Talk less, listen more

INTERVIEW

To move forward in this ever-changing world of ours, the mere acquisition of knowledge in isolation may not be sufficient. To survive in a more challenging, competitive environment, Petchuda Kesprayura, chairwoman of Bangkok's Amnuay Silpa School, strongly believes that students need to be able to think for themselves.

Petchuda beside a photo of her grandfather, Chitra Dansuputra, one of the school's founders.

"Now, there is a lot of information available," she said. "More importantly, productive students need thinking skills that enable them to apply knowledge they've learned more effectively. On top of that, I believe that the skills will help them better deal with problems and make good decisions."

Five years ago, Amnuay Silpa, a private, co-educational primary- and secondary-level facility, adopted the "thinking school" curriculum designed to teach students to think in creative, critical and reflective ways. The system had already been implemented with great success at King's School in Auckland, New Zealand.

If students are able to think creatively, Petchuda explained, they will think outside the box and can come up with new ways to solve problems. Being able to think critically, the chairwoman went on, means pupils are able to analyse and evaluate a concept by reasoning things out. And if they adopt this kind of thoughtful approach, she feels they will be better able to adapt to the challenges they will face in the future.

"These skills will be an asset for students, something which they can apply in the school environment, and I think it's vital from the viewpoint of sustainability in this globalised world." she said.

The "thinking school" regime calls for student-oriented learning in which the focus is very much on the children's needs and interests, with teachers acting as coaches, providing guidelines and giving their charges support as they develop their thinking patterns. The students are encouraged to work together and to discuss things in groups in order to carry out tasks they have been assigned. In other words, teachers provide a framework for students to think and try things out on their own.

"Teachers should talk less and listen to their students more," Petchuda said.

Effective teachers are also able to design new learning tools to help motivated students express themselves and to spark their creativity. And an indispensable tool in this type of classroom seems to be an interactive whiteboard, an educational aid that reinforces what is being taught and enhances critical-thinking skills in their students.

Petchuda advises teachers following this approach to ask questions in the classroom that will provoke pupils into reflecting more deeply on a subject; the use of open-ended questions being another trick of the trade.

"Choose a good topic that you want your students to think critically about. Then give them, for example, 'why' questions that encourage them to think further about the subject, making them analyse information and use their powers of reasoning to come up with answers.

"Of course, a 'thinking school' is not about 'yes' or 'no' answers, but about what students really think about a given subject. If teachers ask students a 'why' question, they may all come up with different answers.

It is the teacher who must evaluate the differences in their thinking and then give the correct answers," the school's chairwoman explained.

The approach can be applied to all subjects, from mathematics and science to English and literature, and in the five years since it adopted this new method, Amnuay Silpa has enjoyed great success at both the classroom and national examination level. About 20% of the school's Prathom (primary) 6 students achieved the highest possible score (100) in the most recent Ordinary National Educational Test (O-Net) which was held in February.

"We've found that both teachers and students are happier in the classroom. Our students enjoy sharing ideas and they've got involved in some very productive exchanges. The teachers have become more active and actually want us [the management] to observe them while they're teaching," she said.

As teachers are the driving force, determining whether or not the new approach ultimately succeeds, Petchuda dispatches teaching staff to Auckland every year to receive proactive training in the method and a team of knowledgeable teachers from King's School also gets regular invitations to give lectures to their colleagues in Bangkok.

Although Amnuay Silpa is bilingual, following a combined Thai-UK curriculum, it doesn't rest on its laurels when it comes to passing on English-language skills. To prepare for the launch of the Asean Economic Community in 2015, when there will be a lot more pressure on Thais to speak English in order to integrate with citizens of other Asean member states, the staff at Amnuay Silpa are currently developing a dynamic learning environment and advanced language-learning tools that will hopefully allow their students to practise their skills as much as possible.

Petchuda insists that the practice of speaking English needs to come in a natural, not a compulsory way, although some students are required to refrain from speaking their native language at school to boost their English fluency.

"Personally, I think requiring students to speak English in school at all times creates stress for those for whom English is a second language. And children who speak English relatively poorly will have a hard time communicating with one another. I don't think these students should do so without proper guidance, otherwise they'll adopt bad English-speaking habits."

One of the best ways to speak English naturally is to absorb it in the same way that one picks up a mother tongue.

"Studying with a native speaker is a way to go as students will feel they have to learn the language," she said

One thing that Petchuda is concerned about is that while greater regional integration can promote cultural exchanges that benefit some industries, a society with several distant cultural groups may cause Thai youngsters to lose their sense of identity.

"Language is part of our national cultural heritage, so we have a duty to keep our own Thai language alive, too," she observed.

"I'm not sure if we really want to see a scenario where you have Thai brothers and sisters speaking English to each other at home. I want to see Thai culture continuing to figure in our everyday lives _ I don't want to see it consigned just to art galleries and theatres.

"While we're trying to deal with one issue [improving students' command of English]," she mused, "we may create an even bigger problem."

Petchuda is by no means asserting that the "thinking school" approach is the most effective educational model for students here. She does, however, expect it to help pupils at Amnuay Silpa better cope with the demands of an increasingly integrated region and globalised society.

"We've always known that learning is a lifelong process. The good things of today can be the sad thoughts of tomorrow. But we think this method can help students grow up to be good global citizens, people who live locally but think globally and are fully aware of the world around them."

A boy in a class following the 'thinking school' approach uses an interactive whiteboard to help him better express his ideas.

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About the author

Writer: Sukhumaporn Laiyok
Position: Reporter






Source: http://www.news.thethailandlinks.com/2012/09/20/talk-less-listen-more/