TDP News
|
The Teacher Development Program (TDP) is a special project co-sponsored by the Center for Professional Assessment (Thailand) or CPA, and the Office of Vocational Education Commission (OVEC), Ministry of Education. The aim of this project is to increase the English language proficiency of both teachers and students in vocational schools in the hope of being able to better prepare students for entry into the workforce.
In the first phase of the project, teachers were invited to take part in the project by applying for a seat in a training program. All applicants then sat for the TOEIC test conducted by CPA staff. Based on the outcome of the TOEIC test a total of 30 teachers from vocational institutes in all regions of Thailand were selected to participate in a week-long training program held between December 15-19, 2008 at the Lilawalai Resort, Khaoyai, Nakhon Ratchasima.
The training program, Phase II, was designed to provide participants with information on the concept of Assessment Based English Language Learning (ABELL) and its relationship to Proficiency Based Language Instruction. It is hoped that teachers will be able to integrate these concepts into their teaching in order to help students gain the needed proficiency for successful entry into the workforce. Also, as part of this phase, a total of five instructors will be selected for a study tour in Indonesia where they will be able to spend time with their Indonesian counterparts in vocational institutes to exchange ideas and experiences.
At the close of the training workshop participants were invited to submit their own project proposals to OVEC to demonstrate how they plan to implement some of the concepts gained through the training in their respective institutes or regions. The deadline for submission is January 30 when each project will be presented to OVEC principles by participating institutes. Once selected and approved, the projects will be implemented as Phase III of the project.