Teachers must learn with children together

The design of learning processes using ‘Psycho-Education’ as a tool focuses on internal intellectual development and integration through ‘Problem-based Learning (PBL)’ and ‘Professional Learning Community (PLC).’ This is a vital mechanism for enabling children to understand themselves, think analytically, and be creative in their work. The ‘Lamplaimat Foundation’ pioneered this method, which many teachers have now adopted, reflecting positive changes in their educational direction.

Following this, several schools across the country have transformed their teaching methods under the ‘Teachers & School Quality Program (TSQP),’ a collaborative effort by the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), Ministry of Education, and the Equitable Education Fund (EEF). A total of 291 schools in 35 provinces have participated, with many reporting significant outcomes within months.

The process that ‘Respects Every Child’s Thoughts’

Psycho-Education is a pedagogical approach that develops children’s emotional intelligence (EQ) and spiritual intelligence (SQ). This is achieved through group sessions where teachers and students sit together in a circle, engaging in discussions on various topics. The students are respected for ‘their thoughts,’ without judgment, and are given the opportunity to further develop these ideas independently. This method has been disseminated to other schools in the country, aiming to prepare children for the rapid changes of our times.

Teacher Pimyaphat Simsawat from Ban Nam Kham School in Loei shared,

“What is evident from the implementation of Psycho-Education is that children become calmer and learn to judge for themselves what is right or wrong. Although it’s not the case for every child, many have begun to share their opinions with peers. As for the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) aspect, it has engaged some previously indifferent students to become more interested in their studies.”

“Is it difficult to change the way of teaching? Not really, it depends on one’s perspective. You have to consider whether our goal is focused on the children or on ourselves. If it’s for the children, then change isn’t hard. If what we’ve been doing for the past 20 years isn’t showing results, why not try a new approach? If it works well, great. But if not, we can always return to the old ways. If we are truly teachers at heart, we should be open to change.”

Teacher Pimyaphat further elaborated,

“When I first attended training on the new teaching model, I could barely understand anything. However, I took everything in and reflected on it. For instance, having taught for over 20 years, I never realized that certain words or actions of a teacher could lead to children adopting survival tactics rather than thinking critically. Sometimes what we say can cause children to copy answers from one another or cheat on homework. When realizing this stems from us, change is necessary. To initiate this change, teachers must first be willing to transform themselves.”

Learning from ‘Problems’ to Enhance ‘Wisdom’

The management of learning through Problem-based Learning (PBL) aims to create direct experiences through hands-on practice and confrontation with problem situations. Moreover, it helps motivate learning through challenging problems to enhance students’ skills in thinking and problem-solving with their intellect.

Project-based Learning (PBL), where learning involves teachers stimulating interest and discovering skills from students for activities through group work, allows students to engage in hands-on project development from inception to final presentation.

Therefore, this type of learning is considered relevant and directly related to students, as it may already be an area of interest. It can be divided into two categories: non-complex problems that can be thought through and solved in a short period through Problem-based Learning  and complex problems that require more extended research and development through Project-based Learning

The account of Teacher Nathaphat Asarin from Ban Nam Kham School in Loei illustrates that Psycho-Education can also be applied to kindergarten children. After just two months of teaching, children became more confident in answering questions. Initially, when a story was told, the children would merely respond that it was fun, but later they started to provide their own unique answers, showing an increased capacity for thought and creativity.

“For the teaching practices I’ve adapted, the process from the Lamplaimat Foundation is to prepare the mental state, Brew – Connect – Use, which is easy and effective. However, integrating PBL, which I have taught for two years, still seems challenging, but I am determined to continue adapting and changing.”

The ‘Brew-Connect-Use’ process is an integral part of psycho-education, serving as an aid in simulating situations related to ‘ethics’ most clearly, allowing students to express their thoughts through these experiences.

