 3, the activities can be organized in individual, pair or group work depending on the objectives, experiential learning contents, and targeted learners. Each type of work has its own characteristics and requirements. To be more specific, in an individual activity, learners are required to perform a task independently and in line with tasks related to their personal experience. Their depth of perceptions and emotions shall be exploited. Pair work and group work, in the meantime, aim at sharing and community. In these types of work, the competences to cooperate and discuss are highly appreciated, hence, the work works more efficiently with complicated tasks which uncover various aspects of a matter and demand general critical thinking capability. 2.4. Example of a specific experiential learning activity based on the proposed EXL model Experiential learning activity: Vietnam’s Heritage - A Thousand-Year Civilization Journey Targeted learners Grade 8, junior high school Resources for experiential learning 01 video about the world heritage site Ha Long Bay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsdMh1ve4- w&fbclid=IwAR2Z67M9blo-gHWojHIT9bhhAki4C60hu9-vWGwxe- CEYgDZAlvumKLKupA&app=desktop 01 document about Ha Long Bay retrieved from halongbay.com.vn, the official website of the Ha Long Bay Management Department 01 album of Ha Long Bay Time of activity organization Weeks 18 - 22 as per current learning curriculum of the Ministry of Education and Training (1) Reasons for activity proposal - Presentation is a prevailing type of document in all fields of like, providing unbiased and authenticated knowledge of the characteristics, properties of and reasons for natural and social objects and phenomena. Comprehens