MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION LAI PHUONG LIEN DEVELOPING CORE THEMES FOR THE TEACHING OF BIOLOGY IN HIGH SCHOOLS Major: Theory and Method of Teaching Biology Code: 9140111 DISERTATION SUMMARY FOR DOCTORAL PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM IN EDUCATION HA NOI - 2019 The thesis has been completed at: Falcuty of Biology - Ha Noi National University of Education Instructor: Professor Dr DINH QUANG BAO Criticizer 1: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Dinh Nham Vinh University Criticizer 2: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Duc Thanh Hanoi University of Education Criticizer 3: Dr Nguyen Vinh Hien Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training The thesis is defended under School level thesis scoring board at Ha Noi National Unversity of Education at … Hour…… day… month…… Year 2019 The thesis can be referred at: National Library of Vietnam Libraray of Ha Noi National University of Education INTRODUCTION Rationale - Based on the shift of teaching methods from the traditional approaches to the modern methods whose focus is placed in students‟ activeness and creativeness - Based on the new competency-based teaching curriculum with the integration in the fields of natural sciences, social sciences and humnity, and science-technology based on the theory “Integrated teaching as a method of students‟ personality developing and full development” in which competency development is the most important part - Based on the world‟s trend of topic-based teaching - Based on the introduction of core themes for the teaching and learning which helps stdents develop combined knowledge and different skills of information processing, especially skills of categorizing, problem detecting, analyzing and synthesizing information - Based on the fact that topic-based teaching has been used in some secondary and high schools; however, there has been some limitations in its teaching principles, criteria, procedures, methods and forms With the aim of finding out methods and strategies helping sudents to discover and acquire Biology knowledge in a logical and scientific way to develop their active participation and creativity in discovering and obtaining new knowledge, skills and attitudes when learning the subject of Biology in secondary and high schools, as well as helping students easily detect and solve the problems in life, we decided to conduct a study on „„Developing core themes in the teaching of Biology in secondary and high schools„ Aims of the study Based on the structure and content of the secondary and high school teaching curriculum of Biology subject, some core themes in the teaching of Biology subject can be suggested with the aim of developing students„ activeness and creativeness; hence, to improve their research skills and enhance the teaching quality in secondary and high schools Object and Subject of the study 3.1 Object of the study: The procedure of teaching Biology in secondary and high schools 3.2 Subject of the study: The procedure of using core themes in the teaching of Biology in secondary and high schools Scientific hypothesis If proposed core themes can meet such requirements as containing main contents, generalizing and combining knowledge of Biology in secondary and high schools and then being used in the teaching of Biology in secondary and high schools, the teaching quality can be considerably improved in the way of developing students‟ activeness and creativeness It can also develop students‟ research skills and their abilities to acquire knowledge and apply it into various real-life situations Research tasks Study to build the structure and content of core topics of Biology in the field of Natural Sciences and propose the process to organize teaching in secondary and high schools to develop students' capacity Research methods Methods used: Theory-based method, Practical investigationmethod, Expert referencing method, Statistical method Expected results and contributions of the study 7.1 Determine the significance, the nature of the topic-based integrated teaching and students‟ competency development and investigate the reality of topicbased teaching of Biology in secondary and high schools 7.2 Provide a theoretical and practical background on topic-based integrated teaching, core themes and their use in the teaching of Biology in secondary and high schools 7.3 Develop some core themes of Biology in the fiel of natural science, and describe the logical development of knowledge for core themes in a logical, wellorganized and successive way during years of secondary and high schools 7.4 Develop a procedure of using core themes to the teaching of Biology in secondary and high schools Design of the study Apart from the Introduction and Conclusion, the study consists of chapters: - Chapter 1: An overview of theoretical and practical background of the study - Chapter 2: Developing core themes in the teaching of Biology in secondary and high schools - Chapter 3: Teaching experiments RESEARCH RESULTS CHAPTER 1:AN OVERVIEW OF THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1.1.1 In the world: These countries all have a common tendency to be interested in topic-based integrated teaching That there have been numerous studies on topic-based integrated teaching has become a common trend in countries with developed education 1.1.2 In Vietnam Integrated teaching and topic-based integrated teaching are gradually becoming a modern pedagogical movement However, its application is still too small to form a system of students' knowledge and skills to find out the principles to connect all learning contents, creating conditions to develop students' capacity in a systematic way The studies mainly analyze theoretical issues, perspectives on integrated teaching, its trends and its applicability to Vietnamese education, especially applying to one or several subjects Therefore, developing core themes in the teaching of Biology in high schools creates new points and makes a difference from other topics 