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Saturday 1st September
All 16 Melbourne University students congregated together at Chiang Mai airport, eagerly anticipating our arrival at Prem Tinsulanonda International School. After the 45 minute drive, we arrived at Prem, astonished by the beautiful scenery consisting of tropical trees and green lush grass. The campus is so big that we needed bikes to ride around, and we proceeded to explore the campus, in awe of the the aspects of the school so different to what we have experienced in Australia. Of particular interest to me was the 'Three Generations Farm" which promoted sustainable agriculture, generated by three generations of the PREM school community, including students, parents and grandparents.
Sunday 2nd September
We began the day with a Thai culture and language class where we learnt Thai greetings and customs. We learnt about the political situation of the country which has left the country divided politically. After a delicious buffet lunch, we set off to Chiang Mai to visit the Doi Suthep Temple, a Buddhist temple that is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful temples I've ever seen! I had had a wonderful introduction to Chiang Mai and Prem, and I couldn't wait for the classes to commence the following day.

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A Thai-cooking exploria -

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An example of student-led learning

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Integration of Thai culture in educational setting 

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Integration of Thai culture in educational setting 

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Images of Thai culture were seen in most classrooms

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Depicted in a Grade 8 Classroom

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Educational philosophies, values and practices

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Educational philosophies, values and practices

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The values, philosophies and practices of PTIS were made apparent during my time at Prem, and relate to the notions of community, independence and achievement. Prem's website outlines its mission to provide all students will a meaningful education, providing 'the competencies for increasing cross-cultural interdependence', and encourage a passion for learning through a safe and supportive environment (PTIS, 2018). These values were obvious when speaking to teachers, students and parents at Prem. I spoke to a teacher about the school's aim to foster the holistic development of all students, evident in the school's particular emphasis on social service and co-curricular activities. Exploria activities are run every day after school, from 3pm-5pm, covering activities such as film-making, taekwondo and Thai cooking. Whilst academic success is no doubt important, the importance of balance is stressed in the ethos of the school. I attended a film-making Exploria session, and what struck me as interesting was how the values of the IB learner profile were emphasised as part of this co-curricular activity, such as inquiry-based learning and open-mindedness. Students were required to take charge in their own learning, just as they would during class time.
Additionally, boarders make up 25% of the entire school cohort and there are particular educational philosophies, values and practices that apply specifically to them. One particular rule for boarding students is that all technological devices need to be handed to teachers by 10pm each school night, aligning with the school's emphasis on the need for building strong organisational skills, as well as minimising the risk of addiction to technology.
Educational philosophies, values & practices and the IB
The International Baccalaureate program provides the foundational framework for the school's educational philosophies, values and practices. According to Prem's website (2018), the IB program is different to other curriculums as it encourages students to:
- Think independently and drive their own learning
- Become culturally aware, through learning an additional language
- Communicate and engage with people in rapidly changing, globalised world
- Succeed academically and gain entrance into the world's top universities
Independent Learners
In attempting to encourage students to become independent learners, Prem places strong emphasis on the IB learner profile, which describes an array of capacities for students who are:

Inquirers

Knowledgeable

Thinkers

Communicators

Principled

Open-minded

Caring

Risk-takers

Balanced

Reflective

Independent Learners and White-Board Desks·
Prem's emphasis on fostering independent learners is demonstrated in the desks that double as white-boards that used in almost every class room in the Middle and Senior school (pictured below). The desks allow for student-led learning, whereby students take control of writing on a white-board, something traditionally seen as being solely done by the teacher.
Culturally Aware Learners
All students at Prem learn at least 2 languages, and the languages on offer at the school include Thai, Chinese, French, and Spanish. During my time at Prem, I was astonished to learn that many students could speak 4-5 languages! It became apparent that when students learn in an environment whereby the learning of additional languages is encouraged and even seen as normal, cultural awareness is something that comes naturally to all students.
Engaging Learners - CAS
In order to assist in the formation of engaging students who are emphatic towards others,  CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) is a program that needs to be completed by all students undertaking the DP & CP. Students need to be involved in this for 18 months, measuring success across 7 learning outcomes, outside of academic time.  This program ensures that students engage with various people in a rapidly changing global climate. The aim of this program is to foster the development of empathetic, engaged individuals who will hopefully continue to help others beyond their time at Prem.

