Doi: 10.12982/cmujASR.2014.0006 ASR: CMUJ of Social Sciences and Humanities (2014) Vol.1 No.1 83

Improving Personal Mastery Through a Nurturing Program for First Year Students at a Private University in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Sirikorn Thapthong1*, Pakdeekul Ratana1, Pongsak Pankeaw2, Anchalee Jengjalearn3, and Komsak Meksamoot1

1College of Arts, Media and Technology, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand 2Faculty of Education, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand 3Faculty of Econmoics, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract tudent dropout rates during the first year of university are a problem Sglobally, and particularly in Thailand, where some research has highlighted dropout rates of up to 35%. This paper aims to tackle uni- versity dropout rates in the first year of university at a private university in Thailand. The paper argues that general education courses provide an ideal platform from which to launch a nurturing program aimed at cur- tailing student dropout rates. Two theories of personal mastery and mastery learning are investigated as potential approaches to designing a nurturing program that can be used to assist students in their transition from high school to university, and in turn reduce the chance of dropping out of university. Results show how the nurturing program was designed based on an investigation of classroom problems and discussions with experts. Example activities and lesson plans from the resulting mastery leaning nurturing program are shown, before introducing future work which will go a step further to analyze the effectiveness of this program. It is envisioned that this work could be built upon to improve students’ personal mastery and lifelong learning, which could eventually have effects on university dropout rates and wider society.

Keywords: Personal mastery, Mastery learning, General education, Dialogue, Dropout rate 84 ASR: CMUJ of Social Sciences and Humanities (2014) Vol.1 No.1

Introduction realize or comprehend the effects on Background themselves and, in turn, on society Globally, the dropout rate of (Bridgeland et al., 2006). undergraduate students is particularly A potential solution to these significant between the first and dropout rates is to create adaptable second year of university; for exam- students who have a well-developed ple, a dropout rate of 33% in the sense of personal mastery and em- United Kingdom and a similarly high powerment. This could potentially dropout rate in the United States be achieved through effective general (Kingston, 2008; Barefoot, 2004). education courses. Programs in gen- This is a particular problem in Thai- eral education represent the most land, where research has shown drop- suitable mechanism to improve drop- out rates of up to 35%. Most literature out rates and the reasons why are dis- shows that high dropout rates arise cussed further in section 1.2. One way from individual and personal factors, to address dropout rates within the not from the university environment design of general education courses itself (Need & Jong, 2001; Lowe is through personal mastery, which is & Cook, 2003). The external envi- defined by Senge (1990) as the prac- ronment provided by the university tice of articulating a coherent image can, however, support students who of personal vision, complete with the cannot easily adapt themselves to new results an individual most wants to surroundings introduced through create in their life, alongside a realistic university study. Students face high assessment of the individuals’ current risks and problem behavior as they reality. Senge (1990) goes on to state are challenged by unfamiliar social, that this can produce innate tension academic and vocational aspects in that, when cultivated, can expand an their lives. Frequently, they do not individuals’ capacity to make more have the essential skills and abili- effective choices and to achieve more ties to reach social or personal goals. of their desired results. Additionally, students often cannot The aim of this paper is to develop reduce the gap between their needs a nurturing program to reduce student and current situation; tension emerges dropout rates by improving per- from study and examinations. The sonal mastery and student adapt- ultimate problem associated with the ability through a program within disconnect between students’ current the general education course. The situation and their eventual goal is research focuses on first-year students that some students, with low motiva- at a private university in Chiang Mai tion or low personal vision, withdraw Province, Thailand. Before consider- or dropout in the first year. Dropout ing the case study and methodology, rates are characterized by students it is necessary to outline what is meant who do not attend class regularly, do by general education and its impor- not complete homework and do not tance in undergraduate education, ASR: CMUJ of Social Sciences and Humanities (2014) Vol.1 No.1 85