1.2 RATIONALE 1.2.1 Some basic concepts 1.2.1.1 Integrated teaching Integration is to combine teaching and learning subjects into a content system based on the theoretical and practical relationships of those subjects to ensure consistency and harmony of the complete content system Integrated teaching is a teaching process in which all teaching and learning activities facilitate the formation of specific abilities for students to make the learning process meaningful 1.2.1.2 Topic-based teaching The topic is a central, implicative issue as well as the main aspect of objective reality in relation to the human's subjective ideology The core themes are throughout, principal, inclusive topics that help people get a gerenal, systematic view Topic-based teaching is a combination of traditional and modern teaching methods, in which teachers not teach only by organizing students to acquire sporadic knowledge but mainly guiding students to self-seek information, using knowledge and skills in a wide range to solve tasks with practical meaning or general meaning of scientific principles 1.2.2 Topic-based teaching is the method of developing students' competency 1.2.2.1 Competency Competency is spontaneous mobilization a set of resources to capture a specific situation and respond to it in an appropriate way 1.2.2.2 Target The target is the effect of a skill on the content 1.2.2.3 Integrated education towards formation and competency development Competency = {knowledge x skills} x situation = {target} x situation The formula above also shows that the target is the implementation of a skill (or an activity) on the content corresponding to it The purpose of integration is to allow students to master the situations they might face in life, whether in workplace or in society For this purpose, integrated education has the following objectives: - The process: Make the learning process meaningful by placing the learning process in a meaningful context with students that related to the real situations that students might face in life - The relationship: Help students distinguish the problems according to the relevance, focus on the importance: either because it is practical for daily life, or it can become the basis for further learning - The application: Apply learning to real-life situations This means not to cram students with knowledge, but to teach them how to link learning materials with values (such as becoming a responsible citizen, an independent individual ) That student will therefore be evaluated in many different contexts - Incorporating the objectives above : Students can combine the learned elements and then respond to one of the challenges in society, they are provided the ability to mobilize knowledge and skills to effectively respond to situations in life and not losing hope even in unexpected situations 1.2.2.4 Topic-based teaching is an integrated method to form and develop competency The educational content consists of parts: knowledge of nature, society and humanity; modes of operation, skills, operational competency and awareness of reallife situation Competency constituted by: -The knowledge of the field -The ability to conduct activities - Psychological conditions Therefore, the two parts above of educational content are the components of the educational program in general and the subject curriculum in particular Understanding the content of the subject that way so as to not separate the "thing" and "the way" in developing the subject curriculum, the subject‟s outcomes Each subject needs to set a goal table, which is the relationship matrix between the system of skills and the content of knowledge as follows: Table 1.1 The goal table to be set up in each subject Knowledge Skills 1.1 2.1 3.1 1.2 2.2 3.2 1.3 2.3 3.3 1.4 2.4 3.4 1.5 2.5 3.5 1.6 2.6 3.6 From table 1.1, it is possible to continue to develop according to table 1.2 to form the competency at the middle or at the end of the period: Table 1.2 Developing basic competency and integrated competency INTEGRATED COMPETENCY (INTEGRATED TARGETS AT THE END OF THE PERIOD) Basic competency (Period target 1) Competency Competency ……… Competency m Basic competency (Period target 2) Basic competency (Period target 3) …… Basic competency n (Period target n) It is necessary to identify the system of core questions to orient the content of knowledge and students' learning methods in topic-based teaching The key question should be universal, requiring a good number of open-ended content The key questions help us understand that knowledge is a constant search and it is what makes our lives worth living The most specific characteristic sign of the key question is to address the key aspect, the focus of the object, the research and inquiry phenomenon Thus, as a method for integrating, topic-based teaching, both content and methods are aimed at development goals in integrated learners Through a series of competencies formation in learning activities organized and oriented by teachers, students achieve integrated competencies in accordance with the objectives of the learning content and suitable to real life Learning could become meaningful for students From the analysis above, it can be seen that the prominence of key topic relational logic key questions  Integrated teaching Competency 1.3 Surveying the situation of using core themes in the teaching of biology in secondary and high schools Based on the theory of developing key topics, research trends in the world and in Vietnam in using core themes in the teaching of natural science in general and Biology in particular in secondary and high schools , we conducted surveys for teachers of Biology at secondary and high schools 1.3.1 Purpose of survey To study the issues: (1) Teachers' awareness about Integrating, topic-based teaching and key topic (2) Teachers' awareness of using key topic in the teaching of biology in secondary and high school (3) The situation of the use of core themes in the teaching of biology in secondary and high schools 1.3.2 Survey content We focus on surveying the