CHARACTERISTICS OF 7th GRADERS IN THAI NGUYEN CITY (VIETNAM) FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF DIFFERENTIAL LEARNERS IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION ACTIVITIES

: Differentiated-oriented physical education (PE) helps learners to participate in learning activities with content and form suitable to their individual characteristics. Capturing the individual characteristics of learners is of great significance in the process of physical education. Through document research, interviews, pedagogical observations and examination, the research assesses the characteristics of 7th graders in Thai Nguyen City from the perspective of differential learners in Physical Education. This is an important basis for organizing physical education activities in the direction of differentiation for 7th graders in Thai Nguyen City.


Introduction
Differentiation in education is an educational perspective that focuses on the design of educational programs derived from individual characteristics of learners as well as educational institutions, etc. Therefrom, building content, forms and methods of education suitable for different learners, ensuring equal rights to learning opportunities for each learner, is an inevitable trend of education. Physical education is no exception to this trend. In physical education, the point of differentiation needs to be expressed more clearly than in any other field of learning [3], [4], [5].
Physical education in the direction of a differentiated approach is carried out through health classification, practitioner level combined with the selection of content and form of exercise suitable to the conditions of the educational institution. Thereby, learners can choose the content and form of exercise suitable to their individual characteristics.
In order to organize PE activities with high efficiency, it is necessary to learn about the characteristics of students to identify the differences in sports level, health and training needs of students [1], [2].
Within the scope of this topic, we find out the characteristics of 7 th graders in Thai Nguyen City as a basis for proposing measures to organize physical education activities in the direction of differentiating students' levels.

Research methodology
In the research process, the researchers used the following research methods: Documentary research; Pedagogical Observation; Pedagogical Test; Seminar Interview; Mathematical statistics.

Finding and discussion
The topic surveys the characteristics of students in the subject of physical education and sports activities. From there, analyze and evaluate the difference in awareness, characteristics of participation in physical education and sports activities as well as the general physical fitness level and learning results of 650 7 th graders in Thai Nguyen city at the beginning of the school year 2022 -2023.

Students' perception of the effects of physical education and sports activities
The survey results summarized in Table 1 show that all students surveyed are aware of the effects of physical education and sports activities on physical development, motor skills and physical balance. However, other values of physical education and sport are not yet fully realized by many students. The percentage of students who highly appreciated the value of physical education and sports for disease prevention is not much. Only 51.38% of students surveyed said that physical education and sports have "High effects" in disease prevention and control; Up to 16.46% said that "Little effect". The value of physical education and sports activities for entertainment, relaxation and adaptability to life is not appreciated by many students. Only 23.23% to 38.92% of students rated it as "High effective"; from 25.38% to 39.54% rated "Little effect"; and from 6.15% to 12.00% rated "No effect".
Many students are not aware of the meaning and effects of physical education and sports on the development of memory, thinking, confidence and social relations. Between 19.54% and 26.46% of the students surveyed said that "No effect"; from 45.23% to 50.46% consider it "Little effect".
The above results show that students' perceptions of the meaning and effects of physical education and sports are not equal. Most are not fully aware of the impact of physical education and sport.

Student's interest in PE and sports activities
Student's interest in PE and sports activities is assessed by students' interest in activities during regular PE classes, extracurricular sports activities and television programs The survey results summarized in Table 2 show that the percentage of students who love PE lessons and extracurricular sports activities is not high. Only 7.85% to 11.54% of students chose the "High interest" level; from 25.69% to 37.69% selected "interest" level; and from 50.77% to 65.85% answered "No interest".

The level of completion of the tasks during the PE lesson
The level of completion of the tasks during the PE lesson is assessed by the students' comments about the exercises in the PE class and the difficulty of the tests and exams. The survey results in Table 3 show that students' opinions are very different.
Students' responses about the performance of motor tasks during PE lessons show a clear differentiation. 19.54% of students were asked to "Only complete a few" of assignments; Up to 44.92% "Failed" to perform difficult exercises; 20.46% of students have to work hard to complete all the exercises. In contrast, 15.08% of students easily performed exercises during PE lessons. The division is also reflected in the results of the synthesis of students' assessments of the difficulty of tests and exams. 20.15% of students rated the content of the test and exam as "Very difficult"; 45.38% said that it is "difficult"; 20.77% consider it "normal" and 13.69% consider it as "too easy".

