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The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of the use of paper-based and weblog-based electronic portfolios on the writing achievement of limited English proficiency students, to survey the students' attitudes towards the use of the portfolio assessment, and to compare the viewpoints of the students in the control and experimental groups. The study was conducted with 60 second-year hotel and tourism students enrolled in the Writing for the Service Industry course. They had limited English proficiency, as their previous English grades were C or below in average. The simple random sampling technique was used for subject selection and group assignment. Google's free weblog website (located at www.blogger.com) was used as a tool for creating and developing the students' personal electronic portfolios. At the beginning of the course, the students in the control group and the experimental group were trained in the concept of portfolios, and the purposes, content, and criteria used for assessment were discussed with the students. A writing achievement test and a closed-ended questionnaire were used for the quantitative data collection, while the qualitative data were gathered from the open-ended questions, interviews, and reflection. Descriptive statistics and t-tests were employed for the data analysis. It was found that the effects of the use of paper-based portfolios and weblog-based electronic portfolios on the writing achievement were not significantly different, but some promising results of the use of weblog-based electronic portfolios for language learning and assessment are indisputable.

The current situation of international communication in globalization context requires intercultural competence (IC) to achieve successful communication (Crystal, 2003). Concerning this intercultural competence, non-verbal communication (NVC) plays a key role to indicate the success of having intercultural competence. On the other hand, Thai Ministry of Education (MOE) has launched the CEFR for the country policy in English teaching and learning (Ministry of Education, 2016). The purpose of this paper is to present major results of an investigation of intercultural competence, that is, the NVC. An innovative program implemented in this study is the CEFR and project-based activities (the CEFR-PBA). The study also examines Thai university students' attitude towards this innovative class. This paper discusses the IC students learned from role-plays. The participants of the study were 44 students of third year English Education at a Thai Rajabhat University. Research method applies action research (Burns, 1999) and case study (Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Method, 2003). Data collection gained was from 1) videotape recordings of students' role-play, and 2) the questionnaire. Data analysis for video recordings employed a NVC rating scale evaluated by native-speaker raters; while means, percentage, and SD were used for the questionnaire. Grounded theory's color coding (Strauss & Cobin, 1990) will be utilized in analyzing the qualitative data from raters' additional comment. Findings revealed students' NVC performance were both appropriate on body movement and position as well as vocalic communication. Moreover, their attitude towards the CEFR-PBA was positive.

In this paper, the researcher focuses on assessing the language learning benefits for students of adapting the communicative language teaching (CLT) methodology to an English textbook, a methodology that, according to Richards (2006), Littlewood (2008) and others, is influential in shaping second language learning worldwide. This paper is intended to contribute to the understanding of the effectiveness of CLT when applied to a textbook and how the practical application of this methodology can lead to students' increased knowledge and understanding of the subject matter and target language of the textbook as well as assess students' attitudes and perceptions toward those communicative activities. The instruments used in the data collection included a pre- and post-test multiple-choice quiz to ascertain if there is a significant difference in the students' knowledge and understanding of the subject matter in the textbook before and after using communicative activities, and a Likert-type five-point scale rating system questionnaire and open-ended questions to measure students' attitudes and perceptions. Thus, the aim of the researcher in this paper has been to investigate and quantitatively measure the effectiveness of these communicative teaching activities and assess the students' attitudes and perceptions toward them.

The role of industry in the higher education system is becoming more prevalent, as universities integrate a practical element into their curricula. However, the level of development of cooperative education and work-integrated learning varies from country to country. In Germany, cooperative education and work-integrated learning has a long tradition, due to vocational institutions having strong links with industry. In contrast, the work-integrated study models in Asia, such as in Thailand, offer limited levels of practical experience, as part of the higher education curricula. In addition, Thailand continues to experience a lack of skilled graduates, who are exposed to work-integrated learning during their studies. The study on which this paper is based seeks to benchmark study models in Thailand, against the German Duale Hochschule Baden-Wuerttemberg (DHBW) study model, in order to identify development opportunities in the Thai model, focusing on the aim of meeting the needs of industry. The Office of Higher Education Commission in Thailand hopes to address the inherent issues, through implementing the recommendations made in this paper.

