"Vietnam through the eyes of US Presidential visits" - The way Olympians K11 study the US history.
03 October, 2023
Recently, during the official visit of US President Joe Biden to Vietnam, the leaders of both countries agreed to upgrade the Vietnam-US relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This is the first time in Vietnam's history that it has elevated its partnership with a country from a Comprehensive Partnership directly to the highest level of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, bypassing the Strategic Partnership level, all within a span of 10 years (from 2013 to 2023).
Follow this latest news, Olympians from the US Diploma Program had lessons on the development of diplomatic relations between the two countries through 5 visits of the US Presidents. Through the handmade book project named "Vietnam through the eye of US Presidential visits” in the US History subject, students explored the purposes of these diplomatic visits and discussed the strategic issues. Additionally, they gained more understanding of the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
To fascinate the lessons, teacher William Benedict, Head of the History Department at Marianapolis Preparatory School in the US, tried to incorporate current affairs and prepare visual historical evidence like pictures and videos. "Mr. Benedict often shows us vivid illustrations related to historical events. We are very intrigued when discussing further based on those materials. I feel History has become more interesting even though we are learning online" shared Hoang Nhat Nam, an 11th-grade Olympian.
Learning through projects is the typical activity in this subject. Instead of simply answering questions to consolidate knowledge, Olympians have the opportunity to work in groups and present their products in a creative way. Besides, in some lessons, they also take on the roles of historical figures to demonstrate their understanding of the historical characters and contexts.
Ngoc Thao Nhi, an 11th-grade Olympian, said "Studying historical events is not my strong suit. However, in my role as the information synthesizer in this project, I have found additional motivation to fulfill the task of researching President George W. Bush's visit to Vietnam. I know that this contributes to the overall improvement of our group's final product. I believe that these combined learning methods, involving multiple skills, are not only a challenge that helps me overcome things I don't enjoy, but also gradually ignite my interest in those tasks."
Olympians from the US Diploma Program have experienced intriguing History lessons with plenty of useful knowledge and unforgettable group projects.