especially in Thailand. mastery through a nurturing program. Thailand’s general education courses General education were influenced by higher education General education originated in in America. The courses built on two American universities with the objec- concepts related to the development tives of providing: of ideal humans with knowledge, (1) Knowledge and philosophies thought, skills, appropriate morality to new students through problems to and responsibility in work and society study. (Sinlarat, 2007). General education (2) An ability to perceive the in Thailand began in 1957 at Chu- difficulties of society, as well as the lalongkorn University. The ultimate knowledge of science influencing objective of general education courses human life. is, firstly, to create effective humans (3) An understanding of how to with responsibility and morality and, be effective human beings. secondly, with the appropriate voca- The curriculum of general edu- tional skills to gain employment cation is varied, and depends on the (Dronov & Knodakov, 2010). When mode of study and the particular these two parts blend, they promote definition being considered. One each other without conflict. In Thai- clear definition from Harvard Uni- land, the general education curric- versity (1945) analyzed and developed ulum is a single course, integrating a report about general education. content from the humanities, social “General education in a free society” is sciences, mathematics and sciences. In defined as education in which learners addition, the Thai Ministry of Educa- should have responsibility and be tion (Ministry of Education, 2005, p. effective human beings (Sinlarat, 25) defined the goal of general educa- 2007; Wehlburg, 2010). General tion as, “providing the student with education aims to develop learners deep understanding, broad vision, an as ideal citizens, with wisdom and understanding of themselves, others morality, in addition to their special and society, with rational thinking, education and training within speci- meaningful communication, morality fic fields. Today, employers demand and an understanding of Thai and that their employees use a broad set global culture”. Thailand should also of skills and have higher levels of be suitably prepared for the free trade learning and knowledge than in the associated with the ASEAN economic past in order to meet the increasingly community in 2015. General educa- complex demands they will face in tion is important in the preparation today’s society and workplace (Hart of students (Payap University, 2006). Research Associates, 2010). General As the aims of general education are Education can help to achieve this and in line with the philosophies of per- is considered the ideal subject from sonal mastery and reducing university which to develop students’ personal dropout rates, the general education 86 ASR: CMUJ of Social Sciences and Humanities (2014) Vol.1 No.1

course provides a useful and suitable Methodology platform from which to launch a The methodological approach nurturing program aimed at reducing utilizes two theories, personal mastery student dropout rates and increasing (as noted previously) and mastery personal mastery. This paper utilizes a learning. Despite sounding similar, case study at Payap University, located these are fundamentally different the- in northern Thailand, to develop ories. Personal mastery was a con- a nurturing program for first-year cept introduced by Senge (1990); students within the general education researchers tend to apply personal program. mastery to internal aspects of student development, in order to promote The case study: Payap University adaptation as individuals (personal Payap University, established in vision, holding creative tension, com- 1974, is a private institution founded mitment to the truth and using the by the Church of Christ in Thailand. subconscious). In contrast, mastery The university strives to adhere to its learning is a theory applied to provide motto "Truth and Service" by seeking high quality group-based instruction academic and moral excellence to and instructional strategies within the create understanding through truth curriculum that permits all learners to and an attitude of service to all. The be successful (Gentile & Lalley, 2003; philosophy of both Payap University Guskey, 2007, 2010). and General Education are in align- This research will utilize mastery ment in terms of preparing students to learning (ML) to develop personal develop their life skills and attempting mastery and will do so within a nur- to balance a well-rounded education turing program in general education. with knowledge and skills in a specific The aim of the Mastery Learning field. Payap University aims to devel- Based Nurturing Program (MLN) op undergraduates with “a passion presented in this paper will be to place to grow, academic leadership, ethical the main personal mastery concept hearts, and students who are society’s (personal vision, current reality, and servants” (Payap University, 2006, creative tension) into an instructional p. 17). To achieve this goal, Payap plan via mastery learning in order to University applies the general edu- make students more clearly aware of cation course as a tool in developing an array of goals and results (Senge, et first-year students. Nurturing students al., 2000; Butler, 2006; Darnon, et al., in the first-year general education 2007). To improve personal mastery course, therefore, represents an ideal and reduce dropout rates though a opportunity to assess and develop nurturing program, this research im- students’ personal mastery. plemented a methodology consisting of four steps. These are illustrated in Figure 1. ASR: CMUJ of Social Sciences and Humanities (2014) Vol.1 No.1 87

Figure 1. Research methodology showing the four steps employed in the re- search. Steps 1-3 are presented in this paper, while step 4 is ongoing/ future work.

