From Student’s Feedback to Leveraging Classroom Quality
Conducting an effective, enjoyable, stimulating, and lively classroom is many teacher’s goal, but it remains impossible without the teacher's open-mindedness to students' feedback. At the Mathematics Department at Phattharayan Wittaya School, Nakhon Pathom, a feedback system has been implemented with tangible success. It provides a platform for students to voice their concerns while encouraging teacher’s self-improvement. As a result, the school has developed more effective teaching methods and fostered an empathetic classroom environment.
“Ole” – Pornrudee Modjam, a cohort 9 Fellow from Teach For Thailand (TFT), and “Kru Mew” – Kamolwan Kaewsaat, Head of the Mathematics Department, shared their experience developing the “Quality Feedback System For Teaching Improvement.”
“The system originates from TFT’s Student Survey, which is collected from all students who study with the Fellow. The survey reflects Fellow’s performance and leadership through teaching.”
“Kru Ole selected questions from the Student Survey, adding ‘areas to improve’ and ‘areas to keep,’ which help clarify the feedback for the teachers.”
Kru Mew added, “The TFT’s Fellowship Program was initially a foreign concept, but the principal was open to the idea. Over time, teachers started to recognize Fellow’s adaptability and quick learning, which sparked interest in TFT’s teaching development methods. A key component is student feedback.”
Inspired by Kru Ole’s swift adaptability and popularity among students stemming from her active feedback collection, Kru Mew worked with Kru Ole to develop the “Quality Feedback System For Teaching Improvement” and piloted it in the Mathematics Department.
The feedback system evolved along with the teachers. Initially, the system accepted anonymous group feedback, which was too ambiguous for personal development. The following semester, the system was adjusted to allow students to name the teachers.
“At first, it was disheartening and embarrassing to our flaws, as the feedback was accessible to everyone. But over time, we realized that the focus wasn’t on the criticism and grew more familiar with them. We began to appreciate the feedback more,” Kru Mew recalled.
“And that is good; sometimes we think we are doing well, but we have no way of knowing if it’s good for the students unless we directly ask. The feedback gives us insights into student’s perspectives and highlights areas we need to improve.”
Kru Mew concluded their initiative by saying: “Once we know where to improve, we change our methods and add more activities, making Mathematics less daunting for our students. As they feel better, they listen and learn, and their performance improves.”
“Another important aspect is understanding how students feel about us. When we become aware and adjust, students feel heard. They know their opinions matter and that they can talk to us. This improves the overall classroom atmosphere.”
Apart from piloting the feedback system, Kru Ole has incorporated her keen interest in data analysis, which was enhanced during Teach For Thailand’s summer training, to develop a dashboard website that tracks feedback and monitors overall student performance for the Mathematics Department.
These developments were made possible through collaboration: from the principal’s approval of Teach For Thailand’s involvement to teachers’ openness to new ideas to students’ honest feedback, and Fellows’ ability to adapt their strengths to the school’s context. This synergy has led to tangible improvements in teaching quality, student participation, and teacher development.
Read more from the Fellow Leadership Program, and become part of the change towards a better education for Thailand, at www.tft.vh-projects.com.
