The SEA Teacher Project or the “Pre-Service Student Teacher Exchange in Southeast Asia” is a project that aims to provide opportunity for pre-service student teachers from universities in Southeast Asia to have teaching experiences (practicum) in schools in other countries in Southeast Asia.

Based on the SEAMEO seven priority areas for the eleven SEAMEO Member countries to work together to improve the quality of education in Southeast Asia, “Revitalizing Teacher Education” is one of the priority areas in building and strengthening capacity of teachers in the region.

The exchange is preferably for 4th year students whose major are in math, science, English and pre-school. The duration is for one month and based on the mechanism of cost sharing basis. Students’ roles and responsibilities are assigned weekly during the one month period (observe, assist in teaching, teach and reflect). Moreover, the host universities will provide mentors to supervise and monitor the students throughout the practicum period.

 

Objectives of the Project

  1. To enable pre-service student teachers to develop their teaching skills and pedagogy
  2. To encourage the pre-service student teachers to practice their English skills
  3. To allow the pre-service student teachers to gain a broader regional and world view
  4. To expose future teachers to diverse teaching and learning situations and opportunities, and the value of flexibility.

 

Activities & Timeline


No.

Activities

Timeline

Participating Universities

Participating Students

Participating

Countries

1

Inception Meeting

(Jarkarta, Indonesia)

9 Oct 2015

9

-

Indonesia

1

Thailand

1

Vietnam

2

1st batch

20 Jan-18 Feb 2016

1

12

Indonesia 

1

10

Thailand

3

1st Evaluation Meeting

(Pathumthani, Thailand)

26-27 Feb 2016

5

-

Thailand

Indonesia Philippines

10

2

4

2nd batch

17 Jul-15 Aug 2016

10

56

Indonesia 

2

5

Philippines

5

40

Thailand

5

2nd Evaluation Meeting

(Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

8-9 Oct 2016

15

-

Indonesia 

7

Philippines

9

Thailand

1

Malaysia

6

3rd batch

15 Jan-13 Feb 2017

11

89

Indonesia

7

26

Philippines

9

81

Thailand

7

3rd Evaluation Meeting

(Cebu City, Philippines)

28-29 Mar 2017

1

-

Cambodia

17

Indonesia

1

Malaysia

1

Myanmar

16

Philippines

11

Thailand

8

4th batch

7 Aug-5 Sep 2017

19

132

Indonesia 

11

52

Philippines

11

81

Thailand

9

4th Evaluation Meeting

(Chiang Mai, Thailand)

9-10 Oct 2017

29

-

Indonesia

1

Malaysia

15

Philippines

22

Thailand

1

Vietnam

10

5th batch

22 Jan-18 Feb 2018

26

168

Indonesia 

19

109

Philippines

12

66

Thailand

11

5th Evaluation Meeting

(Palu, Indonesia)

3-4 Apr 2018

1

-

Cambodia

52

Indonesia

14

Philippines

1

Malaysia

9

Thailand

1

Singapore

12

6th batch

1 Aug-10 Sep 2018

(30 days)

45

207

Indonesia

1

3

Malaysia

20

133

Philippines

13

84

Thailand

13

6th Evaluation Meeting

(Pangasinan, Philippines)

16-17 Oct 2018

1

-

Cambodia

28

Indonesia

1

Malaysia

41

Philippines

13

6th Evaluation Meeting

(Pangasinan, Philippines)

16-17 Oct 2018

4

-

Thailand

14

7th batch

7 Jan-15 Feb 2019

(30 days)

38

229

Indonesia

34

209

Philippines

12

83

Thailand

15

7th Evaluation Meeting

(Kedah, Malaysia)

28-29 Mar 2019

1

-

Cambodia

42

Indonesia

1

Japan

2

Malaysia

38

Philippines

12

Thailand

1

Vietnam

16

8th batch

1 Aug-30 Sep 2019

(30 days)

49

240

Indonesia

29

101

Philippines

10

59

Thailand

2

19

Vietnam

17

8th Evaluation Meeting (Phitsanulok, Thailand)

8-10 Nov 2019

30

-

Indonesia

1

-

Japan

24

-

Philippines

14

-

Thailand

18

1st Pilot Project

1 Feb-14 Mar 2020

1

6

Japan

1

6

Indonesia

1

6

Philippines

1

6

Thailand

Lessons learned

  • Students:
    • Should prepare lesson plans, materials and health insurance in advance prior to travel
    • Gain more confident & increase social skills
    • Able to improve their teaching pedagogy
  • Facilitation process:
    • Coordinators play an important role.
    • Mentors who understand the process.
    • Various channels of communication: Line and WhatsApp

 

Key Success Factors

  • Active mentors are very helpful in providing guidance to students.
  • Supportive schools enable students to conduct their practicum successfully.
  • Students who have open-minded and positive attitude.