Collaborative Actions to Enhance Effective Teacher Skills

Abstract

The project of the "Collaborative Actions to Enhance Effective Teacher Skills in Ban Nong Hua Wua School" was one of the research initiatives that aimed at enhancing the professional development of teachers to align with the new educational paradigms of the 21st Century. The project involved practical activities aimed at fostering collaborative efforts toward improving the skills of teachers at Ban Nong Hua Wua School. The present study employed the Participatory Action Research methodology, which is comprised of four iterative phases of Planning, Acting, Observing, and Reflecting. The study was conducted over two cycles, each comprising one semester of an academic year, specifically during the Academic Year of 2022. There are three goals in research: (1) Positive changes would occur following the implementation of the project, both in terms of the teachers’ professional development practices and the enhancement of the teachers’ skills. (2) Learning outcomes, resulting from the project's participatory approach, would be evident at the individual, group, and school levels. (3) The knowledge gained from the practical experience in the context of Ban Nong Hua Wua School should be used as a model for the continuous self-development of teachers in the future. Six teachers participated in the research project and were the target group for development. The study involved three phases of comparison: before the first cycle of practice, after the first cycle of practice, and after the second cycle of practice. The findings were as follows. Firstly, the implementation of the project had resulted in positive changes as expected. The teacher-researchers had demonstrated a higher level of practice and had improved their Teacher Skills. Secondly, the researcher, the teacher team, and the school recognized the importance of the statement: "Teachers and schools must never stop learning, never stop developing themselves, and never stop developing their teaching practices that impact students' learning." Teachers should be learners themselves, and schools should be organizations that promote learning. Teachers should strive to develop themselves to keep pace with the rapidly changing society, especially changes in the field of digital technology. They should utilize the widely available new knowledge found on the internet to benefit their self-development and work. Thirdly, the knowledge, which was gained from collaborative actions, will be used as a model for continuous self-development in the future. This model illustrates the cause-and-effect relationship between the driving forces for change, the factors that hinder change, and the ways to overcome obstacles until successful results are achieved. It is called the "Collaborative Actions to Enhance Effective Teacher Skills in Ban Nong Hua Wua School Model."