DBS has expanded its team of expert teachers to focus on Personalised Learning. Teachers create an intensive and enjoyable learning process to prepare students for world-class universities, and to become happy, effective global leaders.
The international school market in Thailand is becoming the focus of Thai and foreign new generation parents. Thailand in 2019 has 205 international schools. Recently, Denla British School (DBS), a leading international school that utilises the enhanced teaching curriculum of private British schools that are considered the best in the world, is now expanding its team of expert teachers from the UK. The move is to support the growing number of students, and to contribute to over 40 intensive academic and co-curricular activities, such as music, sport, dance, drama and social interaction activities, and to lay a strong foundation for students, preparing them for the world’s top universities and to become happy and effective global leaders.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Toryos Pandejpong, DBS Board Director, says that the teacher is the key element of a good school, and it is one of the major differentiating factors among schools. Therefore, the process of recruiting expert teachers is considered a primary strategy of the school, as they are the most important resource to encourage students to become well-rounded adults who will succeed in learning and in their careers.
The British private school curriculum is a personalised learning process.
Teachers must have the ability to train students with various skills, and have a forward-looking vision on what students will need to learn, and what contents and teaching methods will need to be applied to suit each student. Teachers should identify students’ expectations, what they like, and their outstanding talents, as each student has varying skills, abilities and preferences. A hundred people possesses a hundred skills. DBS’s Enhanced British Curriculum utilises a curriculum from leading private schools in the UK, which is considered the best system in the world, and it is based on a personalised learning focus. A personalised learning focus is about concentrating on each individual student according to their skills and preferences. Teaching methods vary from individual to small group work, supervised by the teacher and, often, learning assistants.
“The personalised learning method for children’s deep understanding helps us to support students as individuals to reach their academic excellence goals. We support students who need careful guidance to achieve these goals and we also offer additional learning opportunities for students who are confident and highly talented. In this way, students and parents can recognise that we are laying the foundation for academic excellence with the best teaching curriculum,” Asst. Prof. Dr. Toryot says.
To focus best on the personalised learning method, teachers must be qualified to the standards expected in British private schools. They have teaching experience of at least two years, they have a graduate degree in the subject that they are teaching, and they have sufficient English language and Mathematics knowledge. In other words, regardless of what field teachers have expertise in, they will be able to communicate very well in English and have a sound mathematics base.
Foreign teachers choose to teach in Thailand.
According to the survey of the 2018 International School Market Research and Trends, the UK curriculum is the most popular curriculum in the world. Over 3,500 international schools, from approximately 10,000 schools worldwide, use the UK curriculum. For Thailand, there are 205 international schools, the highest number in South East Asia, whist in Bangkok, DBS is one of very few international schools that uses the UK curriculum the way it is practised in British private schools, considered the best system in the world. DBS therefore attracts expert teachers from the UK, teachers who want to engage with students and oversee the students’ enormous potential development.
The question is, why do the best teachers teach at DBS?
Mr. Mark McVeigh, Principal of Denla British School, an expert from leading schools in England and in Asia, says that the main factors attracting expert teachers from the UK to teach at DBS are an attractive salary and benefits package, a focus on their well-being, which extends to the teachers’ families, and the school’s excellent reputation. Many teachers decide to work at DBS because of advice from current DBS teachers and foreign DBS parents. DBS expects teachers to be well qualified, experts in their fields, with an enthusiastic and motivating approach. They go through a rigorous interview process, and demonstrate an ability to instil confidence in students and to encourage individual student progress. The recruitment process for DBS teachers takes 8 to 10 months from planning, interviewing, appointment and induction.
Today, DBS has added 16 teachers to the team, by recruiting them from the UK, all of whom are well qualified in a variety of fields, including academic, music, sport, and drama. Even our new Head of Mandarin has extensive teaching experience in a UK independent school. Today, DBS has 60 teachers, and another 60 learning assistants who are international and Thai. All are ready to take care of the 400 DBS students and are well-prepared to support the increasing number of students in the years to come.
“The essence of great teaching and care for students at DBS is that all teachers know their students well. They are able to encourage their students to acquire emotional intelligence, with empathy and mindfulness. Children should be happy in their studies, as well as being confident and resilient. High quality teachers possess a forward-looking vision to plan for future lessons to suit each individual student. They promote the acquisition of skills and recognise successes. Their long-term planning meets students’ educational goals, for example, taking entrance exams for leading universities in the country or abroad. Teachers should also be approachable and be able to use individual conversations with students for a better, deeper understanding. Regular testing of the students’ knowledge and understanding is important to embed concepts and ideas. Encouraging students’ independent learning is an important aspect of British independent schools, as it helps learning at university and in later life. Students also need to be encouraged to take good care of themselves both mentally and physically, so that they grow up to become cheerful and effective global leaders. Finally, we need to ensure the happiness of the teachers because happy teachers make a happy school! DBS, therefore, focuses on health and well-being by providing the best support for our teachers”, Mr. McVeigh adds.
The Unique DBS Vision focuses on 4 pillars: an Enhanced British Curriculum; Academic Excellence for All; Entrepreneurship and Creative Thinking; and Community and Global Perspectives. The strong teaching team ensures that this distinctive vision is implemented, and that students are fully prepared to be successful at world-class universities and beyond.
