Thai Students Poor In Math, Science.

[Lite Beer]

Thai students poor in math, science.

BANGKOK, Dec 11 - Thai students fare poorly in mathematics and science mainly due to the teaching method of rote learning rather than by comprehension and analysis, according to a senior educator.

Precharn Dechri, deputy director of the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology, said today that Thai students' disappointing performances in the two subjects were revealed in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) - an international assessment of the mathematics and science knowledge of fourth and eighth grade students worldwide - which was conducted in 2011, with the results only recently announced.

Thai students in Prathom 4 (fourth grade) and Matayom 2 (eighth grade) joined their colleagues from 63 countries in the assessment.

Thai students in Prathom 4 level ranked 34th in mathematics and 29th in science among their peers from 52 countries and seven states. In the eighth grade, Thailand ranked 28th in.

mathematics and 25th in science among 45 countries and 14 states.

The top five achievers in both subjects are in South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. (MCOT online news).

-- TNA 2012-12-11

[RubbaJohnny]

Must be why the folks in the restaurant always undercharge and give me too much change.

Lucky gambling is illegal as folks would be unable to calculate odds

[JetsetBkk]

So the government's plan (and all previous governments) is working.

[webfact]

Thai youth win 2 golds at International Junior Science Olympiad

By Digital Media

BANGKOK, Dec 11 - Thai contestants won two gold, three silver and one bronze medal at the 9th International Junior Science Olympiad which ended yesterday in the Iranian capital of Tehran.

The two Thai gold medalists in the December 1-10 games are Veerapat Yosamornsunthorn and Apichartmethi Choteratanapitak both from schools in Bangkok, according to the Promotion of Academic Olympiads and Development of Science Education Foundation.

The three silver medalists are Siradanai Rimsakorn, Sirachat Charoenkasemvit from Bangkok, and Chonlanat Pheutpaiboon from a school in Hat Yai.

Thailand’s sole bronze winner is Chitipat Phetmunee also from Hat Yai School.

The Thai competitors returned to Bangkok today. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-12-11

[ratcatcher]

Now I know why they need a calculator to figure out the change for a 65 baht purchase using a 100 baht note.

Even when I ask the price of something in Thai, they still sometimes reach for the calculator and enter the amount. ??

[culicine]

Now I know why they need a calculator to figure out the change for a 65 baht purchase using a 100 baht note.

Even when I ask the price of something in Thai, they still sometimes reach for the calculator and enter the amount. ??

I've always wondered about this, as kids in Thai schools (government programs) are not allowed to use calculators (ridiculous in itself), even at grade 12 level. So if they can't do mental maths, then what did they learn at school? Do they need a pencil to do the simplest calculations?

[lungmi]

Check it out:

Webometrics Ranking of World Research Centers.

Thailand has 159. place in the world. Division of Soil Analysis, Thailand Land Development Department

Indonesian Institute of Sciences is number 99.

Taiwan starts with 15. ranking Academia Sinica

[GentlemanJim]

Well when the Science Minister himself managed to convince the population (not forgetting some on TV as well!), that he could expedite the flow of water from a raging river by sticking boats in it and turning the engines on, we have the answer really! It makes the achievement by the youngsters who won the medals all the more amazing and praiseworthy.

[BrianCR]

Thai students fare poorly in mathematics and science and English and Thai and history and geography and social studies and........ but they're good with coloured pencils !!!!!

[ScouseTommy]

Not really surprising, its relative to the amount of money put into the subjects. Facilities for science in non-international schools go from poor to non-existent! What do you expect

[KireB]

Mastering any subject is hard work and when the incentives to put in the extra mile are not there, well students won't put in the extra mile. Everyone passes, no matter how poor their performances! Hooray!

[isawasnake]

Thai students fare poorly in mathematics and science and English and Thai and history and geography and social studies and........ but they're good with coloured pencils !!!!!

Right. These tests are culturally biased. Where did they rank in the word search testing.

Edited December 11, 2012 by isawasnake

[geriatrickid]

Unfortunately, a number of countries were unable to participate this year. Iran has some foreign relations issues.

The full results are available here http://ijso-official.org/

[maidu]

one factor, among many, is Thais' indelible belief in hocus pocus. It also contributes to lazy-brained relationship with science and math and analytical thinking. Example: if the time on a clock indicates 10:52, and you ask a Thai to tell you what time it is, he/she will probably say 11 o'clock. It also manifests in them always being late for appointments. Another angle: it's the reason Thai politicians don't hold debates during election campaigns (besides their fears of defamation suits). All Thais believe their thoughts can be read by others, so .....why debate, when everyone should know the stance of the politician just from reading his/her mind or that of the handlers/party chiefs.