The first step begins with the ‘steeping of issues’ by the teacher regarding the day’s topic, perhaps starting with a video clip for the students or recounting a story, followed by asking observational questions to test their understanding of the information received. Then ‘connecting the questions’ from the situation or topic allows students to express their opinions and attempt to ‘use situational simulations’ through questions that make them think about how they would act in such situations.

Moreover, adapting teaching to incorporate psycho-education and PBL has increased student interest in learning. Some students who previously avoided challenging subjects like mathematics and science have returned to learning and engaging in activities until the end of the school day. This process does not focus on heavy teaching but rather teaches children to think more. This part is from the narration of Teacher Metta Nahiran from Ban Na Kho School in Loei.

“Even though I have been teaching in the standard format for 27 years, changing teaching methods is not difficult because I use the plan from the Lamplaimat Development Foundation as a tool. One effective technique has been speaking more softly to get the children to listen more attentively. Previously, I had to speak loudly, and the children were not interested, but when I started to speak softly, out of 20 teachers who attended the training, 18 agreed that it was effective. Another aspect is using psycho-education to help children know themselves better. Previously, we had to constantly remind them not to do this or that, which they sometimes followed and sometimes did not. But now, by allowing them to explore for themselves what to do and what not to do, it has helped them learn from themselves and become more effective.”

Teacher Metta added,

“Currently, the form of PBL I teach involves clay molding. We’ve had problems with the clay being too hard to mold, so the children have to learn to solve it, like adding water. But if they add too much water, they must fix it by adding more clay. Now, during this clay preparation time, they must learn to solve all the problems step by step, and I believe that changing to teach more in this form will make children love learning more.”

“Children have become much calmer, and we can see that they are thinking. They dare to answer and share with friends. From some children who never answered questions in class, even when we shot the questions directly at them, they would never respond. Now, when they see their peers starting to answer, they become braver to speak up,” confirms Teacher Kiravas Wongtedsiri from Ban Na Kho School in Loei, who was appointed around January 2019.

“What we teach, we tell the children straightforwardly that this is correct, but we let them go and find out for themselves whether it is right or not. The old teaching style may have confined children so much that they almost lacked imagination. But when we open it up for them to think, sometimes we find more than what we thought possible. Sometimes a child this small can think more than we do. The new teaching method is not difficult, it might even be easier than the old style. Previously, we were like drawing lines for them to walk on, but now we set a path, and they can go left or right; they don’t always have to walk straight, and they still reach the finish line.”

Teacher Kiravas stated.

In search of teachers of Kru Rak Thin to fill in the educational gap by bringing them home

When the ‘capital’ is the center of geography, governance, economics and prosperities, everything runs straight into the capital city such as Bangkok. Even the new generations are advancing along to find opportunities in the capital city. However, Thailand has a number of undeveloped areas. The question centers on how to distribute quality personnel to develop different areas of the country.

The Kru Rak Thin project was accordingly established with the concept to produce quality teachers in order that they will return home to improve education within the area of their hometown and to remain close to their family.

The first institute that produces teachers to rural areas is “Muban Chombueng Rajabhat University” established in 1954 with the aim to accept children who maintain positive attitudes but lack financial resources to cultivate them to become teachers in order that they return to teach in rural areas across the country.

The concept has its origin in Türkiye where disadvantaged children with talents and good educational performance and virtue are chosen to study in the Faculty of Education. They will return as teachers to where the scholarship is awarded after graduation. This is, furthermore, a means to allow them to work nearby their places whereas people with other careers have to abandon their hometown, scrambling to find a job in the capital.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Chairit Siladech, chancellor of Muban Chombueng Rajabhat University, Ratchaburi province, retold the history of Muban Chombueng Rajabhat University that the university originally accepted students who completed grade 7 to proceed the 5-year curriculum under High Vocational Certificate prior to becoming teachers in rural areas. This continued until 1972, it was converted into the College of Teachers before changing into ‘Rajabhat Institute’ then ‘Rajabhat University’ eventually.

