"Academic Quality Development Institute" opened a model Introducing the model "Build Teachers Before Building Students" Highlighting GPAS 5 Steps to develop critical thinkers and responsible AI users, piloted in "Kanchanaburi" before nationwide rollout
On 7 July 2026, the Academic Quality Development Institute (AQDI) partnered with the Association of Secondary School Administrators of Thailand (ASSAT) and educational networks in Kanchanaburi Province to launch a teacher and education personnel development project under the Competency-Based Learning concept. This involves using the GPAS 5 Steps high-level systemic thinking process alongside authentic assessment and applying artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance student learning. A total of 110 teachers from Dan Makham Tia Witthayakhom School, Nong Tak Ya Tang Wiriya Ratsabumrung School, and Wat Chai Chumphon Chanasongkhram Kindergarten School participated as the pilot group.
The core of this training is not merely teaching teachers to use AI or new tools, but transforming their role from knowledge transmitters into learning designers who create learners capable of critical thinking, analysis, and independent knowledge construction.
Dr. Saksin Rojaranrom, Chairman of the Executive Board at AQDI, stated that education reform cannot succeed if it begins only with students; it must start with teacher development, as teachers build classrooms, and classrooms shape the nation's future.
This training aims to enhance teachers’ abilities to design learning through Active Learning using the GPAS 5 Steps high-level systemic thinking process. Teachers are encouraged to use questioning as a tool to stimulate students' thinking, analysis, synthesis, hands-on practice, and independent knowledge creation, replacing traditional lecture or rote memorization methods.
Dr. Saksin noted that despite over 20 years of significant investment in tutoring and examinations in Thailand, O-NET and PISA assessment results have not improved as expected because many students memorize answers rather than learn thinking processes. If teachers continue teaching for exams, students will memorize for exams. However, if teachers design learning to encourage thinking, students will gain lifelong learning skills.
The AQDI chairman explained that the GPAS 5 Steps process helps learners develop systematic thinking abilities that connect reasoning, ethics, and practical action, enabling them to innovate. With a strong thinking foundation, students can then responsibly use AI.
He warned that many countries are facing negative effects from excessive AI and technology use, leading to students losing focus and critical thinking skills. Thailand should not allow AI to replace the learning process but use AI as a tool to support learners’ thinking. Without building high-level thinking skills, students cannot manage the overwhelming global information flow. But if students think critically, they can select, analyze, and use AI beneficially.
Dr. Narin Chamnuan Du, President of the Association of Secondary School Administrators of Thailand (ASSAT), said the project's goal is to enhance teacher quality, which directly benefits students. When teachers are capable, students receive concrete development in thinking, practice, and appropriate technology use.
This training is a collaboration between ASSAT and AQDI, selecting three schools in Kanchanaburi as a pilot area to develop teachers in Active Learning, authentic assessment, and AI-supported learning before scaling to over 2,000 secondary schools nationwide. When teachers improve, students improve; teachers fill gaps and shape students' futures.
Mr. Pojanarin Luangoranapa, principal of Dan Makham Tia Witthayakhom School, said the training supplements teachers’ knowledge, enabling them to apply Active Learning and GPAS 5 Steps to adapt teaching methods to each subject and school context. This opens opportunities for students to engage in hands-on activities, think, analyze, exchange ideas, and independently create knowledge while integrating AI as a learning support tool in the digital era.
Mr. Narakorn Sukwisit, principal of Nong Tak Ya Tang Wiriya Ratsabumrung School, remarked that simultaneous teacher development across the school is a vital opportunity to align teaching methods, reduce lecturing, and create space for students to think, analyze, and practice, leading to deep learning and sustainable student quality improvement.
However, this training is not just about teaching instructional techniques but laying a new foundation for Thai classrooms, starting with developing teachers as "learning designers" to create students who think critically, innovate, and use AI wisely, ultimately raising the country's education quality in the long term.