One long weekend in Thailand, some 35 representatives from selected Catholic schools in the country gathered at the Baan Phu Waan Pastoral Training Centre in Sam Phran, Thailand for a trainers’ training workshop on Learning by Refraction (LbR). The three-and-a-half-day workshop, which ran from October 13 to 16, 2023, was sponsored by the Catholic Education Commission of Thailand (CECT) and offered by IGNITE (Ignatian Initiative for Teacher Excellence) of the Gokongwei Brothers School of Education and Learning Design of the Ateneo de Manila University. Fr. Johnny C. Go SJ, GBSEALD Dean and LbR originator, and Ms. Jeraldine Ching, IGNITE Program Coordinator, flew in from the Philippines to conduct the training.
The trainers’ training workshop marks the tenth year since the 2013 keynote address delivered by Fr. Johnny Go SJ on Ignatian Pedagogy at the annual CECT conference in Pattaya. Since then, the CECT, under the leadership of Ms. Sumitra Phongsathorn, has organized various trainings on Ignatian (or Reflexive) Pedagogy using the Learning by Refraction approach. The Thai edition of the book Learning by Refraction: A Practitioners’ Guide to 21st-Century Ignatian Pedagogy (co-authored with Rita Jacinto Atienza) was, in fact, the very first translation of the manual, which has to-date been translated into six languages, with four more translations coming up.
Thanks to Fr. Eakarat Hompratum, Secretary of Catholic Education, this workshop on the IPP was organized for a select group of Catholic educators selected to be potential IPP trainers. Like similar onsite trainings in Europe, Australia, and the Philippines the last two years, this “Train the Trainers” workshop called upon the participants to “learn by doing.” Specifically, they were assigned the task of working with their colleagues from other schools to design a module that they would simulate and actually demonstrate during the workshop. Guided by a set of rubrics, the other participants provided feedback, so that the entire group could learn from the process.
The groups were deliberately mixed to enable them to collaborate across schools. Shown here (from L to R) are Nok (Regina Coeli College), Danucharee (Mater Dei), Wie (Mater Dei), Nok (St. Joseph Bangna) and Pok (Mater Dei).
Understandably, the participants initially found the task daunting, but as it turned out, many of them liked this segment of the workshop best of all. Many, like Angsumalee Samerphon, Academic Coordinator of Xavier Learning Community, Chiang Rai, enjoyed sharing ideas with teachers from other schools, collaborating on designing and conducting their module on Learning by Refraction, and learning in the process.
The participants, Catholic educators all, began the workshop by reflecting on their context, and examining the challenges that they faced in the mission. They agreed that as Fr. Johnny put it, Catholic education was more difficult than ever! But, they were quick to add, they were nevertheless hopeful, confident that working together would enable them to overcome their challenges. Indeed, they concluded, precisely for the very same reasons that it was tougher than ever, the mission of Catholic education in Thailand is also more important than ever!
To provide the context of the group, the participants reflected on the challenges faced by Catholic schools and their teachers today.
Mater Dei Principal Tina-Marie Paladiganont said: “The process of this workshop and the facilitators have modeled how to shift from teacher-centered to student-centered, which helped us participants learn from one another… The learning process from Day 1 (four months ago) to today is a good example of taking us step by step to slowly learn in various ways according to each person’s pace.”
She was referring to the three-month online MasterClass that the participants had undergone prior to the onsite training.
Summing up the workshop process, Ms. Sumitra observed: “The workshop was ‘theory into practice’ through guidance, modeling and well designed steps to walk, participants learned as a community through refraction. The workshop is inspiring Catholic school teachers to want to learn more in order to do better in helping students to learn.”
Many presenting groups began their modules with an energizer.
Indeed we reaped an abundant harvest of learning from the workshop experience. Many participants mentioned appreciating the value of Ignatian Pedagogy given such challenges today as social media and Generative AI. In particular, they realized how crucial the practice of reflection is, as well as the critical thinking that it helps bring about.
Fr. Johnny Go SJ, GBSEALD Dean and LbR originator discussed the impact of Social Media and GEN AI on teaching and learning, boosting the relevance and value of Ignatian Pedagogy.
A number of them also made special mention of the safe space that was purposefully created at the workshop to encourage sharing and thinking, resulting in a much-needed boost in both learning and self-confidence. As one participant put it, there was “a free space for all, even if you are weak or not an expert in English, we felt more confident to share and learn from one another.”
The workshop design process allowed each participant to speak and contribute different ideas.
The participants agreed that what they learned at the workshop would be relevant to their teaching practice. One participant was happy to say more: “This [workshop] reminds me that spoon-feeding does not ensure effective transfer of learning. Second, I realized the need in redesigning my lessons to fit a more teacher-centered approach. However, I have to deal with some circumstances like time and school expectations. Thirdly, I became familiar with the Ignatian Pedagogy, and this is the most valuable because it is fitting for 21st century learners and teachers.”
Ms. Genie Paladiganont was new to Learning by Refraction, but she said: “I found this workshop to be very helpful as it is true that when you get to experience something, that is how you truly learn. The way in which the workshop was delivered really helped with this.”
Participants were serious with their assigned task. They hoped to apply what they learned to their classes.
Ms. Niphaporn Fakthong of Regina Coeli College in Chiang Mai expressed her appreciation for what she learned from the workshop. “It will be the most beneficial for my students. In the long run, [I hope] both teachers and students will know the real meaning of learning.”
Jum (Niphaporn Fakthong) among her colleagues in discussion.
Dr. Sara Samiphak, a Mater Dei alumna and faculty at the School of Education of Chulalongkorn University, was recruited by Ms. Sumitra to help coordinate the workshop, shared how inspired she was by the workshop, noting in particular “the dedicated group of potential teacher trainers, the warm personalities of the speakers, and that practical exercises that [she] can adapt in my professional life.”
Je Ching, IGNITE Program Coordinator, interviewed the trainers after their presentation.
After the workshop, a beaming Ms. Sumitra had this to say:
It’s really the process that I like. It’s something that we’ve been neglecting when we talk about good Catholic education. Somehow we talk about the end, what we want to achieve, but actually, how to get there is very important. This workshop has brought us back to the need to focus on the process, which is very much in line with the way the Pope wants us to be going at the moment–synodality, walking together, listening to one another. So I’m very happy that this workshop has brought our attention back to the process. The end is important, but we want people to get there, not just ourselves, so it’s very important to work on the process.
The workshop was made possible by the generosity of the participating Catholic schools, especially Mater Dei College, and Ms.Tipchaya Phongsathorn, a Mater Dei alumna, who supported the event.
Fr. Johnny Go, SJ, Founding Dean of GBSEALD, Ms. Sumitra Phongsathorn, Chairperson of the Catholic Identity of School Commission, Catholic Education Council of Thailand, and Jeraldine Ching, Program Coordinator of IGNITE.
Based on the expertise and enthusiasm shown by this new breed of certified IPP trainers, we are optimistic that the “Learning by Refraction” movement among the Catholic schools in Thailand will gain momentum and hopefully help define Catholic education and make a difference in the lives of the students.
The official class photo of the Learning By Refraction Trainers’ Training.