This paper explores factors contributing to the willingness to communicate (WTC) in English as a foreign language (L2) in a Thai university setting. The study uses multiple methods within a qualitative research approach. Data were collected through interviews, stimulated recall, and classroom observations. Relevant contextually-related variables that emerged from the analyses were categorized into four dimensions: social- psychological context, classroom context, cultural context, and social- individual context. The findings revealed the overlapping nature of factors in all dimensions, which reflects the complex interactions among contextually dependent WTC variables within the language classroom. This paper contributes to the knowledge of WTC in a second language (L2) from a qualitative perspective.

This paper aimed to reexamine the current EFL communicative speaking skill in high school level in Thailand due to the coming of the entry to ASEAN at the end of the year 2015. Thai students need to be well prepared for workforce in the future since English is used as the working language in ASEAN. The purposes of this paper were to study the effect of dramatic activities on improving English communicative skills of grade 11th participants and to examine students' opinions towards the use of dramatic activities in their speaking class. The duration of experiment was 21 hours within 7 weeks. The research instruments were lesson plans using dramatic activities, English communicative speaking test and a questionnaire measuring students' opinions towards the teaching based on dramatic activities. The findings were that the English communicative speaking skill on grade 11th students after attending the teaching class using dramatic activities was significantly higher than before attending the teaching and the students' opinions towards dramatic activities on speaking were highly positive.

This study examined conceptual change of Thai middle school students after learning photosynthesis with analogy and model. The analogy mapped key features from the analog (cooking food) to the target concept (photosynthesis). Modeling photosynthesis activity provided the opportunity for students to understand how plants use sugar to synthesize cellulose and starch. To determine students' prior knowledge, the photosynthesis questionnaire was administered to 58 Grade 7 students of urban school. The result revealed that students held alternative conceptions in many aspects, including the origin of plant nutrients, the substances required for photosynthesis, the products of photosynthesis and the role of chlorophyll. After the instruction, the students were post-tested to determine how students' conceptions had changed. The result indicated that the students demonstrated better comprehension than that of the pre-test. The percentage of students who changed their ideas to the scientific one was reported and discussed. The present study has implication for both science educators and science teachers who are interested in teaching with analogy and model. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.) [Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) (Philadelphia, PA, Mar 21-24, 2010). Research funding was provided by the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST), Thailand.]

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) integration aims to unite the South East Asian countries to promote better opportunities for the member countries in different areas such as economics and education. As a response, Philippine Normal University spearheaded the formation of the Association of Southeast Asian Teacher Education Network to promote collaboration with ASEAN countries and enhance teacher education programs. The formation of AsTEN creates the impetus to explore possibilities for the internationalization of teacher education programs among the ASEAN countries. Thus, the Institute of Teaching and Learning of PNU initiated the Project Teacher Exchange for ASEAN Teachers (TEACH). This paper reports the assessment of the piloting of the Project TEACH as experienced by the Thai participants. Moreover, this research aims to develop a model that can be utilized by other ASEAN communities as they prepare for their own international teacher education programs.

A wide variety of technologies combined with traditional classroom methods can make learning easier in the digital age. This paper studied undergraduate students' learning performance and satisfaction after they had studied in a blended setting and investigated if variables of learner characteristics and course features would be predictors for effectiveness in a blended course. Data were gained from 149 students enrolled in a fundamental English course at a private university in Thailand, using a 5-rating scale questionnaire. The results of the study demonstrated that students were satisfied with instructor, interactivity and course design, and the mean score of performance was higher than the criterion. It was found that attitudes toward blended learning, face-to-face support and digital literacy were three variables predicting learning performance while only two variables including face-to-face support and attitudes toward blended learning were two predicting variables of satisfaction with the course. However, workload management and online learning tools quality were not predictors of learning performance and satisfaction with the course. When designing future blended courses, instructors should pay more attention to face-to-face support, attitudes toward blended learning and digital literacy since these factors may have an impact on the course success.

This paper examined the hypothesis that Thai EFL students' positive attitudes toward their non-native English accented speech could be promoted by the use of University of Iowa's "Sounds of American English" website, known as the "number 1 phonetics website". Fifty-two undergraduate students in the field of sciences participated in the investigation, which took place at two different stages. The findings of both stages mirrored non-native-like identity they perceptually obtained and native-like identity they socially aspired to possess. The findings of the second stage confirmed the hypothesis to some extent because of their synchronous feelings of slightly decreased embarrassment and increased pride and offer two insightful directions for EFL teachers. Firstly, irrespective of students' actual English accented speech, there is a need to promote their positive attitudes toward their own accent at an early age. Secondly, helping them understand that speaking intelligibly is more important than sounding like a native speaker.