Student's level sport and health status
Student's level sport and health status are assessed by surveying their participation in sports teams, medical condition and health status at the time of the survey. The topic initially assesses the sports level of students by surveying the levels of sports teams that students have been participating in. The results in Table 4 show that many students have been participating in sports teams at the grassroots level. Specifically: there are 4.31% of the students asked who have participated in the sports team of high schools in communes and wards; 1.38% have been participating in the district and city teams; 0.92% participated in the provincial team.
Regarding the medical condition related to disability and circulatory, respiratory and neurological diseases, 6.31% of the surveyed students had a medical condition at the level of "mild" level, with little impact on movement; and 1.69% at the level of "highly affecting movement". Regarding health status: at the time of the survey, the majority (90.15%) of the students had normal health status. However, up to 5.38% of students are in a state of injury and 4.46% of students are ill to a degree that affects movement.

The general physical level of students
The general physical level of students (450 students): tested, compared, collated and evaluated according to the standard table specified in Decision No. 53/2008/QD-BGDĐT. Due to limited research conditions, the topic only conducted a survey on the general physical level of 450 7 th grade students in Thai Nguyen city at the beginning of the school year 2022-2023 (provided by direct teachers). The results are summarized in Table 5. By comparing the results of the general physical level test with the prescribed assessment standards, it shows that the physical level of students is a clear difference.
The best results were in the tests of speed (30-meter running with high straight point), strength (long jump) and motor coordination ability (Shuttle running 4x10m). There are from 28.89% to 36.67% of good grade; from 48.44% to 57.78% at "Passed"; and only from 13.33% to 14.89% "Faile" the standard.  Endurance test results are the worst when compared with evaluation and grading standards. Only 15.78% of the "good" category; 57.56% "pass" category; and up to 26.67% "fail" The results of the combined assessment also show that the students' physical fitness levels are uneven, with 28.22% "failing" the general fitness level by age, although the achievement in each content has many satisfactory results. "Good".

Overall assessment of students on the subject of physical education
Overall assessment of students on the subject of physical education (studied in the previous school year): conducted through a survey by questionnaire at the beginning of the school year 2022 -2023 on the following contents: Comments on requirements, tasks, and contents and form of learning; Knowledge and skills are equipped; Satisfaction and love (Table 6).
Besides the knowledge and skills that learners are equipped with, the satisfaction and love of learners is also a factor to evaluate the success of the course. In this respect, physical education activities for students have not achieved the desired results. This is reflected in the survey results of 450 7th graders at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year about the PE activities they participated in in the previous school year. Only 17.11% of students were asked "agree" that through PE lessons it helps them "Understand personal characteristics in sports activities"; 28.44% of students "confused"; and 54.44% "disagree". Regarding requirements, tasks, content and learning methods: Up to 45.78% and 40.89% of students rated the content, requirements, and forms of learning as "not yet diverse, flexible and suitable" for students. and practice.
The PE lessons have not paid much attention to providing resources and guiding students to "know how to practice on their own" outside of school hours. Only 27.78% of students answered that they were guided to access extensive resources and know how to practice on their own outside of school hours; 35.11% "confused"; and up to 37.11% of students do not know how to practice by themselves.
Only from 27.56% to 29.33% of students answered that they were "satisfied, interested, positive, proactive" with the content and learning forms of the PE class, while from 35.56% to 41.56% answered is not "satisfied, interested, positive" with class activities.
The content with the most positive reviews is "equipped with basic knowledge of sports and subjects". There are 84.89% of students asked "agree" with this statement.

Conclusions
Physical education in the direction of a differentiated approach is carried out through the classification of students' levels combined with the selection of contents and forms of exercise suitable to the conditions of the educational institution. Thereby, learners can choose the content and form of exercise suitable to their individual characteristics.
From the perspective of differentiation in physical education, it shows that 7 th graders in Thai Nguyen City (Vietnam) have basic differences in terms of awareness, favourite level and degree. Students' assessments of the PE lessons are also different.
This result shows that it is necessary to apply differentiated views in organizing physical education activities for 7 th graders in Thai Nguyen City.

Funding Statement
This research is funded by Thai Nguyên University of Education under grant number TNUE-2022-13.