The Development of the ROIET Instructional Model to Enhance Historical Thinking Competency among First-Year Students at Roi Et Rajabhat University

Abstract

This study aimed to develop the historical competency of first-year students at Roi Et Rajabhat University by strengthening three core components: (1) understanding the meaning and nature of history, (2) historical questioning skills, and (3) awareness of the importance of reasoning and evidence in inquiry. The instructional model employed was ROIET, in which each step was designed with specific activities, tools, and learning outcomes. In the Research & Retrieve step, students practiced searching and gathering information from primary and secondary sources such as chronicles, event records, news articles, and historical photographs to build foundational understanding. The Organize & Observe step emphasized structuring and analyzing evidence, for example, by creating comparative tables of causal factors, consequences, actors, evidence, and perspectives, as well as observing the limitations of each source. The Interpret & Interact step encouraged students to interpret and discuss, such as analyzing possible biases or intentions of recorders and comparing multiple interpretations of the same event. The Express & Exhibit step required students to produce presentations, such as infographic timelines of significant events. Finally, the Transfer & Transform step guided students to design their own history teaching approaches and reflect on personal changes after learning.

        The participants were 30 first-year students in the second semester of the 2024 academic year. The study adopted a three-phase developmental research methodology: designing, developing, and implementing the ROIET model. The findings indicated that students’ historical knowledge, questioning skills, and critical inquiry attitudes significantly improved (p < .001). Observational and interview data also revealed that students actively engaged in discussions, practiced evidence-based thinking, and successfully transferred historical knowledge to new contexts in creative ways. Therefore, the ROIET instructional model is not merely an innovation validated by quantitative results but a distinctive activity-based model that systematically integrates inquiry, analysis, interpretation, communication, and the transfer of historical lessons, thereby fostering historical competency and essential 21st-century skills in concrete and meaningful ways.