Knowledge Exchange Forum Held in Chiang Mai

Starfish Education participated in a knowledge exchange forum organized by the Equitable Education Fund, or EEF, with over 180 schools from Northern Thailand.

EEF held this event from October 31st to November 1st, 2020 at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The purpose of the event was to promote understanding of the project framework to develop teachers and schools by continuously improving the quality of education, as well as the use of information systems as a tool for improving the quality of education management. This was aimed towards the first and second round of schools that have participated with EEF and Starfish Education thus far, as well as related local agencies.

Dr. Vicharn Panich, the chairman of the project’s direction supervision committee, gave a special lecture on “Upgrading School Quality, Reducing Inequality”. Dr. Udom Wongsingh, director of EEF’s Office of Teaching Quality Development for Teachers, Assistants and Educational Institutions, also participated. Additionally, Dr. Kawinkiat Nonphala, the Deputy Secretary of the Office of Basic Education Commission (OBEC), and a representative of the Office of the Private Education Commission joined to clarify the policy of cooperation in the development of teachers and schools in order to continuously improve the quality of education.

Starfish Education is part of the project's support team, providing mentors (Coaches) to advise on the development of Whole School Transformation for the schools in the network, which this year includes the areas of Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Samut Sakhon, Nakhon Pathom and Ayutthaya. It continues to operate with 59 schools from the first round of the project, and expanded to work with 34 affiliated schools in the 2nd round. At the event, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between Starfish and the 70 of those schools that are located in Northern Thailand.

Dr. Nanthaporn Janchalia Seributra, president of Starfish Education, spoke about the operational guidelines of the project:

“After working with schools from the first round for almost a year, I have seen that they have improved and have a greater understanding of Whole School Transformation through nine components: Leadership, Goals, Community, Learning Atmosphere, Technology, Curriculum and Assessment, Teaching Models & Practices, Professional Development and Learning of the Learner. These affect the drive of the school in both teaching and learning management. Additionally, we’ve observed that the teachers have more understanding in using innovative knowledge by organizing Makerspace activities for learning through the STEAM Design Process, which focuses on building 21st century skills for learners. The hope is that every school can develop themselves, be able to extend the application of knowledge and apply it according to the context of each school, engage the community in setting goals for school development, and finally, develop itself to become a model school for sustainability in the future. "

We are looking forward to support and improve understanding for participating schools to develop themselves sustainably going forward.