Data-Driven For More Impact
From a mechanical engineer, ‘Mew’ – Watchara Dachoponchai, a Teach For Thailand alumnus from cohort 1, reflects on the impact he has made for the Foundation and children across Thailand. Currently serving as Teach For Thailand’s Data and Impact Manager, Mew takes pride in the data system he has developed for the teaching Fellows, enabling them to effectively utilize data and create a more positive impact on the education system.
“Back when O-NET was the main exam, schools under Bangkok Metropolis jurisdiction often scored below the national average in Mathematics, Science, and English subjects. However, when I was their teacher, my students were the school’s first batch to score above the national average,” recalls Mew, highlighting the transformation in his classroom.
“Other teachers at the school also praised the students for being responsible, resilient, and determined. They would refer to them as ‘effective,’ indicating their enthusiasm for school activities.”
“Some of Mew’s students had successfully enrolled in King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, or even Thammasat University.”
After completing his two-year Fellowship Program, Mew transitioned to the role of Teach For Thailand’s Head of Training and Support, where he focused on developing a leadership framework for training future Fellows. Additionally, he spearheaded the design of a data collection system for the Foundation.
“Before the system, Fellows had to submit their students’ pre- and post-test scores to the Foundation. The challenge was that we had hundreds of Fellows, and if one component of the data was updated, the entire set had to be changed or reset,” recalled Mew.
“To address this inconvenience, I created a new data system that allowed Fellows to create and upload their own data, which automatically updates itself. The process became much more efficient after that.”
When asked about his thoughts on TFT’s 10th Anniversary, he remarked:
“I’m quite excited. Before Teach For Thailand, who would have believed there are this many people, who would dedicate two years in the schools for the betterment of Thai education. Furthermore, these are people who could have chosen to do many things else. No one would have believed back then that there are so many people who want to transform Thai education, and still pursuing it every day for the past 10 years.”
“500 people is a lot, and it gives me hope that change is possible. There are people who want change, we just need to gather all of them to create something tangible.”
Mew is one of Teach For Thailand’s driving forces who has been with us for the past decade. Teach For Thailand is determined to drive Thai education forward with our belief that one day, all children in Thailand will have equitable access to quality education.
