Wonderful time in Thailand-SEA Teacher Program Batch 10
Hi fellas!
.jpg)
.jpg)
School: General Information and Academic Administration
1.1 School Profile
The school for my SEA Teacher program is Ban Mak Khaeng School. Here are some information about Ban Mak Khaeng School
School name: Ban Mak Khaeng School
School status: Public/Governmental
Address: 133 Umpur Rd, Tambon Mak Khaeng, Mueang Udon Thani District, Udon Thani 41000, Thailand
Website: https://www.bmk.ac.th/
Phone: 042-244-294
Email: admin@bmk.in.th
Ban Mak Khaeng School is one of the schools in Thailand that is located in Udon Thani Province. Ban Mak Khaeng School was founded on December 29, 1953, west of Udon Thani Teachers College on land donated by Udon Thani Teachers College (now Udon Thani Rajabhat University) to the school by Mr. Kamol Prasitsat, the former Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education (then the Provincial Education Officer). The school was initially known as "Mak Khaeng Witthayakhan School," the school is under the supervision of the Udon Thani Primary Educational Service Area Office 1, Office of the Basic Education Commission, Ministry of Education. It provides education at 4 levels: Kindergarten 2-3, Primary 1 - 6, Secondary 1 - 3, and Secondary 4 - 6, with a total of 8 and 6 classrooms. There are 7 permanent school buildings.
The school also has several missions to be carried out with quality standards as follows:
As a school that students and parents are interested in, the quality of education must be raised to meet standards.
Schools leading the change according to the decentralized framework of administration and educational management, focusing on “quality classrooms” for the learners as the main priority.
Leading schools in driving the focus on developing learners into practice: “Focusing on learner quality, a turning point for reforming Thai education”
Schools that use a curriculum comparable to international standard schools (World Class Standard Schools)
The school organizes learning based on the philosophy of Sufficiency Economy.
Core schools organize activities to reduce study time and increase learning time,
The leading school that uses the core curriculum of Basic Education Management 2008 offers teaching at Kindergarten 2-3, Primary 1-6, Lower Secondary 1-3, and Upper Secondary 4-6.
1.2 Academic Support System
In Ban Mak Khaeng School all the teachers are cooperative and adjust how they teach students, especially in English class. English is not their first language so it would be hard to understand the meaning of the vocabulary and how to pronounce it. So, teachers try to explain the words in class in their first language. Moreover, teachers always provide new vocabulary in each chapter of the materials. Also, in the class teachers not only just explain with print books but also use PPT to improve how they teach students in the classroom. Some of the teachers also give some games to make the classroom more engaging.
For the facility where students got food, the school already provide very large canteen and it is more than one. I think this one is so helpful and support the students need since the school have so many students to take care of. Here is the picture of the canteen in the school:
1.3 Teaching System
The teaching system in Ban Mak Khaeng School has some sequence that they always have. The first thing to do when teachers and students arrive at school is to have a flag ceremony. The ceremony happens every day in the morning. Then after they have a ceremony they will have some time for meditation. According to my co-teacher, they do meditation because of their religion. After all students attend the ceremony they will go back to their class and have teaching and learning as usual. Ban Mak Khaeng School has so many students from different levels. Ban Mak Khaeng School has 4 levels of teaching and learning that organized:
Kindergarten 2 to Kindergarten 3
Primary 1 to Primary 6
Secondary School Year 1 to Secondary School Year 3
Secondary School Year 4 to Secondary School Year 6
To provide good teaching and learning activities for all students, Ban Mak Khaeng School has a regular curriculum that consists of:
According to the Early Childhood Curriculum B.E. 2560, Ban Mak Khaeng School follows the B.E. 2567 early childhood education curriculum. Children from birth to age five are the focus of early childhood education, which is based on training, nurturing, and the promotion of a learning process that responds to each child's nature and development following their potential within a social-cultural context where children live with love, kindness, and understanding of everyone. This builds a foundation for a high quality of life that will enable children to grow into fully formed human beings who are valuable to both society and themselves.
School curriculum, Ban Mak Khaeng School, B.E. 2567 according to the Core Curriculum B.E. 2551, primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary levels.