following three issues: Issue 1: Teachers' awareness about Integrating, topic-based teaching and key topic Issue 2: Teachers' awareness of using key topic in the teaching of biology in secondary and high school Issue 3: The situation of the use of core themes in the teaching of biology in secondary and high schools 1.3.2 Respondents We surveyed 205 teachers of Biology at secondary and high schools in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Hanoi, Da Lat, Da Nang, Quang Ninh, Nam Dinh and teachers are postgraduate of K7 and K8 of University of Education, VNU 1.3.3 Survey form Use survey questionnaires, attend teachers' hours, view lesson plans, interview directly 1.3.4 Survey results We have designed a set of questions including self-essay sentences and 20 multiple choice questions CHAPTER 2: DEVELOPING THE CORE THEMES TO ORGANIZE TEACHING BIOLOGY IN SECONDARY AND HIGH SCHOOL 2.1 Analysis of current Secondary and High School Biology program The analysis of the current program and textbook from the point of teaching the content is generalized, shows the essence of the core themes reflects the nature, generalization, and the connection of knowledge , skills at a certain range In fact, these are integrated topics Accordingly, the content of biological knowledge must be designed by integrated topics with wide scope, generalized in different areas Range of scope must follow logically Large set Small set, General  Particular That logic allows the presentation of content, organization of teaching can follow inductive logic or interpretation Basically, the current secondary and high School Biology program is mainly built according to the specialties of Biology Therefore, it should be improved in the direction of increasing generalization, theoretical outline to both reduce the load of single knowledge and equip teaching and integrated capacity development, making theoretical knowledge become the base for developing biotechnology applications.The current Biology program in many classes is still built according to the content orientation, not really built according to competency orientation and differentiated education The design of the general curriculum according to the integrated approach of within or among subjects has not been clearly seen (especially, not yet implemented at the secondary level) It is not only difficult for teachers to choose the topic of biological teaching, but also difficult to reduce the theoretical knowledge and improve the ability to solve problems arising in life 2.2 Develop core themes and questions 2.2.1 Viewpoints and principles of core themes developing Competency development is considered the guideline of the general education program Competency can only be formed and developed in learners through organizing teaching In one subject, scientific knowledge must be selected according to the principle of "focus", to clarify certain issues (key topics) The integrated scope of the core themes is gradually increased, towards a problem with a higher level of generalization From the scope of a chapter, part of a subject, to the range of subjects of a scientific field and a wide range of scientific disciplines There is a positive correlation between the competency and integrated scope of the topic: the wider the integration scope, the higher the competency developed 2.2.2 General structure of the key content of Natural Science to design core themes and Biological key questions In order to develop the core themes are concepts, principles of connecting Life Science knowledge to organize teaching in secondary and high schools, first of all need to analyze the structure of things and phenomena around people in natural world After that, it is necessary to find the logic connecting knowledge that reflects that structure, and at the same time, it is essential to determine the method of organizing teaching formation for students to get that structure with the aim to arrange the learning process and knowledge thoroughly The natural world of students will be arranged, connected according to the system into a unified structure and after finishing high school, students get an overview, a system about the natural world around them, from which will be more comprehensive thoughts and actions Things and phenomena surrounding human in the natural world are structured in many ways that are inseparable, interconnect by rules and concepts that are common and transparent Therefore, the logic of knowledge in the field of natural science should also be built according to that structure As the above section has analyzed, the core themes have different scope at different levels In this thesis, topics are defined by levels: Natural principles living levels  The most common characteristics of living organizations Similar concepts / signs of common characteristics of living organizations  the specialized concepts The logical relationship of these topics is shown in the following diagram: Figure 2.1: Structure of subjects knowledge in the field of natural science around key topics 2.2.3 Determine the content of core themes according to hierarchical logic Core themes and key questions corresponding to the topic are shown in Table 2.1: Table 2.1 The key question system corresponds to the key topics Topics Questions Key topic level 1: General 1.1Prove that the natural world is diverse, has a model structure, principles of the natural world system, cyclical movement, contains interactions and movements associated with energy? 1.2 How are those principles of nature manifested in Biology? Key topic level 2: Basic 2.1 Why are Cells (Body, Population, Community - HST, organizational levels of life Biosphere) are the organizational levels of living? 2.2 Explain the relationship between those organizational levels? Key topic level 3: General 3.1 What is material and energy transformation (Growth and concepts of living characteristics development, Reproduction, Coordination and response induction)? 