ED. CONNECT The Bi-annual Graduate School of Education Newsletter

PH.D. (EL) GRADUATES YEAR 2011

November 2011-March 2012 ISSN: 1686-4948

IN THIS ISSUE …

Graduation Year 2011

Orientation 2/2011

Chinese Teachers’ Training

4th International Conference

Seminar by M.ED. (EA) students

Seminar in Educational Leadership

and Change

Student Seminar Off Campus

School Visit

The Graduation Rehearsal and

Photo Taking

January 14, 2012

The graduation rehearsal and photo

taking was held at the Suvarnabhumi

Campus, Assumption University.

This year, six Ph.D.(EL) students and

twenty one M.Ed. students graduated.

The Graduation Ceremony was held at

the Queen Sirikit Convention Hall on

January 21, 2012

MASTER IN EDUCATION GRADUATES YEAR 2011

ORIENTATION

The orientation for the new students entering in semester 2/2011 was held on Wednesday,

November 16, 2011 at 4:30 p.m. in the Student Lounge.

Dean, Dr. Sangob Laksana gave the opening remarks. Followed by introduction of all instructors

and sharing of information about the school and the program.

This semester, there are four students entering the Ph.D. program; eight students joining the M.Ed.

(Curriculum and Instruction) program; and seven students opting for the M.Ed. (Educational

Administration) program.

The students are from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Myanmar,

Thailand, and U.S.A.

ORIENTATION 2/2011 Semester 2/2011

CHINESE TEACHERS’TRAINING

Semester 2/2011

HARBIN TRAINING PROGRAM

FEBRUARY 14-15, 2012

Graduate School of Education

conducted a two day training program;

nineteen Chinese trainees attended the

program held on February 14th

-15th

2012.

On February 14, 2012 Dr. Sangob

Laksana, Dean of GSoE and Dr. Ye

Yan lecturer at GSoE held two sessions:

Education and Teaching conducted by

Dr. Sangob Laksana;

Comparative Study of Teaching English

in Au and China’s University conducted

by Dr. Ye Yan

The following day, February 15, 2012

the sessions held was:

Educational Psychology by Asst. Prof.

Dr. Richard Lynch, Lecturer at GsoE

And Teaching and Learning in Higher

Education by Dr. Wipa Mhunpiew,

Program Director for Ph.D. (EL).

Each instructor had their unique

teaching style which was a good

exposure for the delegates making them

aware of different styles of teaching

compared to the traditional Chinese

style.

Certificates were granted to all

participants at the end of the program.

THE 4TH

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

OCTOBER 1, 2011

Semester 2/2011

THE 4TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

REACHING ALL LEARNERS: THE CHALLENGE OF DIVERSITY

The conference was held on October 1, 2011 by the Graduate School of Education in collaboration with the

SEAMEO Regional Center for Higher Education and Development (RIHED) and the Office of Higher

Education Commission at the Hall of Fame, Coronation Building, Hua Mak Campus.

This international conference addressed five challenging themes, namely:

THEME 1: Differentiated Instruction & Learning: Chairperson- Asst. Prof. Dr. Richard Lynch;

THEME 2: Curriculum for All Learners- Innovation, Inclusion, and Transformation:

Chairperson- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Supit Karnjanapun;

THEME 3(Group A): Leadership and Professional Development in the Challenging World:

Chairperson- Dr. Wipa Mhunpiew;

THEME 3 (Group B): Leadership and Professional Development in the Challenging World:

Chairperson- Dr. Watana Vinitwatanakhun.

SEMINAR ORGANIZED BY MASTER OF EDUCATION IN

EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION STUDENTS

SEMESTER 2/2011

Brother Amnuay Yoongprayong,

Vice President for Moral

Development Education, Assumption

University with his opening remarks

formally opened the seminar and

gave his vote of thanks to Dr.

Richard Lynch, Assistant Professor

Graduate School of Education,

Assumption University of Thailand

for being the presenter of the

seminar.

The honorable guest speaker

Asst. Prof. Dr. Richard Lynch with

his 37 years of experience as a

professor around the world shared his

experience, views & the challenges

as educational administrator around

the world and focused on the areas

such as the paradigm shift on

educational administration as well as

the ever changing and evolving

future demands for educational

administrators in the 21st century in

Thailand & around the world.

More than fifty participants from

thirteen countries made the seminar

successful, especially during the

Q&A session active participation

made it clear that the participants

from many different sectors of

education were keenly seeking the

knowledge to face the challenges of

21st century.

~ Md. Zia Islam- M.Ed. (EA student)

“21ST

CENTURY CHALLENGES OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATORS”

On 18th

February 2012 the seminar on “21st CENTURY

CHALLENGES OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATOR”

had been organized by the students of the Graduate School of

Education attending the course EA6323: Seminar in

Educational Administration.

SEMINAR ON EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

AND CHANGE SEMESTER 2/2011

The seminar started with opening remarks of

Rev. Bro. Dr. Bancha Saenghiran, the President of the

Assumption University, followed by Dr. Hallinger presentation

which aimed at contemplating several challenges and reform

obstacles faced by educational leaders in Thailand and other

Southeast Asian countries as well as factors impacting

implementation of key reforms in these countries.

