800,000 students to learn exam tricks, techniques

[webfact]

800,000 students to learn exam tricks, techniques

THE NATION 

 

 

BANGKOK: -- ABOUT 800,000 students in four regions nationwide have joined the 19th Intensive Tutoring for Admission Exam campaign, hosted by Sahapatthanapibul and The Nation, over seven days.

 

Sahapatthanapibul Plc vice director Vathit Chokwatana yesterday told the opening ceremony at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce that the project had been held annually for almost 20 years to promote equal learning opportunities for all young people in Thailand.

"We realised the importance of education and the enhancement of young people's quality of life," said Vathit. 

 

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/800000-students-to-learn-exam-tricks-techniques-30296816.html

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2016-10-04

[ukrules]

I learned this real neat trick many years ago. Learn everything about the subject you're going to be tested on and there's no way you can fail.

 

It's not really a trick, it's what people do where I come from. Learn it all and you can not fail.

 

Of course this requires some measure of effort and dedication, I suspect this is where it all falls apart here in Thailand for some students.

 

I am well aware that there are many world class students here in Thailand, a lot of them appear to move on to other countries to complete their education which is a shame.

Edited October 3, 2016 by ukrules

[HoboKay]

Quote

project had been held annually for almost 20 years to promote equal learning opportunities for all young people in Thailand.

 

Can this project be categorically be classified as a failed endeavor of good intentions, if one was to look at the state of affairs.?

Edited October 3, 2016 by HoboKay

[PatOngo]

"We realised the importance of education and the enhancement of young people's quality of life," said Vathit

 

Amazing realiisation!..........The think tank has been working overtime!

[z42]

I'm a career teacher (educated, trained, and qualified in the UK / NZ), I have worked in education at multiple levels on multiple continents. and imho I think it is a stretch to even begin to claim there are hard and fast ways to train students to tackle multiple choice exams, anything above and beyond standard / focused revision anyways.

This event just looks hollow, a textbook case of style over substance. Unless of course these exams being rolled out nationwide are seeking qualitative answers from students (which is highly unlikely) it is a textbook exercise in futility

[PatOngo]

"We realised the importance of education and the enhancement of young people's quality of life," said Vathit

My parents actually worked this out 50+ years ago!

[NongKhaiKid]

10 minutes ago, z42 said:

I'm a career teacher (educated, trained, and qualified in the UK / NZ), I have worked in education at multiple levels on multiple continents. and imho I think it is a stretch to even begin to claim there are hard and fast ways to train students to tackle multiple choice exams, anything above and beyond standard / focused revision anyways.

This event just looks hollow, a textbook case of style over substance. Unless of course these exams being rolled out nationwide are seeking qualitative answers from students (which is highly unlikely) it is a textbook exercise in futility

During my time in Hong Kong I had to sit quite a few professional exams and at the very start of my career the expats in  our training class were warned not to expect exams as we  might know them so no narratives with the question using words like discuss, explain, consider etc.

 

He explained that our Chinese colleagues had been educated as if sponges and they simple soaked up information, facts etc and could regurgitate them with almost total accuracy but it didn't mean they understood what they were writing so asking them to ' discuss' was a non-starter.

[fruitman]

1 hour ago, NongKhaiKid said:

During my time in Hong Kong I had to sit quite a few professional exams and at the very start of my career the expats in  our training class were warned not to expect exams as we  might know them so no narratives with the question using words like discuss, explain, consider etc.

 

He explained that our Chinese colleagues had been educated as if sponges and they simple soaked up information, facts etc and could regurgitate them with almost total accuracy but it didn't mean they understood what they were writing so asking them to ' discuss' was a non-starter.

 

But the Chinese in BKK speak much better english than the Thai.

[HoboKay]

3 minutes ago, fruitman said:

 

But the Chinese in BKK speak much better english than the Thai.

 

The subtle difference is in the inherent desire or hunger or greed towards getting wealthy hence the eagerness to learn a common business language, the Chinese its almost a genetic trait, the locals not so much.