3.2 How is the process of material and energy transformation (Growth and development, Reproduction, Coordination and response - induction) in Cells (Body, Population, Community HST, Biosphere) take place? 3.3 How are the characteristics of material and energy metabolism, growth and development, reproduction, coordination and response - induction relationships with each other? Key topic level 4: The process of 4.1 Proving basic life activities that characterize all living living characteristics organizations follow the mechanisms of similar nature? 4.2 List those similar mechanisms for each living activity: Material and energy transformation, Growth and development, Reproduction, Coordination and response - induction? We determine the rank fiber of the Material and energy transformation characteristic is the following specialized skills: - Cell level: Transporting substances through cell membrane, Transporting substances in cells, Enzim the role of enzim in the process of material metabolism, Photosynthesis in cells, Cellular respiration 11 a Generalization skills When reviewing generalization skills, we identified five component skills, arranged according to logic that constitutes the process Therefore, it can be conceived that each component of a component is a criterion of the competence, in each criterion, there will be different levels of expression Skills Secondary school Define generalization With the direct guidance of teachers, by the system of purposes small questions, identify the core theme needs to be generalizationed Select generalized object With the guidance of teachers, select the objects groups to form a class suitable for generalization purposes Format objects or name objects to generalize Analyze the signs / With the expressive form, characteristics and know how to analyze the properties of each object synthesize in the selected target characteristics of each research object and group establish the relationship between those characteristics Classify the signs to find Distinguish the same and the most common and different signs between essential signs of the objects based on the selected class / group of information contained in the textbook Select the same subjects common sign for those objects Expressing generalized Eliminating nontrivial and similar signs, retaining the contents into concept general nature of the object class High school Identify the content / awareness issues based on the organization and operation mechanism of things and phenomena Mobilize, connect information to orient, divide topics to generalize Selecting objects to form a suitable class for the purpose of conducting the landscape Format objects or name objects to generalize Without any helps, identify appropriate expressions for analysis synthesize characteristics of each research object and establish relationships between those characteristics Indicates similar and different signs based on information sources and can lead to additional examples of materials in textbooks between subjects Select the same common sign for those objects Eliminating nontrivial and similar signs, retaining the most common signs of the same class subjects Choose coded words that form the concept reflected in the thinking of research subjects 12 b Systematization skills When examining systematization skills, we identified five component skills, logically organized into the systemization process Therefore, it can be conceived that each element of composition is a criterion of systematization skills, in each criterion there will be many different expression levels Skills Secondary school High school Determine the purpose of With the direct guidance of Self-analysis - synthesize, teachers, analysis - select content from systematization summarize the content in different sources to the textbook to determine determine the subject and the topic to be systemized systematic logical path Define the criterias that With the guidance of Analyze content from analyze the multiple topics to see the constitute the topic to teachers, content of a topic in the components that make up systematize textbook to see the the system components in the system Analyze the similarities and differences of components in the system Determine the Analyze the content of a Analyzing problems / relationship between the topic in the textbook to see content from multiple to see the components of the system the logical relationship topics between the components relationship between the of the system components that make up the system the content Arrange the components Organization of Arrange components within the components within a given within a self-designed framework of matrix of relationships matrix that facilitates content aggregation, relationships in the between them revealing logical system relationships between unit components the present Self-selected words and Express the systemized With presentation, expressing forms of content content the systematized content presentation are so as to ensure the systematized so as to rationality and harmony ensure the rationality and between the components in harmony of components in the system with the overall the system 13 2.3.2.2 Determine the development of knowledge content across grade levels Teachers can help students to develop an overview of that specialized skill, at the same time determine the position and relationship of knowledge in the preparation lesson with the knowledge in the classes and levels of learning in system of signs of specialized skills For example: Determining the development of the skills of Material and energy transformation in general through the identification of the development of level topics (rank 4) corresponding to the grade levels: Table 2.4: Development of Material and energy transformation skills in Cells through grade levels Level Cell Core theme rank3 Materi al and energy transf ormati on Speciali st skills (rank 4) Transpo rting substanc es through cell membra nes Level of development across grade levels Secondary school (6,7,8,9) High School (10,11,12) - Grade 6: Students learn and observe basic units that make up Tissue and cell organisms with