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Framed pictures of the King were seen around campus

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Flags representing the 31 nationalities of Prem students

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During my time at Prem, I learnt about the importance of effective communication and collaboration with colleagues. I spent a lot of time observing and teaching a grade 9 & 10 music class that was focused on singing. One of the students appeared to be increasingly disengaged in music class and at the end of my first week, refused to sing. As this student was from China and English was his second language, I immediately thought he might just be shy. His teacher, Ajarn Gina, said that this behaviour was out of character, and although he is shy, usually wouldn't have a problem singing in front of another teacher. Straight after the class, Gina asked to speak to the student privately and asked him what was wrong. The student refused to voice any problems to her, and believing this again to be uncharacteristic of him, she decided to voice her concerns to one of the boarding teachers. After this boarding teacher spoke to the student, she found out that his parents were going through a divorce and he was going through a hard time. It was though this process of professional engagement with the student and her colleagues, that Gina was able to determine the reason for the student's unusual behaviour, and resulted in the school providing counselling sessions for him. Through this professional communication, the student was provided with assistance and an outlet to voice his feelings. I learnt from this experience the benefits that can come when effectively communicating and engaging with appropriate colleagues.

Professional Engagement at Prem compared to Australia
The week begins at Prem with a senior staff meeting during recess every Monday, similar to what I have experienced in Australia.
However, one aspect of professional engagement that struck me as being different to what I have experienced in schools in Australia is the sheer amount of co-curricular activities held everyday, that require dedicated and passionate teachers to organise and run. Exploria activities are compulsory for boarders, and students can choose from a wide array of exploria options every day, such as film making, dog washing & hip hop dancing. These Exploria activities require professional engagement from teachers outside of regular teaching hours.

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Similar to its educational values, philosophies and values, the learning and teaching principles of the school are very much based upon the IB learner profile. The emphasis on inquiry is very much evident from the MYP to the DP. Posters depicting 'The inquiry Cycle' and 'Guided Inquiry Design' were evident in almost every classroom.
Inquiry Learning Cycle

The Inquiry Learning Cycle prompts that students should
- Find out       - Sort Out
- Go Further  - Make Conclusions
- Take Action  - Tune In
Middle Years Program
During out meeting with the head of the MYP of Prem, I became aware of the schools mission to think broadly and outside traditional discipline areas. The ATL (Approaches To Learning) are related to teaching skills and not content. For example, when teaching the topic of 'conflict' in Humanities, it doesn't matter if you teach World War 1, World War 2 or the Vietnam War, as long as the skills to analysing conflicts are taught. The content should therefore be used to understand the concept.
This learning and teaching principle was evident in a Grade 10 Humanities lesson I observed, which used a cross-disciplinary approach to learning and teaching, involving the integration of History and Psychology. Students were given an example of psychological theories, such as the ‘Standford Experiment’  that could be applied to particular historical events or groups, such as Nazi Germany, to explain human behaviour. Students were then required to research their own psychological theory and apply it to a historical event of their choice. This approach requires students to learn content, but also apply their newfound understanding to a completely new context. Therefore, this project encourages student-led inquiry, creativity and individualised learning, preventing the potential for students to copy or rope-learn work.
Grade 6 Humanities:
The inquiry-based learning framework of the MYP was also evident in a Grade 6 Humanities lesson focusing on 'True Direction.' The class began with a theoretical explanation of North, South, East, West, and the remainder of the lesson involved students completing inquiry-based questions where they had to apply this knowledge to find particular places on a map. The questions that students needed to complete required students to 'go further' and 'find out,' as some of the questions were related to content that had not yet been taught, including the use of two cardinal directions to find a particular place. Students therefore had to 'take action' and be responsible for their own learning.
Additionally, in the MYP, Each unit of work in every class is related to a 'key concept', a 'related concept' a 'global context' and a statement of inquiry. The global context for this particular grade 6 unit was 'orientation in space and time', and the statement of inquiry was 'geography shapes culture and identity.' Therefore, the strong emphasis on inquiry- based learning as part of the IB is reinforced in multiple ways in each class.

