DARUNSIKKHALAI SCHOOL FOR INNOVATIVE LEARNING Happy home at school that builds morally and intellectually good learners
Our Mission Proac&ve Learner Being ac/ve in developing oneself con/nuously Ability to plan their learning Ability to cri/cally and comprehensively analyze informa/on Ability to reflect and learn from their failures and successes Self Discipline Being responsible Being moral Having perseverance to successfully accomplish tasks Altruism Being mindful and conscious of their ac/ons Ability to be aware of and control their emo/ons Being able to empathize and understand themselves and others Having good social e/queae Social Responsibility Being social minded Having environmentally friendly habits
School Educa+onal Philosophy Darunsikkhalai School for Innova/ve Learning (of King s Mongkut University of Technology Thonburi) was founded on two learning theories: Construc/vism and Construc/onism, of Jean Piaget, a developmental psychologist and philosopher, and Seymour Papert, an MIT mathema/cian and educator. These two theories provide knowledge and insight on human cogni/ve and psychological learning processes which lead us to believe and develop research on a new type of educa/onal model: Even though Construc/onism originated from MassachuseAs Ins/tute of Technology (MIT), the similarity of its fundamental philosophy to Thailand s Dhamma (Buddha s teachings) enables the theory to be easily understood and adopted into Thai culture. Dhamma places much importance on the process of learning and learning from experience, which /es in closely with Construc/onism. In applica/on of the theory, DSIL uses these three basic learning processes for knowledge management: 1. Thinking or Designing 2. Making or Doing 3. Reflec/ng or Contempla/ng Be#er learning will not come from finding be#er ways for the teacher to instruct, but from giving the learner be#er opportuni;es to construct Prof. Seymour Papert MIT Media Lab, 1996
A Learning Theory Construc/onism u/lizes project- based learning as a tool for teaching and learning. Project- based learning emphasizes learning by doing, which could cover a range of different ac/vi/es such as book wri/ng, inven/ng, art making or even building a sand castle. Being hands on with their projects not only mo/vates students but engages them more in learning about a chosen topic of interest. For example, building a model airplane will require students to learn about different parts of the plane such as the propeller, the wings, the fuselage, the stabilizers, and how they work altogether. They will discover how airplanes fly and learn the physics behind it. Moreover, knowledge will be applied in the planning, designing and construc/ng of a func/onal model airplane. This type of project based learning will not only provide students with knowledge and experience that can be applied in their daily lives, but also gives them tools for reflec/on. Throughout the learning process, students will reflect on their work through wri/ng journals and sharing their learning experiences with others. The reflec/on process will teach students to always reflect and learn from their experiences in order to con/nually develop themselves and their projects.
Grade Level Organiza/on Learning is divided into three levels: New learner level is composed of students in Grades 1-4. In this level, we want students to enjoy, explore and discover new knowledge through hands on project based learning in both Thai and English. We also aim to foster responsibility, self- discipline and morality in our learners. Intermediate level is composed of students in Grades 5 9. This level focuses on learning how to learn through rigorous hands on project- based learning that encourages students to solve more complex problems. Classes are conducted in both Thai and English. Advanced level is composed of students Grades 10-12. The learning for this level is career based which strives to develop each learner s poten/al and help find their passion. This level emphasizes individual research projects and college prepara/on. Classes are conducted in both Thai and English. 5
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