observation tools that are magnifying glass and microscope Students also know the shape of cells and the main components of the cell, including the bio-membrane, which is the covering and protecting cell - Grade 8: Students have an understanding of the more detailed structure of cell organelles and their functions, in which the plasma membrane helps cells to metabolize At the same time, students know what environmental substances are collected and discharged by the cells, and what role does the metabolic activity in the cell play to the body and is a precursor to other processes (growing up, share…) - Grade 10: Students are investigated in more detail about the composition of the cell components, including the plasma membrane Students can study the dynamic mosaic pattern of the membrane and the role of each component in that model Students are also provided with knowledge of forms of transport through the biofilm, transported substances and their mechanisms 2.3.2.3 Connecting knowledge content and searching methods, using knowledge to formulate goals and time goals To determine the time goal of each lesson, teachers need: - Determining the knowledge objectives of specialized skills: Depending on the level of studying specialized skills at each grade level, teachers determine the knowledge objectives that students need to achieve after learning lessons 14 - Determining the objectives of specialized skills: Based on the detailed development of component skills of the skill according to the process of understanding the living world, teachers determine the skills objectives students need to achieve - Linking the knowledge and skills objectives according to a certain scope to create the goal of the lesson and connecting the goals that make up the stage goal 2.3.2.4 Developing learning activities based on goals and period targets Basing on the determination of the goals and period objectives, along with knowledge related to skills that have been studied at the lower grades (refer to Appendix 5), the teacher designs teaching activities to help students develop knowledge systems according to core themes and master skills 2.3.3 Teaching orientation according to key topics The construction of logical structures and the analysis of the skills developments follows according to logic, the teaching orientation goes according to the core topics in that logic to ultimately form the general structure of Biology knowledge in the field of Natural Science revolves around the key topics Teaching is probaly understood as : knowledge of each specialized skills is matched with skills corresponding to grade level to form small circuits, these small circuits continue to knit together to form bigger circuits as a sign of living characteristic, eventually the big circuits knit together to form the Life Skills at all levels of organization Therefore, in the process of teaching, the development of knowledge circuits of specialized skills surrounding the general principles of nature will make larger circuits also revolve around the general principles of nature Thus, in the teaching process, the knowledge in specialized skills needs to be analyzed to clarify the signs and to be generalized and systematized to form the key topics These are two processes that are essentially differentiated and integrated in teaching which form the key themes It is necessary to overcome the separation of these two processes by Synthesis - Stool - Synthesis 2.3.3.1 Organization of teaching and developing specialized concepts Step1 Teachers raise key questions to orient the generalization of students' knowledge Step 2: Teachers organize students mobilize knowledge related to the new specialty concept Implementing this step means that the teacher helps students to determine the picture of the specialization skills already available to establish relations with new knowledge, thereby supplementing the development of new skills and external skills Step 3: Teacher organization students put the concept has been acquired into the relationship matrix between topics / concepts In essence, this is done with connection logic / braiding When students know the concept has been surveyed into the correct logical position in the matrix of concepts according to hierarchical relationship about the level of generalization, students have achieved the goal of the period or the end of the period depending on the position of the activity That in the 15 series of learning activities corresponds to the hierarchy of the core theme This step is divided into small steps, including Step 3.1: Implementing the goals Step 3.2: Connecting theories into a system Step 4: Apply content 2.3.3.2 Organize teaching to form the core concept After teaching specialized concepts, ie forming small fibers, there is a need to organize teaching to "weave" the fibers that twist around the larger thread-forming core threads, or subject matter higher, or the core concept This can be done by deriving from the destination, then implementing specific concepts or coming from a specialized concept and generalizing towards the destination, corresponding to the organization of teaching according to interpretation path and inductive path 2.3.3.2.1 Forming core concepts by interpretationed way Step 1: Teacher gives core questions to guide the next lessons Step 2: Teachers combine with textbooks to form core skills Step 3: Teachers orient students to find out mechanisms to perform the functions of core skills in the living system Step 4: Organize students based on the core theme to make reference system to learn other objects and phenomena 2.3.3.2.2 Forming core concepts by inductive way B1 Develop small content circuits in turn B2 Identify the characteristics of signs according to the process of large content circuits B3: Generalized into the essential signs of the great content circuit CHAPTER 3: TEACHING EXPERIMENTS 3.1 Experimental purpose In order to test the effectiveness and feasibility of developing core themes to organize teaching Biology in secondary and high school and prove