to understand technology or tools that
can help facilitate learning in students
and not just tell the students a story.
Have them perform guided exploration
on their own based on feedback from
teachers. The current Parliament is
trying very hard to make changes, but
nothing comes easy.
The fastest way to reform education is
to reform the way teachers are made to
begin with. By changing their training,
they can go out and make their own
changes in the world, hopefully for the
good.
Q: CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH
THAT WHOLE PROJECT?
A: To me, it’s more than a project. It’s a
lifelong mission. I’ve worked for ITSP
for over a decade, and in that time, I
have been trying to do everything to
help develop not only education, but
the country and the economy as well.
We have done that through our work.
Providing scholarships, helping develop
teachers in more advanced fields, and
trying to create a pool of scientists and
high-quality educators who can keep
pushing things.
Q: SO HOW DO YOU GET
THE PROPER SUPPORT?
A: The struggle is making three groups
meet: educators, the government, and
businesses. Each has a part to play. It’s
also important to note that education
is not just about going to school. It is
about ensuring that businesses have
someone to employ and drive them in
the future. For that reason, we try to
bring businesses into the mix and get
them to assist with education. We want
to avoid putting the entire burden on the
government, and in that way, we can
help businesses do something to grow
in the future and help students grow
right along with them. Partnering with
private capital is an essential part of the
endeavor.
Q: YOU’RE DOING A LOT,
AND YOU HAVE DONE A
LOT ALREADY, AND YOU
STILL HAVE A HUGE MISSION
THAT YOU’RE WORKING ON.
I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY
INTERESTING TO HEAR ABOUT
YOUR STORY. WHERE DID YOU
COME FROM TO BE ABLE TO
HAVE SUCH AN INFLUENCE
IN THAILAND? WHAT WERE
YOU LIKE AS A CHILD?
able to see the inherent value that can be
found by going into education. Given the
high-stakes, skill-based, professional
and educational environment that
students must now face, the time has
never been better to grow as a learner.
IPST is helping students do just that.
For more information about IPST and
their unique method of teaching high-
achieving students, you can contact
them online at eng.ipst.ac.th.
A: I lived a very shy life. I wanted to
be a teacher, but back in those days,
everything was very stringent. There
was one path to doing everything. You
go here, then here, you get this degree
and then that one. I ended up getting
my degree at Cornell University, and
in that time as a woman with a degree
in science, I was still limited with the
pathway I could take in Korea. I could
be a teacher, but I couldn’t work, for
example, in a factory.
My father was quite inspiring to me. He
suggested I go to get a Master’s degree
to increase what I was able to do. I did
that, and once I had finished, I began
my work with IPST. Everything just
snowballed from there. I would say that
my story is only 50 percent knowledge,
the other 50 percent is the places I’ve
been able to apply it and who has helped
me with that journey.
Q: WHAT WOULD YOU
SAY YOUR MISSION IS?
A: I would say my current mission is
to talk and collaborate with friends
and colleagues in local countries to
help make a higher standard for the
achievement of students. We also need
to focus on the creation of a career
academy so that all countries in our
region can have an improved workforce
and students have somewhere to go after
they have finished school.
(End of Interview)
For Dr. Pornpun, it is essential not
only that teachers can be flexible in the
classroom, but also that students are
DR. PORNPUN
WAITAYANGKOON
Dr. Pornpun Waitayangkoon,
President of The Institute for
the Promotion of Teaching
Science and Technology (IPST)
in the Asia+Pacific region, is
leading the effort to develop
and increase the quality of
science, mathematics and
technology education in
Thailand. Since 1999, she
has worked to apply GLOBE
strategies in helping to fulfill the
objectives of IPST, an agency
working under the direction
of the Ministry of Education,
to enhance scientific inquiry
and thinking through hands-on
collaborative research between
students, teachers, scientists
and community members.
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