The Process of Designing Exercises to Develop the Competency of Exploring the Surrounding Natural and Social Environment in Primary Schools: A Case Study in Grade 2

In the context of the educational reform under the 2018 General Education Curriculum, designing competency-oriented exercises for the Natural and Social Sciences subject is an urgent requirement but remains a major challenge for many primary school teachers. This article presents a scientific 4-step exercise design process aimed at developing "the competency of exploring the surrounding natural and social environment" for students through a case study on the theme "Family" in Grade 2. Based on the analysis of theoretical foundations and practical surveys, we have specified this competency into 3 core behavioral indicators (T1, T2, T3) and successfully designed a system of 54 exercises associated with practical situations, accompanied by a 3-level evaluation Rubric. To verify its effectiveness, a quasi-experimental study was conducted on 57 Grade 2 students (including 28 students in the experimental group and 29 students in the control group) in Da Nang city. The results of the qualitative process evaluation via Radar charts show the progressive and steady improvement of the experimental group. Quantitatively, the average score of the comprehensive test of the experimental group reached 7.64 points, significantly higher than the 7.03 points of the control group; in particular, the rate of Good - Excellent scores in the experimental group reached 50% compared to 31.03% in the control group. The research results affirm that the proposed process and exercise system have high feasibility, resolve the difficulties regarding learning materials for teachers, and contribute to substantially improving the teaching quality of the Natural and Social Sciences subject at the primary school level.