the correctness of the scientific hypothesis of the thesis 3.2 Experimental content At the secondary level, we prepare a plan to teach specialized skills to approach natural principles (core topic rank 1) Topic Round - Grade 6,7 Round - Grade 8,9 Diversity of animals and Diversity of other Diversity plants organisms: mushrooms; bacteria; protoplasm… - Cell model - Systems: Models and systems - Systems: + Skeleton and muscle + Digestion + Nerves and senses 16 Topic Energy Interaction Round - Grade 6,7 + Respiratory + Circulation + Excretion Photosynthesis and cellular respiration - Interaction between organisms and organisms - Interaction between organisms and the environment Round - Grade 8,9 + Endocrine + Reproduction Energy in the ecosystem - Genetic mechanism, molecular level variation - Genetic rules (inherited by Meldel) At the high school level, we compose the lesson plan according to the approach towards the level of living organization (core topic rank 2) among the specialized skills of selected Biology as the unit Analyzing the development around the core topics, we select the following specialty concepts to prepare experimental lesson plans according to the theme, corresponding to the phase of goal formation and the goal of the period At the same time, we prepare lesson revision lesson according to the inductive way to test the formation of a core theme from the content content circuits in specialized skills around that topic, corresponding to the phase paragraph to create goals at the end of the period 3.3 EXPERIMENTAL METHOD 3.3.1 Select experimental group and school 17 a Select experimental school:The experiment was conducted on high schools of different qualities: Ba Dinh High School (Thanh Hoa), Cam Ba Thuoc High School (Thanh Hoa), Thuong Xuan High School (Thanh Hoa), Thach Thanh High School (Thanh Hoa) in 2017-2018 academic year on a total of 349 students in grade 10: experimental groups and control groups b.Select experimental group In each school, we choose an experimental group and a control group taught by the same teacher We conduct a selection of experimental and control groups according to the following principles:-Consult the homeroom teachers and biology teachers in the level of equivalence of the control and experimental group -The numbers of control and experimental groups are equal - Results of analysis the average score in biology in two groups show the similarity We collected the average biology score of control and experimental groups in last semester and analyzed by SPSS software The results show the following Table 3.1.the average score in biology of 9th grade students before teaching experiment and statistics parameters Number Average standard Group of Index t Reliability score deviation students 174 7.32 1.94 Control group 0.25 0.657 175 7.33 1.81 Experimental group The statistical results in table 3.1 show that the average score of the experimental group is only 0.01 higher than that of the control group This difference is not statistically significant because the reliability is greater than 0.05, which can be affirmed before the teaching experiments, the control and experimental groups have similar learning capacity 3.3.2 Select teachers for teaching experiments We Select teachers from experimental schools who have more than years teaching experience Before teaching experiment, we discussed with teachers and unified ideas as well as experimental lesson plans 3.3.3 Conduct experiments - In each school, EG and CG are taught by the same teacher with the same content and evaluated by the same test as well as evaluation criteria - EG: Using lesson plans designed according to the idea of thesis topic - CG : The program is taught in parallel, the knowledge is organized in the order of textbooks by the method that teachers often use 3.3.4 Data collection tools 3.3.4.1 Content, tools and evaluation time Based on the research purpose and scientific hypothesis, we determine the content to be evaluated, the tools and the evaluation time used in the process of teaching experiment as follows 18 Table 3.2 Content to be evaluated, evaluation tools are used and evaluation time during teaching experiments Content Tools Evaluation time Evaluate the activeness and creativeness of students in teaching according to key topics - Checklist to assess the levels of achievement for each criterion - Questionnaires, assessing the level of activeness and creativeness of students in when using core themes in the teaching of Biologydesigned based on the checklist - Checklist to assess the levels of achievement for each skill The questionnaire, assessment of generalization skills and systematization skills when using core themes in the teaching of Biologydesigned based on the checklist 04 Multiple choice Test, 10 points scale, time limit 45 minutes 01 Writing test10 points scale, time limit 180 minutes Before and After Experiment Evaluation the generalization skills and systematization skills in teaching in core subjects Evaluate the level of achievement at the period objectives in teaching specialized skills on material transformation and cell energy according to key topics Before and After Experiment After completing the experiment 3.4 RESULTS 3.4.1 Evaluate science skills in teaching according to key topics The survey results on generalization skills and systematization skills when using core themes in the teaching of Biologyafter experiments in both in CG and EG are calculated and summarized in the table 3.3 below: Table 3.3 Comparative results of generalization skills in teaching on core themes in CG and EG after experiments Skill CG EG Skill CG EG Sample 173 169 173 Average 3.20 2.05 Average Error 049 Median Skill 169 3.23 2.10 050 049 3.00 2.00 644 629 415 Minumum Value Maximum Value Total rating points 3.29 2.18 048 053 3.00 2.00 CG EG 173 Dominant number Standard Deviation Variance 169 EG 173 Skill Skill CG CG 169 EG 173 169 3.35 2.12 3.21 2.17 046 049 050 050 045 3.00 2.00 3.00 2.00 3.00 2.00 3 699 649 639 594 643 644 661 584 396 488 421 408 353 414 414 437 341 