1.4 Some photos of the students in school
The students are so respectful and kind. They are also polite and all of them look like so neat by following the rules of the school. Also, the school area was clean, the students maintain to put the rubbish in the right place. Here are some photos of the students outside and inside classroom:
Pedagogical Contents
1.1 Teaching methods of the teacher
According to my observation during the teaching processes of Ms. Ampanida’s class, I saw she used the same sequence of teaching processes. The first thing she does in her class is ask triggering questions about the material that she will teach on that day. This question will be based on the student's background knowledge. This is a good thing because the students will be aware of what they will discuss in class before starting the class activity and also relate what they have already known to the new material. What I got from the observation of Ms. Ampanida’s class is that she often tried to discuss together to the students by asking their opinions on that topic. It would help students to discover and practice their critical thinking to answer the questions. From my observation, I learned that it is better to keep in touch with the students by asking questions about their opinions instead of just reading and listening.
1.2 The teachers' learning materials and innovative teaching
My co-teacher, Ms. Ampanida, said she teaches English subjects specifically reading skills. The material that she uses is the same book for all English subjects, but the difference is in her lesson plan. Because she teaches reading, she needs to make the lesson plan meet the indicator of reading where students need to understand the topic, references, etc. But in her class, she not only just asks the students to read, but she also provides some audio to the students. So, while they improve their reading they also improve their listening skills.
1.3 Sources of learning and technology used by the teachers
Sources of the learning Ms. Ampanida uses the printout book to provide more engaging and easy ways to teach, she also makes the printout book in a PPT file. So, she also can show it to the students on the screen while they read their own book.
1.4 Authentic assessment used by the teachers
During my very short observation, I have not seen much of how the assessment works. But, based on my observation I saw that all the material that the teacher gave to the students was already authentic enough. Because the text mostly talks about the things that are close enough to our daily lives. for example, some texts talk about wildlife, how we can save wildlife, and how we should not hurt animals. I think the students already got a lot of authentic knowledge from the material itself.
Teaching Plan
1.1 Curriculum
Like what I have been talking about in the teaching system, Ban Mak Khaeng School provide good teaching and learning activities for all students, Ban Mak Khaeng School has a regular curriculum for the Early Childhood Curriculum B.E. 2560, Ban Mak Khaeng School follows the B.E. 2567 early childhood education curriculum. Children from birth to age five are the focus of early childhood education, which is based on training, nurturing, and the promotion of a learning process that responds to each child's nature and development following their potential within a social-cultural context where children live with love, kindness, and understanding of everyone. This builds a foundation for a high quality of life that will enable children to grow into fully formed human beings who are valuable to both society and themselves. Moreover, they also have a school curriculum, Ban Mak Khaeng School, B.E. 2567 according to the Core Curriculum B.E. 2551, primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary levels.
1.2 Teaching plan related to my major
Making the classroom align with the teaching objectives is important. So, while making the material for my teaching I use the lesson plan from my co-teacher, Ms. Ampanida. In her lesson plan, she still use the Thai language so i need to translate it. But the good thing is I have already observed her class so it help me to suit my lesson to her lesson plan. Here are the lesson plan from Ms. Ampanida and some of the textbooks that I used in my class.
The Textbook:
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Teaching Practice
1.1 Procedures of teaching
The SEA Teacher program facilitated me to practice my teaching. As a future teacher, this program is a wonderful opportunity to improve my teaching skills. Moreover, in this program, I can practice my teaching skills not only nationally but also try to teach internationally. This program allows me to adapt my teaching in the condition where I need to adjust my teaching in different situations and cultures.
The first thing I do before I have my teaching practice, I need to prepare the material for my students. For the material, I just continued the topic that Ms. Ampanida taught in the class. Then I made a PPT in Canva and added some games to make the class more interesting. To begin my class, I start by asking the students with triggering questions to make the students know and aware of the topic I will teach.
1.2 Time management and organizing activities
In Ban Mak Khaeng School the time for one meeting in English class is 60 minutes. So, it is kind of tricky to manage the activity to suit that one meeting time. But, the good thing is that I already have time to observe Ms. Ampanida's class first so I can manage the activities with the time based on what I have learned in her class. So, I did not waste time longer.
I organized the activity with the explanation and discussion first with the material I had prepared and before I asked the students to have some assessment on their book, I gave some games to lift up the class again. Here are some photos of my teaching practice:
1.3 Classroom management
In my class, Mattayom 4/3 class, I have more or less 39 students. It is kind of surprising because in Indonesia the amount of the students only 36 students for highschool. For managing the class, it was not that hard because the students are so cooperative. Even though I am foreigner teacher, they still respect and listen to me. But, only sometimes they feel bored and sleepy so I just asked them to listen to me.