At the end of the seminar, Dr. Hallinger made some

implications for leading change in Southeast Asia and that

Asian educational leaders are functioning at the confluence of

rapidly converging stream of change and tradition. Therefore,

they must have dual capacities to not only have good

understanding of keeping the local norms, culture and values

within the school community that is such a “Museum of

Virtue”, but also they must be able to deploy those values within

a concert of new managerial and educational practices.

~ Fatemeh Hamidifar (Ph.D. candidate)

The “Educational Leadership and Change

Seminar” conducted by Graduate School

of Education Ph.D. and M.Ed. students

with supervision of Dr. Wipa Mhunpiew

and presented by Prof. Dr. Phillip

Hallinger- a well known figure in the

field of instructional leadership and

author of more than ten books on

leadership- who has worked as Chief

Academic Officer at College of

Management of Mahidol University and

as professor of leadership at Vanderbilt

University of U.S. He is currently a Chair

Professor of leadership and change at

Hong Kong Institute of Education.

It took place at Assumption University,

Hall of Fame on February 27th

, 2012 and

was attended by Graduate School of

Education members and students, school

leaders and representatives of universities

who were from twelve different

nationalities.

STUDENT SEMINAR (OFF CAMPUS): PATTAYA

SEMESTER 2/2011

We played some activities after lunch. Everyone had so much fun

playing in teams. I think that is where all the new friendship began.

After that we all headed to our respective rooms to rest but some of

us went out to go for a walk along the beach, breathing in the breeze

hitting Pattaya beach.

Having had another beautiful dinner, a group of us decided to go for

a walk along International Walking Street. It was the first time in my

life seeing this night life. Most of us spent more than an hour posing

for our portrait sketch followed by Thai massage. Then we headed

back to the hotel for a pleasant sleep.

Next day, while I was having breakfast, I wished I could stay a little

longer. I believe we all wished the same. This unforgettable trip gave

us opportunities to learn more about Thai culture build old friendship

stronger, create new friendship further, and most of all, to become as

one. We checked-out at noon to get back to Bangkok. On my way, I

looked through all the photos we had taken, and my mind rewound

all those exciting moments we had had at Pattaya.

On behalf of all the students, I thank all the ajarns, staff, and

organizers for making this trip happen. How I wish I could be on a

trip like this again!

It all began on a beautiful sunny Saturday

on December 10, 2011. All the

participating students from Graduate

School of Education gathered at ABAC

bus stop before 8:00 a.m. The bus departed

for Pattaya around 8:30 a.m. There were

altogether twenty-five of us including

ajarns and staff. Breakfast (fish burger

from MacDonald and juice) was provided

by the faculty. It was just awesome to

begin a fun day with!

Around 9:00 am, we stopped at a place for

a break. What most of us did was taking

group photos by the school bus because the

sun was shining perfectly for the outdoors

photo shoot. Our journey continued and on

our way, we all introduced ourselves. It

was a great opportunity to know more

about each other especially with the Ph.D.

students with whom we never really had a

chance to talk at the university.

We arrived at the floating market at 10:30

a.m. We were assigned in groups to

explore the regions and Thai culture at the

market. There were Northern, Southern,

Northeastern, etc. I was grouped for

Northern region which is popular for Kao

Soy, a curry broth with egg noodles and

meat, and spicy pork sausage called Naem.

Other members of the group enjoyed

walking along the wooden bridge path. It

seems as all the other groups also enjoyed

their exploration as they all came back to

the bus with smiles and bags of regional

souvenirs.

After driving for another an hour and half,

we arrived at the five-star hotel which we

would be staying overnight. It’s Marriott

Spa and Resort. The view, service,

facilities, and especially food were all

incredibly amazing! One of the memorable

moments at Pattaya was meal times at

Marriott. Variety of foods awaited us,

waking all us up after almost two-hour

ride.

Written By

~ Marlar Win Than- M.Ed. (EA. student)

This activity was conducted by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suwattana for Ph.D. and M.Ed. students

as well as faculty members with the help of Mr. Husni Hamad. They visited the school on

March 1st, 2012 where they were welcomed by the President Mr. Serhat Demir and

Principal, Ms. Siriporn Saenrat. It was a great opportunity for graduate students to study

the system of a bilingual educational school in Thailand. Siriwat Wittaya Bilingual

School (SWBS) is a day school, offering courses designed for the students aged 1.5 to 18

years who seek an English Program education in Bangkok. Siriwat Wittaya was

established decades ago. It had been a Thai program school until 2004. Marmara

Educational Company took over school in 2004. The School has been changed to be

Siriwat Wittaya Bilingual School with approval from the Ministry Education of Thailand.

SCHOOL VISIT MARCH 1, 2012

Programs offered:

Master of Education, Curriculum and

Instruction (C&I)

Master of Education, Educational

Administration (EA)

Ph.D., Educational Leadership (EL)

Advisors: Dean, Dr. Sangob Laksana

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suwattana Eamoraphan

Editor: Mrs. Niti Sampat

For more information please contact:

Graduate School of Education,

Assumption University

Ramkhamhaeng 24, Bangkok 10240,

Thailand

Tel: +66(0) 2300 4543 – 62 ext. 3718

Fax: +66(0) 2300 4143

Email: education@au.edu

Admin: Mr. Nikom Rord-Kwan

Mrs. Niti Sampat

The school has been

growing rapidly from

nearly 100 students to over

600 students since 2004.

Now the school serves

students from KG-1 to

Grade 12.

~ Fatemeh Hamidifar

(Ph.D. candidate)