1 1 1 1 4 4 4 4 553 347 570 368 558 355 579 358 556 366 19 The average score of CG and Eg after experiments is shown in Figure 3.1 Figure 3.1: Comparative results of generalization skills when using core themes in the teaching of Biologyin CG and EG after experiments Table 3.4 Results of testing the average difference in evaluating generalization skills in CG and EG after experiments Sample Value t Sig EG 3.500 16.602 4.059 15.318 3.314 16.852 4.368 17.649 2.863 15.528 081 000 200 000 201 000 201 000 204 000 Skill CG EG Skill2 CG EG Skill CG EG Skill CG EG Skill CG Through table 3.4, it can be seen that after experiments the evaluation results of all skills showed that EG was larger than CG This difference is significant because sig is lower than 0.01 (reliability up to 90%) The difference in skill points is greater than 1.1, in which the biggest difference is in skill (difference of 1.4 points) Table 3.5 Comparative results of systematization skills in teaching on core themes in CG and EG after experiments Skill EG Sample 173 Average 1.54 Average Error 3.34 Median 054 CG 169 1.56 2.19 066 Skill EG 173 1.79 3.20 052 CG 169 1.80 2.14 067 Skill EG 173 1.78 3.23 049 CG 169 1.73 2.07 055 Skill EG 173 1.78 3.26 055 CG 169 1.74 2.09 055 Skill EG 173 1.73 3.36 058 CG 169 1.78 2.12 060 20 Dominant number Standard Deviation Variance Minumum Value Maximum Value Total rating points 059 058 049 050 050 051 048 051 048 047 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 1.00 2.00 2.00 3.00 2.00 3.00 2.00 3.00 2.00 3.00 1.00 3.00 2.00 2 2 2 3 3 769 698 753 704 621 611 817 788 809 796 The average score of CG and Eg after experiments is shown in Figure 3.2 Figure 3.2: Comparative results of systematization skills when using core themes in the teaching of Biologyin CG and EG after experiments Table 3.6 Results of testing the average difference in evaluating systematization skills in CG and EG after experiments Value t Sig Sample 056 EG 4.343 Skill CG 14.135 000 EG 100 5.562 Skill2 CG 16.228 000 081 EG 3.173 Skill CG 15.265 000 EG 4.445 201 Skill CG 15.722 000 EG 3.121 202 Skill CG 14.889 000 Through table 3.6, it can be seen that after experiments the evaluation results of all skills showed that EG was larger than CG This difference is significant because sig is lower than 0.01 (reliability up to 90%) The difference in skill points is greater than 1.1, in which the biggest difference is in skill (difference of 1.4 points) 21 In summary, if the evaluation score of students skills is equivalent before experiment , the evaluation results of EG are statistically higher than CG after experiments From that, it can be concluded that after the impact, students in EG have a higher development of generalization skills and systematization skills than ones in CG 3.4.2 Evaluate the activeness and creativeness of students in teaching according to key topics Survey results on the activeness and creativeness of students in when using core themes in the teaching of Biologyafter experiments in both CG and EG are calculated and summarized in Table 3.5 below Table 3.7 Comparative results of the activeness and creativeness of students in when using core themes in the teaching of Biology after experiments in both CG and EG after experiments Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria8 EG CG EG CG EG CG EG CG EG CG EG CG EG CG EG CG Sample 173 169 173 169 173 169 173 169 173 169 173 169 173 169 173 169 Average 3.05 1.85 3.50 2.09 3.39 2.14 3.28 2.13 3.33 2.07 3.31 1.99 3.20 2.12 3.31 2.04 Average Error 037 045 045 049 045 042 048 049 047 049 049 046 047 049 045 051 Median 3.00 2.00 4.00 2.00 3.00 2.00 3.00 2.00 3.00 2.00 3.00 2.00 3.00 2.00 3.00 2.00 Dominant 3 3 3 Standard Deviation 492 584 597 638 587 545 632 642 620 632 650 597 619 638 596 663 Variance 242 341 356 408 345 297 399 412 385 400 423 357 383 407 355 439 Minimum Value 2 1 2 2 Maximum Value 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Total rating points 527 313 606 354 587 361 567 360 576 350 572 336 554 359 573 344 The average score of CG and Eg after experiments is shown in Figure 3.4 Chart 3.3 Comparative results of the activeness and creativeness of students in when using core themes in the teaching of Biologyafter experiments in both CG and EG after experiments 22 Table 3.8 The results of evaluation in average difference about the activeness and creativeness of CG and EG students after experiments Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria Criteria6 Criteria7 Criteria Sammple Quantity Average Standard deviation Average Error EG 173 3.05 492 1.194 CG 169 1.85 584 EG 173 3.50 597 CG 169 2.09 638 EG 173 3.39 587 CG 169 2.14 545 EG 173 3.28 632 CG 169 2.13 642 EG 173 3.33 620 CG 169 2.07 632 EG 173 3.31 650 CG 169 1.99 597 EG 173 3.20 619 CG 169 2.12 638 EG 173 3.31 596 CG 169 2.04 663 1.408 1.257 1.147 1.258 1.32 1.078 1.277 Value t Sig 20.428 000 21.062 000 20.531 000 16.661 000 18.579 000 12.333 0.000 15.859 000 18.737 000 Through table 3.6, it can be seen that after experiments the evaluation results of all skills showed that EG was larger than CG This difference is significant because sig is lower than 0.01 (reliability up to 90%) The difference in skill points is greater than 1.1, in which the biggest difference is in skill (difference of 1.4 points) In summary, if the evaluation score of students skills is equivalent before experiment , the evaluation results of EG are statistically higher than CG after experiments From that, it can be concluded that EG students are more active and creative than ones in CG 3.4.3 Evaluate the level of achievment at the end of the period when using core themes in the teaching of Biology The results of students' test scores in both CG and EG are calculated and summarized in Table 3.9 below: Table 3.9 Comparison results of test scores of CG and EG Test EG CG 173 169 Sample 8.27 6.79 Average 063 085 Average Error 8.50 7.00 Median Dominant Standard Deviation 822 1.099 Test Test Test Test EG CG EG CG EG CG EG CG 169 173 173 169 173 169 169 173 8.60 6.85 8.39 6.43 8.49 6.02 8.60 