Thai Educators to Study Middle-School Science Research, Practice at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Thailand Ministry of Education is turning to The University of Alabama’s College of Education to help strengthen its middle-school science education standards, research and pedagogy.

Six Thai educators arrived in Tuscaloosa Sunday for a three-day tour of UA science education facilities, lectures by UA faculty, and classroom observation at two Tuscaloosa-area middle schools. Dr. Dennis Sunal, professor of science education at UA, coordinated the schedule, which includes meetings with UA administrators, curriculum workshops, and presentations at the UA Science and Engineering Complex.

Sunal said the UA department of curriculum and instruction was contacted by Thai officials just over a month ago. The department and the College of Education’s Office of International Programs then organized workshops and coordinated speakers and visits to middle schools.

Sunal said visits to Rock Quarry Middle School and Tuscaloosa Magnet School – Middle will be particularly beneficial in creating professional development meetings in Thailand.

“They want updated research and practice on U.S. middle-school science from us,” Sunal said. “When they go back, they’ll enhance their national plan for standards and teaching practices. We’ve also asked the AMSTI, or Alabama Math Science and Technology Initiative, – the statewide professional development arm – to present the events that are going on in Alabama intermediate school districts in the state and describe how we work with middle school teachers.

“They’ll then observe the AMSTI curriculum in practice in middle schools. They’ll also interview teachers and the principal. TMS is also an International Baccalaureate school, like some schools in Thailand.”

In a statement from Thailand Ministry of Education, preparing students to be in line with global science trends and changing teachers’ paradigm are listed as goals.

“To achieve benchmarks in the developing country of Thailand, we must learn from experienced teachers, supporting staffs, and executive teams who have successfully helped in integrating science and technology into their society, both from the implementation point of view and from the policy point of view,” the statement read.

“In the international environment, the workshop at The University of Alabama will enhance the vision of the participants. They can take the opportunity to exchange their understandings while building capacities as a team.”

UA has partnerships with the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program and the Alliance for Physics Education – both initiatives of the National Science Foundation – to attract science majors to middle and high-school education and to integrate the latest teaching practices into secondary science programs via pre-service and in-service teacher education.

Sunal serves as UA’s program director and principal investigator for both grant projects.