This paper aims to report stories of two Thai learners who were purposively selected from a quantitative study of 233 freshmen. They study English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in the monolingual context. They were formally interviewed three times about their L2 motivation and learning experiences using narrative inquiry. Narrative data were supplemented by such personal and social artifacts as their memorable photos. The Ideal L2 self and the person-in-context relational view of motivation were used to analyze multifaceted aspects of both individual and contextual factors shaping their L2 self and identity. The findings suggested that they seemed to envision themselves becoming proficient English users. However, one student had stronger visions than another one. His L2 self and identity were highly influenced by the American pop culture, social media, and social networking from school to university. His desirable self-image tended to be strengthened by his sustained effort to communicate in English both inside and outside class. By applying the findings, stories of two participants can be used as exceptional cases, rather than generalizable, and as a basis for developing a series of pedagogical strategies which might be tested in the field of language teaching in the future.

Attempts to account for consonant cluster acquisition are always made into two aspects. One is transfer of the first language (L1), and another is markedness effects on the developmental processes in second language acquisition. This study has continued these attempts by finding out how well Thai university students were able to perceive English onset and coda clusters when they were second year and fourth year students. This paper also aims to investigate Thai speakers' opinions about their listening and speaking skills, and whether their course subjects enhanced their performance. To fulfil the first objective, a pretest and posttest were launched to measure how the 34 Thai participants were able to identify 40 onset and 120 coda clusters at different periods of time. The statistical findings show that even though their overall scores in the fourth year were higher than those in the second year, there was no statistically significant difference in both major types of clusters [t = -1.29; p value >0.05 in onsets; t = -0.28; p value >0.05 in codas]. The Thai participants performed slightly better in onset (84%/86%) than in coda (70%/71%). To complete the second objective of the study, a 24-item questionnaire was distributed to the participants. The responses indicated positive opinions about their listening and speaking skills and the English courses they took in a four-year study. However, they still had difficulty identifying some English consonant clusters even though those were widely used or found. Finally, most participants claimed that English Phonetics and Phonology Course was one of the significant course subjects instrumental in establishing their fundamental knowledge of how to pronounce English words and develop their listening skill as well.

This paper results from a pilot study in a Thai academic context testing two hypotheses. First, blended e-learning required by an institution can motivate learners extrinsically to learn EFL. Second, blended e-learning can enhance learners' positive attitudes toward learning EFL. The hypotheses were constructed based on an implication that Thai students generally needed extrinsic motivation in learning driven by their authoritative teachers and past relevant studies that showed positive results. Although the quantitative outcomes support the hypotheses, they are not generalizable. Additionally, required blended e-learning may not be the best teaching tool for this group of EFL learners, for they tend to identify themselves better with social media, especially Facebook.

This paper presents a case study of using blended learning to enhance students' language skills and learner autonomy in an Asian university environment. Blended learning represents an educational environment for much of the world where computers and the Internet are readily available. It combines self-study with valuable face-to-face interaction with a teacher. This study puts the spotlight on learning outcomes in an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) class in Thailand in which e-learning strategies are used in parallel with traditional classroom language teaching methods of the four language learning skills. These skills are listening, speaking, reading and writing. The achievements and attitudes of students were compared between the control group and the experimental group to measure the potential of available technology to develop language skills and learner autonomy. The findings from this study show that online practice is directly beneficial to enhance the four language learning skills as well as autonomous learning and learner motivation.

This paper is part of a periodic research conducted in developing a personal learning environment for Thailand's higher education students with English as medium of instruction. The objective of the first phase in this research was to understand the personal learning environment perspectives of Thai International tourism and hospitality higher education students. A structured questionnaire of personal, learning and environment perspectives based on various literature reviews and practical applications was constructed and distributed to 111 Bachelor of Business administration students majoring tourism and hospitality management to measure their agreeableness towards elements of PLE. The results revealed that all the three stakeholders, i.e., the student, teacher and the college have control or ownership over the self-learning phases of the students. The students use social media and smart phones to search and find relevant information in various formats such as videos, audios, news, articles from internet and teach each other by giving feedbacks within themselves on completing their assignments during self-learning phases.