Conversely, you take any Thai or hill tribe child and have him/her go to a US or European school, and that child will probably excel scholastically. So it's not the kids, it's the system they're brought up in, and the cultural myopidity (my word) that requires them to think like everyone else.

[benbear]

Good job they are so good at English then

[BEVUP]

Yes very unfurtunate that this cycle continouse

Keep reading about this all the time & am wandering what my sons life shall be

Obviously there will be no change as many surrounding countries are surpassing the thais

Lets just hope for the best or try &put your kids in the best available school according to your income

[LuckyLew]

But at least the students rank #1 on facebook usage

and the teachers rank number one on time spent twiddling their thumbs

[Newguy70]

They are conditioned to fail in all major subjects so what does one expect. It's callled dumbing them down. The big boys now what they are doing, and they will keep doing it as long as the people allow it.

[yourauntbob]

The most surprising thing is that this is "news" to anyone...

[chiangmaikelly]

They are conditioned to fail in all major subjects so what does one expect. It's callled dumbing them down. The big boys now what they are doing, and they will keep doing it as long as the people allow it.

I know a lot of teachers and there are a lot of teachers here on Thai Visa and I don't think any of them, myself included ever tried to dumb a child down in Thailand or condition them to fail. I spent a lot of extra hours with the children helping them to get better grades and enjoy school. Perhaps you could give us your source of this failing practice. I know a lot of Thai educators who would also like to know.

[Publicus]

I read in the Nation about six months ago in an article about the coming Asean Community that Thai students scored only 1 and 2 on Bloom's Education Taxonomy, which is presented as follows:

Knowledge

Comprehension

Application

Analysis

Synthesis

Evaluation

Creating

Thais in their own education system - and philosophy, as it may be a philosophy - are competent only at the basic levels of Bloom's Education Taxonomy, i.e., in acquiring knowledge of something, and in remembering it by memorization. Disastrously, Thai studens were able to demonstrate only some limited understanding of a given topic or subject.

Thai "learners" struck out completely in the progressively higher cognitive levels of the Taxonomy, i.e.,Comprehending, Applying, Analyzing, Synthesizing, Evaluating, Creating.

Zippo for the Thai people young, old and in between in respect to the higher cognitive functions of Prof Bloom's well known and widely used Education Taxonomy, first introduced by Prof Benjamin Bloom and a committee of educational psychologists in 1956, since revised by successor professional educators: http://www.businessb...ningdomains.htm

Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter [Here].

Edited December 11, 2012 by Publicus

[yoshiwara]

As if there isn't a similar problem in the West......

[Nony]

I think, education system must be changes. Teachers always teach in the books and now time to change the teachers. Let's teach student by thinking not recitation.

[Om85]

Poor??? R u kidding me??? I still don't know a single of my fellows university Thai student who is able to divide 4.98 by 7,89 without using a calculator, and no need of talking about calculus, of fisics, cuz they just don't know nothing about it.

[webfact]

EDUCATION

Thai students drop in world maths and science study

WANNAPA KHAOPA

THE NATION

Poor quality of teaching blamed for decline in scores since 2007

BANGKOK: -- Thai students' scholastic performances have dropped again in an international assessment - the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011, which was released worldwide yesterday.

"The problem over the quality of teachers was a major cause of Thailand's drop in performance in TIMSS 2011," Precharn Dechsri, deputy director of the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST) told a press conference yesterday at the Education Ministry.

The scores of Grade 8 (Matthayom 2) students dropped from 441 in 2007 to 427 in 2011 in maths, while science scores decreased from 471 in 2007 to 451 in 2011. Thai pupils were ranked 28th in mathematics and 25th in science among students from 45 countries and 14 states in TIMSS 2011.

Younger students from Grade 4 (Prathom 4) who participated in TIMSS 2011 for the first time got 458 in mathematics and 472 in science. They were ranked 34th in mathematics and 29th in science among students from 52 countries and seven states.

Precharn said most Thai teachers taking those subjects at both levels - from 79-86 per cent - graduated with bachelor degrees and that was above the international average of 57-63 per cent. But while Thai teachers had "more" degrees, most were not ready in terms of doing lesson plans and were not confident teachers.

He cited a report which said that for Prathom 4, only 50 per cent of maths teachers were prepared in planning lessons, while only 47 per cent were confident in their teaching. And only 38 per cent of science teachers had prepared lessons and 39 per cent were confident teachers. That meant the rest were not "ready" to teach or confident doing so. The figures were below international averages from 59-83 per cent.