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Characteristics of Educational Setting and Impact on Learning and Teaching

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Characteristics of Educational Setting and Impact on Learning and Teaching

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The first class that I observed on my first day was Grade 11 Theory of Knowledge, taken by Ajarn Kevin. This subject, which is compulsory as part of the IB curriculum, is an interesting look at understanding how knowledge is formed in disciplines such as History, science and philosophy. There were approximately 16 students in the class, representing a wide array of cultures and nationalities. I soon learnt that around a third of students in the class were Thai, a third of students were from China, and a third were from Europe, in particular France, Hungary and England. What struck me as interesting was the constant relating back of content to birth place, culture and language. When talking about 'ways of knowing', Ajarn Kevin conveyed that culture, place and language are extremely influential in determining what we know. The idea that knowledge comes from an external source and is determined by perception, was constantly related back to notions of place, culture and 'home,' and this was clearly understood by every student in the room. Students' understanding of home being ambiguous was used to demonstrate that knowledge itself is indefinite and vague. I felt it intriguing that this very complex idea was understood so easily by students, which I felt was due to the school's emphasis on being 'culturally aware.'
In my first week at Prem I observed Grade 11 History, Grade 11 Theory of Knowledge, Grade 6, 8 & 10 Humanities, Grade 9 , 10  & 11 English and Grade 10 Music.  I was intrigued by the idea of third culture, and where the students of Prem believed home to be.  I was also interested in the integration of different cultures and what this looks like in an International school. Another point of interest was the notion of transient students, how they adapt to new schools, and the extent to which the IB provides more consistency in their learning and education.

Third culture, where is home? the integration of different cultures? what does this look like?
I spoke to an array of students from all grades and found that the notion of ‘home’ is often seen to be temporary and indefinite. One girl I spoke to was born in Vietnam to a French mother, a Nigerian father, spent her junior school years in China and her middle and senior school years in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. She also speaks three languages, French, Chinese and English. Where, then, does she call home? ‘Home’ to her is represented by a lot of places; it is Paris in the summertime, where she spent majority of her summers as a child, as much as it is Ho Chi Minh, where she still visits to see old friends. A sense of ‘home’ can also be found in the candy bars she often receives from China, which remind her of her junior school days. I asked her if Thailand is home, and she replied, ‘of course it is. Anywhere that I spend a substantial amount of time, create positive memories and feel a sense of belonging becomes home.’

The IB provides consistency to transient students who move around a lot and attend multiple schools all around the world. I spoke to boy in grade 12, who, due to his father's job, had been to 9 schools in 8 countries. He told me that every school he had been to in the last 8 years was an IB school, providing him consistency during times of dramatic change. He told me especially leading up to his final 2 years of school, the DP, it would be impossible to succeed academically if he had not received a consistent education.

The ways in which the local context and country context are incorporated into the school’s programs
Although we were at a school in Thailand, I found it interesting that there were many students who didn't speak a word of Thai, even if they had lived there for a substantial amount of time. How, then, does an International School incorporate significant elements of Thai culture when majority of its students don't speak the language or usually take part in the culture?  I observed a range of ways that Thai culture is incorporated into the school's education program, including:
- Teachers are addressed by 'Ajarn'- which means 'teacher' in Thai
- Exploria programs such as 'Thai Cooking' are promoted, whereby students learn about Thai cooking and food
- Political images are seen in most classrooms and around the campus, such as framed pictures of the king (pictured below)
- The national anthem played at approximately 8.20 every morning, and every student and member of staff stand still to show respect
- The History and Geography of Thailand is taught in  Humanities.