The role of ‘Kru Rak Thin’: teach and develop the community simultaneously

Asst. Prof. Dr. Chairit Siladech, chancellor of Muban Chombueng Rajabhat University, Ratchaburi province,

“The first generation of students were teachers of various rural schools. Many were head teachers and school directors. Most of them have retired. This is the success of the institute. The graduates can do everything, even designing a building and a toilet, although these skills may be suitable back in 60 years ago.

Those skills today may have to be adjusted to some degree, which cover both “high-touch” and “high-tech”. Specifically, teachers should be able to do manual practices such as planting and general works. They must also work in technology-related fields and know teaching devices, knowledge acquisition and community development”

Teachers of the countryside and teachers of cities are different in features. Rural teachers often have inseparable connections with rural communities because communities are dependent on schools. Meanwhile, communities support schools.

Being countryside teachers then does not only refer to the role of teaching but also when the village organizes a festival, teachers must assist. They must also supervise the communities and develop the people’s well being: these are relatively the spirit of teachers.

Muban Chombueng Rajabhat University today has a mission to participate in one of the 11 educational institutes to produce teachers of Kru Rak Thin project under the support of Equitable Education Fund (EEF). The goal is to reduce educational inequality by enabling remote areas to have quality teachers as other parts of the country.

Kru Rak Thin: give the impoverished children opportunities, allow teachers to return home and provide equitable education standard everywhere

The question is “who will be the next generation of Kru Rak Thin?” Muban Chombueng Rajabhat University has assigned a team to visit the area and interview the children, teachers and parents in the community. They subsequently arranged a camp and invited the children to observe their behaviors and ensure that the selected ‘Kru Rak Thin’ children have the positive attitude towards being a rural teacher and the true spirit of being a teacher.

“The 5-day camping is seemingly a simulation for children to show their readiness to become teachers in the future, including sacrifices and the attitude toward themselves and the community. The interviews may not be as visible as their actions in camping. At the same time, students will get to know themselves whether they like it or not. Some attended the camp and found out that they did not fit in and later asked to withdraw. This is a way to allow children to examine themselves and teachers to consider children.”

The preparedness to become a teacher in the countryside is the main thing. In the past, many areas had skilled teachers. But they could not make it a long-stay and had to move to another place. Having a teacher who is committed to locate themselves in tough areas without moving away is essential to continuous development. For that reason, equitable education can equally arise everywhere. More preferably, the teachers should be voluntary to serve in the area where it is also their hometown without being forced.

The specialty of rural teachers is, apart from the Academics, they have vocational and technological skills. They must be the community leader, have the compassion to help people in the community and participate in community development. Regardless of gender, they must be able to work as a carpenter, a welder and a plasterer. Moreover, there is a labor skill test.

The teacher’s curriculum here will start with being an observer in the freshman year. The sophomore year is the year of being teachers’ assistance. The junior year is the first attempt in jointly teaching.

During the course, there are activities that concern volunteer training because students are awarded with scholarships, they thus have more opportunities than others. The activities range from arts to sports such as Chombueng Marathon that children can participate in facilitating or going on-site to measure the distance. Also, they can volunteer in developing the community and schools in distinctive locations. For example, building a playground or painting school buildings in the countryside.

All of the training makes them a selfless person to work for the community which is an important thing when they become teachers in all areas over the country.

It is undeniable that rural teachers today must have relations with the community and the ten craftsmen skills to solve problems in every situation. However, more than half of a century passed, we may try to question more whether it is better if teachers should completely focus on teaching and the rest of the work should remain with other experts to work on their role because forcing a teacher to become ‘more than a teacher’ could be a reason that skilled teachers avoid rural areas or a reason that lowers the standard of quality education. Is it better if the government pays attention to facility development such as water supply, electricity and infrastructure in remote areas as uttered by the prime ministers of the past 50-60 years? It is not necessary to have an extensive department store, but a standard hospital, electricity, clean water supply, safe dwellings and an easy access to the basic needs, we should witness more of teachers returning home.