This paper presents an investigation of a research entitled, " An Application of Project-based Learning on the Development of Young Local Tour Guides on Tai Phuan's Culture and Tourist Attractions in Sisatchanalai District, Sukhothai Province. It was intended to develop young local tour guides on Tai Phuan's culture and tourist attractions in Sisatchanalai, Sukhothai Province. The study explored the improvement in students' communicative ability and examined to what extent the students revealed both positive and negative attitudes towards project-based learning. The study also aimed to develop a set of recommendations for future practice in project-based learning in Thai educational institutions. The research was conducted in classroom of 50 grade 10 students with purposive sampling of Muangchalieng School in Sisatchanalai, Sukhothai Province. The questionnaire aimed to evaluate the students' satisfaction of the methodology called project-based learning in terms of their attitude in English language development and the practice of young local tour guides. A focus-group interview with each group provided in-depth information regarding their learning and provided ideas for a set of recommendations for future practice. It is anticipated that the information gained from this study will benefit both the teachers in their choices of suitable methodologies and students' outcomes with the respect to improved competency in their skills in English and increased confidence in project-based learning in small groups.

This paper investigates the potential of the Gamified Metaverse as a platform for promoting library services. The study compares the effectiveness of a traditional library program with a Metaverse- based library program in terms of knowledge acquisition and library anxiety. The research also examines students' perceptions of implementing gamification within the context of the Gamified Metaverse platform. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, including pre- and post-test analysis, statistical analysis, and qualitative data collection. The results indicate that both the traditional and Metaverse-based library programs effectively increased the participants' knowledge, with no significant difference between the two approaches. However, the Metaverse-based program was found to be less effective in facilitating interaction with librarians and reducing library anxiety. Additionally, students expressed positive perceptions of implementing gamification in the Gamified Metaverse platform, finding it engaging and motivating. These findings contribute to the understanding of the effect of the Metaverse as a tool for promoting library services and enhancing knowledge acquisition. However, it is not as effective in reducing library anxiety, particularly in terms of interaction with librarians and staff. It should be noted that the platform may have limitations such as high costs and potential side effects of virtual reality, making it more suitable as an additional tool for promoting library services, taking into account its feasibility and potential benefits for specific student populations and larger libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper was to administer and prepare teachers for management to their students' learning achievements within the curriculum framework of water resource and disaster management. This course was compared to manage learning into different school sizes with the sample size in the lower secondary education schools with two groups of 28 controlled teachers, who managed teaching of 68 students in 3 classes, and other group was 28 experimental teachers who managed teaching of 79 students in 3 other classes at grade level 9 too. The procedure of methodology included curriculum framework; unstructured selection interviews and conservational guidebooks were used. Most of teachers were trained with a new curriculum of learning units and training local curriculum. Associations between teachers' satisfaction of pre- and post- test questionnaires were differenced, developing the curriculum was indicated that it has revealed problems and students' needs indicated as high responses on introduction, and purpose of recapitulating development. Teachers were passed the assessment test as high quality ability impacts and satisfactions for making learning units to students' responsibilities. Statistically significance of students' achievements were differences between the controlling and experimental groups at 0.01 confidence level, correlatively, and comparisons between using this local curriculum frame work in school sizes as non significant differently.

The LINE application is often conceived as purely social space; however, the authors of this paper wanted to determine if it could be used for academic purposes. In this study, we examined how undergraduate students accepted LINE in terms of using it for classroom-related activities (e.g., submit homework, follow up course information queries, download materials) and explored the factors that might affect their intention to use it. Data were collected from 144 undergraduate students enrolled in an English course that utilized some activities based on LINE app using a questionnaire developed from TAM. Data were analyzed to see if relationships existed among factors when LINE was used to organize classroom experiences. The findings revealed that perceived usefulness and attitude toward usage had positive relationships with intention to use while perceived ease of use was positively related to perceived usefulness. In contrast with TAM assertions, this study did not find any relationship between perceived ease of use and attitude toward usage. Also, the number of social networking sites that students are using had no relationship with intention to use. The study also suggested some kinds of LINE-based learning activities preferred by students, which would be proposed for future courses. This study revealed several useful implications that TAM can be employed as a useful theoretical framework to predict and understand users' intention to use new technologies in education.