[fruitman]

5 minutes ago, HoboKay said:

 

The subtle difference is in the inherent desire or hunger or greed towards getting wealthy hence the eagerness to learn a common business language, the Chinese its almost a genetic trait, the locals not so much.

 

Business is business, even chinese with a very tiny shop can speak english in chinatown and they are also locals.

 

And yes about business the Chinese are a few steps ahead of the Thai, lack of education shows in all expects of the LOS.

 

Many Thai who studied abroad now work in their familybusiness or work overseas. They won't come back to Thailand because they can't stand the unregulated chaos anymore.

[HoboKay]

Just now, fruitman said:

 

Business is business, even chinese with a very tiny shop can speak english in chinatown and they are also locals.

 

And yes about business the Chinese are a few steps ahead of the Thai, lack of education shows in all expects of the LOS.

 

Many Thai who studied abroad now work in their familybusiness or work overseas. They won't come back to Thailand because they can't stand the unregulated chaos anymore.

 

I've witnessed the exact opposite where almost all the children of these entitled folks in my circle of Thais, are returning to Thailand because life is easier back here where everything is within their grasp and control.

 

Patronage is prevalent and almost quintessential to ensure this place still functions on a daily basis, despite its inherent impediments.

[fruitman]

3 minutes ago, HoboKay said:

Patronage is prevalent and almost quintessential to ensure this place still functions on a daily basis, despite its inherent impediments.

 

This place doesn't function at all. How many more shops from 2x2 metre do they need? How many more private securityguards or other useless jobs that you won't see in the developed world? They don't trust eachother and there is no law. 

 

Big companies only hire young kids because they are dirtcheap. Older people all have their own minishop which one can't rely on.

 

At least the chinese understand the importance of happy customers.

 

 

[rkidlad]

I remember when I used to teach IELTS here. I would always tell my students at the beginning that the test can be very hard, and the onus would be on you (the students) to work hard. Everyone agreed and we'd start. After about 30 mins you would see worried faces. This realisation that the test is indeed hard and would really need hard work to be applied. So many students were lost. It was so different to many Thai tests they'd done. 

 

I remember once a student asked me "Teacher, this test is too hard. Why so hard?" I replied "This test is to test your English proficiency. Don't worry about the context. Simply worry about the structure of the test and how to best apply the exam skills you're learning". Then the student asked "Would this test be easier in Cambodia?". I was thrown back a bit. The students were all looking at me as if to say "please say yes". I replied "Guys, this is a standardised test. It's the same level of difficulty anywhere in the world. There can be no cheating and there can be no emotional blackmail". 

 

Anywho, my point is that so many students didn't really understand the concept of what an exam is. 'You work hard, you revise and you do an exam to test whether you've worked hard enough'. Sure, of course some students are smarter than others, but this was a no fail exam really. The harder you work - the better result you should get. My feeling from so many students was that it was me as the teacher who had to do all the hard work. The onus was on me to make sure they passed, and all they had to do was simply sit there and pretend to listen. 

 

Student: "Teacher, how can I improve my English skills?"

Me: "Practise speaking English with foreigners. Watch English-speaking movies with English subs. Go online and do your research"

Student: "Teacher, I very busy. I have no time"

Me "So, why are you asking then?"

 

 

[trogers]

Students everywhere do not know how to study!

 

And with the first problem, most seek to put the least effort on their studies, spotting exam questions, or like in this article, learning techniques and tricks.

 

Gone are the days that the privilege to study is treasured.

 

[Emster23]

Agree the "trick" that works is learning the subject matter. Seems if they put half the effort into learning the subject matter that they spend instead on how to learn tricks and ways around the exam, they might, just might, be able to pass.

[klauskunkel]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

"We realised the importance of education and the enhancement of young people's quality of life," said Vathit. 

you realized that 20 years ago? It's about time to act on it, then...

[Lupatria]

7 hours ago, PatOngo said:

"We realised the importance of education and the enhancement of young people's quality of life," said Vathit

 

Amazing realiisation!..........The think tank has been working overtime!