6.85 041 083 033 079 022 087 041 083 8.50 7.00 8.50 7.00 8.50 7.00 8.50 7.00 9 545 1.082 798 1.085 809 1.092 545 1.082 23 Test Test Test Test Test 676 1.207 297 1.171 455 1.202 398 1.195 297 1.171 Variance 7 Minimum Value 10 10 10 10 Maximum Value 10 Total rating points 1430 1148 1489 1158 1451 1087 1469 1017 1489 1158 The average score of CG and Eg is shown in Chart 3.4 Chart 3.4: Comparison results of test scores of CG and EG From Table 3.9 and chart 3.4, it can be seen that average score of CG and EG is clearly different To test this difference, we conducted the test by verifying two independent samples The results are shown in Table 3.10 Table 3.10 The results of evaluating average difference in testìng scores of EG and CG Standard Average Sample Quantity Average Value t Sig Deviation Error Test EG 173 8.27 822 1.473 14.060 000 CG 169 6.79 1.099 Test EG 173 8.60 545 1.752 18.970 000 CG 169 6.85 1.082 EG 173 8.27 822 1.473 14.060 000 Test CG 169 6.79 1.099 EG 173 8.36 812 1.565 14.975 000 Test CG 169 6.67 1.078 EG 173 8.39 798 1.632 16.349 000 Test CG 169 6.43 1.085 The test results in Table 3.10 show that the difference between the average results of CG and EG is statistically significant Thus, through teaching the key topics, students‟ activeness and creativeness, and specialized skills of natural science, as well as the level of knowledge acquisition and ability to apply to different situations are all improved Thereby, the effectiveness of the teaching process that the thesis proposed has been confirmed 24 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS CONCLUSION Through research, we have solved the following problems: 1.1 Based on an overview of research issues related to the topic, we have developed the theory of integrated teaching and topic -based integrated teaching and clarified the role of topic -based integrated teaching with forming and developing the capacity of students Then, we have pointed out the benefits that the topic brings to the teaching process 1.2 Based on the theory of integrated teaching and topic-based integrated teaching, we have built Biology teaching process in secondary and high school according to core themes with two periods to deliver systematically develop students' Biological knowledge while developing the ability to apply knowledge to different situations of real life In addition, we have also given the orientation to teaching the lessons in the Secondary and High School Biology program in the context of teaching key topics, in three types of lessons: Introduction, Lessons in Chapters and Summary 1.3 To test the effectiveness and feasibility of Developing core themes for Biology teaching in Secondary and High School, we have conducted pedagogical experiment with contents of Material and energy transformationin Cells, results obtained is true to the scientific hypothesis that the thesis has proposed RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 Continue to research to develop core themes to the teaching at high schools to teach other subjects, especially subjects in the field of Natural Sciences 2.2 Continue to implement teaching experiment for secondary and high schools in the whole country, in all regions 2.3 It is necessary to include the content of teaching core themes in Biology Teaching Methodology and also plan to train and regularly support teachers in secondary and high schools across the country to improve vocational capacity and teaching quality 2.4 It is necessary to have a plan to train teachers in pedagogical schools in the direction of both intensive training, and to equip knowledge and ideas about the general principles of the natural world as well as ways to combining scientific skills and knowledge content to form goals, goals at the middle and goals at the end of the period, contributing to the implementation of an integrated oriented education program to develop capacity for learners 25 THE PULICATIONS RELATED TO THE DOCTORAL THESIS Lai Phuong Lien, Nguyen The Hung (2015), Determining core themes in teaching Biology, Education Journal, No 371, period (December 2015), 42-45 Lai Phuong Lien (2016), Constructing the concept of general biology for students through the generalization of specialized biological concepts in the universal biological program, the content of "Reproduction in plants", Journal Education, Number 379 (Ki - 4/2016), 57-59 Nguyen The Hung, Lai Phuong Lien (2016), Determining the core themes in teaching Biology, Education Science Journal, No 130 (July 2016), 50-53 Nguyen The Hung, Lai Phuong Lien (2017), Developing core themes in teaching high school Biology, Proceedings of international scientific workshop: "Developing pedagogical capacity of self-teaching science teachers Naturally meeting the requirements of general education renovation ”, December 2017, 499-507 Dinh Quang Bao, Lai Phuong Lien (2017), Developing pedagogical capacity of natural science teachers to meet the requirements of general education innovation, Proceedings of international scientific workshop: "Developing pedagogical capacity of self-teaching science teachers Naturally meeting the requirements of general education renovation ”, December 2017, 3-9 Lai Phuong Lien, Ha Van Dung, Integrated teaching on core themes – a tool for students‟ competency development in general education, Vietnam Journal of Education, Vol 4, 2018, pp 48-54 ... different qualities: Ba Dinh High School (Thanh Hoa), Cam Ba Thuoc High School (Thanh Hoa), Thuong Xuan High School (Thanh Hoa), Thach Thanh High School (Thanh Hoa) in 2017-2018 academic year on a... in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Hanoi, Da Lat, Da Nang, Quang Ninh, Nam Dinh and teachers are postgraduate of K7 and K8 of University of Education, VNU 1.3.3 Survey form Use survey questionnaires, attend... Criticizer 1: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Dinh Nham Vinh University Criticizer 2: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Duc Thanh Hanoi University of Education Criticizer 3: Dr Nguyen Vinh Hien Vietnam Ministry of Education