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Culture, Knowledge, and Assessment in Active Learning 9

Active learning was brought to Thailand as a part of the country’s uptake of the progressivist-
oriented education in the late 20th century (see De Bogart, 2009). In 1999, Thailand government

has implemented The National Education Reform (Kantamara et al., 2006). The reform is a
legalised attempt to transform the educational climate of Thailand from teacher-centred that
is commonly perceived as passive, into an active approach or the student-centred pedagogy.
Active learning has been adopted in all levels of education as complementary strategy with the
new pedagogy. The Basic Education Core Curriculum (2008) “strongly advocates for ‘strongly
advocates learner-centered approach’” (p. 4). Under the curriculum, the teachers and learners
are expected the following:

Teachers should:
… design and organise learning responsive to individual differences and different
levels of brain development, so as to enable the learners to attain the goals of learning
(Basic Education Core Curriculum, 2008, p. 28)

Learners should:
1) Set the goals of learning, make plans and take responsibility for their own learning;
2) Seek knowledge, make serious efforts to access learning resources, analyse and

synthesise bodies of knowledge, raise questions and search for answers or problem
solutions through various methods;
3) Take action, draw conclusions regarding what has been learnt, and apply the
knowledge gained to various situations;
4) Interact, work and join in activities organised by their peers and their teachers;
and
5) Continuously assess and improve their own learning process.

(Basic Education Core Curriculum, 2008, p. 29)

Higher education institutions conduct numerous research and teacher trainings on active
learning. Studies suggest that the uptake active learning strategies has made a significant influence
in the engagement and learning outcomes of students in Thai institutions (see Chairam et al.,
2009; Gorowara & Lynch, 2019; Tolley et al., 2012; Treesuwan & Tanitteerapan, 2016). However,
factors such as cultural capital, recontextualisation of knowledges, and assessment press some
considerations in the success of active learning in classrooms.
This chapter explores significant considerations in the uptake of active learning approach

in Thai classrooms and potential ways to address them. First, it previews the theoretical
foundations of active learning and its relation to student-centred approach. Then, it examines
three interrelated issues that can influence the application of active learning strategies in
classrooms such as learners’ cultural capital, the recontextualization of horizontal discourses
into vertical, and forms of assessments. Lastly, possible ways of addressing these issues will be
discussed by expounding the potential of active learning strategies in Thai contexts.