Figure 1 illustrates that the initial were registered for the GE101 course design of a nurturing program is a at Payap University (General Educa- classroom diagnosis (Guskey, 2010). tion 101: The Path to Wisdom). The In this research, such a diagnosis interviews took place in small groups included assessing current student of approximately ten students. When problems and lifestyles. The second recording answers, Likert scales were stage of the methodology involved used to gauge student attitude and planning and conducting lessons that feeling towards specific aspects of follow a systematic plan of the mas- learning style and skill. tery learning format. The third step Figure 2 shows some example involved developing and checking questions from the interviews. Future the resulting MLN with experts. The adaptations to this research will also fourth step in this research is future involve interviewing parents about work, which will aim to implement, their expectations and attitude to- test, revise and evaluate the nurturing wards financial support of their chil- program. dren. Financial support is considered particularly important, given Payap Diagnosis of classroom issues University is privately funded. All data In this initial step, students were from the interviews were collected surveyed to collect data regarding and analyzed using simple descriptive aspects of demographics, life skills and statistics (e.g., cumulative percentage, learning style (including their learning mean) and then analyzed to draw out goals). The sample consisted of the patterns relating to life skills, student whole population of 80 students who learning styles and learning goals.

Figure 2. Sample interview questions in the diagnosis stage. 88 ASR: CMUJ of Social Sciences and Humanities (2014) Vol.1 No.1

Planning and design of a MLN from a teacher-directed environment The second step is the planning to a more independent learning style and design of a nurturing program. (Dembo, 2003). In college, students The data from stage one were applied are expected to manage their own in designing and writing lesson plans, learning and become self-motivated; emphasizing learning-based activi- therefore, instructors should focus ties for motivation and engagement. on developing first-year students to Motivation was developed through achieve personal mastery, which they enrichment activities based on mas- can apply to the remainder of their tery learning theory (Gentile & Lalley, university life and potentially beyond. 2003). Of particular importance, the Based on results from stage one of students themselves identified their the methodology and the theory of learning goals, self-pacing, monitor- mastery learning, instructors wrote 15 ing and feedback, including evalua- lesson plans that offered enrichment tion (Leonard, 2002). activities aimed at helping students The learning process based on learn more effectively and correct their the mastery learning principle is an own mistakes in the classroom, using appropriate tool to combine with the dialogue in the form of an e-learning core teaching concept of general edu- system. cation, which explains why teaching general education can help students Development of MLN to explore their learning goals inde- The third step of this research pendently, and from various resources, involved integration of stage one and using their preferred learning styles in two of the methodology to develop order to most effectively achieve goals. a MLN. The MLN was produced by The general education philosophy is integrating the lesson plans from stage often characterized by the phrase, “the two as well as using GE101 content, instructor is the Good Shepherd” – or dialogue techniques, forums/social although one sheep might miss its network communication tools (e.g. group, the good shepherd must catch Facebook) and enrichment activities. it safely. This is consistent with the The researcher provided lesson plans main principle of mastery learning along with a questionnaire to profes- theory; applying mastery learning sionals who had general education offers remedial instruction to students as part of their core responsibility. who wish to develop their capability, Five professionals then checked and acquire new skills or identify their examined this program (one from mistakes (Gentile & Lalley, 2003; the Faculty of Education and two Buacharoen, 2001). from the College of Arts Media and Mastery learning is necessary Technology, Chiang Mai Univer- when students are faced with major sity; two from Payap University). differences in transition from high After the researcher made corrections school to college, along with a shift based on professional feedback, the ASR: CMUJ of Social Sciences and Humanities (2014) Vol.1 No.1 89

research created an e-learning system Planning and designing a nurturing for GE101, creating a forum for di- program alogue with students throughout the Data analysis from step 3.1 found semester, and preparing the learning that the primary learning goals of tools and associated media. students were related to their future careers and completing their educa- Implementation, testing, revision tion quickly. The score level pointed and evaluation of the MLN out they had the highest scores, so The fourth step will include im- students required more support for plementation, testing, revision and life skills, method development and evaluation of the MLN, which is the working process development in order basis of ongoing and future work. to achieve their goals. After identify- However, the results of the diagnosis, ing goals, enrichment activities were planning and development of the selected and are shown in Table 2. MLN are shown in the next section. After analyzing student behavior and support activities, students were Results and Discussion grouped into activities. The activity Diagnosis of classroom issues plan for the first-year students in the Table 1 shows the key student “GE101: The Path to Wisdom” class problems identified via stage one of was split into five groups, with 20 the methodology (classroom diagno- total activities. sis). After selection and grouping of activities, they were elaborated and linked to the literature based on the objectives and procedures for each activity.

