Thread: Thailand Teachers take notes

Teachers take notes

Many educators were inspired to develop better teaching methods after visiting the Satit Vichakarn and Educa 2007 events.

They showcased educational innovations from all 16 university demonstration schools across the country as well as booths and exhibitions from 50 organisations.

The Satit Vichakarn exhibition - which started on Thursday at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Bitec) and ends today - aims to disseminate the demonstration schools' effective curriculum, research and instruction media to primary and secondary teachers to apply in their own teaching.

Chalerm Rod-ubon, 34, a teacher from Nakhon Ratchasima, said she was satisfied with Satit Khonkaen School's research about observing the classroom behaviour of students to adjust teaching methods, which needed the collaboration of all the teachers in the school.

"I intend to apply the research technique in my school because I believe it can help all the teachers improve their instruction to be more suitable for students," she said.

Panutat Thaipum, 50, was another teacher who came from Saraburi to gain teaching knowledge at the exhibition. He said he picked up a lot of new techniques.

"I will come here again because I didn't have enough time to learn as many innovations as I wanted," he said.

Patcharanan Khamkham, 44, an Ayutthaya teacher, said she was impressed by the instruction media created by the demonstration schools, which were very different from what she had produced herself.

Poonsak Tateniyom, principal of Srinakharin-wirot University's Prasarnmit Demonstration School and a leader of the exhibition, said twice as many teachers attended than he had expected.

He wants to increase teachers' capability and widen other administrators' vision via the exhibition to encourage them to change some teaching methods.

And he believes teachers visiting the exhibition will get new knowledge and could use that in their own schools because the demonstration schools are pleased to assist anyone who has problems or doubts after they have followed their techniques, curriculum and research.

"We also want our e-learning programme to be used in other schools because it can help tackle the problem of overcrowded classes. They can study by themselves using a computer program teaching them, for example, mathematics, and do as many exercises as they want," he said.

The school asked a company to give its maths and English software to teachers visiting the exhibition.

The other part of the exhibition, Educa 2007, features booths and displays from about 50 organisations, both private and public, as well as lectures by famous experts. It will end tomorrow.

The demonstration schools put on a performance with a global-warming theme, which seemed to catch the interest of the thousands of people who came to Bitec to visit these two educational exhibitions.

Wannapa Phetdee
The Nation