The use of mobile phones for learning has become well-known and is widely adopted in many language classes. The use of SMS for transmitting short messages is a fast way of helping students to learn vocabulary. To address this issue, this study was conducted to examine the effects of mobile-assisted vocabulary exercises on vocabulary acquisition of first-year students. Eighty students from two sections enrolled in a fundamental English course participated in the study. Each section consisted of 40 students. One of the groups was chosen as the experimental group, and the other as the control group. All students received the same amount of new words and dictation in class. Then only the students in the experimental group did vocabulary exercises on mobile phones via SMS. Those in the control group received paper-based exercises to be done in class. The instruments were pre-and post-vocabulary tests and a questionnaire surveying the students' attitudes toward mobile-assisted exercises. The findings revealed that vocabulary knowledge of students in the experimental group outperformed the control group. They used and learned target vocabulary better than those in the control group. Mobile-assisted vocabulary exercises had a significant effect on vocabulary ability of the students. The results of the questionnaire also illustrated their positive attitudes toward doing mobile-assisted exercises as a whole. It can be concluded that using mobile phones as a learning tool contributes to the success of students meanwhile increases their learning motivation.

This research paper presents lecturers' experience of using social media in higher education courses. The research methodology used a survey approach. The research instrument was a questionnaire about lecturers' experience of using social media in higher education courses. Thirty-one lecturers completed the questionnaire. The data were scored by frequency and percentage. The research results are as follows: 1) A slight majority of the lecturers were male. The largest age group was 30-35 years old. The most commonly held highest degree was a Master's. The most common academic position they held was "lecturer." The largest group was in the Department of Educational Technology and Communications. They had monthly incomes of 30,000 THB and over. They had experience of using social media, namely, Facebook, mostly through internet use on devices such as notebooks and desktops. 2) A majority of the lecturers had some experience using social media in higher education courses, mostly Facebook. However, they did not have teaching experience using social media in courses. The devices they used for facilitating social media use in courses were notebooks and desktops. Learners' role in using social media in courses was searching. Lecturers' roles were posting or creating, and commenting. Social media use in the courses was part of a blended approach that employed both regular and online instruction. The lecturers always searched for information and studied hard by themselves to cope with the problems of social media use in their courses and to enhance their skills in using social media in courses effectively.

There have been interests in finding appropriate ways in which students learn to write in English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL). Educators should be aware that ESL/EFL learners are less privileged in terms of exposure to the target language when compared to their English native speaker counterparts. Ironically, writing instructions to date are based on first language writing theory. This paper aims at examining relevant factors which instigate Thai EFL learners to write English in their home country where it is not commonly used in both media and daily communication. The data were collected from seven English majors and two writing teachers from two leading universities in Thailand through an open-ended questionnaire and interviews and relevant documents. Then, they were analysed qualitatively. Results showed that only students who chose to major in English at universities in Thailand were given opportunities to experience writing skills. Theoretical lacks in existing literature related to introduction of English writing to ESL/EFL learners and how the present argument fulfills the gap were highlighted. Towards the end, it concludes with some insights for teachers and educators of students who live in similar EFL contexts. It is hoped that an informed and systematic implementation of English curriculum in Thailand will be materialized.

The development of a scale for measuring self-perception for readers of English as a foreign language is discussed in this paper. The scale was developed from the four dimensions of self-efficacy theory proposed by Bandura (1977a): progress, observational comparison, social feedback and physiological states. A 36 item scale was developed to measure the four dimensions. Five hundred and fourteen Thai EFL students at the college level completed the scale. Factor analyses and item-total correlations indicated that most of the items best defined their own constructs. Cronbach's alpha internal reliabilities also indicated a strong coherence of the items in measuring their proposed dimensions. Students' achievements in reading and writing in English are correlated with the scale. Regression analyses showed that the Self- Perception Scale for Readers of English as a Foreign Language (SPSREFL) is a significant predictor for students' reading achievement.

