From Users to Creators: Biology Teachers Authoring Their Own Active-Learning Laboratory Kits

Abstract

Provincial secondary schools in Thailand face persistent constraints on laboratory-based science instruction, yet most professional development delivers materials top-down. This study examined the professional competency reported by secondary biology teachers following participation in the Teacher-Created, Team-Facilitated (TCTF) Model, a participatory action research framework in which teachers create their own laboratory materials while a research team facilitates, together with the classroom experience reported by their students. Twenty-five biology teachers from small- and medium-sized schools in Surin and Sisaket Provinces designed, validated, pilot-tested and revised four Biology Laboratory Kits across three phases. Three post-intervention instruments were used: a teacher self-assessment questionnaire, a written open-ended feedback questionnaire, and a written open-ended experience questionnaire. Teachers reported a high overall level of self-perceived competency, highest for commitment to continued innovation and lowest for managing preparation time. Thematic analysis identified a shift toward student-centred practical work and five scaffolding strategies. Students most often associated pride with microscopy and with completing an investigation, while naming interpretation and analysis as their greatest difficulty; gains in reported confidence concentrated in concrete procedural skills rather than interpretation, and 54% of students reported continuing to doubt their own skill despite good marks. Because the design is single-group, post-test-only and based on self-report and perception rather than measured achievement, the findings describe reported states following the intervention, not change attributable to it.