"Also, the percentage of our Matthayom 2 teachers' readiness and confidence were low.

"The higher-degrees that teachers obtain do not guarantee quality education," he said.

"Our teachers' quality is lower. Teachers who are not good at what they teach are not confident in teaching their pupils. Teachers who have not taught subjects that they graduated in also encounter this problem," Precharn said.

"We have to help boost teachers' confidence and readiness. Teachers' quality improvement is a big issue that we have to do urgently."

The amount of time students spend studying was the main cause of poor performances. While the hours that Thai students study each day were longer than those in many other countries, Thailand had fewer weeks of study each semester. Overall, Thai students spent less time studying over a year, the deputy director said.

Students also lacked learning from laboratories or experiments that arouse their interest because Thailand focused too much on content.

"The performance of students in the East and provinces close to Bangkok as well as schools under supervision of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration increased sharply.

"IPST will study what's caused this. However, IPST will have to study why the performance of students in the upper North fell sharply in the latest results," he said, adding that IPST planned to improve 25 poor performing provinces. IPST would use different approaches to help students with different performance levels, especially those who did poorly.

Many Asian countries and regions led achievements in mathematics and science. Students from Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong were top performers in Grade Four maths. In Grade Four science, the top countries were South Korea, Singapore and Finland. For Grade Eight, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan led the world in maths. Singapore led in science, followed by Taiwan and South Korea, according to the results released by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement and the TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Centre at Boston College.

-- The Nation 2012-12-12

[noitom]

Yet another newspaper sound bite about poor level of Thai students. Boring.

[maidu]

MSG may or may not play a role, but consider this: All Thai kids ingest it, usually 3 times per day. It passes the 'blood brain barrier' and has been shown to 'jangle' (my word) brain cells. In other words, it's not good for brain cells, particularly for brain matter in developmental stages. In adults, it's been proven to cause headaches and irritableness (do your kids suffer those sometimes?). Different people are affected to different degrees. Often, a person will feel its effects, but not attribute it to MSG, because they simply don't equate the two. Thais cannot fathom the idea that a commonly used hyper-salty additive to their meals can effect their physical and psychological well-being.

As for the over-all picture of Thai students scoring low on tests, here's some possible consolation. Our northern neighbor, China, probably has better test scores, but its students (similar to Thai students) are sorely lacking in creative and innovative thinking skills. That tidbit garnered from a Chinese U professor who was candid enough to admit it. He says Chinese students cram valiantly to learn all the rote things - in order to score well in tests, but there's nothing in their curriculum or examination processes to encourage or test innovative thinking abilities. That's why every modern invention & innovation used by the Chinese (and Thais) was invented by outsiders.

Edited December 11, 2012 by maidu

[edwinchester]

Yet another newspaper sound bite about poor level of Thai students. Boring.

Then I hope you write in to them with your ideas on how they can improve their reporting and how the government can improve the seemingly woeful education level of Thai kids.

[Thai at Heart]

MSG may or may not play a role, but consider this: All Thai kids ingest it, usually 3 times per day. It passes the 'blood brain barrier' and has been shown to 'jangle' (my word) brain cells. In other words, it's not good for brain cells, particularly for brain matter in developmental stages. In adults, it's been proven to cause headaches and irritableness (do your kids suffer those sometimes?). Different people are affected to different degrees. Often, a person will feel its effects, but not attribute it to MSG, because they simply don't equate the two. Thais cannot fathom the idea that a commonly used hyper-salty additive to their meals can effect their physical and psychological well-being.

As for the over-all picture of Thai students scoring low on tests, here's some possible consolation. Our northern neighbor, China, probably has better test scores, but its students (similar to Thai students) are sorely lacking in creative and innovative thinking skills. That tidbit garnered from a Chinese U professor who was candid enough to admit it. He says Chinese students cram valiantly to learn all the rote things - in order to score well in tests, but there's nothing in their curriculum or examination processes to encourage or test innovative thinking abilities. That's why every modern invention & innovation used by the Chinese (and Thais) was invented by outsiders.

the rest of Asia eats plenty of msg, and they are top of the list.

[jcw]

Well when the Science Minister himself managed to convince the population (not forgetting some on TV as well!), that he could expedite the flow of water from a raging river by sticking boats in it and turning the engines on, we have the answer really! It makes the achievement by the youngsters who won the medals all the more amazing and praiseworthy.

Is that idiot still in this position?

Remember how Thai Gravity is different to farlang gravity !!!

Remember how there is No prostitution in Pattaya !!!