CONFUSION IN THE CLASSROOM

Alongkorn Parivudhiphongs

LEARNING BY DOING

When this concept was introduced, it was meant to arouse the curiosity of hildren, by using play and activities to complement text books which in turn, enhances learning by practical means.

Already, many schools, mostly kindergarten and elementary level, have Iintroduced this popular education theory into study approaches and some private schools use it as a selling point to attract more parents.

But many students find themselves confused as to what the learning objective is. "For three consecutive years at my elementary school, my teachers told me to grow beansprouts. I had to measure the height and submit a report. And that was it. I learned nothing from the activities, but this was a class requirement," recalled Nara Cherdchaiwit, now a student in Prathom 6.

Similar points were raised by other students who were assigned learning by other students who were assigned learning by doing of rice growing, goldfish raising, and gardening and/or conducting artistic projects.

CLASS PARTICIPATION

This concept is to encourage interaction between learners and teachers. Taking part in class discussions and activities is believed to lead to an exchange of ideas and, hopefully, group-directed conclusions. Unfortunately, however, most Thai classrooms are over-crowded, averaging 50 to 60 students. And as each subject period spans between 50 and 60 minutes, time for every student to speak is considered impossible.

As Charee Patamavikrum, a Mathayom 4 student, puts it: "I barely had a chance to speak in class for the whole semester." And certainly, he is the majority. The non-participation classroom atmosphere is also reflected in certain courses in university studies, where one lecturer has to teach a core course with an average class size of 200 to 800 every semester.

Nevertheless, despite the problems of limited time and over-crowding, the fundamental issue is that students have never been taught to share their thoughts in the classroom.

In other words, class participation has never been part of Thai learning culture and most students prefer to keep their heads down to avoid having to share opinions,

STUDENT - CENTRED LEARNING

Among all the new education concepts adopted, students as the centre of learning has been preached as the top priority for educational reform, School teachers have been brought back to one workshop after another in order to apply this concept in the classroom.

But misconception prevails. Instead of encouraging students to follow subjects of interest under their guidance, many teachers leave them to blindly find the right direction.

"Several of my teachers don't teach us any more. They just assign us to read textbooks. And at the end of each class, they ask if we have any questions. To me, it's more like self-study," says Napas Tangsonthi, a Mathayom 2 student at a prestigious state school.

Napas believes that there must be something really wrong with the way the teachers approach the concept. It is ironic to him that when he and his friends are treated as the "centre", they feel deprived of learning, so much that many of Napas' peers have to pay for extra tuition.

ANALYTICAL THINKING

Critical thinking is believed to be the cornerstone of a democratic society. But in a Thai learning environment, students are trained to place their trust in their teachers and to believe what they are taught, without question. Opposing a teacher's view is not only uncommon but is often interpreted as a gesture of rebellion or ungratefulness.

Panasri Ariyachuwong, a senior student in a state-run university, believes that if she ever voices criticism of a Thai classic in a literature class, it would simply translate into a disaster for her grade. "Phra Lor is lauded to be an excellent sample of well-written literature and the charac-ters' tragic romance is hailed as heroic," says Panasri.

"But what I see in the main character is a mere cheating husband who abandoned his faithful wife for her two sisters. How can I cherish this adulterous act as romance especially when we know that the two sisters enchanted Phra Lor with black magic? Besides, in my personal opinion, these sisters are perverts since they shared the same husband."

Despite her strong opinions, Panasri keeps mum in the class for fear of unfavorable consequences. (to be continued)

Reprinted with permission from Bangkok Post of May 10, 2001.