The purposes of this research were to: 1) to compare the effects of different sequences of feedback types on the students' writing ability and their effect size; 2) to compare the effects of the levels of general English proficiency (high, moderate, and low) on the students' writing ability and their effect size; 3) to investigate the interaction effects between the different sequences of feedback types and levels of general English proficiency on the students' writing ability; and 4) to survey the students preferences for self correction, paper-pencil peer feedback, and the integration of Facebook and the peer feedback strategy. This study was of an experimental, 3x3 factorial design and was conducted with 108 engineering students with different levels of general English proficiency. The students were trained in how to do self-correction or how to provide effective peer feedback before doing the assigned tasks. Two-way ANOVA was employed for the data analysis for the first three research questions, and descriptive statistics and content analysis were used for analyzing the data from the questionnaires, interviews, and reflective journals for the fourth research question. Pedagogical implications for EFL writing classes are discussed.

Due to EFL undergraduate students' ineffective learning strategies, which mirror lack of autonomy, this paper is a pilot study into how use of Cambridge Dictionaries Online can affect undergraduate students' autonomy or self-reliance in a Thai EFL context. The link was selectively integrated in a writing classroom as a tool to improve their English during writing assignments because it appears to be more comprehensive than others. Seventy three students participated in the study and completed a questionnaire based on arguments that new generations or young learners can relate themselves to the link viewed as learning technology and in turn possess positive attitude toward and motivation in learning English autonomously. Although the quantitative results are positive to some extent, they offer some directions for EFL teachers to guide their students in moving toward autonomy. Limitation and recommendations for future study are provided.

The use of online tools such as forum has helped instructors develop courses that are engaging and challenging. However, instructors want to ensure that all students maintain academic integrity when they were assigned to work in an online community. This paper investigated students' perception and behavior of academic integrity in an online discussion forum. Data were collected from 160 students enrolled in a fundamental English course who were assigned to post and respond to the topics in a forum. A survey was administered to measure how students perceived "academic integrity" as well as to investigate students' experience of violating academic integrity. A semi-structured interview was further conducted with the involved participants to find out the reasons behind their performance. The findings revealed that students perceived some misconduct actions as not cheating, leading to behaviors of academic dishonesty. As such, students should be informed more about what they can or cannot do in order not to commit academic dishonesty.

This paper focuses on the development and evaluation of a Technology Enhanced Interaction Framework and Method that can help with designing accessible mobile learning interactions involving disabled people. This new framework and method were developed to help design technological support for communication and interactions between people, technology, and objects particularly when disabled people are involved. A review of existing interaction frameworks showed that none of them helped technology designers to consider all of the possible interactions that occur at the same time and in the same place (i.e. face to face situations). Since almost all learners and teachers now have access to mobile technologies the new framework and method provide great potential for learning through interactions in these face to face situations. The components of the framework are described and explained, and examples of interactions are provided. The Technology Enhanced Interaction Framework has been developed and validated using technology designers and accessibility experts. To help designers apply the framework, the method has been developed and validated using technology designers and accessibility experts, and was successfully evaluated with technology designers.

This paper is based on the premise that little attention has been paid to learner preparedness for online language learning. We synthesized research on the broader topic of learner readiness for online learning, and attempt to apply those insights to the language learning context. Based on previous work, the demographic variables gender, student level, age, nationality, and area of study and the nondemographic variables learner autonomy, computer self-efficacy, attitude towards online learning, motivation, and English language self-efficacy are proposed as possible indicators of preparedness. A self-assessment survey tool was prepared, piloted, and then applied to a sample of 92 students.

The research compared students' summary writing ability before and after they were taught through blog, a new medium or tool for written communication and interaction in many different languages around the world. The research design is a kind of one group pretest posttest. Participants were 33 first-year students who studied EN 011 course (English in Action) in the first semester of the academic year 2012 at Bangkok University. They were divided into six groups. Five or six students in each group created a blog; www.blogger.com, and they worked together for fourteen weeks to produce six pieces of summary written work. Each member in the group worked through providing comments, editing and revising on the blog until the group got a final summary paper and submitted that to the teacher for grading. The instruments used in this study were (1) two summary writing tests (2) a questionnaire surveying students' attitude toward learning through blogs, and (3) postings on blogs to reflect their learning experience. The results revealed that after the students worked together on weblogs, their English summary writing mean score of the posttest was higher than that of the pretest, and they had positive attitudes towards using weblogs in learning. Regarding cooperative learning experiences through using weblogs, most students thought that it was interesting, a new experience to work with their friends on the weblogs. (Contains 2 tables.)

