Bangkok Post Kriengsak Niratpattanasai Column.

Byline: Kriengsak Niratpattanasai

Sep. 7--A few months ago, I wrote about my experiences during a half-day workshop for fourth-year bachelor's degree students at a local university. My topic was international service, part of the school's International Business Management curriculum.

I had divided the class into small groups and asked them to compare the strengths, weaknesses and uniqueness of McDonald's and MK Restaurants, and of Thai Farmers Bank and Citibank.

For the first few minutes, the groups were almost silent; undergraduates are used to one-way lectures, not workshops. Finally I asked why they did not want to discuss things very freely. Among their comments: "I have not learned the topic yet, so how can I answer?" "I'm afraid my answer in a group discussion will not be the `right' one. I will kai nah (lose face)." "I didn't want to show off too much among my peers. It's nice to be passive." "I didn't want to look stupid among my peers."

One remark -- "I haven't learned it yet so how can I answer?" -- is crucial when it comes to evaluating the Thai education system. We have not trained our students to think. The feeling that the student must give the "right" answer also limits our creativity.

I recently returned to the same university to discuss the same topic with a different group. This time I applied the lessons I had learned before. I changed my introduction radically as I realised it was imperative to outline clear expectations and benefits. The result was fantastic. Students had more participation and involvement. Here is what I did differently from the first session:

1. I told the students about the previous session and the hang-up on "right" answers. I told the new group that the exercise was not about right answers but about learning. We would learn how making a mistake in the class could prevent us from making a mistake in the workplace. I encouraged "wrong" answers. In fact, I had a gift -- a book I have just published on selling techniques -- ready for the person who supplied the most "wrong" answers.