Table 1. Results from step 2.1: The problems identified during the diagnosis stage. Key student problems Components of mastery learning with potential to reduce these problems − Student goals: students want to complete the − Specify learner goals in terms of what is to be degree in a short time, however, as time passes, learned and how the learning activities will be their attention decreases. evaluated. − Student behavior: students skip classes, cannot − Permit learner self-pacing. manage their time, are often lazy, play games − Monitor student progress and provide immediate and spend less time reading than they should. feedback. − Evaluate to ensure that the final goal of the learning activity is achieved by each student. − Students: students need support from society − Enrichment activities of mastery learning based (anger coping skills, problem-solving skills and on life skills concepts. refusal and negotiation skills). 90 ASR: CMUJ of Social Sciences and Humanities (2014) Vol.1 No.1

Table 2. Analysis of students’ problems matched with enrichment activities. Concept Instrument Who are the What do Payap Backup activities theorists? students lack or where do they need support? Mastery learning 2010-2011, Caroll (1963) -Plan time and follow -Wheels of 1.goal data gathering Bloom (1969) time learning 2.spacing from question- Hotchkis (1986) -Suitable study tools -Time capsule 3.monitor naire Leonard (2002) -Different aptitudes -Setting goals 4.evaluate achieving the same -My Learning goals Diary -Prior experiences of -KWL Topic Grid the students

Table 3. The enrichment activities of lesson plans in the MLN. Activity Group Name of activity Life skills (3 activities) − Anger Measurement − Problem-solving & Refuse − Negotiation Personal mastery (3 activities) − Wheels of Learning − Mapping the students’ current reality − Demystifying the Learner Self-esteem (2 activities) − “See You See Us” − How to be a “WINNER: Motivation (6 activities) − The Highest Dream − The Bright Future − You Speak I Speak − Life Management − Map to the Success − A Covenant of Beliefs About Learning Mastery learning (6 activities) − River of Life − Setting Goals − Things That Help Me Learn − My Learning Diary − KWL Topic Grid − Time Capsule

Table 4. Examples of activity details and links to the literature/theory. Activity name Concept and Theory Objectives Mapping the students’ - Senge (2000). 1. To consider the whole life situation of current reality students Setting goals - Read (2007) 1.To identify and set yourself short-term personal learning goals Things That Help Me Learn - Read (2007) 1. To reflect on learning styles and strategies related to specific areas of learning. 2.To develop awareness of your own learning preferences 3.To begin to develop personalized learning styles and strategies ASR: CMUJ of Social Sciences and Humanities (2014) Vol.1 No.1 91

Table 5. Example assignments showing summary of lesson plans. Date/Month/Year GE101 Content Activities Tools and procedures 12/7/2011 Analytical thinking -Time Capsule #1 Short story “Rice of one hand” Worksheet “Time Capsule” 1. Lecture 90 minutes 2. Time Capsule 45 minutes 14/7/2011 Mind map - My Learning Diary 1. Lecture 90 minutes 2. My Learning Diary 30 minutes

In this step, a mapping of students’ on “The Highest Dream” worksheet current reality must be completed be- and students posted eight items to the fore setting the learning goals within “Things That Help Me Learn” forum the “Setting Goals” activity. This is within three days. because students must know the cur- rent situation of their learning and be Implementation, testing, revision able to compare their goals. Following and evaluation of MLN this, the activity “Things That Help As explained in section two, im- Me Learn” could be conducted in plementation, testing and evaluation class in order to encourage students are future work. The MLN is currently to learn with success. Reinforcement being implemented. Preliminary re- activities and activities focusing on sults from testing and evaluation are self-awareness were designed every expected within four months. 2-3 weeks to regularly create positive reinforcement in trying to achieve Conclusion their goals. Payap University is a private in- The next step was to design the 15 stitution founded by the Church of resulting lesson plans for each week Christ in Thailand (a religious educa- of the MLN. Example assignments at tion institution) and the philosophy this stage are shown in Table 5. of the university is concerned with students’ spiritual wellbeing. Reduc- Development of MLN ing the dropout rate is in line with Experts made several suggestions this overall philosophy. Preliminary at this stage; the most notable were work in this paper has shown the writing weekly learning objectives, the potential for developing a MLN to main daily concept, learning activi- meet the aims of this philosophy. ties and an evaluation of all student Ultimately, the MLN should help assignments with rubric scoring Payap University develop learners by adjusting the description of the as students’ with career goals, ideal rubric-scoring assessment criterion citizens, and an effective educational in numerical format. As an example, management system through general students wrote their five learning goals education. 92 ASR: CMUJ of Social Sciences and Humanities (2014) Vol.1 No.1

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