1.4 Problem-solving while teaching and staying in the designated school
I did not really face that much problem. I was enjoying so much my time in Thailand and in Ban Mak Khaeng School. But, if i can mention one thing, it was just kind of hard to communicate with English to my students because English is not our first language and we still learn how to communicate it. To solve this problem I really need to make my words as simple as I can and also I was using picture in classroom. So, while i explain i show the visual for my students to make them understand more about the topic.
Summary and Suggestions
1.1 Purposes of practicum
All the teacher from university and the school in Thailand were so nice. I went to Thailand with my friends, it was three of us and the people there gave us very warm welcome and goodbye. So, we were really enjoy to spent the very good experience in there. But, one of the struggle was only how the teachers suit the schedule with us to practice our teaching. Because we were stay there for only 27 days and it was very short time if we want to really practice our teaching skills. But, other than that we got new insight for how we respect each other with different culture and languages.
1.2 Procedures of Practicum
This SEA Teacher program is carried out in several stages for all students, there are:
- Class observation: In this stage all the students have a chance to observe the teacher in the school before they have their teaching demonstration. All the students got different time depend on their co-teacher and the class they will teach.
- Class assistance: After the students observe the class, they need to accompany the teacher while they teach in the class, sometimes they can already interact or help the teacher to teach the students.
- Actual teaching: In this stage the students have a chance to practice their teaching skills before they have their final demonstration
- Last teaching: In the last teaching students have their final demonstration before they go back to their country. So, in this stage usually they also said goodbye to the students.
1.3 Outcomes of practicum
From this program i have a lot of new insight that shaped my professional teaching and perspective. Professionally, I’ve gained valuable teaching experience, from planning lessons to managing classrooms and delivering engaging instruction. It’s been so rewarding to explore student-centered approaches and find creative ways to make English lessons fun and interactive for my students.
Beyond teaching, this program has opened my eyes to the richness of Thai culture. I’ve learned so much about their traditions, educational practices, and way of life, which has deepened my appreciation for cultural diversity. The chance to communicate and work closely with Thai students, teachers, and my host community has also helped me develop my cross-cultural communication skills.
On a personal level, this experience has been transformative and given me a new perspective. It has boosted my confidence, adaptability, and problem-solving skills as I navigated a new environment and overcame real-life challenges in the classroom. I’ve also had the joy of making new friends and building strong connections with fellow SEA Teacher participants and educators, which I hope will lead to future collaborations.
1.4 The challenges of practicum
Participating in the SEA Teacher Program as a students from the faculty of education in Sebelas Maret University has been an exciting journey, but it hasn’t come without its challenges. One of the biggest hurdles was adapting to a new education system and teaching environment. At first, understanding the classroom dynamics, the students’ language abilities, and their learning styles required a lot of observation and adjustment. Communicating with students who had limited English proficiency was sometimes challenging, especially when trying to explain complex ideas or instructions. It pushed me to be more creative in using gestures, visuals, and simplified language to get my message across.
Cultural differences also posed a challenge, especially when I was unfamiliar with certain customs or expectations in Thai schools. It took time to learn and respect these differences while finding ways to build strong relationships with my students and colleagues. Lesson planning was another test, as I had to ensure that my activities were engaging and suitable for the students' levels while also aligning with the curriculum and teaching objectives.
1.5 Overall impression
Overall impression on this program is I really enjoy and it become one of my unforgettable experience. It was the place that I can gain more insight, make new friends from different country, and improving my self as a future teacher. Hopefully in the future I can have another chance to joining this kind of program and meet again with my friends here. Without them this journey will be more or less just another boring time. Thank you so much for everyone I have met in this incredible time.
1.6 Suggestions for future improvement
This program has been open my new insight and experience. Thank you for this opportunity for SEAMEO and all the teacher that gave me this chance to join this. There are a lot of things I got from this program. Instead of teaching practice, in this program, I was also able to explored Udon Thani, went to beautiful places, tried the food, and make new friends not only from Thailand but also from The Philippines. But, one thing for future suggestion, maybe for preparing and give the chance to another participant in the future. It would be good if they have more opportunity for teaching practice. Hope this program will be always improving and serve the best for the students! See you in another great time.
Find me on my social media:
Instagram: @hindunnn__
Email: hindunaisyah@student.un.ac.id
Komentar
Posting Komentar