More Science Classes Needed, Advisor Says: Thai Education

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EDUCATION

More science classes needed, advisor says

Wannapa Khaopa

The Nation

Students should get 4 hours a week, US expert says

BANGKOK: -- Thailand allocates too little time to science education, a US-based researcher with years of experience working with Thai science teachers said recently.

Some may respond that they've heard Thai students were among the top ten countries with the most study hours, according to UNESCO records.

But the fact is that Thailand in Grades 7, 8 and 9 (Matthayom 1, 2 and 3) allocates about half as much time as many other countries to science.

Thai students get three classes a week or 150 minutes, while in most nations, students get science every day and 250 minutes or more each week, according to the researcher, Tom Corcoran, co-director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the Teachers College of Columbia University.

"Maybe the most important thing is [how] the amount of time [is allocated]," he said. "The most important subjects should be given the most time."

Corcoran has urged Thailand to provide more time for science - 250 minutes per week for students in those grades.

He has been to Thailand many times and worked with the Office of the Basic Education Commission, the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology and science teachers since 2005 to improve science and technology education in this country.

Corcoran spoke at the recent national conference on upgrading the quality of science education: basic education 2012.

"The scores (of the programme for international student assessment) are not as good as they should be, and they have not shown improvement. Thailand can perform better by doing something that does not have high cost and is not that difficult to do," he said. "The problem is the amount of time allocated to science."

Too many topics were included in the Thai curriculum. He urged science teachers to focus on big ideas and organise units around concepts, to help students understand, and to develop better curriculum material — including more guidance about misconceptions, key questions for monitoring, alternative representations, unit assessments, and analysis of common misunderstandings and errors.

Corcoran said Thailand should improve literacy instruction and make literacy the responsibility of all teachers.

"Students cannot master in science and maths if they cannot read and write. You are science teachers. You are also literacy teachers. You should have students write everyday in notebooks or lab journals," he said.

A top Korean educational official also shared experiences on science and technology education improvement in South Korea, a country recognised for its strong student performance.

"Since we merged the Ministry of Education with the Ministry of Science and Technology, we have strengthened our science education," said Dr Hong Song Chang, policy adviser to the Minister of Education, Science and Technology in South Korea.

Based on a science and technology renaissance through creative convergence, he said, South Korea emphasised STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) education cultivating interests and activity since 2010. "We've added arts for more creativity," he noted.

The ministry has produced an integrated science textbook that links science and technology to real life and the arts, theme-based storytelling, together with more rigid physics, chemistry, earth science and biology.

His presentation also showed that the math curriculum could be revised from rote and calculation to critical thinking.

"The key to success [lies with] the teachers. So, we do many training programmes, including on-site lab training, sabbaticals to research institutes and master-teacher programmes," Song Chang said.

The country has promoted donations for education. Companies, universities, governments, communities and individuals donate their facilities, equipment, content or talents for students and teachers in extra-curricular activities, career education and teacher training.

Song Chang said an aircraft factory, for example, had provided an exhibition room that shows how scientific theories, like aerodynamics - that students study - are applied to create a plane. Apart from classes, students also learn from applications in the real world.

-- The Nation 2012-09-10

[kurnell]

Did the Thai science minister study science at school?

[Jane Doe]

How do you call a Thai with an IQ of 70?

-> Professor!

[EarthAlien]

How do you call a Thai with an IQ of 70?

-> Professor!

"Ajarn"

[h5kaf]

Conclusions from the 'foreign intelligentsia' which are blindingly obvious to those of us who have lived here for any time at all.

Perhaps these highly paid researchers could come over and do a term or two teaching the children in the local schools - show us all how easy it is to replace "Thai Culture" with 'Science'.

[Scott]

There are a few posts which are treading pretty close to violating this rule:

8) Not to post extremely negative views of Thailand or derogatory comments directed towards all Thais.

So what do you call a poster who breaks the rule? .........Suspended.

Please stay on topic and keep it civil.

[cup-O-coffee]

Very refreshing to read that. It's nice to read things outside the hub every now and then.

[bluegum]

Article quotes foreign expert as saying "Maybe the most important thing is [how] the amount of time [is allocated],". I would suggest that maybe the most important thing is how well any allocated time is used - in my experience too many Science classes are taught directly from a textbook with no hands on activities, observations, reflection, or questioning of results whatsoever. Kids just look at illustrations of various stages of an experiment and then answer multi-choice questions based on it. No meaningful or long-lasting understanding occurs.