Must have been tough to stay 3 days in a posh holiday resort with 150 other people to come up with something complicated as rocket science...

[ghworker2010]

They are teaching them how to rote learn and subsequently partake in a bulimic style regurgitation at exam time. Well done to the organisers. 

[trogers]

3 minutes ago, ghworker2010 said:

They are teaching them how to rote learn and subsequently partake in a bulimic style regurgitation at exam time. Well done to the organisers. 

 

Which farm animal does the same with food?

[Krataiboy]

As a father of five, it's a horrifying process watching schools - not just in Thailand, but in the West, too - crush the creativity and imagination out of your kids. No wonder so many end up unable to cope in the real world outside the school gates.

 

I have come to the sad conclusion that the relative handful of youngsters who go on to  "fulfill their potential"  do so in spite of an educational system which has changed little in essence since it was designed to produce compliant cogs to fit the Industrial Revolution.

 

We need more people like Sir Kenneth Robinson (just a Google away) to rail against State brainwashing and indoctrination masquerading as education. 

[new2here]

I am no huge fan of standardized testing... However I can see value of you will, in the use of a one-size-fits-all test applied at the largest platform (that being national) to at least get some semblance of achievement or at least some way to objectively rank kids for things that are large-scale endeavors, like university admission.

I do NOT think they should be used as a single, standalone tool/measurement, but combined with one or several more factors that allows the students to show a broader picture of their overall academic/knowledge standing.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[TPI]

8 hours ago, NongKhaiKid said:

During my time in Hong Kong I had to sit quite a few professional exams and at the very start of my career the expats in  our training class were warned not to expect exams as we  might know them so no narratives with the question using words like discuss, explain, consider etc.

 

He explained that our Chinese colleagues had been educated as if sponges and they simple soaked up information, facts etc and could regurgitate them with almost total accuracy but it didn't mean they understood what they were writing so asking them to ' discuss' was a non-starter.

Damned if you haven't hit the nail on the head! It explains the proliferation of "cram" schools and why Thai students need the extra tuition in order to pass! Given that they only get multi choice questions why should they need any "critical thinking" skills.

[khunpa]

Would have been great news, if the headline had said:  "800.000 students learn to think for themselves!"

 

 

[CaptHaddock]

12 hours ago, z42 said:

I'm a career teacher (educated, trained, and qualified in the UK / NZ), I have worked in education at multiple levels on multiple continents. and imho I think it is a stretch to even begin to claim there are hard and fast ways to train students to tackle multiple choice exams, anything above and beyond standard / focused revision anyways.

This event just looks hollow, a textbook case of style over substance. Unless of course these exams being rolled out nationwide are seeking qualitative answers from students (which is highly unlikely) it is a textbook exercise in futility

 

I don't believe this is true at all, nor do I believe your general experience as a teacher qualifies you to evaluate standardized testing..  As far as I am aware it has been established for some time that using the right techniques can raise scores.  For example, guessing add value if a minimum number of the answers can be eliminated, but not otherwise.  Clustering of answers means you can usually discard outliers.  And so on.  The schools that teach test prep do raise scores in the US at least.

 

The students did not create this environment.  It's in their interest to try to raise their score in any way that might work since so much of their future depends on it.

[slapout]

As students in the 1950's we recongized that true/false tests and multiple choice tests were easy to pass. You studieda little and learned enough to know the answer to 1/2 the true/false questions and flip a coin on those unknown. The multiple choice normally had 3 choices which could not possibly fit the question , thus again you know 1/2 the  correct choices and coin flip gives you a few more.

 

We grew up quickly at the major colleges, if we could a way to get there (money) as our teachers were smart enough to eliminate these avenues of passing. You learned to study at  least 2 or 3 hours of each class session or you flunked out and went looking for a job or joined the military. I am convienced that the old ''bell curve grade system'' was a good indicator of the % of youngsters who should not be in universities taking up good teachers and qualified serious students time and space.

 

There are exceptions to most ideas and statments which I mention, its just my observation and experience, one size does not fit everyone, but the LOS seems to want to put the square peg in the round hole.