This research paper explores pre-service science teachers' understandings of classroom research, problems in conducting classroom research and the supports that pre-service science teachers need from their cooperating teachers to help them conduct a classroom research project during the internship period. The participants in this study are 19 pre-service science teachers in a teacher education institution situated in Western Thailand. The research instruments included a questionnaire about the understanding of classroom research and interviews with the pre-service science teachers regarding the problems in conducting a classroom research project and the supports that they need from their cooperating teachers in conducting the classroom research project. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. The results indicate that most of the pre-service science teachers understood the principles of classroom research. The problems the pre-service science teachers encountered in conducting classroom research were the limitation of time, generating suitable research question and selecting the innovation to solve the problem. Pre-service science teachers would like recommendations from their cooperating teachers more frequently for promoting the pre-service science teachers' confidence and efficiency in their chosen classroom research projects. This study has direct implications for the ways in which we introduce and engage pre-service science teachers into inquiry-oriented practice in their chosen profession. A questionnaire and an interview protocol are appended. [This research was funded by the Kasetsart University Graduate School.]

PISA, the OECD's international program of assessment of reading, scientific and mathematical literacy (www.oecd.org/pisa), aims to assess the ability of 15 year olds to use the knowledge and skills that have acquired at school in real world tasks and challenges. It also uses questionnaires to gather data on students' attitudes to learning and the conditions of schooling. Since 2000, PISA has tested the mathematical literacy of 15 year old students from many countries around the world. This paper describes the design of the PISA assessments, discusses mathematical literacy and reports on a selection of results from the PISA assessments, associated surveys and related analyses to give a flavour of the information that has resulted from this major international initiative. Results for Indonesia are compared with the OECD average and with a selection of countries, addressing issues of overall achievement, equity, and classroom environment.

Thai school age students as young as eight years old are increasingly being immersed in the Internet world, and as a result, they are accelerating their learning and communication skills in English even without noticing. For educators, the ICT (information communication technology) revolution that has occurred in the last few decades needs to be both understood and taken seriously. The potential for e-learning to engage Thai learners and raise the levels for student performance standards clearly necessitates changes in the curriculum, the resources that teachers use and more importantly what teachers understand to be their role in an increasingly wireless world. This paper outlines a professional development model that was developed to support teachers who are reluctant or less able to implement e-learning with opportunities to explore the potential of education related Internet sites based upon their personal levels of awareness, ICT skills and confidence. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)

The paper describes a qualitative study concerning the experiences of nine Thai transnational distance learners enrolled in doctoral programs in Australian universities while working in higher educational contexts in their own country. Data were collected from participant journals, an open questionnaire and dialogic email communications. The study revealed that the workplace is an important influence upon the nature and quality of the learning experience largely through issues relating to finance, time management and technology or other resources. Learning, in turn, influences the workplace with individuals operating as educational change agents applying their learning about student centred methods to classroom practice. The findings are likely to be of interest to both Australian and Thai educators as postgraduate distance programs continue to be marketed in Thailand.

This study was designed to examine the critical success factors for implementing Virtual Education Delivery (VED) in Thailand, and to identify ways to facilitate such adoption and lead to effective outcomes. The study incorporated an analysis of three specific factors related to Thai culture: high power distance "Bhun Khun", uncertainty avoidance "Kreng Jai" and, collectivism "Kam Lang Jai". This paper reviews the development of the research model, describes the conceptual underpinning of the cultural model and presents the findings of the study. A strategic framework for successful VED implementation is proposed and can be modified for any cultural environment. In addition an audit instrument was developed for evaluation and review of VED outcomes on an ongoing basis.

Positive self-assessment of ability in the quantitative domains is considered critical for student participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics field studies. The present study investigated associations of gender compatibility (gender typicality and contentedness) and math-gender stereotypes with self-concepts in math and physics. Statistical analysis of survey data was based on a sample of 170 male and female high school science students matched on propensity scores based on age and past GPA scores in math. Results of MANCOVA analyses indicated that the combination of high personal gender compatibility with low endorsement of math-gender stereotypes was associated with low gender differentials in math and physics self-concepts whereas the combination of high personal gender compatibility with high endorsement of math-gender stereotypes was associated with high gender differentials in math and physics self-concepts. These results contribute to the recent theoretical and empirical work on antecedents to the math and physics identities critical to achieving gender equity in STEM fields. [This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Gender in Physics.]